Las Vegas home inventory reaches highest level in 4 years

Local real estate agent Forrest Barbee says inventory has returned to levels last seen in October 2022, when home prices fell for several months. The Las Vegas Valley housing market has reached its highest level of inventory in four years, with about 6.2 months of homes available for sale as of early October, according to Barbee, who tracks the market through the Multiple Listing Service.

Barbee said the last time inventory reached that level was October 2022, when home prices fell for several months. He added, “Prices dropped sharply for several months then and beginning to drop some now.” In the first quarter of 2023 demand bounced back even as supply was unable to catch up, then prices increased and months of inventory dropped.

The growing supply of homes suggests buyers have more options, but market conditions vary significantly across the valley. In Lake Las Vegas, homes are taking an average of 108 days to sell, while properties in The Ridges are averaging 185 days on the market, according to Barbee’s data. In Anthem, the average is just 24 days. Months of inventory vary widely by community with some areas only having three months of inventory on the low end and 38 months of inventory on the high end.

The question now is whether the market will continue to soften and, if so, how far prices could fall. Barbee said, “The question right now is how far will demand and prices drop during the fourth quarter of 2026 and potentially the first quarter of 2027.” Both fourth quarters, 2022 and 2026, are mid-term election seasons with challenging economics.

Home prices in Southern Nevada remain close to record highs, however appear to be on a downward trend, according to September data from the Las Vegas Realtors. The median sale price for a single-family house in Southern Nevada in September was $470,000, which is down from the all-time record high of $490,000 set in June, according to LVR, which pulls its data from the Multiple Listing Service. George Kypreos, then president of LVR said previously that recently “rising mortgage rates are playing a bigger role in the housing market.” Mortgage rates at over 7 percent have made homeownership more expensive, while many homeowners have been reluctant to sell and give up the lower mortgage rates they secured in previous years. That combination has constrained both buyers and sellers.

Barbee said the luxury market remains a relative bright spot, although even that segment showed signs of cooling in September. He noted, “The gap between the average and median sales price closed a little this month as the luxury sales slipped in closings and average sales price.” Prices trended lower in general. The luxury market still led the September closings with 148 closings above $1 million, including 14 above $3 million.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal