Housing in Las Vegas has become increasingly unaffordable over the past two decades, according to Prof. Nicholas Irwin, research director at the UNLV Lied Center for Real Estate.
“There was a point in time, in not the distant past, a lot of folks remember that housing was really affordable,” Irwin said. “Housing was affordable for everyone and that has quickly changed in just the span of 20 years.”
He noted that jobs in the area are not keeping pace with rising housing costs, making homeownership “simply out of reach for most of the jobs in this town.” Irwin highlighted that a minimum wage worker now faces an “impossible number of hours” to afford a home, a situation exacerbated by pressures from West Coast housing markets.
Despite Southern Nevada being one of the more affordable regions in the West, the influx of people from California is driving up demand without a corresponding increase in supply.
“We are not building houses at the rate we used to,” Irwin said, citing permitting, zoning, and federal land ownership issues as contributing factors. He warned that Las Vegas is nearing the unaffordability levels seen in California, which poses a significant challenge.
For prospective homebuyers, Irwin advised, “It is just a matter of sometimes just getting lucky. Maybe buying a slightly smaller house with a smaller payment and hoping you can upgrade in the future.” However, he acknowledged that “getting in is the tough part” as entry prices continue to rise while wages lag behind.
To read the Lied Center for Real Estate report, click here.
