Governor Sisolak announced a 45-day extension of the residential eviction moratorium at the end of August amid the COVID-19 public health crisis. This directive extends the moratorium on residential evictions based on nonpayment of rent to provide for greater housing stability. Policymakers hope this will allow Nevadans to remain in their homes as the community continues to fight and recover from both the health and economic ramifications brought on by COVID-19. The directive seeks to maintain public safety during the pandemic as Nevada transitions to programs that protect landlords and tenants. The directive, however, does not change any tenant’s obligation to pay rent.

According to the Census Pulse Household Survey’s most recent results, approximately 11.7 percent of people across the U.S. have not paid their mortgage or rent for the month of July. In Nevada, approximately 15.3 percent of people indicated they had not paid their mortgage or rent for the past month. Although this may improve as unemployment declines, 9.2 percent of Nevadans have little to no confidence that their household can pay next month’s mortgage or rent on time, differing from the national average of 7.2 percent. Even with Governor Sisolak’s eviction moratorium extension, 27 percent of adults in the state are living in households where eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is somewhat or very likely. This is better than the national percentage of adults at 33.4 percent, but it is still a growing concern within our communities.

Despite the economic uncertainty, the state’s housing market showed improvement over the latest period. Sales activity increased noticeably in July as existing home closings grew in Southern Nevada by 34.8 percent, exceeding 4,000 for the first time this year. This was also reflected in the MLS inventory, which fell by 29.2 percent in the same period. Statewide, single family residential units permitted were 47.0 percent higher than the previous month while multi-family units permitted grew 13.3 percent over the same period.

Click here to download the report and read more.