Las Vegas City Wire

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) is actively looking for ways to jumpstart local housing investments despite social spending in that area being stalled along with President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill.

“Rising housing prices are straining family budgets across our state, especially for seniors on fixed income,” Cortez Masto tweeted. “That's why I'm working with my Senate colleagues to deliver affordable housing solutions that bring much-needed relief for Nevada families.’’

Even as rents across Southern Nevada continue to skyrocket, about 30 new families have already been able to move into Decatur Commons, an income-restricted property that was built by nonprofit developer Nevada HAND. When fully constructed, the 480 unit apartment complex will lease to low-income families and seniors earning between 30% and 80% of the area’s median income. Rents are based on their income level and household size.

The $2 trillion Build Back Better plan that has been stalled in the legislature for the last four months seeks to make historic investments in the area of affordable housing.

According to the National Low Income Law Center, Nevada was on target to receive in the neighborhood of $148 million for the creation or preservation of affordable homes for extremely low-income households.

With groups such as the National Low Income Housing Coalition have spent the last several years warning anyone that would listen that a national housing crisis was looming, Nevada, which lacks more than 105,000 affordable units statewide, has recently seen investments in the creation of more affordable units at the state and local level.

Still, the need is on the rise, with housing stock in Southern Nevada having decreased while rents remain on the rise by more than 20 percent over a two-year period.

Nevada HAND President Audra Hamernik said the organization gets about 2,000 calls a day from people in desperate need of an affordable place to live.