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Slowdown in Las Vegas home sales makes interesting time for home buyers

Posted at 10:05 PM, Aug 10, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-11 01:18:57-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — For the first time since April, interest rates have dropped below 5 percent, but still the price tag on homes is too high for many.

With a slowdown in home sales in the valley, many new home builders are offering up to $50,000 in purchase incentives.

Jennifer Graff, the founder of New Homes Experts, thinks the sudden increase in available inventory makes it an interesting time for buyers.

"I don't think all of the builders were necessarily planning for this kind of shockwave in our real estate market," Graff said.

Graff says six months ago, buyers were up against the tough competition, making it hard to get a home.

Now the tables have turned, and buyers are in the driver’s seat so new home builders are stepping up their game to help seal the deal.

"With that, a lot of these builders are offering really good incentives right now," Graff said.

Graff says new home builders have their own lenders, which means they can make maneuvers when it comes to borrowing, such as offering tens of thousands in cash, and buying down points to get lower interest rates on a buyer's loan.

This can also include covering closing costs and even offering lower fixed rate or variable loans.

"The builders were building anticipating they would have demanded all the way through the end of the year,” Graff said.

She says instead the demand is low, the inventory keeps going up, and with continued high mortgage rates people have stopped buying and builders are stuck with brand new empty homes.

Bryan Robles, a local realtor, says several of his resale properties have not been able to sell. He says his sellers are having to offer a credit to buyers to use towards closing costs or to lower the rate.

"If they use it towards their interest rate they get a lower monthly payment, some of them saving hundreds of dollars a month by doing this and it's a great way to save money you don't have to pay upfront," Robles said.

Graff and Robles say these incentives likely won't last long, making this a good opportunity for buyers to use this to their advantage.