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.
HopeLink of Southern Nevada is hosting its first-ever “Dink for HopeLink” Pickleball Tournament. This is the organization’s main fundraiser of the year Join them for some friendly competition while helping raise money to PREVENT homelessness in Southern Nevada.
HopeLink of Southern Nevada is a non-profit family resource center providing much needed assistance to PREVENT families, individuals and vulnerable seniors from facing homelessness.
‘Dink for HopeLink’ is happening at CHICKEN N’ PICKLE June 28th, 2026 from 1:30pm – 5pm.
Nevada County is pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Evans has been selected to serve as Nevada County’s next Public Health Officer.
“Dr. Evans brings a long history of leadership in healthcare in Nevada County to the Health Officer position,” said Public Health Director Toby Guevin. “His expertise and knowledge of local health needs and providers across the county will be invaluable as we work to strengthen the health of our community. I also want to thank Dr. Cooke for her dedicated service as Health Officer for the past four years, guiding us through numerous challenges coming out of COVID 19.”
Dr. Evans was selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process, which drew from a pool of highly qualified candidates nationwide. His start date is planned for July 1, 2026, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors at their June 16 meeting.
“I’m honored to step into the role of Public Health Officer for Nevada County,” said Dr. Evans. “This is an opportunity to strengthen partnerships across the community, focusing on prevention, preparedness, and improving health outcomes. I look forward to supporting a science based public health team that is responsive, transparent, and grounded in the needs of our residents.”
Dr. Evans is a physician with more than two decades of clinical and leadership experience. Since 2022, he has served as Chief Medical Officer for Tahoe Forest Health, overseeing clinical quality, patient safety, emergency preparedness, communicable disease response, and regulatory compliance across two critical access hospitals and a broad network of services. He has served as both CEO and Chief Medical Officer at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, and served as CEO at Mercy Folsom and Chief Medical Officer at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento.
A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Evans practiced for 15 years in Grass Valley after completing residency at UC Davis. He holds an MD from UCLA, an MBA from CSU Sacramento, and a BS in Biology from UC Davis. Dr. Evans lives in Nevada County with his wife, Jennifer, and has two adult daughters.
California law requires each county to appoint a licensed physician as Health Officer. The Health Officer is responsible for carrying out provisions of the State Health and Safety Code and serves as the physician of record for all Public Health clinical services. The Health Officer reports to the Public Health Director.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Nevada DMV Compliance Enforcement Division is cracking down on stolen luxury cars being openly sold on social media, with criminals listing them using code words and asking as little as a tenth of the normal price.
In one case, a 2021 Hellcat TRX was advertised for $12,000. The vehicle normally sells for at least $100,000.
In an ad for the high-end truck on Facebook, the first word of the description said “lien.”
“It’s pretty blatant. I mean, it’s like advertising drugs for sale online on a public website,” said JD Decker, chief of Nevada DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division.
Decker said the word is code for stolen.
“You won’t be able to register it or title it in your name… therefore the discounted price,” Decker said.
Investigation leads to recovery
Decker’s team tracked down the truck in the city of Las Vegas.
“We found the vehicle had been stolen locally and then wrapped to hide the color and mask the vehicle,” Decker said.
There were other signs the vehicle was stolen. The person pulled out the module from under the dash and started it by hot wire, touching the wires together. The VIN was not centered and was not a stamped manufactured VIN. The VIN also had 16 digits instead of the standard 17. A fake temporary tag was also used.
The team got a warrant to arrest the seller, though they say he fled the state.
“That subject had his first court appearance and had an attorney appear on his behalf. We know he operated between a couple different states. He had previous charges in a couple different states,” Decker said.
Decker said these openly stolen cars advertised for sale are known as striker vehicles.
“When you’re selling a striker vehicle to someone who knows it’s stolen, you really don’t have to make much effort to hide the fact that it’s stolen because that’s kind of assumed in the transaction,” Decker said.
There are also websites that will advertise and sell striker vehicles. According to Decker, the negotiation takes place on offshore encrypted websites that aren’t subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
If you ever have doubts about a vehicle you want to buy, have the seller meet you at the DMV’s VIN inspection station.
“We’d be happy to do that. It’s free. There’s generally no waiting. And if the vehicle comes from out of state, it’s going to require a VIN inspection at DMV anyway,” Decker said.
Decker said his team is constantly on social media looking for stolen vehicles for sale, especially high-end vehicles. He said the ongoing problem with fake tags contributes to this problem. FOX5 has previously reported on that problem
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