The Las Vegas Valley is the eighth hottest market for luxury homebuyers, according to a new study.
Luxury homebuyers are the least challenged by current market conditions, including high interest and mortgage rates along with high home prices, and is benefiting from wealth accumulation from a strong stock market and home price appreciation, the study from Zonda, a new residential construction data company, found.
Las Vegas beat out Los Angeles and Boston in the rankings and the top spot for high-end buyers in 2025 is Charleston, North Carolina, according to the Zonda study.
Zonda notes Las Vegas’ high-income job market has grown 7.9 percent since 2019. Zonda lists the pros for Las Vegas as a favorable tax climate, entertainment, nightlife, restaurants, sports teams, international airport and a close proximity to outdoor activities. But the cons to the market are extreme summer heat, a tight housing market, lack of green spaces compared to other cities, higher than average crime rates in some areas plus crowds and congestion.
Las Vegas is diversifying
Kaori Nagao-Chiti, a global real estate advisor for Las Vegas Sotheby’s who has had a number of the top-selling properties over the past few years, said the city diversifying its economy has given it a new edge.
“While the leisure and hospitality sector remains a cornerstone, we’ve witnessed substantial growth in key sectors such as health care, distribution, film production, transportation and sports entertainment,” she said. “This growth demonstrates the city’s commitment to fostering a diverse and sustainable economic landscape that benefits all residents.”
Nagao-Chiti said the city is also expanding its corporate footprint and luring businesses away from other areas.
“Las Vegas is increasingly attracting businesses to relocate or establish headquarters. The state’s competitive business climate, featuring no state income tax and business-friendly tax benefits, significantly enhances its appeal. Additionally, Las Vegas offers a high quality of life, with an abundance of outdoor recreational parks and a vibrant entertainment scene both on and off the Strip, fostering a desirable work-life balance for employees.”
Tia Roman, a broker and owner with Re/Max Reliance in Las Vegas, said buyers are looking at our metro as a good long term bet for housing market resiliency and resale value.
“Las Vegas continues to attract all types of homebuyers,” she said. “Additionally, there is great confidence in our expectation to continue to draw upwards of 40 million tourists each year, which supports a growing economy. This proves how we are relatively resilient to external market forces.”
Roman added the city is also a relative newcomer to the overall luxury scene.
“We are overall priced lower than other luxury markets, and even though our cost of living is higher than many areas in the U.S., it is expected and justified given the fact that we are a resort town and offer all the amenities we do,” she said.
Clark County is adding approximately 115 residents a day to its population projections with about a third of those coming from California and the city is growing above the national average for large metro areas and is expected to break 3 million residents by 2042.
Sean Fergus, executive director of economic research with Zonda, said the underlying financials are definitely playing into the allure of Las Vegas from nearby states with high tax burdens.
“The lack of state income taxes and reasonable property tax rates combined with world-class entertainment, sports and dining are a major draw for affluent households,” he said. “Las Vegas has some of the tightest resale supply in the country, which is driving shoppers into the new home market. We currently rank Las Vegas’ high-end market as significantly over performing based on new home sales activity in our proprietary Zonda Market Rankings. Finally, it has a wide array of second move-up and high-end new home offerings both outside and inside master plans such as Summerlin, Lake Las Vegas and Cadence.”
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
