The Las Vegas real estate market: Stats & trends for 2022

Cash is king in Las Vegas, and it’s not just in the casinos. 

According to The Nevada Independent, the rise of cash buyers across Nevada’s housing market is leaving some homebuyers locked out of the market.¹ Investors, wealthy buyers, large corporations, and investment pools have been hitting the jackpot by buying homes in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is located in Southern Nevada and is the most populous city in the state. Home to over 2.2 million people in the metropolitan area, Vegas is the financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada and the greater Mojave Desert region. 

Metropolitan Las Vegas encompasses nearly 8,000 square miles, five cities including Henderson and Summerlin South, and is proud of its pro-business government and lack of a state sales tax. 

Billed as “The Entertainment Capital of the World,” the economy of Las Vegas is about much more than just gambling and tourism. Key industries in the Las Vegas metropolitan area include aerospace and defense, healthcare, information technology, mining, and natural resource technologies.

Here’s more of what investors need to know about investing in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2022.

>>Explore Roofstock's Las Vegas properties here.

Population growth

Population growth in Clark County (where Las Vegas is located) has outpaced U.S. population growth for more than 90 consecutive years.² 

The increase in people and businesses moving to Las Vegas has local policymakers and governmental agencies preparing for another population boom. In fact, over the next 40 years, the population of Clark County is predicted to swell by another 1 million residents.³

Key population stats:

• Las Vegas is home to nearly 671,000 residents and more than 2.2 million people in the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metropolitan area.
• Population growth in Las Vegas is 1.57% year-over-year, and by 10% over the last decade, according to the most recent census.⁴
• Over the past 20 years the population of Clark County has increased by about 20%.⁵
• In the next 10 years, the population is projected to grow by another 8.3%.
• Las Vegas is within an easy one-day drive of Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City with newcomers attracted by the region’s relatively affordable housing, climate, and lack of state income tax.
• Per capita income in the Las Vegas metro area is $31,651, while median household income is $61,048.

Job market

Although housing costs are rapidly rising in Las Vegas, Nevada is where many employers and people want to call home. More than 100,000 manufacturing jobs were created over three years in just five states in the Southwest, with Nevada accounting for 30% of the national total, according to the Las Vegas Sun.⁶ 

Key employment stats:

• GDP for the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA is over $119 billion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and has grown by nearly 38% over the past decade.⁷
• Unemployment in Las Vegas is 5.0% (as of April 2022).⁸
• Job sectors in Las Vegas showing the fastest signs of recent growth are leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, information, and trade and transportation.
• Industries targeted to ensure the continued growth and success of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada include general and advanced manufacturing, creative industries, clean technologies, transportation and logistics technologies, healthcare services, and information and communication technologies.⁹
• Tech companies to know in Las Vegas include Scientific Games, Zappos, GoWireless, and WaveAccess.
• Clark County School District, Clark County, casinos such as Wynn Las Vegas and Bellagio, University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas are among the largest employers in Nevada.¹⁰
• Over 86% of the residents of Las Vegas have a high school degree or higher, while more than 25% hold a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree.
• Higher education facilities in Las Vegas include the College of Southern Nevada, University of Nevada School of Medicine, and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
• Interstate 15 connects Las Vegas to Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, while US 93 connects the city to Phoenix.
• McCarran International Airport handles domestic, international, and freight and cargo service with direct flights to most of the U.S. and many international destinations.

Real estate market

The housing market in Southern Nevada has been seeing record-high prices and fast sales as buyers flood the real estate market in Las Vegas. 

According to FOX5 News, the median sale price of a single-family home in Las Vegas was $483,000 the end of May 2022, an increase of over 25% compared to the same time last year. In fact, since January 2012, the median price of a single-family home has more than quadrupled.11

Key market stats:

• The Zillow Home Value Index for Las Vegas is $440,329 as of May 2022.¹²
• Home values in Las Vegas increased by nearly 33% over the past year and have grown by nearly 103% since 2016.
• The median list price of a home for sale in Las Vegas is $430,000 based on the most recent report from Realtor.com (April 2022).¹³
• The median listing price per square foot of a home in Las Vegas is $252.
• According to Realtor.com, some of the best neighborhoods in and around Las Vegas are Lone Mountain, Sun City Summerlin, and North Cheyenne.
• Of the 51 neighborhoods in Las Vegas, The Paseos is the most expensive with a median listing price of $950,000.
• Most affordable neighborhood in Las Vegas is East Las Vegas, where the median listing price of a home is $285,000.

Strong renters’ market

Home prices in Las Vegas are expected to continue to rise, suggesting that residents in the area will continue to rely upon SFRs to satisfy their housing needs. 

Key market stats:

• The median rent for a 3-bedroom home in Las Vegas is $2,100 per month, according to Zumper (as of June 2022).¹⁵
• Rent prices in Las Vegas have increased by 8% year-over-year.
• Over the past 3 years, rent for a 3-bedroom place in Las Vegas has increased by about 38%.
• Single-family homes in Las Vegas make up 64% of the housing units, helping to make a house an attractive rental option.¹⁶
• Renter-occupied households account for 45% of the occupied housing units in Las Vegas.

Historic price changes & housing affordability

Changes in housing prices and housing affordability are two of the many metrics real estate investors use to analyze a real estate market before buying a rental property. 

The Home Price Index (HPI) reports the increase or decrease of housing prices over time, while the Housing Affordability Index (HAI) measures the median cost of housing in a market relative to the median household income.

The Freddie Mac House Price Index (FMHPI) provides a measure of typical price inflation for houses within the United States. According to the most recent report (April 2022) from Freddie released for the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metropolitan area:¹⁷

• April 2017 HPI: 155.8
• April 2022 HPI: 294.8
• 5-year change in home prices: 89.2%
• One-year change in home prices: 28.0%
• One-month change in home prices: 2.1%

The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) compares median family incomes to prices of median resale single-family homes. HAIs use 100 as a baseline index number. Real estate markets with an HAI above 100 tend to be more affordable to buy, while cities with an HAI below 100 tend to be more favorable for renting.

According to the most recent data, the HAI for Las Vegas is 97. This means that buying a median priced home is less affordable for residents with a median household income, which could be a sign of a strong demand for rental housing in Las Vegas and the surrounding area.¹⁸

Quality of life

Las Vegas is ranked as one of the best places to live and retire by U.S. News & World Report. Although Vegas has a reputation as the place where adults go to play, there are plenty of suburban communities and beautiful parks just off of the Strip.¹⁹

Key quality of life stats:

• Las Vegas receives high marks for desirability, quality of life, and net migration from U.S. News.
• Niche.com gives Las Vegas an overall B grade with high marks for nightlife, weather, and public schools.²⁰
• Overall cost of living in Las Vegas is about 12% higher than the national average.²¹
• Great weather, no state income tax, and plenty of outdoor adventures are three of the many reasons people are moving to Las Vegas.
• Scenic areas near Las Vegas include the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Lake Mead, and Death Valley National Park.
• According to US News, the best hospitals in Las Vegas include the Children’s Hospital of Nevada at University Medical Center and the Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center.²²
• Major professional sports teams in Las Vegas are the Las Vegas Raiders (formerly the Oakland Raiders), the NHL Vegas Golden Knights, and the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.

Get out the map

Where to begin your search? Roofstock created a heat map of Las Vegas based on our Neighborhood Rating, a dynamic algorithm that enables you to make informed investment decisions by measuring school district quality, home values, employment rates, income levels and other vital investment criteria.

DARK GREEN: 4-5 star neighborhood
LIGHT GREEN: 3.5-4 star neighborhood
YELLOW: 2.5-3 star neighborhood
ORANGE: 2 star neighborhood
RED: 1 star neighborhood

Ready to invest in the Las Vegas housing market? If you haven't already done so, create your free Roofstock account and set up alerts. We'll notify you when we have a Las Vegas investment property that matches your search criteria.

References

1. https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/rise-of-cash-buyers-across-nevadas-housing-market-leaves-conventional-homebuyers-locked-out
2. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2021/jul/26/are-we-ready-for-another-population-boom/
3. https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/clark-county-expected-to-grow-by-1m-people-by-2060-2404822/
4. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/las-vegas-henderson-paradise-nv
5. https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/clark-county-expected-to-grow-by-1m-people-by-2060-2404822/
6. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2021/jul/26/are-we-ready-for-another-population-boom/
7. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NGMP29820
8. https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.nv_lasvegas_msa.htm
9. https://www.lvgea.org/lvgea-releases-southern-nevadas-new-target-industries/
10. https://www.nevadaresorts.org/benefits/largest-employers-full.php
11. https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/las-vegas-home-prices-reach-yet-another-record-high-2492352/
12. https://www.zillow.com/las-vegas-nv/home-values/
13. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Las-Vegas_NV/overview
14. https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2021/07/06/against-all-odds-las-vegas-housing-market-defies-experts/
15. https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/las-vegas-nv
16. https://censusreporter.org/profiles/31000US29820-las-vegas-henderson-paradise-nv-metro-area/
17. http://www.freddiemac.com/research/indices/house-price-index.page
18. https://nevada.hometownlocator.com/nv/clark/las-vegas.cfm
19. https://realestate.usnews.com/places/nevada/las-vegas
20. https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/las-vegas-clark-nv/
21. https://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/city/nevada/las_vegas
22. https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/las-vegas-nv