Lennar closes 2024 as No. 1 builder

Lennar retained its top spot as the No. 1 builder in Las Vegas in 2024 as the industry saw a 11 percent increase in net sales for the year and the top five builders held their positions over 2023, according to Home Builders Research.

The industry had to overcome higher prices and elevated interest rates to post the second best year since the pandemic with 11,719 net sales (sales minus cancellations), topping the 10,529 in 2023. The best year since the pandemic was 2021 with 12,902 net sales when mortgage rates were much lower compared to those hovering in the high 6 percent range in recent months.

The lack of inventory of existing homes helped builders end the year accounting for 28 percent of all home closings (new and existing), a 2 percent increase from 2023 despite rising prices.

The median price for new single-family homes was $574,346, a 13.1 percent increase over 2023. The median price of attached homes was $385,312, an increase of 2.6 percent.

That may be one reason why traffic of potential buyers looking at homes fell 6 percent, but new projects to look at were down 10 percent.

Lennar had 2,143 net sales in 2024, a 18.8 percent increase over the 1,804 in 2023. The median closing price was $490,000, a 7.7 percent increase.

D.R. Horton held the No. 2 spot with 1,910 net sales, an 8.9 percent increase over the 1,754 in 2023. The median closing price was $413,990, a 3.3 percent decrease.

Pulte Group stays at No. 3 with 1,533 net sales, a 2 percent decline from the 1,565 sales in 2023. The median closing price was $581,487, a 4.9 percent increase. The median closing price was $508,252, a 9.9 percent increase.

KB Home remained at No. 4 with 1,351 net sales, down 12.7 percent from 1,547 sales in 2023.

Richmond American held No. 5 with 920 net sales, a 27.8 percent increase from 720 in 2023. The median closing price was $515,975, a 9.1 percent increase.

Century Communities was No. 6 with 699 net sales, a 66 percent increase over the 421 in 2023. The median closing price was $505,963, a 4.2 percent increase.

Toll Brothers was No. 7 with 610 net sales, a 56.8 percent increase over the 389 in 2023. The median closing price was $734,221, a 1.5 percent decrease.

Beazer Homes was No. 8 with 484 sales, 3.9 percent increase over the 466 in 2023. The median closing price was $449,995, an 11.1 percent increase.

Touchstone Living was No. 9 with 422 sales, a 9.9 percent increase over the 384 in 2023. The median closing price was $365,490, a 1.1 percent decrease.

Tri Pointe Home was No. 10 with 411 sales, a 2.5 percent increase over the 401 in 2023. The median closing price was $597,198, a 5.7 percent decrease.

Despite the strong year, December ended on a weak note for builders with 633 net sales, down from 776 in December 2023 and 15 percent below the 774 net sales in November. It’s the lowest level reported since December 2022. Interest rates approached 7 percent in December, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research President Andrew Smith.

“The rate outlook for 2025 now appears to be more bearish than was seen in the second and third quarter of 2024 when most analysts expected to see mortgage rates drop steadily over the course of this year,” Smith said. “Now, though, it appears a 6.5 percent average 30-year rate by the end of 2025 is more likely.”

While net sales were up 11 percent for the year, closings also rose 11 percent, Smith said.

There were 12,246 closings for the year, an increase of 1,254. Of those 9,179 were single-family homes, a 9.8 percent increase over 2023. There were 3,246 net sales of attached homes, a 16 percent increase.

Home Builders Research reported six new for-sale product lines opening in December, bringing 406 lots into the market. The total number of subdivisions that opened in 2024 is 90, down 10 percent from 100 seen in 2023.

More than 7,600 lots were added from those 90 projects — a 38 percent decline from the more than 12,000 lots added from the 100 communities opened in 2023. Smith said that’s likely a result of the overall scarcity of lots and land in the market.

D.R. Horton was December’s top-selling builder with 140 net sales. The top-selling individual communities in December were D.R. Horton’s Kalea Trails in North Las Vegas and Del Webb at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson from Pulte Group, each with 14 net sales.

Builders didn’t slow down in 2024 when it came to taking out permits to construct homes. The 2024 total of 12,543 was a 6 percent year-to-year increase. The December 2024 building permit total of 736 was 30 percent lower than December 2023. In the fourth quarter, there were 2,505 new home permits, 9 percent less than the fourth quarter of 2023.

Land closing activity in December 2024 saw builders add nearly 300 acres of raw land to their portfolios, highlighted by just over 209 acres acquired by KB Home in the Villages at Tule Springs MPC in North Las Vegas, Smith said.

Clark County’s data shows 18.2 percent of new home closings in December were cash transactions, just over 1 percent higher than the previous month, Smith said. Of those that were financed, the average loan amount was $461,035, up slightly month-to-month.

The largest loan for a new home closing in November was $3 million by C3 Bank, for a home in the Caprock collection at Ascension in Summerlin from Pulte Homes, Smith said.