Homebuilders’ sales in Las Vegas keep sliding

Las Vegas homebuilders’ sales kept sliding last month as would-be buyers around the country face economic headwinds.

Builders landed 640 net sales — newly signed sales contracts minus cancellations — in Southern Nevada in June, down 28 percent from the same month last year, according to a report from Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research, which noted it was the lowest June sales tally since 2015.

Through the first half of this year, builders logged 5,049 net sales in the Las Vegas area, down 24 percent from the same stretch last year, according to Home Builders Research data.

Southern Nevada is not alone: Builders across the country are selling fewer homes than they did last year as prospective buyers face elevated borrowing costs and general economic jitters.

Construction plans have dropped sharply in the Las Vegas area, as builders pulled 5,554 new-home permits this year through June, down 21 percent from the same six-month period last year.

Overall, builders closed 5,161 home sales in Southern Nevada during the first half of the year, down 14 percent from the same stretch last year.

‘On the sidelines’

After a buyer signs a sales contract with a builder, it can take several months before construction of the house is finished and the sale closes.

The median sales price last month for newly built homes was $523,492, up about 5 percent from a year earlier, Home Builders Research President Andrew Smith reported.

Nationwide, the pace of sales of new houses last month ticked up 0.6 percent from May but fell 6.6 percent from June 2024, federal officials reported.

All told, many would-be homebuyers “continue to stay on the sidelines,” the National Association of Home Builders said last week.

The trade group said that affordability challenges, elevated interest rates and economic uncertainty “continue to act as headwinds” in the housing market.

‘Sales activity remains sluggish’

Sales totals are down on the resale side, too.

Locally, buyers picked up around 1,950 previously owned single-family homes in June, down 7 percent from the same month last year, according to trade association Las Vegas Realtors.

The median sales price was $485,000, up 2 percent from a year earlier.

At the same time, available inventory has soared. There were nearly 7,000 houses on the market without offers at the end of June, up 70 percent year-over-year, the association reported.

LVR President George Kypreos said in a news release that the increased inventory is good for buyers but should also prompt sellers “to be realistic when pricing their properties.”

Nationally, home prices are “slipping a little more each month as sales activity remains sluggish,” Sheharyar Bokhari, senior economist with listing site Redfin, said last week.

“Even with more homes for sale, high mortgage rates are keeping many buyers — and more recently sellers — on the sidelines,” he said.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.