Nevada’s housing shortage is rightly framed as a crisis for renters and buyers. In Nevada, more than half of renters are burdened with high housing costs, with the Las Vegas metropolitan area faring worse than major cities such as New York and San Francisco. It’s no coincidence that a poll facilitated by UnidosUS found that housing has become a priority issue among Latino voters, especially those in Nevada. 

But frankly, this is also a crisis for the housing industry, which is increasingly challenged by rising prices, slower sales and developers who have failed to keep up with demands for affordable housing in cities such as Las Vegas. To sustain growth and find solutions, the housing industry and policymakers should turn their attention to Nevada’s nearly 1 million Latinos. 

Any way you look at it, Latinos are a growing market. The number of Latino households in Nevada is approximately seven times higher in 2022 than it was in 1990; during the same period, the Latino homeownership rate in Nevada rose from 39 to 52.5 percent.  

Not only have Latinos been a key driver of recent growth, but as a population that skews disproportionately young, they now represent more than a third of Nevadans in their prime home-buying years. Latinos are key players in the future housing market. In fact, the Urban Institute estimates that between 2020 and 2040, 70 percent of net new homeowners in the U.S. will be Latino. 

Building on these trends, last year UnidosUS launched an initiative to enable 4 million more Latinos to become homeowners in the U.S. by 2030. UnidosUS recently convened Nevada lawmakers and community leaders to further that goal, which experts explored at our recent conference in Las Vegas. 

Latinos understand that home ownership is essential for family stability, community health and economic growth, but they face unique challenges transitioning from renters to owners. Some hurdles are economic, such as financial barriers to entry for lower-earning households.  

Policymakers can do more to increase the availability of starter homes by, for example, encouraging the renovation of older homes and changing zoning rules to allow more guest houses, casitas or duplexes — while also making them more affordable by offsetting housing costs through programs that offer down payment assistance, rate buydowns or tax credits. 

Many Latinos in Nevada are also small-business owners or work in the nontraditional “gig” economy, which makes it harder to report income or to qualify for financial products or services. Creative pathways to homeownership could address these hurdles by modernizing the formulas to determine creditworthiness, especially for self-employed workers, and allowing those with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to access more loans.

These are important economic solutions, but there are other barriers to Latino homeownership, which continues to lag behind white homeownership in Nevada and nationwide. Latinos are more likely to represent dual-language households, first-time homebuyers and those interested in multigenerational housing options.   

Some might see these realities as challenges. The housing industry and policymakers view them as opportunities to grow their customer base and address voter concerns. 

At the Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada (NHSSN), we know that the current climate is desperate because our community faces the lack of affordable inventory, along with rising prices, hikes in interest rates and, unfortunately, wages that are stagnant.

Per the Nevada Housing Coalition, for every 14 affordable units developed, 100 families are waiting. To dive deeper, the next new affordable housing development, which has 60 units dedicated to low-income seniors, is scheduled to open in 2025. It currently has a wait list of more than 600.

The lack of affordable rentals and the future for homeownership is a hard climb for many in Nevada. For 32 years, NHSSN has worked to help low- to moderate-income individuals and families in Nevada attain affordable housing. It develops affordable housing, educates prospective homeowners about the process and invests in revitalizing neighborhoods. Our vision is to build better neighborhoods block by block, but we cannot do this alone, and collectively, we need to work together to provide solutions for the next generation.  

The future of Nevada’s housing market is still to be determined, but one thing is clear: Latinos will be central to its fate. 

Janet Murguía is the president and CEO of UnidosUS.

Michelle Merced is the CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada.

The Nevada Independent welcomes informed, cogent rebuttals to opinion pieces such as this. Send them to [email protected].