During a Las Vegas rally on Friday, President Donald Trump unveiled his plan to open up federal land in Nevada to address the challenges of the housing shortage that families are facing due to the skyrocketing costs of home prices.
According to Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Nevada “contains over forty-eight million acres of public land, amounting to 63 percent of the state, managed by Bureau of Land Management (BLM).” Aside from the city limits of Las Vegas and Reno, the state of Nevada is underdeveloped with large areas of open land owned by the federal government.
Las Vegas is facing a shortage of affordable housing and rental properties due to the lack of housing supply, especially after the influx of the purchasing power of Californians fleeing to Nevada during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many Las Vegas residents cannot afford the cost of living as the lack of housing supply is driving up the prices of home ownership and apartments, while high inflation continues to crush families in Nevada with high grocery, utility, insurance and gas prices.
According to Realtor.com, the average median price of a home in Las Vegas was $465,000 in July 2024, while Zillow reported the median rent for all bedrooms and all property types in Las Vegas as $2,065.
Trump shows his willingness to boost Nevadans statewide with his pledge to open up Nevada’s land:
“We are going to open up large portions of land, we will create special new zones with ultra low taxes and ultra low regulations to allow the development of really extraordinary new housing at a proper price, while also bringing jobs and industries to Nevada like the movie industry from Hollywood, the technology industry & massive manufacturing plants from foreign nations.”
Trump stated in his rally in Las Vegas that Nevada is a crucial battleground state with six electoral votes: “We win this state, we win everything. The people of Nevada need to get out and vote!”
Early voting beings in Nevada on Oct. 19.
