August 2023 Real Estate Market and Housing Statistics – Las Vegas
I was a little slow this month getting this up. Two new pups reset my sleep schedule but are finally settling in. Without further ado:
Las Vegas Housing Market
Median Single Family Home Price: $447,435
Down from 450,000 a year ago (-0.6%).
Down from 450,000 a month ago (-0.6%).
Median Condo/Townhouse Price: $287,000
Up from 264,900 a year ago (+8.3%)
Up from 273,500 a month ago (+4.9%)
Number of New Single Family Home Listings: 2,641
Up 12.2% from a month ago.
Down -34.1% from a year ago.
Number of New Condo/Townhome Listings: 724
Up 4.6% from a month ago
Down -26% from a year ago.
Single Family Homes without offers at end of period: 3,881
Up 10.1% from a month ago
Down -51.5% from a year ago.
Units Sold this Period: 2,009
Down -1.6% from a month ago
Up 0.3% from a year ago
69.8% of all single-family homes sold within the first 30 days.
Up from 68.7% a month ago
Down from 71.7% a year ago
Months of Inventory Available:
Single-family homes: 1.9 months
Condos/Townhouses: 1.5 months
(Data provided by Applied Analysis a partner of the Las Vegas Realtors Association)
Takeaways:
Inventory went up! A smidge. This explains the slight price pullback of roughly 2,500 this month. Townhomes and Condos seem to be the more realistic option for many first-time buyers as the median price is now at a record high of 287k.
This is a trend that has been common in many other major cities in both the United States and abroad. Once housing becomes less affordable, people gravitate toward smaller square footage properties simply because that is what is within reach. If you are sitting on the fence about affordability, there is a chance that everything continues to become less affordable. I see the landscape for first time buyers changing to condos and townhomes as their entry into housing. Also, multi-gen housing will continue to be in high demand. These are houses with separate living quarters that a parent can live in thus allowing for a potential of at least 3 incomes for one house. House hacking like this may be a requirement in the future.
If I haven’t made myself clear, I am GLOOMY on the future of real estate affordability and believe we are going the way of many European countries. Google housing crises in Europe. Here is a link to an article from May. I have a large amount of family in Ireland and have seen firsthand the issues they face over there. I continue to see trends that make me believe we are headed that way in the US and Vegas.
The single-family home market is also showing a common pattern of prices jumping up followed by a small pullback. To me, this indicates buyers sitting on the sidelines, rushing if they see the right fit, and going back to the sidelines if they can’t find what they want. There are plenty of buyers lying in wait for rates to drop or for the market to decrease.
Does all this mean it is a good or bad time to buy? It certainly doesn’t mean good but it could well mean that the future could be an even worse time to buy. A lot of people could be priced out of the market for years if prices start to go up any more and rates don’t look like dropping any time soon.
New home sales continue to provide incentives for closing costs and rate buydowns, sometimes covering both depending upon the builder. Helps to have a Realtor with you on your first visit in order to have them negotiate for items you didn’t think were on the menu.
