No Need to Gamble: Las Vegas Property Market on Revival Mode

While existing home prices in Las Vegas increased for the sixth straight month, housing supply too showed signs of revival in July.

Statistics released by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR) recorded an increase in the number of homes listed for sale last month.

July end saw a total of 16,944 single-family homes being listed for sale. This is a 0.1 percent increase from the previous month, but down by 24.5 percent from one year ago.
The number of condos and townhouses listed too escalated by 1.2 percent to 3,758 in July.

“It was good to see more homes listed for sale last month, although we still have a shortage of available homes on the market,” said GLVAR President Kolleen Kelley in a statement.

“This is primarily due to banks putting fewer homes on the market than they did in the past. For local homeowners, the bright side is that this tight housing supply has been driving up home prices – at least for now. We’re also glad to see banks agreeing to more short sales as an alternative to foreclosure.”

Kelley said she sees “more short-sellers pushing to get their homes on the market.” Close to 40 percent of all existing local homes sold during July were short sales. This occurs when a lender agrees to sell a home for less than what the borrower owes on the mortgage.

This is the highest short sale percentage GLVAR has ever recorded, the statement said.

Meanwhile, home prices in Las Vegas are set to continue its steep climb. Clear Capital, a real estate data tracking firm, reported prices are expected to rise 9.3 percent by the end of this year. Las Vegas ranks third on the list of cities where prices are expected to escalate. The first two slots are occupied by Seattle with 14.4 percent and Phoenix with 10.4 percent.