Las Vegas has shifted to a home buyer’s market, study says

The Las Vegas Valley is now firmly a buyer’s market for residential real estate, according to a new study.

Redfin estimates the valley has shifted toward a buyer’s market almost more than any other major metro in the country as the number of sellers now outpaces buyers locally by 96.7 percent, up 47.9 percent year-over-year ending August.

The only other metro that has seen a bigger shift from sellers to buyers this year is Denver, and in terms of seller’s markets, Newark, New Jersey, leads that category.

Redfin says there are approximately 13,575 sellers of residential homes currently in the valley as compared with only 6,903 in August of last year. The median home price sits at $443,770, a 1.3 percent increase from August of last year.

The valley finds itself in the middle of a housing crisis as a number of factors have weighed heavily on residential real estate lately. The biggest contributing factors appear to be a lack of land to develop as the federal government controls most of the land which could still be developed in the valley along with high mortgage rates, a slowdown in construction and economic uncertainty created by tariffs.

Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, said the basic fundamentals of economics are out of sync in the valley which has created the shift in the outlook for the market.

“Las Vegas is shifting sharply toward a buyer’s market because higher mortgage rates and rising home prices have sidelined many would-be buyers, even as more homeowners put their properties up for sale. The surge in listings paired with falling sales has created an unusually wide gap between supply and demand, giving buyers more leverage at the negotiating table while putting pressure on sellers to price more realistically,” she said.

Las Vegas also is in an economic rut as tourism has dropped significantly this year, putting downward pressure on the valley’s powerful casino, hospitality and gaming sectors. The valley is also shedding jobs related to the industry along with construction, which has slowed for both residential and commercial projects. Fairweather said this is further compounding the issues hitting the local housing market right now.

“Las Vegas’ economy depends heavily on tourism, and the current economic environment is making both U.S. and global consumers cautious about discretionary spending like trips to Las Vegas,” she said. “That slowdown is weighing on the local economy and further dampening housing demand from Las Vegas residents.”

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.