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New-home sales, prices and construction are up in Sin City, but questions remain about a sustained recovery

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Sales of new homes in LAs Vegas are up 12.7%.

Mitchell Funk / Getty Images
Sales of new homes in LAs Vegas are up 12.7%.
Mitchell Funk / Getty Images

Is it time for buyers to bet on Las Vegas again? Vegas Inc reports on a new study by the Vegas-based Home Builders Research that finds growth in the region’s new-home sales, median sales price and new-home construction. Builders sold 636 new homes in Southern Nevada last month, bringing the year’s total through August to 4,212, up 12.7 percent from the same time last year, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research.

The median sales price of last month’s closings was $305,047, up 5.3 percent from a year earlier. Builders also pulled 696 permits in August, putting the year’s tally at 5,506, up 17 percent from the same period in 2014, [company founder Dennis] Smith reported.

Despite the gains, questions linger about Sin City’s road to recovery. As of July, Las Vegas was tied with Memphis and Detroit for the second-highest unemployment rate (7%) in the country. In August, the city ranked eighth in the nation for the number of foreclosure-related filings. Furthermore, 25% of Southern Nevada homes hold mortgage debt that outweighs the home’s value. True to the city’s spirit, investment options may remain a gamble. [Vegas Inc]