Home prices across the country are growing at their lowest rate since July 2024, but the Las Vegas Valley saw a jump in prices, according to a new report from Redfin.
Redfin’s home price index for the Las Vegas Valley jumped 0.85 percent for the month of February, the biggest increase month over month since at least October of last year. However, the national trend shows overall price growth across the country slowing as eight of the 50 most populous U.S. metros — nearly all in Florida and Texas — recorded a drop in home prices year over year up through the end of February, led by Tampa (-6%).
Nationally, this was the 10th consecutive month that annual growth for residential real estate in the country has slowed, but Cheryl Van Elsis, a local Realtor for Redfin, said she doesn’t think our market has reached it’s peak yet.
“I believe we’ll continue to see home prices rise slightly while we still have so many people moving in here,” said Van Elsis. “One of the things I’m taking into consideration is that overall our home prices are still way below California, which is experiencing a lack of inventory, and a several-year recovery for all of the people who lost their homes in the recent fires.”
Van Elsis said talk of movie studios plus sports and entertainment expansion plans continue to drive interest in Summerlin where she focuses her business.
“We already have a high net population of professional performers and athletes who live in the valley, and I only see that increasing,” she added.
While home prices continue to rise nationally, Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari said year-over-year growth has slowed, dropping from 7.5 percent in April 2024 to 5.1 percent in February of this year.
“There’s some good news for both buyers and sellers as we enter the spring homebuying season. The recent decline in mortgage rates and slowing price growth is bringing more home hunters off the sidelines, an encouraging sign for potential sellers,” he said.
Redfin has the average 30-year fixed term mortgage rate in the U.S. at 6.6 percent, down from a recent high of 7.2 percent in the middle of January. Bokhari said some markets, such as Florida and Texas, have already turned around, which could signal a bellwether for the rest of the country.
“At the same time, some areas of the country have turned into fully fledged buyer’s markets, where homes are sitting longer and people are able to negotiate a good deal under the list price,” he said. “That’s particularly the case in several Florida and Texas markets where the number of homes on the market has ballooned and prices are now starting to fall,” he said.
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
