Las Vegas Realtors are reporting this week that 2021 was a record year for sales of existing homes in Southern Nevada, with more than 50,000 properties changing hands despite rapidly rising prices and a tight housing supply.

LVR reported that the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada during December was $425,000. The median home price is up 23.2% from $345,000 one year ago. That tops the record high set in November 2021.

The median price of local condos and townhomes sold in December was $242,000. That also breaks the all-time record set the previous month and is up 30.1% from $186,000 in December of 2020.

LVR President Brandon Roberts said the sales record is impressive given these unprecedented market conditions.

"It's remarkable, especially considering this record was set during a pandemic, when local home prices have never been higher and the housing supply has rarely if ever been lower," Roberts said.

According to LVR, the total number of existing local homes, condos, townhomes and other residential properties sold in Southern Nevada during 2021 was 50,010. That was the first time the association reported more than 50,000 properties changing hands in a year and topped the previous record set in 2011 by nearly 2,000 sales. By comparison, LVR reported 41,155 total sales during 2020.

The year ended with a shrinking local housing supply and with homes continuing to sell faster than during past years. The current sales pace equates to less than a one-month supply of properties available for sale, Roberts said.

By the end of December, LVR reported 2,251 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That's down 30.5% from the same time last year. The 387 condos and townhomes listed without offers in December represent a 66.4% decrease from one year earlier.

LVR reported a total of 4,005 existing local homes, condos and townhomes sold in December. Compared to one year ago, December sales were down 3.8% for homes, but up 4.4% for condos and townhomes. Roberts expects sales to stay strong in 2022 and agrees with national experts who have been forecasting "an unseasonably warm winter," but likely a more stable year, for the housing market.

Luxury homes continue to outperform the overall market, with 2021 easily breaking the all-time record for sales of local homes priced over $1 million - more than doubling the number of such homes sold during 2020.

It has now been nearly a decade since the local housing market hit its post-recession bottom. Roberts noted the median single-family home price has now increased by more than $300,000 from its low point of $118,000 in January of 2012.

During December, LVR reported that 27.9% of all local property sales were purchased with cash. That's up from 20.2% one year ago. While that percentage increased over the past year, it's still below the March 2013 cash buyer peak of 59.5%.

Aided by government-imposed restrictions on evictions and foreclosures during the ongoing pandemic, the number of so-called distressed sales remains near historically low levels. LVR reported that short sales and foreclosures combined accounted for just 0.4% of all existing local property sales in December. That compares to 0.9% of all sales one year ago, 1.8% of all sales two years ago, 2.9% three years ago and 3.6% four years ago.

These LVR statistics include activity through the end of December 2021. LVR distributes statistics each month based on data collected through its MLS, which does not account for all newly constructed homes sold by local builders or homes for sale by owners.

Other market highlights include:

The total value of local real estate transactions tracked through the MLS during December was more than $1.6 billion for homes and more than $221 million for condos, high-rise condos and townhomes. Compared to one year ago, total sales values in December were up 9.2% for homes and up 38.5% for condos and townhomes.

Homes have been selling faster than in previous years. In December, 90.2% of all existing local homes and 90.6% of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days. That compares to one year ago, when 84.3% of all existing local homes and 77.1% of all existing local condos and townhomes sold within 60 days.

Residential News » Las Vegas Edition | By Michael Gerrity | January 11, 2022.