Las Vegas Rental Prices Climb at Record Speed as Pickings Remain Slim
LAS VEGAS, NV – While the nation is keeping their eyes on the ever-evolving and expanding housing market of Las Vegas, Nevada, a directly-related market that often gets overlooked – the rental market – is also experiencing a massive period of growth. Much like homesteads in the region, rental units, such as apartments and condominiums, are in big demand, short on supply, and growing in price.
Las Vegas rental prices are increasing at one of the fastest rates in the United States, according to reports, while vacancy is at an all-time low; essentially, this means that there aren’t enough rentals to go around, and that’s driving prices up to significant levels. Developers are in the midst of efforts to create more apartment buildings and condos to satisfy demand, but at the moment they’re falling short of necessary construction goals.
Currently, the typical Las-Vegas-based apartment in the third quarter of 2018 is pulling in an average rent of $1,020, which represents a jump of 5.8 percent from the same period in 2017. While this amount is far below the average price of an apartment in other, more expensive regions of the county – which lies in the $1,300+ range, currently – it still is an increase of 5.8 percent from one year ago, which means that prices in Vegas, while still more affordable than the national average, are still going up at record speed. The availability of rental units in Vegas is a large contributor to the rental hikes as of late, reports show- currently, the vacancy rate for apartments and condos in Southern Nevada stands at 3.6 percent.
However, homes rentals are also feeling the squeeze, with prices increasing at similar rates as they are for apartments; as of press time, rent for a single-family home in Vegas for June has jumped 5.7 percent over the same period in 2017, and while it has been surpassed in recent months by other cities, in early 2018 Vegas had the fastest-climbing rental rates in the United States. Southern Nevada boasts a large number of rental homes on the market, due to the fact that investors bought numerous houses on the cheap during the recession and have since retained the majority of them (as opposed to selling) rental properties.
As the region’s economy recovered and bounced back after the recession ended, the influx of new businesses and jobs greatly increased, along with the number of newly-transplanted residents; as a result, housing demand grew…along with rental prices. As mentioned before, developers are struggling with producing new housing options for residents hungry for shelter, but until they catch up, demand – and, correspondingly, prices – is sure to continue its upward ascent.
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