The New York Times today is sounding the housing affordability alarm with a piece that chronicles the difficulties middle class families are having in North Las Vegas.
This quiet working-class town, just beyond the glitz of the Las Vegas Strip, helped spark the global financial crisis 10 years ago. The fallout was inescapable: Nearly one in three homes went into foreclosure.
Today, the community of North Las Vegas, encompassing the 89031 ZIP code, is the model of the recovery that has swept the nation. The economy is growing, companies are hiring, and the housing market is hot, with this suburban enclave spreading farther into the Mojave Desert.
But the recovery has been uneven. ...
... Housing prices in North Las Vegas are rising so fast that many communities are no longer affordable. Much of the new construction is at the high end, keeping out many first-time homeowners. Some cannot come up with money for a down payment, while others are wary of getting back into a market that once burned them.
