Las Vegas used-home prices are rising, which is good news for the real estate market.
The median sales price for a single-family home last month in Southern Nevada was $205,000. That’s up 2.5 percent from $200,000 in January, according to a report from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.
“These slight variations in median sales price reinforce what we’ve been saying for months,” said GLVAR President Keith Lynam. “We’re in a stable housing market, which is a good thing.”
But, Lynam says he's concerned homeowners are setting their asking prices too high, which is translating into more overpriced listings on the market that go unsold for months.
"If you are not getting people to come in and see your house, it's price," Lynam told KNPR's State of Nevada on Thursday. "If you are getting people to come in and they are not making an offer, it's probably price."
So what does that mean? Lynam said it 7,313 single-family homes are for sale without offers, down 1 percent from January but up 16 percent from February 2014.
"That is the trend that is disturbing to me," he said. "And I don't want this to go unsaid, I blame the realtors as much as I blame the homeowner. It's the realtor that needs to be the trusted advisor and counsel the homeowner on what the exact price should be."
Lynam added that the double-digit percentage of overpriced listings may be holding back the local housing market.
“We’d like to see more Nevada homeowners realistically pricing their homes at fair market value,” Lynam said. “One of our challenges lately is too many would-be sellers have been watching home prices go up for the past few years and are now asking too much for their homes.”
Lynam said there was a need to educate Southern Nevada homeowners and real estate agents about how to make sure homes are being listed at realistic prices.
According to GLVAR, the total number of homes, condominiums and townhomes sold in February was 2,452, down from 2,518. Lynam said Southern Nevada has about a four-month supply of avialble homes, while a six-month supply is considered to be a balanced market.
Keith Lynam, president, Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors