EDITORIAL: More land, more homes

EDITORIAL: More land, more homes Las Vegas Review-Journal September 5, 2026 - 9:00 pm The most effective way to ease housing costs is to construct additional residences. Las Vegas stands to benefit from this approach. On Wednesday, Governor Joe Lombardo announced that Olympia Companies had acquired roughly 940 acres from the City of Las Vegas, a parcel sourced from the Bureau of Land Management. Olympia Companies intends to develop as many as 6,000 homes in a new master‑planned community called Monument Hills, which will offer a variety of housing options, including units suited for personnel stationed at Creech Air Force Base. Although Olympia Companies may not be a widely recognized name, its portfolio includes notable projects such as Southern Highlands, Coronado Ranch and Skye Canyon. The announcement comes amid growing concern over housing affordability. Home sale prices in the Las Vegas Valley have risen sharply over the past decade. In July 2016 the median price for a single‑family home was $236,000; by July 2020 it had climbed to $330,000; two years later it reached $465,000 and has remained near that level; in July 2026 the median price stood at $480,000. For many young adults, these figures have turned homeownership into an unattainable goal rather than a cornerstone of the American Dream. In the mid‑1990s the median age of first‑time buyers was just above 30 years, a range that persisted until the onset of COVID‑19. Last year the median age for first‑time purchasers had risen to 40 years. Over the same period, the median age of all buyers moved from the late 30s in the mid‑1990s to 59 years last year. While there is broad agreement that prices are excessive, opinions differ on the proper remedy. Some advocates have endorsed measures such as rent control, and subsidies for prospective homeowners have garnered bipartisan backing. Critics argue that such interventions manipulate market prices, stimulating demand without expanding supply. This can benefit a limited segment but fails to address the core shortage. Two pathways exist to alleviate the underlying imbalance. One would involve reducing demand, perhaps through an economic downturn—an option few find appealing. A recent working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas linked the influx of undocumented immigrants under the Biden administration to higher home prices and rents without a corresponding increase in housing stock. Actions taken by President Donald Trump to curb undocumented migration have helped prevent the situation from deteriorating further. The preferable solution, according to the editorial, is to boost supply. This principle operates smoothly in other sectors: high prices signal consumer desire, prompting profit‑driven firms to increase production, which eventually drives prices down. The same dynamic applies to housing, as evidenced by declining rents in Las Vegas. However, housing development faces a distinctive obstacle: the federal government controls approximately 88 percent of the land in Clark County, amounting to more than 4.5 million acres. The recent transfer of the 940‑acre parcel to Olympia Companies required years of negotiation. Governor Lombardo corresponded with U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to secure approval, and Las Vegas officials played a pivotal role in facilitating the transaction. The editorial contends that this arrangement should not be the norm. Federal authorities own over 80 percent of Nevada’s total land, the highest proportion of any state. By contrast, the federal share in New York is less than 1 percent as of 2020. Nevada therefore labors under an inequitable footing compared with other states. If 6,000 homes can be accommodated on 940 acres, the potential becomes striking should the Trump administration release 100,000 acres for new residential projects. The piece concludes with a call to restore Nevada’s land to Nevada.