Clark County 2021 Housing Prediction

Our Clark County real estate market is always evolving and changing. New laws, changes to regulations, technology, interest rates and housing trends are all factors which affect the market. Demographics, housing supply and interest rates are key pieces to continued growth.

Younger Buyers, First Time Buyers
As we look into 2021, we will see younger buyers play a larger role in our housing market. Many of these younger buyers are pooling their money and purchasing homes to avoid rising rents, and they have reached a point in life where living away from the urban core is desirable. Changes in work environments with many people slated to continue working from home has also increased demand for owning a home. As the prices increase, and interest rates go up many see now as the time to jump into the market. Increased prices create some barriers for first time buyers who haven’t entered the market yet. The price for first time entry housing in Clark County is now in the $300,000 to $375,000 price range, and there is a feeding frenzy at this price point.

Affordable Housing
The Portland/Vancouver metro area offers more affordable housing compared to other West Coast locations like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Yet in the last quarter of 2020, there were only 62 detached single family homes available that sold for under $300,000 compared to 189 during the 4th quarter of 2019. The lack of inventory and demand for houses in the entry price ranges limit the days a home in this price range stays on the market. The Days On Market (DOM) Q-4 2019 was an average of 32 days and only 21 days for Q-4 2020 (median DOM was 7).

Building Trends
Builders are listening and are working to increase affordable housing. While builders are expected to increase production for single-family homes by another 9% in 2021, the market will remain seller-friendly. According to a recent economic forecast, there are over 10,000 new units that are either build ready, or under construction in Clark County. These include Single Family Homes in all price ranges, Townhomes and Row Houses. Townhomes, Row Houses, are seeing a significant increase in construction permits. The Building Industry Association of Clark County (BIA) reports an increase of 66% in townhome permit issuance from 2019 to 2020 in Clark County. In 2019, the total number of permits issued was 62 whereas in 2020 the number of townhome permits was 103. While townhome permits rose, single-family home permit activity saw a slight dip of about 12.8% between 2019 and 2020.

Healthy Market
According to state economists, we can expect home sales in 2021 to surge another 7% and home prices to rise another 5.7% above 2020 during the first half of 2021. Overall, the housing market is healthy in Clark County. Even with the COVID-19, home sales have remained high and are predicted to stay the same in 2021.

Clark County Association of Realtors
WE ARE.
THE VOICE OF CLARK COUNTY REAL ESTATE.

Denice Neddo | 2021 President
Clark County Association of REALTORS
ccrealtors.com