LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's your worst nightmare if you're a homebuyer looking for house in the Las Vegas Valley — a last-minute cash offer that swoops in to ruin your plans.
It's not a rare occurrence in Southern Nevada, where a limited supply of homes and a relentless supply of shoppers from neighboring California combine to make a reality that can be cold for locals.
David Lee, a real estate broker and owner of Painted Desert Realty, is overseeing the sale of a home in Centennial Hills right now. It's on Painted Lakes Way and it's listed for $685,000.
"We've had this on the market for four days," Lee said on Friday. "I've had two calls and they've both been California cash buyers."
Recently, Lee had a local who successfully purchased the home they were trying to get, though they had to increase their offer at the last minute because of a California cash offer.
There's a lot of factors that lead to this trend. First, there's a lot of money in California and, lately, more and more people who want to leave the state, for various reasons.
There's also the reality of the cost of real estate in the Golden State. Consider: the median price for a home in Southern Nevada, according to the Las Vegas Realtors trade group, is now $445,000 while the median price for a home in the Los Angeles metro area, according to the California Association of Realtors, is $750,000. It's easy to see how a homeowner could cash out in SoCal and have the money to put down on a home in Southern Nevada.
It's nothing new, of course, but it's also not something that is likely to end soon.
"It's always happened but because cash is king right now, [California buyers] are able to take advantage of the Vegas market a little bit better right now," Lee said.
Merri Perry, a longtime local realtor and the president of the Las Vegas Realtors trade group, says Las Vegas is also a desired destination.
"We have everything out here now," Perry said. "We have the NHL. We have basketball. We have the Raiders. We have NASCAR. Who would not want to be in Las Vegas now?"
Perry noted that about one-third of homebuyers in the Las Vegas Valley now come from California.
But the trend is not ideal for many locals looking to buy a home here. That's because the out-of-state shoppers help to drive prices up.
"It does suck for locals," says Michael Cassano, a loan consultant with New American Funding. "Prices are being driven up and it's, you know, pricing some people out of the market."
