Rep. Susie Lee proposes ‘multi-pronged’ approach to address Nevada’s housing crisis

Coupled with coordination from stakeholders, as well as other proposed legislation, Lee believes her approach could provide critical relief for renters and would-be homebuyers.

Experts say Nevada still needs tens of thousands of new affordable housing units in order to meet growing demand, and a new plan unveiled by Democratic Rep. Susie Lee on Monday could help spur new development. 

While touring a new low-income senior living complex in Spring Valley, Lee called on Senate colleagues to quickly pass her Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts (AACE) Act, which passed the House earlier this month and would ease requirements for the US Department of the Interior relating to real property appraisals for transactions the agency has jurisdiction over. 

The DOI oversees hundreds of millions of acres of public lands nationwide (approximately 80% of land in Nevada is owned by the federal government, with the bulk of it managed by the DOI), but before it can complete any land transaction, it must first guarantee that these transactions are done at fair market value, according to Lee’s office. 

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With growing demand for federal land — especially out west to address housing needs — the agency has had to rely increasingly on private appraisers who can only work in the specific states where they are credentialed — unlike federal appraisers, who can work across state lines.  

The AACE Act would change that requirement, permitting DOI officials to use any appraiser certified in at least one state, which her office said would alleviate bottlenecks that undermine conservation, housing and infrastructure projects on public lands.  

Lee added if the AACE Act — which has been endorsed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo — is enacted, it would uniquely benefit Nevada and allow the state to more quickly purchase land to be used for housing developments and other construction projects. 

“We know we live in a state that has a lot of federal public land, and we need to leverage that,” Lee said. “Ultimately [this bill] will speed up appraisals and approvals for housing projects, and cut government red tape. And that red tape drives up housing costs.” 

‘Southern Nevada homes should be owned by Southern Nevadans’

Lee’s bill is part of a three-part plan she said could help provide affordable housing solutions.

As part of the second prong of her plan, Lee also called on lawmakers to pass separate legislation introduced by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nevada) called the HOMES Act, a proposal that would outlaw the rent or sale of a housing unit at “unconscionably excessive and exploitative” prices during a housing emergency declared by the president. 

Such a bill, Lee said, would allow housing authorities to investigate alleged price gouging and would prevent corporate landlords with vast portfolios from arbitrarily raising rent prices. 

Horsford’s bill has been co-sponsored by eight Democratic colleagues, but has idled in committee since being introduced in the Republican-controlled House last February. 

Lee on Monday singled out a January acquisition by a publicly-traded property management company based in Dallas that purchased 264 Clark County homes from a Miami private equity firm for a reported $98 million. 

“Southern Nevada homes should be owned by Southern Nevadans,” Lee said. “This is something we’re hearing more and more as a problem here: We need to crack down on big corporate landlords who come into our communities, they buy our homes, and they jack up the prices for hardworking families, seniors, and veterans.”

And while it’s hard to determine just how many homes are owned by large corporate entities, a recent forecast by MetLife Investment Management suggested equity firms could own up to 40% of single-family rentals by 2030. 

Finally, Lee said that continued coordination with federal grant issuers, state agencies, the private sector, and housing advocates could provide critical relief as housing prices show no signs of slowing.

In Sept. 2020, the median home sale price in Nevada was $344,900. As of May 2024, that figure had risen to $458,300, a nearly 33% increase, according to Redfin. In Las Vegas, the average cost of rent is $1,457 per month, up over 30% from the beginning of the pandemic. These figures are in line with a national trend that’s shown rising home and rent prices since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We can continue this important progress to make sure that every Southern Nevadan has a roof over their head,” Lee said of her plan. “We still have a housing crisis, and this plan is a multi-pronged approach to continue with us to bring all the resources here to Southern Nevada to make sure we can expand affordable housing.”  

‘We can’t just hope or expect to build our way out of this’

Jacob Solis, a spokesman for the liberal policy advocacy group Battle Born Progress, told The Nevadan that the  group and its affiliated housing advocates believe proposals like Lee’s will help make housing more affordable and help stabilize living situations for those at risk of homelessness. 

“We appreciate the efforts of the Nevada delegation and the Biden-Harris Administration to crack down on corporate landlords and ensure Nevadans have access to affordable housing,” Solis said in a statement. “For far too long, these corporate price-fixers and reckless Wall Street investment firms have squeezed and exploited the middle class. In the process, they’ve left a generation of would-be homeowners and renters in the lurch.”

Other housing advocates say lawmakers should be prioritizing the needs of renters and first-time homebuyers. Ben Iness, the coalition coordinator of the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance, said while Lee’s plan might provide some relief, it will likely fall far short of adequately addressing Southern Nevada’s affordable housing shortage. 

“We can’t just hope or expect to build our way out of this,” Iness said. “We’ve been in this crisis for many years, and we need to use every tool at our disposal. That, of course, includes supporting development, but I think it’s a little too in-line with the status quo.” 

The senior living facility she toured Monday is scheduled to open in September and received more than $30 million in tax credits from the American Rescue Plan Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. Once finished, the West Sahara Senior Housing Complex at 8007 W. Sahara Ave., will feature 171 units for seniors making between 30% to 70% of the median income, Lee said, with an on-site food pantry and other amenities like complimentary wellness checks, a recreation center, and other supportive services. 

While Lee’s plan might not solve Nevada’s affordable housing crisis (some groups estimate as many as 90,000 new affordable units are needed to meet demand), Lee noted that seniors are disproportionately at-risk of facing homelessness because they rely on fixed incomes. 

“They don’t have additional income other than their Social Security, and maybe their pensions,” Lee said. “We hear story after story of seniors having to choose between paying an electric bill or prescriptions over putting a roof over their head, and our population is getting older. We’re seeing more and more, a need here in our community.”