Homebuilders ramp up construction in Southern Nevada as pandemic rages
Southern Nevada homebuilders ramped up construction plans in recent months amid the still-raging coronavirus pandemic, another sign of the housing market’s surprising strength in an otherwise bleak economy.
Builders pulled 3,611 new-home permits in Southern Nevada in the third quarter, up more than double from the second quarter. September’s tally of 1,260 was up 90 percent from the same month last year, according to a recent report from Las Vegas housing tracker Andrew Smith, president of Home Builders Research.
Developers also closed 1,000 new-home sales in September, up 2.8 percent from the same period last year, and booked a median sales price of $370,538, up 0.2 percent, Smith reported.
Single-family houses dominate Las Vegas’ homebuilding market.
The valley’s housing market was initially hit with turbulence when the coronavirus outbreak shut down much of the economy, including Nevada’s casinos, virtually overnight. Resorts and other businesses have since reopened, and while the economy overall in Las Vegas remains badly battered, the housing market quickly bounced back from the chaos, thanks in large part to rock-bottom interest rates that have let homebuyers lock in lower monthly payments.
Nationally, homebuilders’ confidence in the market for single-family houses hit an all-time high in October, surpassing the previous record, set in September, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
Meanwhile, on the resale market, Southern Nevada house prices set another all-time high in September, continuing a “remarkable” streak of record price levels amid the pandemic, trade association Las Vegas Realtors reported.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.