The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported home prices stayed on a steady path through November.
The median home price on existing single-family homes rested at $220,000 through November. That number is 8.9 percent over last year, when the same product was selling for $202,000.
“I can’t remember the last time our median home price stayed the same for four straight months,” said GLVAR President Keith Lynam, a longtime local realtor. “Local home prices have been so steady this year that we’re starting to run out of synonyms for stable.”
Lynam went on to say that local home prices and sales normally descend slightly during the holiday season and winter months, but if prices stay on a stable path through 2016, it wouldn’t surprise him. He also noted that local home prices resonate with national level home pricing, which shows a median price of $219,600 for existing single-family homes, according to the National Association of Realtors’ report on October numbers.
GLVAR reported a rise in median price in the local condominium and townhome market. The market saw a rise of 4.1 percent over November 2014 numbers—from $111,450 last year to $116,000 this year. These numbers include local high-rise product.
The local market as a whole – that’s homes, condos and townhomes — has moved only slightly fewer than through November of last year. There were 2,476 units moved this year, just short of last year’s 2,483. This equates to a 2.3 percent drop in home sales but a rise of 11.3 percent in the condo and townhouse market.
Lynam said local home sales are outpacing last year’s numbers in total.
GLVAR is also reporting a lower instance of distressed home sales and a rise in traditional sales types. Short sales are down to 7.1 percent from last year’s 9.6 percent. November sales included 6.7 percent in bank-owned property, which was also down from 8.7 percent last November.
Total sales volume was also up from last year — 7.3 percent for homes and 24.2 percent for condos and townhomes. There were $530 million in homes sales in November and $81 million for condos and townhomes.
Builders group ranks Nevada No. 17
Nevada came out as number 17 on the Associated Builders and Contractor new scorecard for comparing states on policies friendly to construction.
ABC launched “Building America: The Merit Shot Scorecard,” a tool that reviews and grades state-specific information for the purposes of identifying how state policies could affect the success of the commercial and industrial construction industry.
Nevada scored an “A” for implementing project labor agreements and right to work laws, but got an “F” for its handling of prevailing wages provisions. Nevada also scored poorly for workforce development incentives.
On a national comparison, Nevada is still equal to the average for workforce development. It also excelled in project labor agreements against the national average, along with career and technical education and 4-year average job growth rate at 7.2 percent. Nevada ranks 17th in the nation.
“The Merit Shop Scorecard will be a useful tool for lawmakers and industry stakeholders to explain how state policies affect the ability of contractors to conduct business and expand their operations,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC’s director of labor and federal procurement. “The scorecard highlights high-performing states that have enacted policies opposing anti-competitive schemes and restrictive, cost-inflating mandates while embracing fairness in the workplace. It also identifies low-performing states that have failed to foster environments where businesses can thrive, invest and create construction jobs in local communities.”
The scorecard grades on several areas including project labor agreements, prevailing wages and right-to-work policies along with construction job growth rates, a state’s commitment to developing a well-trained work force, level of flexibility in career and technical education curriculum and the use of public-private partnerships.
Some of the top-rated states include Arizona, Louisiana and Virginia. Some of the reasons given for their status given was high-performance in enacting PLA and prevailing wage and right-to-work policies that favored free enterprise. Low-ranking states such as New Mexico, Alaska and New York earned poor ratings on PLA policies and prevailing wage and right-to-work legislation, along with other categories. More information can be found on the scorecard website at meritshopscorecard.org.
Realtor association hires Eckles
Dan Eckles, former Sparks Tribune editor, was brought on board by the Nevada Association of Realtors as its communications, marketing and publishing specialist.
Eckles, who has 18 years of experience in the journalism and communication industries, is pegged to take over the organization’s internal and external communication and marketing initiatives, along with its newsletter and website. He is a graduate of the University of Idaho.
“Dan’s knowledge, abilities and experience make him uniquely qualified for this position,” said NVAR CEO Teresa McKee. “He’ll be a tremendous asset for NVAR and our members and we’re fortunate to have him.”
