Las Vegas Market Report for January 2015
LAS VEGAS – The median home price in Las Vegas for January was $200,000. This is down 2% when compared to December, although it's still an 8% increase year-over-year when compared to January 2014. For condos, townhomes and high-rises, the median price remains unchanged from the month prior at $105,000. When compared to January of 2014, we're up 10.5% however.
Total sales
For 2014, Las Vegas had 36,500 total sales through the MLS. This is actually the lowest sales number over the last six years.
Inventory
The total number of single family homes, condos and townhomes sold in January was 2,239. December by comparison had 2,734 units sold. Currently we have a four month supply of inventory available for sale. A six to seven month supply is considered a balanced market. A balanced market is favorable for both buyers and sellers.
As of January there were 12,666 single family homes listed for sale on the GLVAR MLS. This is a 2.5% increase from December. Compared to January 2014, it's down 6.4%. Likewise the number of condos, townhomes and high-rises for sale is also up 4.5% from December, but down 15% when compared to last year.
Cash Sales
In January 36 percent of all local properties sold were purchased with cash. That's up a bit from December, but down from a year ago when cash buyers took up nearly 47% of transactions here in Las Vegas. That's still well short of February 2013, when the market was nearly 60% cash buyers!
Bank Owned and short sales
The median price of bank owned homes in Las Vegas for January was $155,000. The median home price of short sales was $167,000. In January short sales took up 9.7% of market sales, while bank owned took up 9.4%.
Overview
A slight pullback during the winter months is to be expected. While 2014 had a total appreciation of 8%, the median home price in Las Vegas has essentially remained the same over the last 6 months or so. Distress sales are no longer dominating the market place, which is great news for long term stability for our real estate market. We should expect an increase in inventory and buyer activity as we move into the Spring season. That said, sellers often have less competition and more serious buyers during the winter months. Any price appreciation this year will probably be very gradual, especially when compared to the previous 24 months.