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Reno, Nevada, Luxury Prices Soar Amid General Housing Shortage

Other U.S. cities with frenzied price growth include Seattle, Naples, Florida, and San Bernardino, California

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A home in Reno, where luxury prices have surged, lists for $2.25 million.

SIERRA SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
A home in Reno, where luxury prices have surged, lists for $2.25 million.
SIERRA SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

Luxury housing in Reno, Nevada, is experiencing some of the fastest price growth in the U.S., as the city suffers from extremely limited housing stock, according to data released Thursday from Realtor.com.

The Reno metro area logged a 53.3% spike in the average sales price of a luxury home in February compared to the same time last year, the most recent sales data available through Realtor show. It offers one of the most extreme examples of the U.S. housing shortage, where even luxury development has failed to keep up with economic and population growth in some places.

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The average sales price of a luxury home in Reno, defined as the top 5% of the market, was $1.11 million compared to $724,375 last year. And sellers are finding buyers more quickly, with high-end homes selling 13% faster than a year ago, according to the data.

Average listing price, though a less reliable way to read the market, is also on the rise. In April, the average luxury home was listed for $2.6 million, a 13% increase since last year.

A jobs boom amid sluggish housing development has led to an inventory shortage in the desert city. Since 2015, Reno has added 30,000 jobs due, in part, to Tesla, Amazon and Switch moving to the city, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Other cities with superlative price growth—outside of vacation home markets—include Seattle, where the average sales price increased 14.2% in February compared to the same time last year; Naples, Florida, where the sales price jumped 13.4%; and Riverside-San Bernardino, California, where prices rose 12.9%, according to the data.

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"U.S. home prices are going up, up, up and luxury homes are no different," according to an analysis by Realtor.

Nationwide, luxury listing prices increased 4% in April over last year and sales are moving 2% faster. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. metro areas recorded listing price increases in the top 5% of their markets.