What we don't know is how far or how fast this Mortgage Rate rise will be. Recent positive indicators for the economy have caused rates to rise. Mortgage Rates parallel Long-Terms Bond Rates and those always rise on positive economic news. It is more important than ever to have your Refinance or Purchase file in the hands of a competent Mortgage Professional! At Valley West Mortgage, we keep a very close watch on rates for our clients. While rates are clearly on the rise, they still have their ups and downs. We watch all of the rate change indicators for potential changes so we can lock rates at the best possible advantage for our clients.
The key to being ready to lock is having a complete file which is ready in every respect. With our clients help, and help from our Realtors on Puchase files, we do everything within our control to make sure that your file is complete, as quickly as possible. In this way, we won't miss any opportunity to secure the best terms possible! Give us a call today so we can help you to succeed even in this unstable market. Remember, Las Vegas is still one of the best buying opportunities in the entire country regardless of current rate fluctuations.
Valley West Mortgage is an independent mortgage lender, NMLS #65506, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), HUD, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac. This article is educational; every figure shown is an illustrative example - not a quote, offer, approval, or commitment to lend.
Quick answer: There is no permanent answer to rent vs buy in Las Vegas - there is only your math, done honestly. Compare your actual rent against the full cost of owning (payment, taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance), weigh how long you will realistically stay, and remember the part renting never gives you: every mortgage payment retires principal you keep. Short horizon, renting often wins. Five-plus years and stable plans, ownership starts compounding in your favor.
Key takeaways
The classic mistake is comparing rent to a mortgage payment. The real line-up is rent versus payment plus property taxes, homeowners insurance, any HOA dues, and a maintenance reserve - a common rule of thumb sets aside roughly 1% of the home's value per year for upkeep, more for older homes. Nevada helps here: no state income tax, and Clark County property taxes run moderate by national standards with a 3% annual cap on owner-occupied increases. But the honest total is still bigger than the payment on the ad.
Buying costs money on the way in (closing costs) and on the way out (selling costs). Those transaction costs need time to be absorbed by principal paydown and appreciation. Stay two years and they can eat everything; stay seven and they fade into rounding. A common rule of thumb says about five years - treat it as a screening question, not scripture: if your job, family, or plans could move you inside three years, renting's flexibility is genuinely worth money.
Part of every mortgage payment retires principal - equity you keep when you sell. A fixed-rate payment also never gets a renewal-notice increase, which in a rising-rent market is insurance you cannot buy any other way. And ownership unlocks tools renters never touch: Nevada down payment assistance to lower the entry cost, and later, equity you can borrow against or convert. None of this makes buying automatically right - it is the side of the scale headlines skip.
| Renting | Owning |
|---|---|
| Rent (subject to increases) | Principal + interest (fixed-rate: stable) |
| Renters insurance (small) | Property tax + homeowners insurance + any HOA |
| No maintenance liability | Maintenance reserve (~1%/yr rule of thumb) |
| Move on 30-60 days notice | Transaction costs in and out |
| No equity, ever | Principal paydown + possible appreciation |
Example borrower scenario
A couple paying $2,100 in rent prices a home where full ownership cost lands near $2,450. The extra $350 a month buys roughly $500+ of monthly principal paydown from day one, plus payment stability. Staying seven years, the math favors buying comfortably. Their neighbor, likely to relocate in 18 months, runs the same numbers and correctly keeps renting. Same market, opposite answers. Illustrative only - not a quote or a market prediction.
Want your actual rent-vs-buy number?
A Las Vegas loan officer can price your real monthly ownership cost - payment, taxes, insurance, assistance programs included - in about ten minutes, so the comparison is yours instead of a headline's. No obligation.
Get your fast quoteIt depends on your time horizon and the specific numbers, not on a headline. Compare your realistic rent against the full monthly cost of owning - payment, taxes, insurance, HOA, and maintenance - and weigh how long you will stay. Short stays usually favor renting; longer stays shift the math toward owning.
A common rule of thumb is about five years. Buying and selling both carry transaction costs, and it takes time for equity growth to absorb them. The right answer for you comes from running your numbers, not the average.
Property taxes, homeowners insurance at owner levels, HOA dues, maintenance and repairs, and transaction costs when you sell. An honest rent-vs-buy comparison prices all of them, not just the mortgage payment.
Principal paydown - part of every payment becomes equity - plus fixed-rate payment stability, freedom to modify the home, and any appreciation. None of those are guaranteed to outweigh renting in every case; they are the upside to weigh.
The home's price divided by a year of comparable rent. Lower ratios lean toward buying, higher toward renting. It is a screening tool, not a verdict - your horizon and full ownership costs finish the analysis.
Sources
Framework last reviewed July 24, 2026. No market predictions are made on this page.
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After announcing last week that it was lowering upfront insurance premiums
from 2.25% to 1.0% on Sept. 7, the Federal Housing Administration said it’s pushing back implementation until October.
“Based on industry feedback and our desire to have this change implemented successfully in the marketplace, FHA will make the premium fee changes on all new case numbers effective October 4, 2010,” said Vicki Bott, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Housing and Urban Development.
For details on the upcoming changes, see our earlier post, "Congress has passed H.R. 5981 – FHA Mortgage Insurance Changes…" Posted on August 5th, 2010
While there is both good news and bad news for FHA mortgage applicants, this premium restructuring will help to keep FHA stable in the long run. The up-front mortgage insurance has been lowered considerably. This will mean a smaller bite out of consumer wallets in order to close the loan they have applied for. With todays stricter underwriting to qualify, there is less risk of default by new mortgage holders so this move makes sense. Now for the trade-off...
On the other side of the equation, the cost of the monthly amount of mortgage insurance will increase. This could be interpreted as FHA reserves being replenished at a slower rate than before passage of this bill. With the more stable underwriting lowering the risks, consumers can save some of that money that was needed just to close their loan. You will still end up spending that money but, it will be as a slightly higher monthly payment amount. While this is a fair trade off for many, some folks who are right at the limit for the maximum monthly payment they can qualify for, will have to find a way to lower their loan amount to offset the impact of the higher monthly mortgage insurance premium. This change will be effective for all FHA loan applications started on or after September 7th, 2010. While President Obama has not officially signed the bill into law, no veto is expected.
Fannie Mae has announced stiffer penalties to consider if you decide to walk away from a mortgage that you can afford to pay. Starting in the fall, Fannie Mae will disqualify borrowers for a period of seven years if they choose to default on their mortgage even though they have the ability to pay. Fannie Mae also plans to take such borrowers to court to recover loan losses resulting from this type of default.
There is a bill working it's way through Congress that would also prevent you from getting an FHA insured mortgage if you have previously "walked away" from a mortgage. Since it makes sense that you would be viewed by Lenders as a higher risk after taking this action, I think we can expect this bill to pass. We have blogged before about the possibilities of a Short-pay Refi or a Short sale so if you are considering Strategic Default it is time to review other avenues. USA Today has a more in depth article on Strategic Default which will fill you in on the upcoming changes. Click here to read the USA Today article.
The National Association of Realtors said that over 180,000 people would lose their Tax Credit if the extension didn't come through, now we have confirmation that the House of Representatives has extended this closing date to September 30th.
According to the National Association of Realtors what tipped the balance was the people who followed the rules and were still going to be caught without the Home Buyer Tax Credit due to the June 30th closing date. These transactions included some 75,000 short sales, or homes being purchased for less than the existing debt on them.
Dust off those April contracts that could not close by the June 30th deadline! All that remains for the Bill to extend the deadline for closing to September 30th, is one signature!
Many mortgage lenders have been experiencing hard times closing deals that suddenly appeared in April, and many Mortgage Brokers know "some deals just won't close before June 30th."
There is talk of Harry Reid possibly having a proposal which will allow those who have already signed sales contracts, to close and fund by September 30th as an amendment to a Bill already in Congress that would extend jobless benefits for the unemployed through the end of November.
The National Association of Realtors has been pushing very hard for an extension out of an awareness of the difficulty Mortgage Brokers are having with the current deadline of June 30th. Since the entire process of getting a Mortgage now takes a bit longer than it used to, Mortgage and Real Estate Professionals view an extension of the Tax Credit Program as essential.
First-time buyers are eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000. Current Homeowners who bought and moved into another home can qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.
Here is a link to the WSJ's online excerpt for non-subscribers. The second paragraph should be more than enough to tell you that rates will rise and not only that, they MUST rise. To read the entire piece, take advantage of the subscriber link at the end of the excerpt.
Rates are not likely to go any lower and home prices are still low. All indicators are pointing to taking action now or missing out! If you are currently in an ARM Loan, you need to refinance now into a fixed rate mortgage. If you are buying and you have been waiting for better rates or better prices, it's time to make a decision!
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