Home sales have shown an upward trend in August, a trend that looks set to continue in the months ahead. Recent reports also show that local housing supply remains tight, with less than a three-month supply of homes available for sale.

According to data collected by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, the median price of single-family homes sold in August was up almost 7 percent in the last year, rising from $220,000 to $235,000.

Local condominiums and townhouses (including high-rise condominiums, too, show an increase. Their average cost has risen by almost 4.5 percent from $110,000 to a high of $115,000.

As the GLVAR president, Scott Beaudry, has stated:

“It’s good to see that we sold more homes last month than we did during the previous month and year, even with this persistently tight inventory we’ve been dealing with this year. As for home prices, we’re starting to see a more normal rate of appreciation, where prices are going up more gradually, as opposed to the double-digit increases we’ve seen the last few years.”

Let’s look at the some of the main statistics from this month’s data:

• The number of local homes, condominiums, and townhomes sold in August was almost 3,800, up from 3,450 one year ago.
• Almost 9 percent more homes were sold in August compared to the same time last year.
• Almost 15 percent more condominiums and townhomes were sold in August compared to the same month last year.

However, the data also shows that southern Nevada has a tighter availability of homes. For instance, there is less than three-month’s supply of homes available for purchase (for comparative purposes, a six-month supply is considered essential for a balanced market).

The GLVAR also report that close to 26 percent of local properties sold during August 2016 were purchased with cash, a drop from over 28 percent from the same time last year. This is a drop from a high of almost 60 percent of cash purchases in February 2013.

The GLVAR predicts that this trend is likely to continue, with less cash purchases and a tighter supply of available homes in southern Nevada. Home prices will continue to rise against the backdrop of a slow recovery from the recent recession.

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