Southern Nevada’s homebuilding market continued its slowdown in October, signaling ongoing challenges for both builders and buyers. According to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research, builders secured 743 net sales—new contracts minus cancellations—last month, a 24 percent drop compared to October last year. Construction activity also declined, with just 633 building permits pulled, down 28 percent year-over-year.
Closings followed a similar downward trend, with 738 new homes sold in October, marking a 31 percent decline from a year earlier. These figures highlight the time lag between when contracts are signed and when homes are completed and closed.
Despite recent easing in mortgage rates, borrowing costs remain elevated compared to the past decade and a half, and home prices are still high. The median price for a new home in Southern Nevada last month was $535,995, up 2.5 percent from October 2023 and just shy of the record $536,471 set in August.
Nationally, builders have been offering more incentives, such as price reductions, to stimulate demand. However, many buyers remain hesitant due to a softening labor market and financial pressures, according to National Association of Home Builders Chairman Buddy Hughes and the association’s chief economist, Robert Dietz.
Year-to-date, Southern Nevada builders have closed nearly 8,400 home sales through October—a drop of 18 percent compared to the same period last year. New-home permits are also down 25 percent, with 8,220 pulled so far this year. These numbers suggest that affordability challenges and economic uncertainty continue to weigh on the region’s housing market.