August was a solid month for residential real estate in Clark County. There were nearly 900 closings on single family and condo units. This does not include private sales or bare land. 890 units is a fair bit of volume that hearkens back to the pre-recession boom.
The market has been labeled by most analysts as warm yet the volume seems hot. That is only part of the story. When the market was really hot a couple of years ago the 'heat' was driven more by a lack of inventory than a straight rush of buyers. We were closing only 600-700 deals a month in an environment that was producing double digit year over year price growth. Right now inventory has risen faster than the pool of buyers but remains slightly in favor of sellers until you get well into luxury territory. The higher levels of inventory means more buyers can get a house and that has proven out in the sale numbers published by the MLS.
These market conditions are ideal actually for a sustainable level of growth. Year over year market price appreciation is settling in at near 50 year norms and middle single digits for the most part. This is a perfect scenario of price and value. Buyers can take a little extra time to get what the want and sellers can still count on a decent return on their investment. It is almost real estate nirvana.
Clark County did see a drop in the median price earlier in the summer for the first time in years, but that was as much about the rush of buyers at the entry price ranges as any real price softening. A house that sold last year for $400k is likely worth a little bit more this year. Overall the median price has been a bit flat but again that is driven by activity at the bottom of the range far exceeding activity at the top.
A bit part of the bottom price activity can be attributed to the recent dip in interest rates allowing buyers that were priced out of the local market last year to get a second chance this year. Judging by the numbers, they took advantage.
This is a fabulous real estate market that is very near neutral conditions with sellers holding a slight advantage at the median price point. Sub median prices are still a strong sellers market. At 150% of median it transitions to a buyers market.
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