Zillow: Las Vegas is short 32K homes as housing deficit continues to grow

The Las Vegas Valley is short approximately 32,192 housing units, a number that has risen over the past few years, according to a new report from Zillow.

The Zillow study, which pulled data from the U.S. Census Bureau, looked at the prime years before, during and after the pandemic (2019 to 2023) when the most dramatic changes in the nation’s real estate landscape took place, showcasing the massive impact Covid-19 had on the housing market. Back in 2019 the valley had an estimated housing deficit of 11,901 and Zillow noted in its study that at the end of 2023, existing inventory in the valley was down 38 percent compared to pre-pandemic norms.

The valley had 899,870 housing units in 2019, a number that increased to 935,949 in 2023, however Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist with Zillow, said this expansion did not adequately keep up with the area’s growth rate.

“Las Vegas added about 36,000 housing units on net between 2019 and 2023, mostly on the for-sale side,” he said. “But the number of families living in Las Vegas grew twice as fast. So despite a large increase in supply, the housing unit deficit nearly tripled in four years, growing from less than 12,000 to over 32,000.”

A number of factors played into this shift, added Divounguy, noting that overall population growth across the country is starting to slow, which will have a longer term effect on the housing market, however short term impacts are already starting to show.

“On one hand housing construction is slowing. More inventory and downward price pressures are already causing builders to pull back,” he said. “On the other hand, family formation is also likely to slow down heading forward.”

The valley dropped its number of vacant units from 116,347 in 2019 to 88,583 in 2023, however the overall total number of available units for housing dropped from 45,299 to 33,670, which means less homes are now available to rent or buy.

The Zillow study also found that the number of rental units barely budged from 2019 to 2023, starting with 364,180 and ending with 364,249. The total owned number of housing units increased over that time period from 419,343 to 483,117 and the total families, according to the U.S. Census, living in the valley, increased over that time period from 840,647 to 913,207.

The Zillow report said America’s housing problem is one that has been getting worse for well over a decade now.

“Since the 2008 financial crisis, America hasn’t built enough homes. This forces many families to share living spaces with people outside their family. By 2019, nearly twice as many families were sharing homes with non-relatives compared to the number of homes available to buy or rent. Despite a construction surge during the pandemic, this housing shortage persists,” said the report.

“The numbers tell the story: In 2023, only 3.4 million homes sat vacant and available for rent or sale, according to Census data. Meanwhile, 8.1 million families shared their homes with unrelated people. While some people choose to live with roommates, most of these families would likely prefer their own place if they could afford it.”

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.