HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
NEVADA HOUSING SPOTLIGHT
“The market is pretty robust right now and
people are itching to buy in that $250,000 price range. They’re selling like hotcakes right now in Vegas.”
PAUL MAY BROKER WITH KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY SOUTHWEST, LAS VEGAS
like hotcakes right now in Vegas,” May said. “The inventory being low is keeping the prices strong.” For August 2017, ATTOM reported a median sales price in Las Vegas of $235,000, a 13.5 percent increase from a year earlier, but down 1 percent from the previous month — the sixth consecutive month with a double-digit increase in home prices. Those rapidly increasing home prices are making it tougher to find cash flowing rentals, according to investor Schurr with WeBuyHouses.com.“If we get anything under a certain price level we will hold them for rentals,” he said. Rents are increasing. If you can get a super low price then you have to hold them.” Schurr’s biggest concern at the moment is the city’s new law against rentals for less than 30 days, such as in the case of Airbnb properties. Due
to public concerns over “party houses”, the new law requires the homeowner to have a special use permit from the city, proof of $500,000 of liability insurance and placards outside with the owner’s contact information and maximum allowed occupancy. Jobs, Population Growth Lifting All Boats According to the Census Bureau, in December 2016 Nevada was one of the fastest-growing states in the nation in terms of population growth at 1.95 percent behind only Utah for the fastest population growth percentage. Two counties — Clark and Washoe — account for approximately 90 percent of the state’s population as well as 90 percent of its housing stock. As of September 2017 the state unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, a substantial decline from its peak 7 years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While these factors will help shape future economic growth, UNLV economics professor Stephen Miller believes it is too early to tell whether the Trump administration’s economic policies will have any significant impact either locally or statewide. “The current economy largely reflects going back over several years,” said Miller, director of the CBER, noting it’s also too early to fully gauge the impact of the mass shooting in October during the outdoor concert at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. “So far the evidence is anecdotal. Some cancellations have occurred immediately after the event. The data will give us an answer in several months.”
25
NOVEMBER 2017 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter