LETTER: We need to act now on Las Vegas housing crisis

Nevada is in the midst of a housing crisis that’s hitting working families the hardest. Median home prices in Las Vegas are nearing $500,000, and rents are skyrocketing. For many Nevadans, the dream of homeownership is slipping away, while even renting a modest home can feel like a financial stretch. It’s not just numbers on a spreadsheet — it’s people being forced out of neighborhoods they’ve lived in for years.

This crisis didn’t come out of nowhere. Our state’s rapid growth has far outpaced the construction of new housing, creating a lopsided supply-and-demand equation. At the same time, wealthier transplants from neighboring states, especially California, are entering our market with greater buying power, driving up prices even more. And with more than 85 percent of Nevada’s land owned by the federal government, our ability to expand housing is bottlenecked unless we get serious about land-use reform and infrastructure investment.

We need bold action. That means working with federal partners to free up land for development, streamlining local regulations to encourage affordable housing and expanding support for renters and first-time buyers. If we don’t act now, we risk becoming a state where only the wealthy can afford to stay. Nevadans deserve to live, work and raise families in the communities they call home — not be pushed out by the rising cost of having a roof over their heads.