Las Vegas Real Estate News

LAS VEGAS, NV – Two cases that are currently before the United States Supreme Court, depending on their outcome, could have a serious impact upon several aspects of the home development industry, mainly when it comes to federally-mandated environmental reviews and how they could affect the overall timeline of construction projects.

Depending on the outcomes of San Francisco v. EPA and Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colo., addressing the housing crisis in Southern Nevada could face significant setbacks, as developers could be required to greatly increase the scope of federally-required environmental reviews and/or studies to gauge the potential impact that their construction projects could have.

The Las Vegas Valley has been experiencing a housing crisis in recent years, due to a shortage of affordable housing units; this can be attributed to several factors, but the main culprit experts say is an overall lack of land to develop, given the fact that much of the land in Southern Nevada is owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Critics of BLM have pointed out that the federal agency has been slow to release additional lands for housing development, contributing to the housing crisis that is currently ongoing in the valley.

However, even if additional lands are released for development, builders could face an uphill battle depending on the outcome of the two aforementioned Supreme Court cases. Reviews to ensure that the surrounding environment and wildlife – as well as any federally-protected endangered species – are not harmed by any given construction project can already contribute to a significant amount of time and planning, ranging anywhere from months to years.

These cases could cause environmental impact reviews and studies to become even more stringent, mandating that the review process take into consideration a more diverse array of environmental harm, including potential threats to drinking water and other maladies.

The overall intention of these lawsuits is to ensure the health and well-being of millions of people across the country, a cause that should be lauded; the unfortunate side-effect, however, is that it may take even longer to address Las Vegas’ housing crisis depending on the outcome, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Both of these cases have the potential to add uncertainty to the development process. And uncertainty translates to added time and money,” the organization said in a statement.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to historical data supplied by Las Vegas Realtors, the median price of a single-family home in Las Vegas has jumped a whopping 50 percent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In December 2019, the median price of a home in Southern Nevada was $312,990; at the time, the average national home sale price was $384,600.  

But fast-forward to October 2024, and the median price in Southern Nevada has now swelled to $475,531, an increase of $162,541 over pre-pandemic levels, and just shy of the region’s all-time record high of $482,000, originally set in May 2022; it also represents a 5.9 percent jump year-over-year from October 2023.

Meanwhile, the national median is now $501,100, an increase of approximately $116,500 from price levels at the start of the pandemic.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the rate of a 30-year fixed-rate home mortgage is currently at 6.7 percent; the last time this level was achieved prior to the pandemic was just before the mid-2000’s recession, when that number hit 6.6 percent.

Home sales in Southern Nevada were noticeably slower in 2024, but nonetheless showed a significant improvement over 2023, which saw the lowest number of sales in its real estate industry since 2008, when the Great Recession began.

Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House has the real estate community split down the middle in terms of whether if it will help or hurt the industry; the President-elect has promised to oversee an increase in home-building across the nation to address the ongoing housing crisis, in addition to loosening regulations in order to clear out red tape. However, some are worried that his vow to impose expensive tariffs upon imports could result in a spike of home construction prices.

Nonetheless, experts currently feel Las Vegas is in the process of becoming a balanced market between buyers and sellers; time will tell if this condition is sustained, or if the scales tip one way or the other.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Tuesday that they will be instituting a ban on so-called “junk fees,” which is a term used to describe bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to hide total prices and misrepresent fees in the short-term lodging and live-event ticketing industries; often, these are referred to as “resort,” “convenience,” or “service” fees.

As far as the short-term rental industry is concerned, that includes all online booking platforms and websites such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

The Junk Fees Rule will require full up-front disclosure of pricing information “in a timely, transparent, and truthful way” as it pertains to consumers of short-term lodging and live-event tickets; the FTC says that the rule will level the competitive playing field and make it easier for consumers to engage in comparison shopping and ultimately, save money.

People deserve to know up-front what they’re being asked to pay—without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees around live event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time. I urge enforcers to continue cracking down on these unlawful fees and encourage state and federal policymakers to build on this success with legislation that bans unfair and deceptive junk fees across the economy.”

The FTC originally began investigating junk fees in 2022, initially conducting two rounds of public input; ultimately, the agency received over 70,000 comments.

The Junk Fees Rule is expected to take effect in 120 days from the date it was announced, which was Tuesday, Dec. 17. The exact methods of FTC enforcement of the rule has not yet been revealed, with the agency merely saying that it “will use its law enforcement authority to continue to rigorously pursue bait-and-switch pricing tactics, such as drip pricing and misleading fees, in other industries through case-by-case enforcement.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Ground on a new Class A, 342-unit multifamily housing complex was recently broken as part of a joint venture by the NRP Group and Rockefeller Group in Las Vegas; this marks NRP’s first-ever development in Sin City, and Rockefeller’s first-ever multifamily project in the state of Nevada.

When completed in early 2027, Silverado – designed by Perlman Architects – will take the form of 15 three-story buildings located on a 10-acre lot in Enterprise, located 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, Harry Reid International Airport and Allegiant Stadium.

The buildings will contain one, two, and three-bedroom units. In addition, the complex will boast many amenities for its tenants, including a swimming pool, sports court, and a clubhouse with a social lounge, gym and coworking spaces, among other features.

For the next two years at least, according to NRP Group Vice-President Michael Moriarty, there will be no other Class A projects within a 3-mile radius of the Silverado complex.

The Rockefeller Group has developed approximately 3,000 housing units across the country, with an additional 2,000 currently under construction; most recently, the company completed Sol38, a 360-unit housing community in Nevada’s neighboring state of Arizona.

Multifamily housing development has increased in Southern Nevada in recent months, with over 9,500 units under construction as of December; more than 3.200 units were broken ground on during the first 11 months of the year alone. In contrast, during the same span of time in 2023, ground was broken on only 2,800 apartment units.

However, overall housing construction levels now still remain below what they were at the same period of time in 2023, when they were 16.5 percent higher with over 11,400 units in the works at the time; some of these projects had been started the year or so prior.

Completion of Silverado is anticipated to be in early 2027.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – For many years, Las Vegas earned a reputation for low cost-of-living and an affordable lifestyle; however, due to rising prices and a lack of inventory, a new report has revealed that the housing market in the city has become one of the least affordable in the nation.

According to the Urban Land Institute’s 2024 Home Attainability Index, Las Vegas currently ranks as the 11th least affordable major metropolitan area in the country, with only a scant 18 percent of the homes on the market being considered affordable by households of four persons that make Southern Nevada’s annual median income of $70,723.

At present, it would take about 37.4 years for a family in Las Vegas making the average median income to save up enough down payment money for a home in the city.

The top five least affordable cities in the Urban Land Institute’s report are, in order: San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles, California; Honolulu and Stockton, California.

Currently, Southern Nevada is in the grips of a housing crisis driven by a number of issues, such as high mortgage and interest rates, home prices escalating to near all-time record levels, a dwindling amount of land that can be developed, and affluent buyers from neighboring states such as California whose big bank accounts are squeezing out locals when it comes to homebuying competition.

RCLCO Real Estate Consulting Chief Executive Officer and one of the authors of the Urban Land Institute’s report, Adam Ducker, said that of all the issues plaguing the Las Vegas housing market, the number one is the lack of land to develop and the slowdown in home construction it has caused.

We’re just not producing enough housing for the growth that we’re experiencing, which is true in most markets but particularly in high-growth markets including Las Vegas,” he said.

Some Realtors are hoping that a Trump presidency could have a positive effect on Las Vegas’s current housing crisis, citing his plans to both deregulate the housing industry and to open up additional federal land for home development, which – if those factors do indeed come to pass – could lead to new building activity in Southern Nevada and a plethora of new options for residents looking to buy a residence.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Since 2000, corporate investors have been on a buying spree in Southern Nevada, snapping up an astonishing 131,710 homes in the Las Vegas Valley to be utilized as short-term rentals, either privately or through online platforms such as Aidbnb and Vrbo, as per a new report.

Las Vegas exhibited the largest year-over-year increase in the number of home purchases on the part of investors in the entire nation – 27.6 percent – for the third quarter of 2024, according to Redfin economic research lead Chen Zhao, who notes that approximately 23 percent of all homes currently being bought in the valley are done so by investors.

Las Vegas is a particularly alluring city for investors because of its booming entertainment industry. We know from our agents that investors often buy and rent out multiple properties that immediately get filled by entertainment and service workers,” she said. “Las Vegas is also an Airbnb hotspot, so a lot of these home purchases turn into short-term rentals for vacationers or seasonal workers.”

Zhao said that in the valley, the activity of investors – defined as buyers backed by a corporation, a limited liability corporation or a family trust – has increased as of late due to recent rate cuts on the part of the Federal Reserve which are helping to lower home mortgage rates, as well as optimism in the real estate market stemming from the outcome of 2024 presidential election.

While it’s hard to pinpoint the exact reasoning behind the ebbs and flows of investor activity in Las Vegas, some folks this last quarter may have wanted to scoop up properties before the election since there was a fair amount of economic uncertainty surrounding the outcome,” Zhao said. “Rates were also lower in Q3, and while consumers didn’t respond because they were waiting for rate cuts, it’s possible that investors were more responsive.”

According to a study carried out by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Lied Center for Real Estate, investors currently own at least 15 percent of all homes in the valley.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Funding has been approved for a new affordable housing complex within Las Vegas, with the city council last week earmarking $1 million in public funds towards the $21.5 million project.

Upon completion, “Tropicana Trails” – being developed by George Gekakis Inc. – will be comprised of 50 studio apartments, built upon a 2.5-acre plot of land in unincorporated Clark County slated to be located near East Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway. Units will be primarily aimed at being made available to people who had previously been homeless, those who are in danger of becoming homeless, and survivors of domestic violence.

In addition to the $1 million provided by city officials – the final batch of funding that required official approval – the remainer of the funding for the project is coming by way of the Nevada Housing Division, Clark County, and a $1 million grant provided by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, according to Gekakis Executive Vice President David Paull.

“We’re very excited to see this go,” he said.

HELP of Southern Nevada, a not-for-profit group that assists members of the Southern Nevada homeless community, will serve as administrators of the complex once it opens. Prospective tenants will be required to meet certain qualifications set by the federal HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan Program, and rental assistance will be provided by the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority.

According to Las Vegas city officials, construction on Tropicana Trails – the land upon which its being built was purchased by Gekakis in May of this year for $2 million – is scheduled to start in April 2025, with an estimated completion date of summer of 2026.

Once completed, the complex will include amenities such as a library, computer, wellness and business rooms, and a garden courtyard; utilities will be included in the rent.

For more information visit: https://ggidevelopment.com/december-news/

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – After lowering from the all-time high that was originally achieved in 2022, home prices in Las Vegas have been slowly but surely creeping back up to that lofty level, with November 2024’s numbers coming the closest yet to that record amount.

In November, the median price for a single-family home sold in Southern Nevada via Las Vegas Realtors’ Multiple Listings Service was $480,000, which represents a 6.7 percent jump over November 2023’s $450,000 median price; it is also now just $2,000 shy of May 2022’s all-time record high amount of $482,000.

Meanwhile, November’s median price for condominiums and townhomes was $301,250, a decrease from October’s all-time record high of $315,000, but still a 9.5 percent increase year-over-year.

Currently, Southern Nevada is in the grips of a housing crisis driven by a number of issues, such as high mortgage and interest rates, a dwindling amount of land that can be developed, and affluent buyers from neighboring states such as California whose big bank accounts are squeezing out locals when it comes to homebuying competition.

There is now an approximate three-and-a-half months’ supply of homes on the market in Las Vegas, which experienced its worst year for sales in 2023 since 2008; however, Las Vegas Realtors President Merri Perry said in a statement that the local real estate market in 2024 has improved and that she is hopeful that 2025 will bring much-needed stability to the region.

Increases in the number of homes available for sale and in the number of properties being sold this year are good signs for our housing market heading into 2025,” she said.

At the end of November, there were 5,570 single family homes listed on the Las Vegas market without any offers, which represents an increase of 28 percent year-over-year. In addition, there were 1,856 condos and townhomes listed without offers in November, a whopping 47.2 percent jump from the same period of time one year prior.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Following housing costs in Southern Nevada reaching extremely high peaks after the lifting of lockdown measures following COVID-19’s wake in 2022, tenants are now finding rents in the region reverting back to pre-pandemic levels.

In fact, according to a report released by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ (UNLV) Lied Center for Real Estate rents in Nevada are now essentially at the same level today that they would have been at if the COVID pandemic had not taken place at all.

The data suggest that asking rents, today, are on par with what they would have been projected to be based on how the market was trending pre-COVID-19,” the UNLV report said.

However, that same report also highlights a troubling trend in Nevada; that before the pandemic, rents in the state had already been increasing on an annual basis by 5 percent or more, leading to affordability concerns for many of the state’s residents.

The UNLV report examined how much “workforce housing” was available throughout the state; that is, housing options that can be afforded by individuals making 60 percent to 120 percent of Nevada’s area median income (AMI) of $87,800.

In Clark County alone, the report notes, for members of the workforce within that income range – comprised of “teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, hospitality staff and health care workers” – only one third of the units on the market were considered affordable to those in that demographic making 60 percent of AMI, or about 52,000 annually.

The cost of housing and utilities to be considered “affordable” is 30 percent of a household’s monthly income; if a greater percentage of income needs to be allocated to housing, it is no longer considered affordable. Currently, as of November 2024, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Clark County is $1,486.

While rent in Clark County jumped anywhere between 20 and 30 percent since 2020, the UNLV report notes that – when compared to the second quarter of 2022 – rents are currently now down 3.7 percent and running, showing that the market is achieving some degree of stability once again.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – A new report released by Redfin indicates that during the third quarter of 2024, the Las Vegas Valley saw the largest jump of home purchases by corporate investors in the entire nation, representing over $1 billion in transactions during that time period.

Totaling approximately $1.02 billion worth of homes being bought by investors in Q3 2024 at an average price of $420,000 each; the valley saw a 27.9 percent increase in such purchases from Q2, the largest such jump out of all major metropolitan areas in the United States. Following Las Vegas in that regard was Seattle, Washington with a 21.8 percent increase and San Jose, California with 19.5 percent.

Out-of-state corporate investors have been snapping up homes in Vegas in increasingly large numbers for use as rentals, or to flip them for a profit. As per a 2023 study conducted by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Lied Center for Real Estate, about 15 percent of all homes in the valley were owned by such entities, with an astonishing 25 percent of all homes in North Las Vegas alone belonging to investors.

And in the ensuing time since that study was released, it is very likely that those percentages have risen even further.

Dana Anderson, a data Journalist for Redfin, noted that there are specific qualities that draw investors to purchasing homes, such as affordability; such qualities are abundant in Las Vegas, explaining the increase in such activity.

Low-priced homes are appealing to investors mainly because they cost less,” she said. “Because of their relatively low price, investors who buy them have a bigger pool of buyers if they’re looking to re-sell, and a bigger pool of renters if they’re looking to become a landlord.”

However, overall investor home-buying has leveled off since reaching an all-time high during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Redfin report noting that it is “harder for investors to buy homes then sell them for a big profit than it was during the pandemic because home prices and loan costs are high.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Members of Generation Z – which are comprised of individuals under the age of 25, or anyone born after 1997 – are the youngest segment of the nation’s homebuying community, and this demographic makes up the smallest percentage of those purchasing houses in Las Vegas, a new report says.

According to a new study from Construction Coverage, only 3.3 percent of all home mortgage loans were taken out in Las Vegas by members of Generation Z in 2023, the least of any age group in Southern Nevada; this goes below the national average for this specific demographic, which is 5 percent.

In contrast, Construction Coverage spokesperson Mike LaFirenza noted that the average age of homebuyers in the country has reached its highest level in years, signifying that younger generations are encountering difficulty in affording housing amid high prices and home loan interest rates.

Las Vegas’ high demand from older buyers creates stiff competition with the percentage of homebuyers aged 55 and older ranking third among large metros at 27.6 percent.” LaFirenza said. “This competition is particularly tough on younger homebuyers, who often lack pre-existing equity for their down payments, making their offers less competitive.”

Some experts say that Vegas’ overall lack of generational wealth, combined with many local occupations being in the service industry – which is not known for paying high wages at early, entry-level positions, with high-earners only achieving that status after achieving seniority – could be playing into the barriers that Gen Z is encountering.

Competition from affluent transplants from California are also figuring into the situation, as is the remote nature of portions of Nevada’s professional workforce, which do no necessitate the purchase of homes. And the median sale price for a single-family home threatening to set a new all-time record isn’t helping younger buyers, either, LaFirenza said.

Home prices have skyrocketed in the area, with the median sale price now over 50 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels,” he said. “Even with a relatively lower cost of living, the financial hurdles for younger buyers are substantial. With cost-of-living-adjusted incomes ranked 37th out of 53 large metros, Las Vegas’ affordability gap keeps ownership just out of reach for many in their early twenties.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – While the prices of houses in the U.S. continue on their upward trajectory – steadfastly fueling concerns regarding affordability for many – the new Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index (graph) released by S&P CoreLogic on November 26 indicates that the degree of home price growth is finally slowing down after a significant streak of month-to-month increases.

The Case-Shiller Index shows that in September 2024, annual home-price growth increased 3.9 percent; this represents a decrease in growth from August 2024 – when that amount was 4.2 percent – as well as the first time in ages when growth numbers actually decreased instead of continuing upward.

Home values in September continued to climb, but also showed some degree of slowdown; Case-Shiller’s 10-city index climbed 5.2 percent – representing a decrease from August’s 6 percent – and the 20-city index was up 4.6 percent, down from 5.2 percent.

The Case-Shiller Index also showed the top five cities in terms of price growth in September, with New York City taking the top spot, and Las Vegas coming in fourth. The top five, and their respective increases, are as follows:

• New York City, New York (7.5 percent)
• Cleveland, Ohio (7.1 percent)
• Chicago, Illinois (6.9 percent)
• Las Vegas, Nevada (6.7 percent)Detroit, Michigan (5.3 percent)
• Washington, D.C. (5.3 percent)

In contrast, the metropolitan area that showed the slowest rate of growth in September was Denver, Colorado, with just 0.2 percent.

Corporate economist for Navy Federal Credit Union, Robert Frick, said that the growth drops in this month’s Case-Shiller Index may represent some good news for the housing market, particularly when it comes to buyers.

Sales prices of existing homes falling is a bit of good news for buyers, and while 2024 will go down as one of the worst years for sales, maybe we’re finally seeing a sustained deceleration in price increases,” he said. “With mortgage rates up recently, the price drop will be lost in overall housing affordability. But together with lower mortgage rates next year, as many are forecasting, a slowdown in price increases could mean markedly improving conditions for buyers in 2025.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.