NVAR survey shows more optimism in Nevada’s housing market

The housing market in Nevada continues to improve and is in better shape today than it was two years ago.

So says a recent survey of nearly 600 REALTORS^® from throughout the state conducted by the statewide Nevada Association of REALTORS^®(NVAR).

In its most recent survey of its members, conducted via an online survey between March 22 and March 31, NVAR found that 71 percent of the 596 respondents said they believe the local housing market “got better over the past year.” That’s up from 65 percent of all Nevada REALTORS^® who reported feeling that way when answering the same question about their local housing market in NVAR’s 2015 survey.

“This is more evidence that our members are increasingly optimistic about the housing market here in Nevada,” said NVAR President Greg Martin. “In fact, the percentage of REALTORS^® who believe the housing market where they live and work is getting better was fairly consistent throughout the state, from Reno to Las Vegas and everywhere in between.”

Martin, a longtime REALTOR^® who lives and works in Elko, said these results are consistent with his experience, and with similar research. For example, he cited a survey released in March by UNLV’s Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies in partnership with the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS^® (GLVAR). It found that more than nine out of 10 REALTORS^® in Southern Nevada expect local home prices to keep going up in the next year.

Each quarter, Lied Institute researchers survey a select group of 31 of GLVAR’s leading real estate brokers about their expectations for home prices, sales and construction over the next quarter and next year. When asked where they thought local home prices were going in the next year, more than 90 percent of those who responded said they expected prices to go up. Less than 10 percent expected prices to stay about the same. None of the Southern Nevada REALTORS^® who responded to the survey expected prices to go down over the course of the next year.

GLVAR officials said its first quarter 2017 results showed the highest level of overall confidence in the local housing market since it launched the quarterly survey in early 2016.

Like optimism among REALTORS^®, home prices have been increasing in Nevada, with GLVAR reporting median single-family home prices rising by about 10 percent over the past year.

Likewise, the Reno-Sparks Association of REALTORS^® (RSAR) recently reported that median single-family home prices in Northern Nevada have increased by about 8 percent over the past 12 months.