Southern Nevada home prices tapering off after surge

Las Vegas home prices were flat in January, a not-unexpected slow start to the year.

The median sales price of previously owned single-family homes in Southern Nevada last month was $185,000, same as December but up 23 percent from January 2013, according to a new report from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

It’s the latest sign that used-home prices are tapering off after soaring roughly 25 percent last year, one of the fastest rates nationally, fueled by investor demand for cheap rental homes.

Prices dipped 1 percent in September as compared to August, marking the first time in almost two years that prices fell month to month, and then slipped another 1 percent in November from October.

Meanwhile, January is usually one of the slowest months of the year for Las Vegas home sales, according to GLVAR President Heidi Kasama.

“For the most part, I think these stable prices are an indication of a fairly healthy housing market,” she said in a news release.