Las Vegas homebuilders’ sales, construction plans keep sliding

Las Vegas’ homebuilding market is still seeing drops in activity from year-ago levels, with fewer sales and construction plans, amid a series of headwinds for buyers and builders alike.

Builders landed 694 net sales — newly signed sales contracts minus cancellations — in Southern Nevada in March, down 14 percent from the same month last year, according to a recent report from Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research.

This marked the lowest March sales total since 2015, the firm noted.

Builders also pulled 931 new-home permits in March, down 6.7 percent from a year earlier, signaling a pullback in overall construction plans.

Altogether, builders closed 758 home sales in March, down 20 percent from the same month last year, and fetched a median closing price of $502,990, down 5.1 percent.

After a buyer signs a sales contract with a builder, it can take several months before construction of the house is finished and the sale closes.

Nationally, homebuilder confidence fell sharply last month, with many builders slashing prices or offering other incentives to draw buyers, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

The trade group said that economic uncertainty, along with rising construction costs and interest rates, resulted in the drop in confidence “as the housing market enters into the heart of the spring buying season.”

The U.S.-and-Israel war on Iran especially rattled global economies this year, sparking, among other things, a sharp jump in fuel prices.

“The year started with hopes for housing momentum growth, but risks with respect to the Iran war, energy costs, and declines for consumer confidence have slowed the market,” NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said in a recent news release.

Locally, homebuilders’ first-quarter sales and permit totals plunged from year-ago levels.

Builders brought in 2,239 net sales this year through March in Southern Nevada, down 19 percent from the same three-month stretch last year.

They also pulled 2,295 permits, down 20 percent, and closed 1,947 home sales, down 25 percent, Home Builders Research reported.