Las Vegas homebuilders sales fall sharply as buyers face affordability hurdles

Las Vegas homebuilders’ sales fell sharply last month as buyers again paid record-high prices, a new report shows, a sign of the affordability hurdles that many others still face.

Builders landed 656 net sales — newly signed sales contracts minus cancellations — in August in Southern Nevada, down 37 percent from the same month last year, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research.

Construction plans also fell, as builders pulled 650 new-home permits last month, down 24 percent from a year earlier.

All told, builders closed 861 home sales in August, down 26 percent year-over-year, Home Builders Research reported.

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 overall median closing price last month, $536,471, was up 7.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the research firm, which noted the price was the highest it’s ever reported.

Amid a drop in sales totals this year, this marked the third time in 2025 that builders fetched record-high prices encompassing all types of homes.

Mortgage rates have largely pushed lower in recent months, giving homebuyers in Las Vegas and around the country some relief on their borrowing costs. But rates are still elevated when compared to what buyers have faced over the past 15 years, and home prices remain high in Southern Nevada, making it difficult for many would-be buyers to afford a place.

Home Builders Research President Andrew Smith wrote in this week’s report that affordability is still a “legitimate major hurdle for high numbers of potential buyers,” leading to more of a frozen market in many desirable cities.

“We would put Southern Nevada into that bucket at this point,” he added.

Overall, builders closed 6,824 home sales this year through August in Southern Nevada, down 17 percent from the same eight-month stretch last year, Smith reported.

Buyers have also pulled back in Southern Nevada’s resale market.

A total of 1,835 previously owned single-family homes traded hands last month, down 14.2 percent from the same month last year, trade association Las Vegas Realtors reported.

The median sales price last month, $480,000, was just below the all-time high of $485,000, which, the association noted, has been reached several times this year.

Across the country, steadily falling mortgage rates “haven’t brought many homebuyers to the market,” listing site Redfin reported Thursday.

It cited several reasons why demand hasn’t improved yet, including stubbornly high home prices, mortgage rates haven’t fallen far enough, and economic uncertainty, including fears of layoffs or a possible recession.

Las Vegas, for instance, shed thousands of jobs last month amid an ongoing tourism slump, according to state officials, who found that Nevada’s labor market is “largely stationary.”

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