Investors, land control, luxury homes and controversy: Top Las Vegas Valley residential real estate stories of 2025

Residential real estate in the Las Vegas Valley 2025 was defined by a trifecta of somewhat contradictory statements: record prices, record levels of inventory and slow sales.

The local housing market and the entire country are still trying to get off the roller-coaster ride that was the pandemic. While the public health concerns are long gone, the long economic wake caused by the government locking down its citizens and businesses, printing money right into high inflation and the disruptions to global supply chains is still being heavily felt in the real estate market.

A slowdown in building, lack of construction workers, increased building costs and countless homeowners locked into low mortgage rates they got during the pandemic has clearly hit the brakes on real estate.

With that in mind, here’s five stories that helped define 2025 when it comes to residential real estate.

Record high prices

Home prices in Southern Nevada hit record high prices multiple times this year, starting in January when prices hit $485,000 for the first time, according to Las Vegas Realtors, which pulls its data from the Multiple Listing Service. And just when it looked like prices might be going down after the second quarter, they shot back up again.

The median sale price for an existing home in November was a record $488,995, according to the trade association.

The local market, much like the national picture, continues to defy the age old economic idea of supply and demand, but a lot of other markets have started to see prices drop, mainly Austin, Texas and Miami. However, Las Vegas’ prices remain stubbornly high.

Home sellers put their homes in Las Vegas on the market en masse this year, but buyers were skittish and sellers weren’t willing to drop prices.

As of November month, 7,033 homes were on the market, a 26.3 percent increase from the same month last year. The number of condos and townhomes on the market without an offer jumped 40.8 percent compared to November of last year.

Federal control of land

Both residential and commercial real estate stakeholders have been sounding this alarm for years, however it hit a fever pitch in 2025: the Bureau of Land Management controls virtually all of the available land left to develop in the valley, and has been slow to release it for years. What’s caused this? Well it dates back to the 1800s when Southern Nevada was nothing but barren desert and the founders of Nevada made a deal with the federal government for more control of the northern part of the state in exchange for the south.

Investors in the housing market

Since the wake of 2008, Wall Street has had a keen interest in Las Vegas Valley real estate. Multibillion-dollar hedge funds now own thousands of homes in the valley, taking residential properties and turning them into permanent rental homes. On top of this is the growing industry of build-to-rent homes where company’s construct houses and then rent them out.

Two Las Vegas Review-Journal investigations found that most likely the two biggest property owners in the valley are Wall Street-backed companies, one in New York and the other in Texas. Local politicians have taken notice of this growing ownership stake and made it campaign pledges, however no real political traction has taken place at any level.

Ongoing controversy at the Las Vegas Realtors

At the end of 2024, two presidents resigned capping off an extraordinary year of controversy for the largest real estate trade organization in Southern Nevada. New president George Kypreos came in promising an end to the spectacular headlines, but now finds himself named in a massive class-action, multistate lawsuit against Zillow.

Kypreos refused to step down after a vote of LVR’s board of directors asking for his resignation narrowly passed in early December, according to multiple sources.

Luxury is the new game in town

Las Vegas has not necessarily been know as a hotbed for luxury homes nationwide, however that seems to be changing in the past few years. More and more multimillion-dollar homes are being built, bought and sold in the valley than ever before.

So what is driving this trend? The biggest is California’s wealthy elite either looking to park their money outside of their home state or relocate altogether. Las Vegas has to give itself some credit too the city has undergone a massive remaking of its entertainment industry, adding such things as the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, the Sphere and enticing big money events like the Super Bowl and F1.

Las Vegas has become a political safe haven for those looking to flee heavily taxed and regulated blue states for the more free-market enterprise mindset in the Silver State, and luxury homes are simply a byproduct of that.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.