Las Vegas Valley lagging behind most Sun Belt metros for building new apartments, report says
The Las Vegas Valley is lagging behind other Sun Belt metros in building new apartments, according to a new report from Redfin, which pulled data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The valley ranked 44th out of the 78 largest metro regions in the country for permits issued to build apartment units this past year (from July 2024 to June 2025) with 10.2 permits for every 10,000 people, according to the report.
This puts Las Vegas well behind a number of Sun Belt cities such as North Port, Florida; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Orlando, Florida, which all ranked in the top six for permits per 10,000 people, according to the report.
The national average over this time frame is 12.8 apartment units for every 10,000 people, according to the Redfin report.
Chen Zhao, the head of economic research for Redfin, said bureaucracy is driving Las Vegas’ building issues when it comes to multifamily. The federal government controls the vast majority of the land in the valley and has been slow to release it to the private sector.
“Las Vegas is a step behind Sun Belt markets like Austin when it comes to easing building regulations. But simply cutting red tape isn’t enough—if Vegas wants to see a real surge in apartment construction, the city will need to pair looser rules with strong incentives for developers to actually bring new units to market.”
Rent Cafe said in its national report about apartment construction that the Las Vegas metro will bring on 4,202 apartment units this year: 3,297 units in the city of Las Vegas and 905 in Henderson, a 37.5 percent decrease compared with last year’s deliveries. This puts the valley as the 18th fastest slowing metro when it comes to apartment completions year-over-year with Chicago leading the way with a 60.4 percent drop.
National apartment outlook
During the pandemic (July 2020 to June 2023) when a building and financing boom took place for multifamily units across the country, the Las Vegas Valley was issuing 16 units per 10,000 people, and before the pandemic that number was 14.3. Local commercial real estate brokers within the multifamily industry have long been sounding the alarm bells regarding a lack of construction pipeline that could further squeeze Las Vegas’ housing crisis.
Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari said rents have been falling or have been flat across the country for much of the past two years, however in June of this year rents were up 1.7 percent year-over-year. Las Vegas rents have largely been flat lately, with the biggest drop coming in the southwest valley area, and the biggest increase happening in Henderson.
“Asking rents may now be ticking up because the pool of new apartments renters have to choose from is shrinking while demand for rentals is growing,” he said. “Renters could see perks like free parking start to disappear if the balance of power shifts further toward landlords.”
The Redfin report explained the roller coaster ride the multifamily market has been on overall across the country in its latest report.
“Remote work during the pandemic allowed scores of Americans to relocate, leading to a surge in rental demand. Builders ramped up construction in response — particularly in high-demand Sun Belt states including Texas and Florida,” it read. “As a result, the number of units being completed hit a 50-year high in 2024, causing rents to fall as landlords struggled to fill vacancies. Falling rents and high borrowing costs for builders made building less attractive, which is why we’re now seeing a decline in permits.”
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.