Las Vegas Valley home listings top 10,000 for the first time in more than a decade as the median price holds at $485,000

What happened

The number of homes for sale in the Las Vegas Valley has passed 10,000, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The paper reported the figure using August sales data from David Brownell, president of Brownell Analytics. The data counted 10,344 homes for sale in the valley at the end of August.

The Review-Journal reported that the data show this is the first time since 2014 that more than 10,000 homes were on the market in the valley. Brownell also told the paper that before August, the last time listings passed 10,000 was in 2009, after the Great Recession. The two dates in the report do not match, but both place the current level at more than a decade.

A second count from Las Vegas Realtors

Las Vegas Realtors, using Multiple Listing Service data, put the total slightly lower. The group counted 10,304 single-family homes, condos and townhouses for sale in Southern Nevada at the end of August, the Review-Journal reported.

Demand is falling, but prices are not

Brownell told the Review-Journal that buyer activity may matter more than the rise in listings. "The bigger story may be what's happening on the demand side," he said. He said homes going under contract and new escrows have dropped for five months in a row.

Even so, prices have not moved. Brownell said the median single-family sales price ended August at $485,000. That matched the month before and the same point one year earlier.

A $60,000 gap between listing and sale prices

Brownell said there is now a $60,000 gap between the median price of homes currently listed and the median price of homes that actually sell. In other words, many sellers are asking more than what buyers are paying for the homes that close.

Why prices are holding up

Brownell gave the Review-Journal several reasons. He said some owners who do not get the response they hoped for are canceling their listings instead of cutting prices. New sellers keep listing homes, but those cancellations are keeping inventory from climbing even faster, he said.

Mortgage rates and the lock-in effect

The Review-Journal described a national "locking" effect in housing. Many owners bought or refinanced during the pandemic, when mortgage rates were very low. With rates now above 7 percent again, the paper reported, potential sellers are reluctant to give up those rates and also unwilling to lower prices and lose equity, while buyers have stayed selective.

Affluent and cash buyers shape the median

Brownell said the luxury segment has been somewhat shielded from these pressures. He said the buyers still active tend to be more affluent or paying all cash, which keeps the median price of homes that sell higher than the wider market may reflect. "That true impact remains hidden," he said.

A market in transition

Brownell said some parts of the valley are starting to see lower sales prices, not just lower asking prices. He described the industry as clearly in a transition period. "In short, the market is correcting through volume before price," he told the Review-Journal.

He said there are fewer buyers, fewer sales and more homes for sale, but not many owners who feel forced to sell. Until owners feel that financial pressure, he said, sales prices can stay resilient even as the rest of the market slows. More local housing coverage is on our real estate page, and we have also covered a new Southern Nevada coalition uniting the housing industry.

What to watch next

• Whether under-contract activity and new escrows keep declining after five straight months of drops, as Brownell described.
• Whether the $60,000 gap between median listed and median sold prices narrows.
• Whether the sales price declines Brownell said some valley areas are starting to see spread more widely.
• Whether more owners begin to feel financial pressure to sell, which Brownell said has so far been limited.