Even as the economy continued its recovery through year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s housing market enjoyed one of its best years in recent history in 2021. In the United States, home prices increased 18.8 percent in 2021, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case- Shiller Home Price Index, the metric’s highest annual growth rate in more than three decades. It was also nearly three times higher than the average annual appreciation rate over the previous decade – a breakneck pace that was also apparent in Nevada.

In Southern Nevada, median home price appreciation outpaced the rest of the nation, growing 23 percent annually to finish the year at a high of $385,000. In the new home market, the median sales price grew to $449,000, an all-time high that was 21.2 percent higher than 2020. In both home markets, the region’s annual price appreciation growth rate was the fastest since 2013 when the market was rebounding from the Great Recession home price collapse. The total number of homes sold in 2021 was the highest in a decade as nearly 58,240 existing homes and 11,370 new homes changed hands, respectively standing 36.4 percent and 15.6 percent higher than in 2020.

In Northern Nevada, home prices also moved up but at a slower pace compared to Southern Nevada. Over the year, the median existing home price rose 14.9 percent to $500,000, and the median new home price climbed 15.6 percent to $541,600. Prices in the region generally rose in the first half the year before plateauing in the second half. For existing homes, the median sales price peaked at $501,000 in September, while the median new home price peaked at $590,600 in October. During the year, a total of 8,410 existing homes sold, nearly 2.1 percent higher than in 2020. In the new home market, 2,470 home sales closed, 14.1 percent more than the previous year.

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