LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas housing market is experiencing a significant downward shift when compared to where it was at the beginning of this year. A new report reveals sales and building permits have dropped drastically compared to last year.
Phyllis Hammond, Harmony Homes Sales Consultant, has been selling new homes for about 40 years. She says we have never seen a market like this.
"It's obviously slowed down, but just to give you an example I had a sale today," Hammond said.
She says we went from a red-hot market at the start of 2022, when homes were sold almost as soon as they were listed, to a much slower pace today.
"Our home sales over the last few years have only dropped about 5.8%, but that is understandable because of inflations and interest rates rising,” Hammond said.
But Hammond is not the only one witnessing the slowdown in new home sales. Andrew Smith, President of the Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research says the number of homes sold in October has gone down by 59% from the same month in 2021. He says builders are slowing down and just trying to play catch up…hoping to sell their increasing inventory of buyer-less homes. Smith says there's been a 55% decrease in new home permits from this time last year.
“You have to remember the context of again in the past couple of years were abnormal and the other extreme,” Smith said.
He says many people just can't qualify for a mortgage for the median price of a home which is now $450,000. Add in a higher interest rate and home ownership often is out of reach, which is why home builders like harmony homes are offering cash incentives.
"Buy down their rate to 5.875% giving them something equivalent to what their rent may be," said Hammond.
Smith says, builders just need to sell.
“The owner of the lots losing money, so they're trying to get rid of them as fast as they can. Same for a home builder. If they finish that house and it's just sitting there without a buyer, they're losing money,” said Smith.
