Is Buying A Home A Better Deal In Las Vegas Than Renting?

The modest rise in housing appreciation in Las Vegas means it takes a little longer these days for buying to begin paying off.

Home-sales website Zillow sets the Las Vegas break-even point at 1.5 years. That’s up from 1.2 years in 2013.

But, despite the relatively quick payback, Zillow says renters aren’t buying. The website estimates 82 percent of renters nationwide are ‘long-term renters,’ meaning they don’t plan on getting into the housing market any time soon.

Senior director of economic research at Zillow, Svenja Gudell, said many renters want to get into the market but three stumbling blocks are really holding them back: being able to qualify for a mortgage, having a large enough down payment and finding a home that they like.

“Those three things are making it tough for renters to break into the for-sale market,” Gudell told KNPR’s State of Nevada.

Qualifying for a mortgage is getting easier than it once was. Following the housing crisis and credit crunch, many banks required 20 percent down and demanded buyers show more financial stability.

Those strict rules have loosed a bit, but are still a road block for some buyers, according to Gudell.

“It’s gotten a little bit looser in terms of credit availability but it is still tight. You still need fairly good credit to get a mortgage,” she said.