Southern Nevada’s homebuilding market continued its slowdown in October, signaling ongoing challenges for both builders and buyers. According to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research, builders secured 743 net sales—new contracts minus cancellations—last month, a 24 percent drop compared to October last year. Construction activity also declined, with just 633 building permits pulled, down 28 percent year-over-year.
Closings followed a similar downward trend, with 738 new homes sold in October, marking a 31 percent decline from a year earlier. These figures highlight the time lag between when contracts are signed and when homes are completed and closed.
Despite recent easing in mortgage rates, borrowing costs remain elevated compared to the past decade and a half, and home prices are still high. The median price for a new home in Southern Nevada last month was $535,995, up 2.5 percent from October 2023 and just shy of the record $536,471 set in August…