Homebuilders to end year on positive note

The Las Vegas new-home market got off to a good start during the fourth quarter with a 41 percent year-over-year increase despite elevated interest rates putting a cap on sales.

The valley is on pace to close with its highest share of new-home closings since 1992 as prices continue to hit record levels.

Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research reported the 983 net sales (sales minus cancellations) in October easily topped the 697 net in October 2023 for the 41 percent gain. Home Builders Research President Andrew Smith said that despite the gain, the weekly average net sales per month continues to decline as 2024 winds down.

Over the course of October, the average 30-year mortgage rates jumped up 0.6 percent, and by month’s end, they sat at just over 6.7 percent, roughly equal to where they were at the start of August, he noted.

“While resale inventory also continues to increase, climbing rates will not do anything to help boost the seasonally slower fourth-quarter market,” Smith said. “November has seen steady increases, though they have been much smaller.”

To start the fourth quarter, there were eight new for-sale product lines opening in October, bringing 750 lots into the market.

Cantata Point at Cadence from Beazer Homes was the only one offering attached products with 178 homesites, while DR Horton, KB Home, Lennar, Richmond American Homes, Taylor Morrison and Toll Brothers debuted new communities with detached homes. The average base asking price of the new offerings is $589,654, Smith said.

More than 20 percent of the subdivisions available offer attached products with North Las Vegas having the highest share of attached projects at 31 percent, followed by the east area with 29 percent. Henderson has the third-highest share of attached projects with 27 percent, Smith said.

D.R. Horton was October’s top-selling builder with 182 net sales. Three other builders — Lennar, Pulte Group and KB Home — also surpassed 100 net sales for the month. Watercolor from Touchstone Living in North Las Vegas was the top-selling individual community in October with 31 net sales. Sun City Mesquite by Del Webb (Pulte) also had 22 net sales, Smith said.

The 875 builder permits issued in October 2024 was 13 percent higher than October 2023. The 2024 total of 10,913 is an 11 percent year-to-year increase from 2023 through October, Smith said.

As for closings that are a lagging indicator to net sales, Smith said there were 1,067 new home closings in October, a 14 percent increase from October 2023. The 2024 total of 10,271 is 11 percent higher than 2023 through October, Smith said.

Home Builders Research reported the new-home market share in terms of overall closings in October was 27.9 percent. In 2023, builders made up 26.5 percent of the total market, and if the 2024 trend continues this, the Las Vegas market will surpass 27 percent this year.

There were 791 single-family detached closings in October, 2.5 percent more than a year ago. The 2024 total sits at 7,603, 9 percent higher than 2023 through October, Smith said.

Attached products closed 276 units in October, 29 percent more than in October 2023. The 2024 total of 2,668 is 16 percent higher than 2023 through October. Market share for attached new home products in October came in at 26 percent, the same as the overall figure for 2024, Smith said.

Some 16.7 percent of new home closings in October were cash transactions. Of those that were financed, the average loan amount was $464,120, the highest of 2024 for the second month in a row. The average loan size is up nearly 7 percent over the past 12 months, Smith said.

“This increase is in lockstep with the average new home closing price over that time,” Smith said. “The largest loan for a new home closing in October was $4.05 million by Morgan Stanley Private bank, for a custom home in the Equinox community from Blue Heron in MacDonald Highlands in Henderson.”

The median new home closing price for all product types was $522,990 in October 2024, an 11.3 percent increase from October 2023, Smith said. The median new home closing prices for single-family homes was $564,950, up 15 percent from October 2023.

For attached product types, the October 2024 new home median closing price was $390,868, 5.6 percent higher than October 2023, Smith said.