Real esate:

Las Vegas home prices rise; yearly gain is second-highest in the U.S.

Home on 8228 Mt. Nido Drive.

Las Vegas home values inched higher last month but continued showing some of the biggest year-to-year gains in the country.

The median value of local homes in January was $168,800, up 0.7 percent from December and 26.9 percent from January 2013, according to a new report from housing-data firm Zillow.

The annual gain was second fastest among the 35 metro areas covered in the report. Riverside, Calif., was No. 1 at 27.3 percent.

Nationally, home values rose 6.3 percent in the past year.

According to Zillow, values are expected to continue rising locally this year but at a slower rate than in 2013, climbing 7.1 percent over the next 12 months.

Home values typically rise 2 to 5 percent in a normal year. In Las Vegas, ground zero for the housing bust, property values have skyrocketed largely because investors have been buying cheap homes in bulk to turn into rentals.

Real Estate

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