LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The average rent prices are down in our valley, according to a July report, but a new UNLV study reveals the trend may only be happening in certain neighborhoods.
UNLV director of Lied Center for Real Estate Dr. Shawn McCoy is the study's author. The study reveals despite rents falling on average at the market level by 2.5 percent, 26 percent of apartment buildings raised renters for the first quarter of this year.
“While there is evidence that rents are tamping down the degree to which rents are changing or falling, they aren't falling necessarily uniformly across the city,” said Dr. McCoy.
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The study found apartment rent at or above $2,114 per month fell about 6.7 percent, and apartment rent at or below $815 per month raised rent by .68 percent.
It breaks down apartment rent by zip code and found in general, average rent in neighborhoods at above-median income levels fell more than average rent in neighborhoods at below-median income levels.
One of the neighborhoods where rent went up in the first quarter is in the zip code 89115 in the north valley. Khalil Kirkland and Taeric Burns are two north valley residents who said they were priced out by escalating apartment rent.
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“The rent is high,” Kirkland said. “A lot of people don’t have high-paying jobs. So a lot of people can’t live in the same place.”
Dr. McCoy’s study found one of the reasons for rent decreases at higher-priced properties is new construction.
“You bring more units into a neighborhood, there’s more competition, there’s more supply,” Dr. McCoy said. “It’s going to put downward pressure on rents.
He said low-income neighborhoods with new development also saw rent prices coming down. But in general, these areas saw less investment.
The price trend could also partially explain the spike in evictions in Clark County, along with the end of a COVID-era moratorium in June which protected renters from eviction if they were in the process of applying for the CARES Housing Assistance Program.
Jacqueline Dixon, who also lives in the 89115 zip code, said the combination of high rent and unemployment leaves her facing eviction.
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“After working at Amazon and getting a torn muscle, I became unemployed,” Dixon said. “I got three months of unemployment, but it was gone.”
Nevada Legal Services is available at the North Las Vegas Justice Court every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon to support tenants facing eviction.
