Nevada
All-cash homebuyers in Northern Nevada hit record high
Washoe County broke an all-time record in October for the most all-cash home sales, setting the stage for an area becoming more expensive by the day.
Home prices and high-paying jobs have been on the rise in Washoe County, largely the cities of Reno and Sparks, as major companies continue to set up shop and rapidly grow in the area.
Nearly 30 percent of Washoe County’s home sales in October were all-cash (no mortgage needed), a record-breaking high dating back more than a decade, which is how long the county assessor’s office has been collecting the data. And while Lake Tahoe is known for multimillion-dollar real estate, houses on the Nevada side of the city make up a small fraction of the residences in Washoe County.
Brian Bonnenfant, project manager for the Center for Regional Studies at the University of Reno, Nevada said Northern Nevada’s real estate scene has been seeing an influx of high-income earners along with high-income jobs for years.
Companies such as Tesla, Google and Panasonic have all set up shop in Northern Nevada alongside the region’s lithium-ion battery company boom. The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, billed as the largest industrial park in the world, houses a Tesla gigafactory which opened in 2016 and employs an estimated 11,000 workers. Tesla also announced at the start of 2023 it plans on hiring 3,000 more workers and building two new factories as part of the Sparks facility.
Home sales, and home prices, said Bonnenfant, have invariably gone up with the boom in business.
“The luxury side of product has still been very healthy (in Washoe County),” Bonnenfant said in regards to massive companies like Tesla and Google bringing corresponding high-wage tech salaries. “A lot of million-dollar-plus homes, existing and new are being built and sold, it’s easily the most popular product in town.”
Washoe County is located along the northwestern edge of Nevada, and is the second largest county in the state by population with close to a half-million residents.
Bonnenfant said much like Southern Nevada, high-income earners from California are seeking out a cheaper life in Washoe County. Their companies are moving here and bringing them with them. The biggest demographic age range moving to the area is 20-29 year olds.
“Through November, one out of every four existing homes were cash purchases,” he said. “This indicates that the California relocation of homeowners is alive and well, or investors still see our region as a safe investment, albeit at relatively high prices, or both.”
He said with high mortgage rates (just under 7 percent for a 30-year-fixed rate right now), someone would need to make at least $125,000 annually to afford a mortgage for the median home sale price in Washoe County, which currently sits at around $560,000.
Las Vegas Realtors says the median price for a resale home in Southern Nevada in December was $449,900.
“And that’s out of reach for most households now, unless of course you are a Californian, and sell your house in California for say more than (the average home price) and then bring that money over here. And that’s made up the bulk of the activity this year, what’s been driving a lot of it is those cash sales.”
Sarah Scattini, a real estate agent who has been working in Northern Neveda for 20 years, said she really noticed real estate begin to take off in 2019, with a new influx of high-income earners.
Scattini, vice president of the Nevada Realtors State Association, said major companies such as Tesla and Google are helping their employees relocate to the southern part of the state.
“They’re also giving them incentive packages to entice them to move here and come make the jump here,” she said. “So they are paying for their rent for a period of time while they come look for homes to buy in the area.”
California boomin’
Close to a third of the people who are relocating to Washoe County are from California and it has been that way for decades, according to Washoe County data.
Bonnenfant said that back in 2015 the county was selling approximately 30 homes a quarter that were valued at more than $1 million and since the pandemic that number has jumped to 143. The Reno area has also added close to 10,000 more jobs through November of last year, compared to the same time period in 2022.
Much like in Clark County and the rest of the U.S., spiking mortgage rates “kneecapped” the Washoe County market, Bonnenfant added.
Washoe County also takes into account the ultra-affluent Lake Tahoe area where the average sale price for a home is approximately $1.6 million, according to the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service.
This has in turn sparked an affordability crisis and subsequent spike in homelessness in the region that Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve has addressed as a key priority. In an email response to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Schieve said Reno is making a big effort to provide more affordable housing.
“From new home construction, to new apartments and rehabilitating existing structures, Reno is working to add housing in a variety of neighborhoods.”
Schieve said Reno has spent $11.7 million in rental assistance in the last three years, supporting 3,661 households, and from 2022 to the end of last year, 2,600 apartments and single-family dwelling units were created. This included the city council approving federal funding that helped build 1,134 affordable housing units and 134 rehabilitation units.
Council also allocated $7.5 million from American Rescue Plan funds to help build a rehabilitation facility for low-income residents with mental health needs, as well as units other low-income residents or homeless veterans.
Many local citizens have decried the increase in home prices, and invariably, the rental rates. RentCafe has the average rental rate for a one-bedroom in the Reno area at $1,631, well above the average rate of $1,457 in Las Vegas.
Scattini said this is the biggest test that Washoe County will face in the years to come, is making sure affordable housing keeps up with the growing housing demand in the area.
“I think the big thing a lot of people don’t know is that 87 percent of Nevada is owned by the government,” she said, referring to federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. “And it’s pretty simple they need to release more of that land so we can continue to build because currently in Northern Nevada we don’t have the infrastructure.”
2023 was the slowest year for home sales Washoe County has seen since 2018, but cash buyers have clearly propped up the local housing market. Bonnenfant said as long as the narrative remains the same, the real estate story will continue in lockstep.
“Recent census data reports that California continues to bleed above income households,” he said. “Thus, the demand side continues to show healthy signs for our region.”
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
The Las Vegas Raiders have orchestrated many groundbreaking moves this offseason, but none as important as the impact they made at a fundraising event.
Over the weekend, the Raiders hosted the Silver & Black Gala, raising $2.5 million for mental health in Nevada. Sunday marked the third time the organization had hosted the event, which has produced a tremendous turnout.
Several individuals spoke during the event, including Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Sandra Douglass Morgan, who each highlighted the importance of acknowledging mental health.
Davis’ Thoughts
- “We’re here to raise money for mental health, which is one of the most important things we can all deal with,” Davis said. “Every one of us is impacted by mental health and our families, friends, or anywhere else, we are all directly affected. That’s why it’s so critical to raise money for our community. We’re grateful for you all, and appreciate you being here.”
Morgan’s Thoughts
“Mental health remains one of the most urgent issues across Nevada,” Morgan said. “Through the Silver & Black Gala, the Raiders Foundation is helping expand access to trusted, community-based resources that meet people where they are. This year’s recipients reflect the depth and complexity of that work, supporting our community in schools, clubhouses, homes, shelters, and family systems statewide.”
The Raiders also honored former player Carl Nassib and NFL broadcaster Jay Glazer on Sunday night as the winners of the Commitment to Excellence award. Here is what each of them had to say.
Glazer’s Thoughts
- “First, this is incredible what the Raiders are doing,” Glazer said. “God blessed me with the ability to communicate, so I’m going to use that to try and help other people. When we’re willing to share our scars, we turn them into strength—into something that connects us as teammates with nothing to hide. That’s what builds a true team, a championship team. I’m proud to stand with you and be part of this team tonight.”
Nassib’s Thoughts
- “It is truly a privilege to be up here,” Nassib said. “We’re creating space for people to be vulnerable—and that work is truly lifesaving. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and reminding people they’re not alone.”
Overall Thoughts
This has been a tremendous event over the last few years, and the Raiders’ organization has done a great job of raising awareness for mental health. This will be an event that the team will continue to host in the future.
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Nevada
Nevada workers fear homelessness as housing, jobs vanish before July deadline | Fox News Video
The final casino resort in Primm, Nevada, will close this summer after years of declining tourism, ending gaming operations in the once-busy border town and putting hundreds of employees out of work.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is shutting down its remaining hotel and casino operations in July as experts point to increased competition, changing travel habits and post-pandemic losses behind the decline.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R) is in a strong position heading into the thick of his 2026 reelection bid — a huge war chest, almost universal name recognition and strong favorability numbers among the electorate.
Though Lombardo is likely focusing on the general election already, he faces 6 longshot candidates in the GOP primary seeking to upset him in June.
Nevada Governor GOP primary: 6 longshot candidates taking on incumbent Joe Lombardo
The challengers face a ‘Herculean’ task, said Mike Noble, CEO and founder of Noble Predictive Insights, an Arizona-based nonpartisan pollster focusing on the Southwest region.
“I see it as a Herculean task for anyone. If someone was coming in with like, I don’t know $10 million or something to spend, sure I can see that might be competitive, but I don’t see any of them coming anywhere near close to that. And so again, I just think I think it’s a non-factor at this point,” Noble said.
RELATED | Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast: Early Noble poll shows dead heat in governor’s race
Despite the long odds, News 4-Fox 11 reached out to all candidates requesting an interview as part of our commitment to 2026 election coverage and our Know Your Candidates series. Three of the 7 running interviewed with us — Irina Hansen, Kameron Hawkins, Lombardo and Jose Zelaya did not respond to multiple emails requesting an interview.
We asked them similar questions about Gov. Lombardo’s leadership as governor, how they would pass a balanced budget and whether they support taxpayer subsidies for sports teams or major projects.
Click the candidate’s name to watch their full interview. Quotes below have been edited for space and clarity.
Donald J. Beaudry Jr. is an entrepreneur who founded BlkEdgeAi, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven trading systems and market strategy, according to his campaign website.
He told News 4-Fox 11 that Nevada has been drifting the last four years with ‘no captain, no vision.’ He believes his Wall Street-like trading market called NGEX (Nevada Global Exchange) would generate enough revenue to eliminate sales taxes, property taxes, business taxes and vehicle registration fees.
“I completely blueprinted it out and calculated that this model could generate enough revenue in this state that we could eliminate all the state taxes and fees that are currently in place and use that as the revenue source for the state and make everybody, every man, woman and child throughout Nevada, a shareholder in the dividends of that exchange … it would be a kind of Wall Street type of stock market, but far broader, more advanced, and exponentially more profitable.”
Matthew Rian Winterhawk is the founder of SmartSlaps foundation, a nonprofit that works to help schools and students with civic engagement and community responsibility.
If elected, he described going through a DOGE-like review of the state budget to determine which areas can be cut or kept depending on their ‘dollar to impact’ ratio.
“What I would like to do is go through every department, I’m talking top to bottom, from here from the primary to the beginning. We will cut every piece of administrative bloat across the system … I need more money for my teachers. Teachers never see it, students never see it, the impact never reaches the classroom. It’s 100% administrative bloat.”
The son of immigrants, Barak Zilberberg is now an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Las Vegas. He ran for governor in 2022, earning 0.2% of the vote in the GOP primary. He told News 4-Fox 11 he’s also running for President in 2028.
He said he’s running for governor to improve the educational system, bring jobs to Nevada and open up federal land to build more affordable housing.
“We’ve got get high-speed railing systems in here where we can transit very easily, efficiently, and basically moving around between economies of both cities. Not only that, I’d like to bring Disneyland here and the Olympics, sponsor the Olympics here. I just want to make this a well-known place of entertainment, a hub.”
To help voters make informed decisions this election year, News 4-Fox 11 is publishing and broadcasting dozens of interviews with candidates who will appear on the June primary ballot.
In fairness to all candidates, they were asked a series of similar questions. We are posting the full interviews online so voters can watch their responses in their entirety.
Visit our Know Your Candidates 2026 page to view other race previews and meet other candidates.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.
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