SNHBA president says new home market will rebound in 2026

The new president of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association said he expects a rebound in the new-home market in 2026 after a decline this year.

Builders have taken out 8,220 permits through the first 10 months of 2025, a decline of 2,682 or 25 percent. Home closings of 8,391 are down 18 percent or 1,894, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research.

“We expect it to improve in 2026,” said Aaron Hirschi, the regional manager of KB Home and new SNHBA president. “Interest rates have been a challenge for a lot of buyers and made payments difficult to afford. There seems to be some indications that the Fed is going to continue to ease rates, which should help with affordability and help bring the market to a positive growth trajectory.”

Mortgage rates are currently above 6 percent, and Hirschi said getting them below that would make a difference and the further they fall, the better.

“I foresee a stable and steady growth over the coming years,” Hirschi said. “There’s a lot of good things happening economically in Las Vegas, and that economic growth is going to continue to attract people here and drive solid demand for housing.”

The 48-year-old Hirschi, a Las Vegas native, came to KB Home in 2019 as executive vice president after working six years for a development company in Southern California. He advanced to division president in 2022 and regional general manager overseeing Las Vegas, Colorado and Idaho divisions in 2024.

Hirschi said he’s excited to assume the leading SNHBA role after being involved with the association for six years, including serving as chairman of the Legislative Committee. The term is for two years and coincides with the end of the 2027 legislative session.

“It’s an honor to get the opportunity to take my turn in the lineup of great leaders that have led the organization up until now,” Hirschi said. “I don’t know that being president was something I aspired for, but what I was driven to was a passion for making a difference through SNHBA. I just looked for every way I can to contribute to be a part of the conversation that helps solve some of the big challenges that we face in housing.”

As chair of the SNHBA’s Legislative Committee, Hirschi’s leadership was singled out by association CEO Tina Frias as having played a pivotal role throughout the session and served as a key stakeholder giving input on Assembly Bill 540. That legislation provides $133 million to support housing development, expand income-based housing tiers to reach more families.

“I think that bill was a huge step in a positive direction for the state of Nevada and over the coming years, we will see some real benefits to housing attainability and affordability,” said Hirschi, who was honored for his leadership by the SNHBA at its recent luncheon.

Hirschi said his goals during his term start with continuing to advocate for Congress to make more federal land available for development in Southern Nevada. The growth is limited, with 80 percent of the state’s land being federally owned and managed. Without access to new land for housing, the supply can’t keep up with demand, he said.

“That’s a major priority, and it’s an issue that is going to require effort from all levels of government all the way up to the federal government,” Hirschi said. “It’s a complicated one, but it’s a critical one.”

That ties into attainable housing since Nevada faces a significant shortage and affordability is challenged by not only land constraints by rising development costs and regulatory hurdles.

“These things impact housing attainability and underscore the urgent need to address land constraints and streamline development processes to ensure more Nevadans have access to safe housing that they can afford,” Hirschi said. “At the root of the problem of housing affordability is a supply-demand imbalance. Anything that we can do to bolster the need for new housing to meet the needs of our growing population is a priority for SNHBA. The competitive market pushes prices up and up. If we can free up a meaningful amount of land and make it available for development, then you can find that equilibrium of supply and demand and release some of the pressure that’s pushing prices upward.”

The homebuilding industry is important to the economic impact on Nevada, Hirschi said. It has a recurring impact of $15 billion with $5.3 billion in wages and more than 78,000 jobs.

“People who we employ on our teams, as well as the trades, consultants and engineers that we use for our work, are all members of our community and have very much bought in and care deeply about the future of Southern Nevada,” Hirschi said.

Also, on the agenda is how the SNHBA continues to focus on sustainability and water conservation. Builders in Southern Nevada are leaders in smart and sustainable design, Hirschi said.

“We’ve been ahead of the curve for years when it comes to water-efficient fixtures and desert landscaping and partnering with the Southern Nevada Water Authority to drive conservation efforts,” Hirschi said. “Beyond that, there’s energy efficiency in the homes that we design. That’s another area we focus our energies on and will continue to lead the way.”

As for the state of the industry and rising prices, Hirschi said tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration have had a minimal impact on the Southern Nevada housing industry. He added there has been more talk about the tariffs and speculation of what they may mean.

“The biggest impact of all the tariff talk has had has just been a little bit of a hit to consumer confidence,” Hirschi said. “The talk and all the news about it has made people cautious.”

Hirschi highlighted how the SNHBA is proud of HomeAid Southern Nevada, the association’s nonprofit arm that supports families at risk of homelessness by renovating shelters, organizing basic need drives and mobilizing volunteers.

“HomeAid’s work is an exciting part of what we do and another way we make an effort to give back to the community,” Hirschi said.