Nevada’s explosive growth is creating a severe housing shortage, with the state needing almost 80,000 affordable housing units to meet demand.
“According to an annual report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) published in April, the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise area had 13 affordable housing units available for every 100 extremely low-income household renters who needed them.” Nevada, with 18 affordable units for every 100 low-income renters, has the “most severe” affordable housing shortage in the country, reports Shannon Miller in Las Vegas Weekly. “That’s a shortage of 79,835 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters across the Silver State, according to the report.”
The article notes that “Nevada also tops the list for highest percentage of extremely low-income households (earning 0% to 30% of area median income, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) that are “severely cost burdened,” meaning the household pays more than 50% of its income on housing costs, including utilities,” with 20 percent of Nevada renter households classified as extremely low-income.
Meanwhile, construction of new market-rate housing is booming in the state. “Las Vegas Realtors in March listed the median price for a single-family home at nearly $460,000, a 27% increase from last year. And the Nevada State Apartment Association reported that monthly apartment rents in Southern Nevada rose about 20% from last year, from an average of $1,200 in April 2021 to $1,450 in April 2022.”
“In response to the affordable housing shortage, Clark County in April announced $160 million for a new Community Housing Fund to support affordable housing development,” as well as a plan to fund over 600 affordable units.
FULL STORY: Taking stock of Nevada’s affordable housing shortage—the ‘most severe’ in the nation
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