Moving? 72 percent of Las Vegas homeowners at least considering it

In this Aug. 16, 2017 photo, a portion of the Summerlin master-planned community in northwest Las Vegas is seen from the air.

More Las Vegas homeowners are thinking of moving in the next five years than homeowners in Dallas or Phoenix, according to a survey conducted in the three Southwest cities.

Tech-based real estate company Opendoor, which recently began buying and selling homes in Southern Nevada, asked homeowners in all three cities if they were considering moving soon.

The survey, conducted in October, found that Las Vegas has the highest percentage — 72 percent — of homeowners thinking about moving. In Dallas, 70 percent of homeowners said moving was a possibility; in Phoenix, 69 percent.

More specifically:

• In Las Vegas, 31 percent of those surveyed said they are “completely likely” to move in five years, 41 percent said “slightly likely,” and 28 percent said “not at all likely.”

• In Dallas 26 percent said they are “completely likely.” 44 percent said “slightly likely,” and only 30 percent said “not at all likely.”

• In Phoenix, 27 percent answered “completely likely” to move in the next five years, 42 percent said “slightly likely” and 32 percent said they’re not considering a move at all.

Dale Everett, general manager for Opendoor in Las Vegas, said the study reflects a common perception about Las Vegas’ transience.

“We’re seeing the highest percentage in Las Vegas across all three cities,” Everett said. “It’s about 10 percentage points higher than the other markets. People here are moving sooner and moving more frequently. And this matches what we feel living here. It is a bit of a transient town.”

Realtor Dave Tina, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, said from his research he’s done, the results of the survey seem accurate.

“In general, recent studies have shown that people on average live in a house about five years, which is down from seven,” Tina said.

Both Everett and Tina said that Las Vegans may be more willing to move because the city’s economy — hit so hard by the recession — has been improving in the last several years.

“The city has a strong macroeconomic foundation,” Everett said. “Housing supply is low, but the builders are keeping up. And we have a sports team (the Raiders) coming in, and there is generally a strong Las Vegas economy.”

“With the economy trending up, people are doing well. So they tend to move up and are more likely to make that (housing) change, whether it’s into a smaller or a bigger home,” Tina said.

Homeowners (as opposed to renters) have a distinct tax advantage when it comes to moving, Tina said. According to federal law, homeowners who have lived in their home two of the last five years can sell their house and not pay capital gains taxes on the proceeds.

This rule gives them more money, Tina said, to buy their next home.

“People don’t have any reason not to move because the money they make is tax-free,” Tina said. “And they can use it to move into something bigger or different.”

The study also asked people what the best time of the year was to move. Not surprisingly, few people chose the holidays. The consensus was, across all three cities, that spring was the best time of the year to make the change.

Real Estate

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