Home Prices on the Rise Across U.S.

The latest S&P Case-Shiller home price index numbers indicate an upswing in the Las Vegas housing market. Rob Lang speaks with NPR’s “All Things Considered” about the cause of this development and what it means for the future of the housing market. Click here to hear the interview.

SIEGEL: Well, what does this feel like to you? Is it just that Las Vegas real estate is cheap and hardly anything is a great investment these days, so why not buy some? Or are people showing confidence in the economy of the city and buying for that reason? What’s going on?

LANG: Consumer confidence is up. And the other thing is that these are very attractive homes for the price to this point still. I mean, you were in a house and it was just over 200,000, maybe it’s 250,000, and it’s maybe $112 a square foot.

We’re talking houses that have pools and spas in them and, you know, and amenities that in the rest of the country would be considered luxurious. This is part of the equation, I think, people were missing when they imagine that these Phoenixes and Las Vegases were done for all time. That they’re still attractive to retire in and the climate is mild, you know, the taxes are low. It’s an easy place to have fairly modest assets and buy a nice house and live a high-quality life.