The apartment market in Las Vegas weathered the COVID-19 pandemic downturn relatively well and, more recently, has been on a winning streak. As of October, occupancy in conventional apartments in Las Vegas hit a tight 97.3%. This was the best showing the market has seen in at least two decades but, by today’s standards, didn’t even make a top-10 showing nationwide. Product demand in Las Vegas – driven by strong absorption in the suburbs – reached a two-decade peak in 3rd quarter. This performance is especially encouraging given that Las Vegas has one of the nation’s biggest blocks of Leisure and Hospitality Services jobs, the sector hardest hit by employment losses in the wake of the pandemic. Solid record-breaking occupancy inspired apartment operators to raise effective asking rents by a stunning 22.7% in the year-ending October. In comparison, rent growth in the past five years has been more modest, averaging at about 7%. Even that figure, however, was elevated from long-term trends in this market.
