The Las Vegas metropolitan area continues to strengthen, with its Zonda Market Ranking rising from “slightly over performing” to “significantly over performing.”
Annual housing starts remained stable near their 12-month peak, while new home closings rose 2.5% to 11,851 units - their highest level of the year and on par with the 3-year average. The market shows robust growth beyond pre-pandemic levels, with closings up 14% and starts up 15%.
Construction pipeline metrics are healthy, as under-construction inventory decreased to 4.3 months, below the 3-year average. Finished vacant inventory declined and continues to track below its 10-year average.
Strengths
A $3 billion federal grant will support the development of a high-speed rail line, cutting travel time between Las Vegas and Southern California to around 2 hours. In addition to creating jobs, the bullet train will boost the Las Vegas tourism economy.
Weaknesses
UNLV's economic outlook report predicts some challenges over the next few years. Due to a slowing economy as the Federal Reserve aims to control inflation, Las Vegas is expected to see declines in visitors, gaming revenue, and hotel occupancy rates.
Supply
Quarterly housing starts increased 23% over a year ago, while the number of available vacant developed lots sits at 9,907 down 6.9% from the same quarter last year. In terms of supply/demand balance, the market area is 6.10% under supplied.
Sales
New home sales in the Las Vegas metropolitan area increased 0.6% year-over-year to an annualized rate of 11,473 units in February. Over the past 12 months, 2,983 sales were attached units and 8,490 were detached. Existing home closings for the 12-month period ending in January posted a year-over-year gain of 4.1% to an annualized rate of 31,982 units.
Prices
The average list price for a new detached home in the region rose by 12.6% to $649,789 in March, while the average list price for a new attached home increased by 10.6% over the same period to $439,027. Homes listed for over $550,000 saw the most closing activity over the past year. The new home affordability ratio for a detached home reached 22.6% in January.
Economy
Total nonfarm employment in the metropolitan area increased 0.5% from the same period last year to 1,147,800 payrolls in Jan. 2025. There were approximately 10,400 fewer jobs in January 2025 compared to the previous month. The local unemployment rate remained flat at 6.1% in January compared to 6.1% in the previous month. January’s 2025's jobless rate is higher than it was this time last year when it stood at 5.5%. Zonda forecasts the region's unemployment rate will finish the year at 5%.
Community
The current population of the area is approximately 2,486,540 people. The population in the area is projected to increase by 1.9% by 2025. There are around 955,220 households in the region, which represents a 2.7% year-over-year increase. Forecasts indicate that current household formation is expected to grow at an annual rate of 3.4% through 2028. Incomes rose by 5.6% from the previous year to $81,192.
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