Home sales market off to mixed start in 2017

After a strong 2016, home sales in the valley started 2017 on a mixed note, with the quantity of homes sold down, but the average price up.

January saw 31 single-family residential units sold in Pahrump, a 6 percent drop from the 33 homes sold the same month in 2016, according to numbers released by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

Although lower than last year, since 2014, an average of 28 homes have sold in January, putting 2017’s number 11 percent ahead of the short-term average.

Despite the slight decrease in the volume of homes sold, the average price of a single-family residential unit increased. The average price a single-family unit sold for in January was $189,948, an almost 10 percent increase over January 2016’s $173,462.

The increase was driven by two large-ticket sales. On Jan. 10, a home on 8.9 acres on West Maple Road sold for $305,000, and a $330,000 home sold Jan. 3 on 1.2 acres on East Alfalfa Street.

The jump in the average price is out of the ordinary for the start of a year, according to GLVAR president David Tina.

“This is another example of the steady appreciation local homeowners have been enjoying over the past few years,” Tina said. “It’s good for our housing market and the economy when more homeowners are building equity in their homes.”

Kim Washington, owner of Access Realty, said that she agrees with Tina, as she’s noticed the price increase.

“Yes, I have noticed that (the increased home selling prices),” Washington said. “It’s because the market is really strong right now.”

With the steady gain in price, Tina explained that it should hold off what happened before the housing crash of 2008.

“Hopefully, these more gradual gains are more sustainable than the big price increases we saw right before and after the recession,” he said.

Washington concurred with Tina’s statement, noting there’s been a steady mix of buyers purchasing homes in town.

“There’s a lot of new owners coming in. There’s a lot of retirees buying as well as investors,” she said. “I think a lot more people feel confident about the market.”

Of those purchasing a home for the first time, Washington explained most of them are coming from over the hump, due to increased home prices there.

“A lot of the Vegas people that are coming out here are first-time buyers I’ve noticed,” she said.

Home sales in the valley have increased each year since 2014, with 2016 seeing 449 single-family residential units sold. That was the most homes sold in Pahrump in a single year since 2012’s 533 homes sold.

“I see that trend continuing this year,” Washington said.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.