Demand for homes is tumbling in Las Vegas as years of price hikes have pushed local buyers to the sidelines of the market and tourism is dwindling.
Active listings in Las Vegas—the number of homes available for sale on the city’s market—has jumped 31 percent in July compared to a year earlier, according to a new report by Redfin. It was the largest increase of any major U.S. metropolitan area that same month, and nearly triple the national rate.
The sudden inventory glut in the city, one of the biggest in the country, is “a tough pill for sellers to swallow,” Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, said in a statement shared with Newsweek. But it is “good news for buyers”—especially as mortgage rates are now nearing their lowest level in 10 months.
What Is Happening In Las Vegas’ Housing Market?
Inventory in Las Vegas is growing faster than anywhere else in the nation. There were a total of 14,575 homes for sale on the city’s market in July, including 3,458 new listings. It was the 12th straight month of 20 percent-plus inventory increases for Sin City.
Meanwhile, home sales are falling. Last month, 2,660 homes sold in the city, down 8.5 percent compared to a year earlier. Pending home sales were also 8.6 percent down from a year earlier, at 2,927. The homes that did manage to sell spent 16 more days on the market compared to July 2024, for a total of 55 days.
This combination of growing supply and shrinking demand is putting significant pressure on local sellers to lower their asking prices. In July, the median sale price of a home in Las Vegas was $445,000, down 0.9 percent from a year earlier.
Five Reasons Why Vegas Housing Market Is Struggling—1: Unaffordable Home Prices
Like many other markets across the U.S, Las Vegas experienced a boom in housing demand during the pandemic which brought prices through the roof. In July 2019, according to Redfin, the median sale price of a home in the city was below $300,000. In June 2022, it had reached a peak of $447,500, above the national average at that same time.
The result of these recent price hikes is that only 19.8 percent of homes for sale in the city are affordable to a family earning the local median income, according to Redfin. The income needed to afford a median price home in Vegas was $108,227 in July. That means that a typical household should spend about 40 percent of its income to buy a median priced home in the city.
2: Cheaper Renting
Not only buying a home in Vegas has become unaffordable for many locals—but renting presents a much cheaper alternative.The median monthly asking rent in Vegas is $1,586, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier but still much less than the typical mortgage payment.
According to Redfin estimates, a buyer would need to pay $2,472 per month for a median priced home in the city at today’s average mortgage rate.
3: Short-term Rental Restrictions
Strict restrictions on the Las Vegas short-term rental market introduced over the past few years are also likely driving a surge in listings in the city.
In 2022, Clark County—home to the famous Las Vegas Strip—implemented regulations limiting short-term rental licenses to 1 percent of total housing units and forbidding short-term rentals within 1,000 feet of each other and 2,500 feet from hotel-casinos. The county only accepted new license applications through a lottery system.
These and other restrictions introduced by other localities are discouraging homeowners and investors who want to rent out their properties, many of whom, Redfin said, would rather opt for selling them now.
4: Dwindling Tourism And Falling Casinos Revenues
As economic uncertainty grows in the country as a response to the Trump administration’s most radical policies, fewer people are visiting Las Vegas—the kind of place where tourists go to blow off some steam and lighten their wallets.
The number of visitors to Vegas dropped 11.3 percent in June compared to a year earlier, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, as Americans are more cautious of their spending. Part of this slowdown, however, is also due to a drop in Canadian visitors thrown off by the Trump administration’s tariffs against their country, according to NPR.
“Convention attendance also fell 10.7 percent and hotel occupancy declined 6.6 percent,” Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com, told Newsweek. “For a metro area so heavily dependent on leisure and hospitality, weaker tourism directly affects local job stability, household income, and ultimately, the pool of prospective homebuyers.”
5: Historical Volatility
Las Vegas’ housing market has historically been vulnerable to ups and downs, as it is considered particularly volatile. The city’s market crashed during the 2008 financial crisis, but bounced back during the pandemic when an influx of Californians sought homes in the neighboring state. Now, this slowdown could just be the result of this recent climb.
What Can Vegas Expect In The Coming Months?
Thanks to the recent pileup of supply and slow demand, Las Vegas may now be one of the most buyer-friendly markets in the U.S.—something that locals should take advantage of.
“Las Vegas is feeling the effects of affordability pressures and elevated mortgage rates more acutely than many other markets, partly because the city’s economy is dependent on a slowing tourism industry,” Zhao in the recent Redfin report.
“With so many homes on the market—and so many sitting for so long—buyers can take their time choosing from a plethora of options, and they may be able to negotiate prices down. And now that mortgage rates have dropped near their lowest level in 10 months, Las Vegas buyers may be able to snag a meaningfully lower monthly payment.”
Tania Jhayem, a realtor at Urban Nest and proud resident of Las Vegas for over 35 years, told Newsweek that she expects the market to bounce back. “With the Fed expected to slightly lower rates soon, we’re hopeful this momentum continues and helps balance out inventory,” she said.
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