By Al Litman

Job growth, housing, and our economic future as a city are prime concerns of mine, as well as the rest of our city government, but after attending the state Conference of the Nevada Chapter of the American Planning

Mayor Al Litman

Association this past month, I could see that we are no different than much of the country, especially the western states, which are highly desirable to live in.

We are far from the fastest growing communities in the state, but none the less are growing around 4 percent yearly, and are predicted to do this into the future unless, of course, we have a major downturn in the economy. 

So, with that said, we have to carefully plan for moderate growth and a future that unites us as a community. We have been used to terms like affordable housing and workforce housing. The consensus, after attending the conference, is perhaps it should just be housing period.  With rising interest rates, the cost of land and labor, and supply and demand, what was affordable just a year or two ago no longer holds true.

In the past several weeks, two articles came out that I want to share with you.  I’ll sum them up rather than quote verbatim.  As of this month, you need to earn at least $113.186 a year to afford a mortgage; up 15 percent from just one year ago. 

The median monthly mortgage payment for Las Vegas residents is now $2,830 and the median house price is now $415,000.  It’s pretty much the same in Mesquite, mainly because demand exceeds supply.  Inventory is low, as those with low rate mortgages are hesitant to sell and have a new mortgage near 8 percent. 

Another article, which may be far  more disturbing relates to hedge funds. Back in the first part of this century, prior to the 2008-09 economic crisis, it was Wall Street packaging very risky subprime mortgages into mortgage-backed securities, now, it’s the same folks buying up as many homes as they can find, both new and used, not for the purpose of flipping for a profit, but to turn them into long-term rentals.

Currently investors and hedge funds own roughly 80,000 single family homes in Clark County, which is around 14 percent of all houses in the county.  I would guess this is also happening in Mesquite, but probably at a lesser percentage.  Addressing these issues will not be easy.

We have had a number of developers come to Mesquite and purchase property for housing developments, both single family homes, apartments, and condo-town homes, but not follow through, or come before us for approval with developments that provide necessary parking or green spaces or both.

It’s understandable that  builders want to maximize their property, with as many units as possible, but it just does not fit into what Mesquite should be.  Just a few weeks ago, a national building proposed a development on postage-sized lots, where you could probably just reach out and touch your neighbors as the saying goes. 

It’s just not right for Mesquite.  We need to be very prudent in what we allow to have built here, but at the same time balance the needs of our current and future residents.  We, as a city, have a challenge, but I believe we are up to it. 

We need to grow, but in the right way.  We need to provide for our labor market, but in the right way, and we need to provide for our growing retirement community in the right way.  That, in a nutshell is what we need to see happen in Mesquite.

Al Litman is mayor of the city of Mesquite.