Las Vegas Mirrors National Home Price Slowdown

A new report released by DataQuick revealed Las Vegas homes sold at the slowest pace in five years this January as median sale price dipped from the previous month. Home prices remained 22 percent higher than a year earlier, but mirroring a national trend, price growth has slowed.

In January, 3,232 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the Las Vegas metro area, down 15.1 percent from the month before and down 10.8 percent from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

January home sales were the lowest for that month since 2009.

The report notes that, “In recent months home sales have been constrained by a combination of factors, including higher prices and mortgage rates, a fussy mortgage market and the relatively low supply of homes on the market, especially in the lower price ranges. Some owners still can’t afford to sell their homes because they owe more than they are worth. Also, lenders aren’t foreclosing on as many properties, further limiting the supply of homes for sale.”

Relative cost of homes in the Las Vegas area also played a factor in the decline. Sales of homes priced below $100,000 dropped 45.3 percent from a year earlier, while houses priced under $200,000 fell 28.3 percent year-over-year, according to the report.

More expensive homes saw opposite trends, gaining ground on more affordable properties.

Homes priced for $200,000 or more saw sales rise 32.7 percent year-over-year.