The number of single-family residence permits in Mesquite had 30 issued last month vs 35 permits last year.  The dollar volume is higher however. Sun City Mesquite took out 14 permits for new homes compared to 26 in March 2018. Nevada Residential Construction was issued seven permits (Boulder Heights-The Reserve-Hilltop Townhomes) while Catamount Development, Jackson Contracting and two private builders were issued permits. One permit each were issued to Leishman Construction, Davis Construction, and View Point Contractors.

1. Prices won’t skyrocket.
The last few years have seen massive jumps in home prices, especially during the busy spring buying season. This year price growth is likely to slow down a bit in most markets. We may see higher prices at the height of the buying season, but they’re unlikely to be drastically higher than those seen at the end of 2018.

2. Year-over-year inventory will likely remain stagnant.
Because mortgage rates are rising, many homeowners are staying put. New home construction continues to grow, but it still lags behind buyer demand. This means we are unlikely to see an increase in listings from previous years. 

3. Bidding wars will lessen.
The days of sight-unseen offers and heated bidding wars are mostly over. Except for a few hotter markets, most buyers will enjoy a slower-paced market and a little more leverage than in years past. 

4. Sellers might have to make some concessions.
As mortgage rates rise, fewer buyers are looking to get in on the market, and that means sellers will need to do more to get their attention. This could mean more concessions and more room for negotiations.

Having a knowledgeable agent on your side is crucial to effectively navigating 2019’s changing housing market. If you’re considering buying or selling this year, get in touch today for personalized advice and guidance.

The median sales price for existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada in January was $300,000, according to a report released today by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. That’s up 13.2 percent from $265,000 in January 2018.  “Just when you thought these double-digit increases might become a thing of the past, it’s interesting to see the median home price go back up again,” GLVAR President Janet Carpenter said.  The median sales price of condos and townhomes in January was $170,000, or up 13.4 percent from last January.  The spike in sales prices is encouraging because January is traditionally one of the slow months in the Las Vegas housing market, Carpenter said.
Other highlights from January’s report include:
• Cash transactions accounted for 24.9 percent of purchases. That’s significantly below the 59.5 of cash buyers in February 2013 at the height of the recession, signaling investors are still active in the market but playing a smaller role.
• Homes and condos are selling at a slower pace, with 72 percent of existing local homes and 71.2 percent of existing condos selling within 60 days. One year ago, 76.8 percent of homes and 83.1 percent of condos sold within 60 days.

The Drought Contingency Plan calls for Nevada, Arizona and, eventually, California to voluntarily reduce their use of the river to leave more water in Lake Mead. Arizona would give up 192,000 acre-feet of water, and Nevada would give up 8,000 acre-feet under the first round of annual cuts. California would join in the reductions for the first time, surrendering 200,000 acre-feet of water a year, should Lake Mead drop another 40 feet from where it is now. Thursday’s update came amid more bad news for the iver.  According to federal projections released this week, Lake Mead is expected to drop 16 feet over the next year. That would trigger a first shortage declaration and require Nevada and Arizona to reduce their annual river use by 13,000 acre-feet and 320,000 acre-feet respectively — cuts that would come on top of the voluntary ones now being discussed as part of the drought plan. Worse yet for Lake Mead, California’s largest municipal water agency has announced plans to start withdrawing some of the water it has stored in the reservoir to prevent it from being locked away in the now-likely event of a shortage.  The drought contingency plan would loosen some of the restrictions on water bank withdrawals from Lake Mead during shortage. But in the absence of a finished drought plan, Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said his agency could not afford to leave up to 600,000 acre-feet of reserves stuck in the lake.  Entsminger said removing all that water could cause an additional 8-foot drop in Lake Mead. But he can’t blame his Southern California counterpart for threatening to do so.

• Mesquite Population in 2018 is 22,557 a 8.25% increase from 2017.  Sun City now has 1,519 Homes. 
• Mesquite is the fastest growing and safest city in Nevada
• Mesquite issued 341 permits for single family homes in 2018 vs 329 permits in 2017.  
• Sun City will roll out a few new neighborhoods in the next few years. Horseshoe Ridge is a smaller village of around 80 homes.  Crimson Ridge is the big one at 245 Lots.  This is just above Split rail.  FYI......Sun City averages about 12 new builds per month.
• Deep Roots contributes over $700K in Tax revenue to the City of Mesquite.  They have 95 employees.
• The RV Center that was supposed to come is being postponed due to a company restructure.  They still own the land but have no plans to develop currently.
• No new business or restaurants that the City officials know about.