Few young adults in Las Vegas are buying homes, with many being outbid by Baby Boomers in a sizzling home market..
The city’s youngest generation accounted for 3.3 percent of home purchase loans last year, trailing the 5 percent for homebuyers younger than 25 across the U.S., the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, citing a study by Construction Coverage.
Generation Z, or residents born after 1997, struggle to afford homes across greater Las Vegas, where a single-family house is approaching a new all-time high, according to the Las Vegas Realtors.
Baby boomers, with their extra purchasing power and generational wealth gained from buying relatively cheap homes decades ago, are outbuying Gen Z buyers, Mike LaFirenza, founder and CEO of Construction Coverage, told the newspaper.
With a typical home priced more than 50 percent higher than before the pandemic and cost-of-living-adjusted incomes at 37th out of 53 large metros, the affordability gap keeps home ownership out of reach for many Vegas residents in their early 20s.
“Las Vegas’ high demand from older buyers creates stiff competition with the percentage of homebuyers aged 55 and older ranking third among large metros at 27.6 percent.” LaFirenza told the Review-Journal.
“This competition is particularly tough on younger homebuyers, who often lack pre-existing equity for their down payments, making their offers less competitive.”
Las Vegas Re/Max Central broker and owner Lori Galarza said demographic trends could be keeping Gen Z out of the housing market.
“Vegas hasn’t been around for that long, it’s a newer state, so I don’t know if there is the same type of generational wealth here,” Galarza told the newspaper. “And then for people who have been working in the service industry here that earn large enough incomes, they really have to be at their jobs for awhile to achieve that.”
The city’s nomadic workforce could be a factor, as many people migrate to Southern Nevada for work, but don’t stay long enough to put down roots and buy homes, she said.
In addition, California buyers must also be taken into account, given their purchasing power and the average price of homes in that state compared to Nevada.
Millennials in Las Vegas hoping to buy a home also might consider leaving town.
Read more
Commercial
Las Vegas
LVXP unveils plan for tallest resort in Las Vegas with NBA arena
Residential
Las Vegas
Las Vegas leads the US in new home listings growth
Residential
Las Vegas
Millennials struggle to buy homes in Las Vegas
The city has one of the lowest rates of millennial home purchases in the nation, according to Construction Coverage.
Residents born between 1981 and 1996 bought 48.4 percent of the single-family homes last year in Las Vegas, the second lowest rate among the nation’s largest cities.
— Dana Bartholomew