Las Vegas Isn't Just A Vacation Destination These Days

Las Vegas is not just a popular vacation destination these days. According to UBS analyst Susan Maklari, the Vegas housing market is heating up.

UBS recently spoke with Gregg Gross, director of Las Vegas for Metrostudy. Gross provided a number of insightful statistics about the Vegas housing market.

Gross says that construction has begun to pick up in recent months, as growing demand has driven down supply of finished vacant homes in the Las Vegas area to only 1.1 months compared to a historical average of around 2.5 months.

UBS is now forecasting a 10 percent increase in Las Vegas housing starts in 2016.

Maklari added that homebuilders seem to be shifting to homes with higher price points as well.

“Although this shift would appear to counter our channel checks, which indicate greater strength among entry-level buyers, the relative affordability of Las Vegas compared to other West Coast cities should offer support,” Maklari explained.

Related Link: Las Vegas Strip Revenue Down 14.7% In August

General economic trends in the Las Vegas area are also encouraging. Job growth is up about 3 percent in the past year. Roughly 77,000 new residents will have moved to the area in 2015 and 2016 combined.

This week, the state reported that Strip gaming revenue is up 1.0 percent and Downtown gaming revenue is up 4.8 percent in the past year.

Despite a strong U.S. housing market, the iShares Dow Jones US Home Const. (ETF) ITB is up just 1.1 percent in 2016.

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