Lack of Inventory Drives Down Sales Numbers

Yet more evidence that Las Vegas home prices are being driven up not by above average demand, but by below average supply.  Nationwide, home sales rose in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units.  While this is seen as a sign that the broader housing market is starting to shows signs of a sustained recovery, it is well below the 700,000 unit mark, which is what most economists point to as a “healthy” sales rate.  Those 417,000 units though do represent a 1.5% increase nationally from the previous month and a 18.5% increase from the same month last year.

Las Vegas, however, is not leading the way.  In fact, Las Vegas sales data is dragging the rest of the nation down.  Although data was not available in the report I read for only Clark County, data for the Western United States showed sales falling 20.9%.  In the report, this was attributed to problems of supply.  These figures and more like them lead us to again speculate on whether or not the run up of home prices in the Las Vegas valley is a sustainable phenomenon.