Home values are gaining momentum nationwide, and perhaps nowhere quite like the Las Vegas real estate market. In May, the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed Las Vegas home values increasing 23-percent from a year earlier. And more recently, Zillow reported a 30.8-percent year-over-year increase in July.
In some cases, the gains are even greater. A Bloomberg story recently reported on a five-bedroom house on a half-acre lot about 12 miles north of the Strip that sold in mid-July for $499,000, double the price it went for three months ago.
“The markets where you see wild swings in prices are destination spots, warm places where people want to vacation, like Las Vegas and Phoenix,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of data firm RealtyTrac.
Home prices aren’t the only thing on the rise. Home construction in Las Vegas is also picking up. In Clark County, new home permits are up 68 percent from six months ago.
“We’re seeing a real surge, and probably more than we thought we were going to see,” said Rocky Cochran, president of Southern Nevada Home Builders Association.
Photo: 26 Vintage Ct., Las Vegas
