Inventory flooding Las Vegas Valley’s home market with no buyers in sight: Zillow

Residential real estate inventory on the market has increased a massive 44.5 percent in the Las Vegas Valley in March compared to the same month last year, according to a new report from Zillow.

According to Zillow’s market report for sales ending in March, new listings are flooding the country’s real estate market, driving up inventory, and Kara Ng, a senior economist with the company, said Las Vegas is one of the cities leading the trend.

“What’s happening nationally is playing out similarly but more prominently in Las Vegas,” she said. “Sellers are listing their homes at far greater rates than last year, but buyers are not absorbing those homes at the same rate. This has left more homes lingering on the market. However, while Las Vegas inventory is up almost 45 percent over the year, it’s still about 20 percent lower than pre-pandemic norms.”

Inventory across the country is up 19 percent (which means the Las Vegas Valley is 25 percent higher than the national average regarding this metric) from the end of March 2024 to the end of March this year, which puts the total number of homes on the market for sale at 1.15 million. This is the most real estate on the market in the country since March 2020 during the start of the pandemic.

Home values rose 0.2 percent from February of this year, according to the report, and are up 3.3 percent from March of last year, which puts the average home price at $433,664 (the typical house in the country costs $359,741). Sellers of homes in the valley cut prices on 27.1 percent of listings, up from 19.8 percent last year at this time while new listings have increased 17.9 percent compared to last year.

Ng said Las Vegas is one of the leading cities when it comes to the trend of rising listings along with rising prices. Home values increased in 41 of the 50 biggest metro areas in the country month over month ending in March, with San Jose, California leading the way (1.3 percent), followed by Milwaukee (0.9 percent) and San Francisco (0.9 percent). Home values across the country only fell in five metros, led by Miami (0.4 percent) and Tampa Bay, Florida (0.3 percent).

“Home values in Las Vegas have risen significantly. Affordability is a hurdle, especially for first-time buyers who are relying on savings alone, and turbulence in the stock market could push down payments out of reach,” she said. “These headwinds may be capping the pool of financially ready buyers. Sellers, on the other hand, are typically more financially stable and have the benefit of home equity to put toward their next purchase. Together these forces are leading to the accumulation and normalization of inventory.”

A report from Clever Real Estate found that last year homes in the valley were sitting longer on the market (44 days) than the national average, and a recent UNLV study also found that the valley has been underbuilding homes for approximately 15 years compared to pre-Great Recession norms.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.