Real Estate News 3 - Summit Properties

Las Vegas Home Prices June 2019

Many felt the meteoric rise in Las Vegas home prices would lead to a collapse, or at least a fall in prices. What we are seeing, however, is market stabilization.

The sales of existing single family homes in the Las Vegas Valley (Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson) for June 2019 has slipped a bit compared to recent years, but the market remains vibrant as the median sales price for the year has remained essentially unchanged. The market has been aided by low mortgage rates, as well as the continuing desire of Californians to escape unsustainable housing costs and the realization of retirees nation-wide that our low-tax state is a wonderful place to live. A resident in Chicago, for instance, may have to pay $7,000-10,000 per year in property taxes. Here, they may pay in the neighborhood of $1500-2000! That is a $5,000 improvement in life-style.

Plus, we are a growing vibrant community with new restaurants, parks, and entertainment options adding to our already exciting facilities. Downtown is busy with the construction of Stevens brothers’ magnificent Circa, which will set a new standard for the area. Resort World from the Genting Group continues its progress toward a late 2020 opening. The Drew, a huge Marriott hotel/convention property rising 60-plus stories above the Strip is slated to open in 2022. But it doesn’t end there! The MSG Sphere is a unique idea in entertainment venues, with high-resolution 360 degree LED screens and the most sophisticated sound system in the world.

The new stadium built in conjunction with the Oakland Raiders is over half complete. AEG Worldwide has just signed on to bring events to the stadium once completed. And we are experiencing new energy in revamped casinos such as the Sahara reverting to its original name and the Hard Rock slowly becoming a Virgin property. All of this revitalization beats the hell out of a stagnant neighborhood with declining appeal and rising taxes! Is it time for you to move to Las Vegas?

3 Things to Know in the Housing Market Today!

A lot is happening in the world, and it’s having a direct impact on the housing market. The reality is this: some of it is positive and some of it may be negative. Some we just don’t know yet.

The following three areas of the housing market are critical to understand: interest rates, building materials, and the outlook for an economic slowdown.

1. Interest Rates

One of the most important things to consider when buying a home is the interest rate you will be charged to borrow the money. In our recent post we posed the question, “Are Low Interest Rates Here To Stay?” The latest information from Freddie Mac makes it appear they are. We are currently at a 21-month low in interest rates.

2. Building Materials

Talk of tariffs could also affect the housing market. According to a recent article, the National Association of Home Builders reports that as much as $10 billion in goods imported from China are used in homebuilding. Depending on the outcome of the tariff and trade discussions between several countries, there could be as much as a 25% boost in the cost of building materials.

3. Economic Slowdown

In a prior blog post on this topic, we began the year with many economic leaders thinking we could expect a recession in late 2019 or early 2020. As spring approached, we reported that economists had started to push that projection past 2020. Now, three leading surveys indicate that it may begin in the next eighteen months.

Bottom Line

We are in a strong housing market. Wages are increasing, home prices are appreciating, and mortgage rates are the lowest they have been in 21 months. Whether you are thinking of buying or selling, it’s a great time to be in the market.

Do You Know How Much Your Home Has Increased in Value?

February 1, 2019
Evans Small
Real Estate News

Last year we saw headlines about a possible housing market bubble, and many wondered if Americans still felt confident about the value of their homes. Recently, the 2018 Houzz & Home Study revealed:

“Homeowners with mortgages have seen their home equity more than double since 2011, increasing to a record-setting $8.3 trillion in 2017.”

The average homeowner gained $16,200 in home equity between Q2 2017 and Q2 2018 according to the latest release of CoreLogic’s Home Equity Report.

Since 2011 home values have increased significantly throughout the country, with prices rising by 5.1% in 2018 alone. When surveyed, homeowners revealed the top four reasons why they felt their homes had increased in value.

Desirable Location
Improved National Economy
Improved Local Economy
Low Home Inventory in My Area

As we can see, not only does the data show that the homes have appreciated, but homeowners also believe they know why. Many have taken advantage of the opportunity to use their newly found equity to sell their current house and move up to their dream home!

2019 will be a good year for the homeowners that still want to take advantage of their home equity! CoreLogic forecasts that home prices will increase by 4.8% by the end of the year.

Bottom Line

If you are a homeowner who would like to find out your current home value, let’s get together to discuss the hidden opportunities in your home!

Las Vegas Resale Home Sales in 2018 – What is 2019 Going to Look Like?

Sticker Shock! Mortgage Rates! Lack of Inventory! These three issues contributed to a slowing in the number of sales of existing single family homes in Las Vegas in 2018.

Sticker shock comes with the ever increasing prices sellers are asking for their homes. That issue is in the process of being resolved as inventory grows, allowing buyers more options. We also saw a flattening of the Median Sales Price in 2018. It rose only a little over 1% from May through December. Many buyers are pausing to see if prices will decline. With an increasing population and solid employment in the valley, that is not likely, but neither can prices continue to increase at such a rate. The Median Price rose 26.8% from $235,000 in December 2016 to $298,000 in December 2018. That is not a sustainable rate of growth.

As for mortgage rates, they rose about one-half percent in 2018 as the Federal Reserve increased its rates three times. For a person with a $250,000 loan, that adds about $75 per month to their mortgage payment. Thus, houses become less affordable. It is predicted that the Federal Reserve will increase rates through 2019, but that depends on the overall economy. Mortgage rates certainly will NOT decline, so they will continue to be a factor slowing sales. For us older folks, it is difficult to imageine buyers thinking 4.5% interest is HIGH, when we remember rates of 7% being celebrated as reasonable in the early 2000’s and rates in double digits in the late 1970’s and 1980’s.

Finally, inventory has been tight. Through August of 2018, inventory hovered under a two-month supply. That caused buyers to match or exceed list price in their offers on many occasions. Those days are over! Since September, sales have slowed considerably. In fact December 2018 sales were 19% below December of 2017. Buyers have hit the pause button. Inventory of homes not under contract currently available is right around 7,000 today, so we now have over a three month supply of homes. Another good sign for buyers is price decreases of existing unsold listings almost equal the number of new listings. The market is correcting.

New home sales continue to outpace the year before. According to an article written by Eli Segall in the Las Vegas Review Journal on January 25, 2019, 2018 NEW home sales, including single family homes, townhomes and condominius, totaled 10,669 with a median price of $396,994. Although 10,000 new home sales is very good when compared to the recent past, it is far short of 2005 when 10,000 new homes sold in the 3rd Quarter! The median price for new homes did rise 7% from 2017. We expect that to stay level as sales of more affordable product such as condominiums increase in 2019.

So what lies ahead for Las Vegas home sales in 2019? REALTOR.com projects Las Vegas prices will rise over 8% in 2019, and volume will inch up over 2018 (a year in which sales went DOWN 7.4% from 2017). That may be true if you include new homes, condos and townhouses, but I see a much smaller increase in the median price for resale homes, as interest rates and affordability have started to curb buying power in a valley not known as a high wage center. I predict fewer homes sold in 2019 with a median price that inches up at a much slower pace.

Category: Real Estate News

Las Vegas Home Prices June 2019