Housing market may be 'cooling' but available homes still statistically unaffordable to many Carson City residents

The main issue behind the Carson City area housing crunch is simple: There are more people that want to buy than there are available properties, whether those buyers are newlyweds, established families, local investors looking for rental properties, or even corporate hedge funds buying multiple properties to rent at a huge scale.

Interest rates have continued to increase, which could be behind the current cooling off we’re seeing both in local markets as well as nationwide. Inflation is one reason interest rates are expected to climb according to Forbes. In March, the consumer price index rose to 8.5 percent, which is reported to be the highest level since 1981. Forecasters are predicting that interest rates will end the year at 5 percent, with varied rates between 4.8 percent and 5.5 percent.

In June of last year, interest rates for a 30-year fixed-mortgage were at 2.99 percent; currently, they are nearly 6 percent.

Current Market Trends

In May, Carson City housing prices were up 10.7 percent from last year with a median price of between $460K to $485K. On average, houses were on the market for 31-45 days before selling.

In May, there were 109 homes sold, an increase from 83 last year.

As of June 21, according to Zillow, there are 182 properties for sale including traditional houses, condominiums, townhouses, and manufactured houses. Of those, there is one listing, a manufactured home, under $200,000; 8 under $300,000; 13 under $350,000; and 24 under $400,000; the rest of the 118 listings were all over the $400,000 range.

There were zero single family zoned traditional houses under the price of $360,000 listed.

Currently under construction, recently completed, or approved future builds include:

• Arbor Villas 147 units
• Jackson Village 41 units
• Mills Landing 142 units
• Schulz Ranch 445 lots
• Anderson Ranch 203 lots
• Cross Creek 200 units
• Little Lane 149 units
• Valley Knolls 96 units
• Blackstone Ranch (Part of Lompa Ranch North) 393 units
• Clearview Ridge 73 lots
• Silver View Townhomes 34 units
• Silver Oak 93 units
• East Nye Lane Development 61 units
• Emerson Cottages 40 units
• Silver Crest Condominiums 51 lots
• The Marlette 140 units
• Eagles Landing 126 units
• Sierra Flats affordable housing 160 units
• Brown Street Apartments 90 units
• Little Lane Apartments 140 units

In 2021, 8 new multi-family residential units and 79 single family residential units were approved; down from 176 total units in 2020 and 379 in 2019.

Back in 2021, statewide there was a shortage of roughly 79,620 affordable units available to extremely low-income renters — people earning 30 percent or less of area median income.

Affordability

According to the Nevada Rural Housing Authority, there is currently 21,614 total units located in Carson City, the majority of which are located in Central and Southeast Carson.

Those units are almost evenly split between owners and renters, with owners making up 51.5 percent of total units and renters making up 48.4 percent.

When it comes to being overburdened by either rent or homeownership, renters are feeling more of the burden with almost 40 percent being overburdened compared to 29 percent of homeowners, according to NRHA.

In East Carson City, 100 percent of renters are overburdened compared with only 16.1 percent of homeowners despite homeowners accounting for 90 percent of units in the east.

The median household income in Carson City is currently $52,854, or $27.50 per hour.

Currently from the data on rentals listed in Carson City as of June 21, the average rent is just under $2,000 per month for available rentals according to Zillow, and just over $1,800 according to Trulia with rents ranging from $900 per month to $3,500 per month.

With a median household income of $4,400 per month, that means that the majority of available rentals would be unattainable for the average Carson City household, especially when some property management companies or landlords require renters to earn 3 times the rent monthly the qualify, not including having first and last month’s rent plus a security deposit.

In order to only spend 30 percent or less of their total income on rent, the average Carson City resident should spend no more than $1,300 per rent each month.

Renters would need to earn between $2,700 per month ($32,400 per year or $17 per hour)) and $10,500 per month ($126,000 per year or $65 per hour) to qualify for the current rentals on the market.

The minimum wage in Nevada is currently at $9.50 per hour if the employee is offered qualifying health benefits, and $10.50 per hour if the employee is not offered qualifying health benefits.

When housing becomes unattainable in a community, the economy as a whole suffers. Those who cannot afford current rental or purchase prices are forced to choose between homelessness or relocation.

Local businesses have been struggling to find workers for years, which was only exacerbated by issues surrounding the pandemic. While there is never one simple answer to issues regarding the economy, a lack of affordable housing for the working class is most certainly adding to the issue if not a major cause. Many who are priced out due to housing may be forced to move to another community — or even out of state altogether.

Demographics

The median age resident in Carson City is currently 42.2 years of age. 58.2 percent of the population own a home, with single men owning more often than single women, and married individuals owning more often than any other category at 75.2 percent.

When looking at the population of Carson City, it’s also important to note that of the 57,000 residents, around 25,000 are less likely to hold a job being either over the age of retirement (9,700) or under the age of 20 (15,500), which comes out to almost 44 percent of the population.

26.6 percent of residents have graduated high school, and 28.34 percent have attended some college, but higher eduction degrees are held in much smaller percentages, with only 10 percent holding an associates, 15 percent holding a bachelors, and 7.8 percent holding a graduate degree — the same amount of those who dropped out some time during high school.

Those who only finished high school make around $35,000 per year, or $18 per hour, while those who earned graduate degrees make around $62,000 per year, or $32 per hour.

Before a bachelors degree, men make on average more than women; however, for those who have earned bachelors or graduate degrees, women are bringing home more money on average than their male counterparts.

10 percent of all Carson City residents are experiencing poverty with an 11 percent female poverty rate. That number increases or decreases due to race, with 15 percent of Native residents, 14 percent of Hispanic residents, and 11 percent of Black residents living under the poverty line, while white poverty is lower at 7.33 percent, and Asian poverty coming in lowest at only 6 percent.

To see how these numbers compare to the pre-pandemic market, see our previous reporting here.