Nevada
Nevada’s hot housing market weighs on US presidential election
The gambling district of Reno, Nevada, on May 9, 2024. Reno, affectionately called “The Biggest Little City in the World, is the seat of Nevadas Washoe County. – The path to the White House this November runs through a handful of swing states, among them Nevada, whose six electoral college votes will be crucial in deciding who gets the keys to the White House. The state’s vast rural hinterlands are solidly Republican and likely to all-but cancel out the Democratic vote in the gambling capital Las Vegas. The state’s final electoral color will depend on Washoe County, a long, thin strip abutting California, whose main city is Reno. (Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP)
Reno, United States — Brittnie Aguirre grew up in Nevada and has always wanted to build her American Dream there: owning a home with her husband and three kids.
But rocketing prices wrought by a years-long real estate boom, have priced her — and many middle-class Americans — out of the market, an issue that could weigh heavily in November’s presidential election.
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“We make the most we’ve ever made in our lives, but we struggle more than we really ever have, just because the cost of living is absolutely through the roof,” Aguirre told AFP.
“It’s not even just housing. I mean, have you seen the price of groceries, of gas?”
The economy
Aguirre, 29, and her 31-year-old husband live and work in Reno, a fast-growing city in the western state of Nevada.
The state, which President Joe Biden won by just 33,000 votes over Donald Trump in 2020, carries a relatively meager six electoral college votes out of the 270 required to win the White House.
But in this year’s knife-edge contest between Kamala Harris and Trump, it is one of a handful of battleground states expected to decide who triumphs.
And American politics is nearly always dominated by the economy, making voters like Aguirre important.
She lived with her in-laws for a year-and-a-half to save for a deposit. But even then — and with property prices continuing to rise — more than half the $71,000 post-tax annual family income would be swallowed by a $3,000 monthly mortgage.
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Although Aguirre voted for Biden in 2020, disappointment over family finances will play into her decision this year.
“I’ve never really been a political person until this last year where we have just struggled so much with the economy,” she said.
“This time, I want to do more research on the political parties to make a well-informed decision.”
‘Everything’s on sale’ –
Reno — nicknamed “The Biggest Little City in the World” — is must-win territory for Harris.
The glitzy big city of Las Vegas to the south leans Democratic, while the rolling rural areas of the rest of the state are reliably Republican.
With the two blocs largely cancelling each other out, winner-takes-all Nevada could come down to Washoe County, where Reno sits.
The population here has doubled since 1990, swelled in recent years by an influx of tech workers, following tax breaks to lure employers like Tesla, Panasonic and Apple.
Coming from California, swathes of that workforce have been delighted to find how much more they can afford.
The average house price in Cupertino, California — where Apple is headquartered — is over $3 million, according to Zillow.
A single-family home in Washoe, Nevada is $550,000.
For Matt Mireles, who runs an AI start-up, leaving San Francisco for Reno was “a slam dunk.”
At 43, he bought himself a 1,900-square-foot (170-square-meter) apartment, with a view of the river in the heart of Reno, for $635,000.
“When you come from California, everything’s on sale,” he said.
‘Priced out’
But the bulk of first-time buyers in Reno are from out of state, says realtor Sam Britt.
“And the locals are angry,” he adds.
While new arrivals might consider $550,000 reasonable for a home, that figure is double what it used to be a decade ago.
Add to that the fact that interest rates are near 20-year highs — the result of central bank action to curb inflation — and it puts home ownership out of reach for many.
Fellow realtor Sean Burke notes that a seven percent interest rate on a 30-year mortgage is affecting Americans everywhere.
“The middle class has been priced out of a lot of the homes,” he said. “It definitely could weigh on the ballot box.”
In 2022, the median age of first-time buyers in the United States hit 36, a record, according to the National Association of Realtors.
While the White House has no control over interest rates, and little real influence over inflation, voters tend to blame the sitting administration for their economic difficulties.
And having been Biden’s understudy during more than three years that many Americans have seen the promise of home ownership slip out of reach, that might be bad news for Harris.
Andres Villa, who works for Tesla, says he is faced with steep monthly payments for his own home and is tempted by the alternative.
“When Trump was in office, he said a lot of crazy things,” he said.
“But it seemed like the economy was running a little bit better.”
As Election Day approaches, the latest economic indicators, including decreasing inflation and a likely Federal Reserve rate cut, are increasingly positive.
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That could bring a few voters like Villa back to Harris — and in a swing state, that’s all she might need.
Home prices in Southern Nevada dropped from record highs to end 2025 and less homes sold last year compared with 2024.
Approximately 28,498 existing homes sold in the region last year, which is down almost 9 percent from the 31,305 homes that sold in 2024, according to trade association Las Vegas Realtors, which pulls its data from the Multiple Listing Service. This is the lowest number of homes sold in a year in Southern Nevada since 2007 right before the Great Recession.
The median sale price for a house sold in Southern Nevada in December was approximately $470,000, a 3.9 percent drop from November, according to LVR. By the end of December, LVR reported 6,396 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 28.8 percent from one year earlier.
Despite a down year in sales, the local market did end on a high note.
George Kypreos, president of Las Vegas Realtors, said he is optimistic the housing market could turn around this year. The LVR report noted that home sales in Southern Nevada have seen “peaks and valleys” in recent years, generally declining since 2021 when a record 50,010 properties sold.
“Although it was a relatively slow year for home sales, we’re seeing some encouraging signs heading into the new year,” said Kypreos in a statement. “Buyer activity locally and nationally is starting to improve. Home prices have been fairly stable, and mortgage interest rates ended the year lower than they were the previous year. Most trends are pointing to a more balanced housing market in 2026.”
Freddie Mac currently has the average price for a 30-year fixed-term mortgage rate at 6.1 percent. That mortgage rate has not gone below 6 percent since 2022.
The all-time high median home sale price in Southern Nevada was broken multiple times last year, and currently sits at $488,995 which was last set in November while the condo and townhome market has dropped substantially from an all-time high that was set in October of 2024 ($315,000) to $275,000 to end 2025.
Major residential real estate brokerages are mixed as to where the market will head this year as Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com have all put out their 2026 projections, and they expect a similar market to 2025. Mortgage rates aren’t expected to drop enough next year to unlock the country’s housing market, new builds will continue to lag, and prices will remain relatively elevated.
Realtor.com said in its report that it predicts a “steadier” housing market next year and a slight shift to a more balanced market. Redfin’s report says 2026 will be the year of the “great housing reset,” which means the start of a yearslong period of “gradual increases in home sales and normalization of prices as affordability gradually improves.”
Finally, Zillow said the housing market should “warm up” in 2026 with “buyers seeing a bit more breathing room and sellers benefiting from price stability and more consistent demand.”
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
TRUCKEE, Calif. — An avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada on Monday buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said.
Rescuers responded after a 911 call around 2:20 p.m. reported a possible avalanche near Johnson Peak and Castle Peak in Truckee.
The snowmobiler was initially reported missing but then was found under the snow several minutes later, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Fellow recreationists found him but he didn’t survive despite lifesaving efforts, according to the statement.
Emergency personnel were working to safely extract the victim late Monday and to confirm no others were buried.
The sheriff’s office said more avalanches could occur and recommended that people avoid the area.
Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center. The center’s current map shows high risk spots in Utah and Washington and areas of considerable risk in California, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming.
Nevada Preps Winter Sports Rankings
Records through Sunday
Boys basketball
Class 5A
1. Liberty (10-5)
2. Democracy Prep (9-6)
3. Coronado (5-6)
4. Bishop Gorman (9-7)
5. Desert Pines (11-4)
Class 4A
1. Clark (8-5)
2. Las Vegas High (10-4)
3. Losee (7-5)
4. Faith Lutheran (11-5)
5. Shadow Ridge (11-4)
Class 3A
1. Virgin Valley (9-2)
2. The Meadows (9-5)
3. Boulder City (9-5)
4. GV Christian (8-6)
5. Pahrump Valley (5-7)
Games to watch
All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Tuesday
Losee at Las Vegas
Faith Lutheran at Liberty
Wednesday
Bishop Gorman at Desert Pines
Virgin Valley at The Meadows
Thursday
Coronado at Mojave
Clark at Durango
Friday
Desert Pines at Las Vegas
Virgin Valley at Boulder City
Saturday
Big City Showdown at Coronado
Liberty vs. Desert Pines, 4:30 p.m.
Bishop Gorman vs. Coronado, 8 p.m.
Girls basketball
Class 5A
1. Bishop Gorman (11-1)
2. Democracy Prep (7-4)
3. Centennial (6-3)
4. Liberty (10-7)
5. Shadow Ridge (3-4)
Class 4A
1. Mojave (9-4)
2. Mater East (10-4)
3. Losee (14-5)
4. Del Sol (13-3)
5. Cimarron-Memorial (9-2)
Class 3A
1. Virgin Valley (6-5)
2. Boulder City (8-6)
3. Moapa Valley (8-4)
4. Coral Academy (7-4)
5. Pahrump Valley (4-7)
Games to watch
All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Wednesday
Faith Lutheran at Shadow Ridge
Centennial at Liberty
Mojave at Desert Oasis
Thursday
Sierra Vista at Cimarron-Memorial, 5 p.m.
Friday
Mater East at Desert Oasis
Virgin Valley at Boulder City
Saturday
Big City Showdown at Coronado
Bishop Gorman vs. Centennial, 6:15 p.m.
Flag football
Class 5A
1. Desert Oasis (8-0)
2. Shadow Ridge (10-1)
3. Arbor View (10-1)
4. Palo Verde (10-3)
5. Liberty (6-2)
Class 4A
1. Virgin Valley (5-3)
2. Sierra Vista (5-2)
3. Mater East (6-3)
4. Clark (7-4)
5. Spring Valley (5-2)
Games to watch
All games at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Palo Verde at Desert Oasis
Coronado at Bishop Gorman
SECTA at Arbor View
Friday
Shadow Ridge at Palo Verde
Canyon Springs at Arbor View
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