As Nov. election nears, housing, homelessness top issues in Nevada

Nevada’s nearly 100,000 low-income households often sacrifice food or health care to avoid being evicted from their homes, according to a 2024 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The coalition found that Nevada was the worst state for poor residents seeking housing, saying it has only 14 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.

It’s a trend Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris says her administration would address, proposing to build 3 million new homes in four years and pushing for legislation to stop corporate landlords from setting high prices on rentals. She also proposes having $40 billion for local jurisdictions to address housing.

The plan additionally calls for $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers and a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

Homeownership is “a symbol of the pride that comes with hard work. It’s financial security. It represents what you will be able to do for your children,” Harris said when she announced her plan last month at a North Carolina rally.

Many likely voters have cited economic issues, like inflation and housing, as top priorities in November’s election.

The housing market in Nevada faces unique challenges because of its role as a tourist destination, said Maurice Page, executive director of the Nevada Housing Coalition. He added that the state’s housing market had failed to meet the needs of its growing population.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Clark County went from $937 a month in 2021 to $1,377 in 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said. It’s the 11th highest median rent in the country, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

More troubling: In 2023, Las Vegas and Henderson had more than 30,000 evictions, surely contributing to a spike in the county’s homeless population.

As of Jan. 25, Clark County reported 7,906 people experiencing homelessness to mark a 17% increase from the homeless census 2023. In 2021, the census reported 5,083 homeless.

“The reality of the situation is that Nevada is short 80,000 affordable homes,” Page said. “If we are going to be able to continue to build, whoever’s in office during this next administration, they will really need to focus on increasing the workforce and looking at the economic development opportunities throughout the state.”

Former President Donald Trump, Harris’ November opponent, hasn’t been as detailed in his plans to address the housing crisis, only mentioning a plan to open a surplus of federal land for housing development. Among the 50 states, Nevada has the highest share of land owned by the federal government, at 80%, according to the Nevada Legislature.

“Regulations cost 30% of a new home, and we will open up portions of federal land for large-scale housing construction,” Trump said during a talk at the Economic Club of New York this month. “These zones will be ultralow tax and ultralow regulations — one of the great small-business job creation programs.”

Harris’ proposal was reviewed by professionals across the country, such as Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. Zandi says he has worked with both Democrats and Republicans because he “will help any lawmaker or candidate that is credible.”

“I have been spending a lot of energy and time trying to do work on policies that will help on the supply side of the housing market because we have a very severe shortage of housing,” Zandi told the Sun. “It’s been building since the financial crisis for almost a generation.”

The policies Harris proposed can be distributed broadly across the country because shortages are a national issue that have been most pronounced in low-income households, Zandi said.

It’s unusual for a presidential candidate to lay out such a detailed plan for housing while still campaigning, Zandi said.

“This is really the first time that housing is kind of front and center in terms of the policy that candidates are talking about — at least that Harris is talking about,” Zandi said. “I think that’s really important because it shows where her priorities lie.”

Zandi said some of Harris’ plans were aspirational, like the amount of homes she plans to develop in four years, because of the scale of all the labor, land and materials needed for that project.

“It’s going to take some time, so I don’t know if she could get all that done in one term,” Zandi said. “Three million homes on top of what already is proposed is consequential.”

Page echoed Zandi’s sentiment that some of Harris’ plan may not manifest in one term, calling parts of it “optimistic.” Page said he could see securing congressional approval and the infrastructure needs required for developing federal land as hurdles.

“Over 80% of the land in Nevada is managed by the federal government. And so it really does take a bipartisan collective energy to open up that land so that we can build and develop new housing,” Page said, adding that he viewed it as a top priority.

Page added that he believes not addressing the housing issue properly in Nevada would deter new businesses from locating in the state, which would negatively affect Nevada’s economic growth, job creation and innovation:

“If that’s not addressed immediately, if solutions are not brought to the table, then there’s going to be, I think, severe consequences going forward,” Page said.

[email protected] / 702-990-8923 / @haajrahgilani