Search the portals with a new-construction filter, which catches the homes builders have chosen to list, then check the builders' own sites and the master-planned communities' pages for the inventory and lots that never reach a listing feed, because in most metros a third or more of new homes are sold from the builder's office without ever being on the MLS.
New homes are sold two ways, and only one of them is visible in a normal home search. Builders list some completed inventory on the MLS, usually the homes they need to move. The rest, the lots in a new phase and the homes that will be built to order, are sold at the sales office. Finding all of it means looking in both places, and knowing which builders are active where.
Where new homes are listed
Portals and MLS-fed sites carry the homes builders choose to list, tagged as new construction, and that is where to start; our new-construction page filters the Las Vegas valley's active listings to them. The tell is the year built matching the current year and a builder's name in the listing agent field. Model homes and quick move-in inventory appear there; unbuilt lots mostly do not.
Builders' sites list every active community with its floor plans, base prices and available homesites, and most large builders (Lennar, KB Home, Richmond American, Pulte, Toll Brothers, Tri Pointe, Woodside, Beazer, Century, Taylor Morrison in the Las Vegas valley) have inventory pages updated weekly. New-home aggregators pull those feeds together. Master-planned communities (Summerlin, Inspirada, Cadence, Skye Canyon, Lake Las Vegas) list the builders building in each village.
What is different about buying one
The price is the base price plus the lot premium plus options, and the model home is the top of the options list. The sales agent works for the builder, and the builder's contract replaces the state's standard form and favours the builder on dates and remedies. A buyer's agent can represent you and is usually paid by the builder if registered on the first visit, not after. The builder's lender offers incentives (rate buydowns, closing cost credits) tied to using them, which are real money and worth comparing against an outside quote rather than assuming.
Get an independent inspection at pre-drywall and at completion; new does not mean right. Read the warranty (one year on workmanship, two on systems, ten on structure is the common shape) and the HOA documents, which in a new community are written by the developer.
Inventory homes, and when to buy
A completed home the builder is carrying costs them money every month, and the incentives on it are largest at the end of a quarter or a fiscal year. A build-to-order home locks a price today for a home delivered in six to twelve months, with the rate lock and the market risk that implies. In a slowing market the inventory homes are where the deals are; in a rising one, the order is.
Questions people ask
Is it cheaper to buy new construction?
Per square foot, new homes usually cost more than resale in the same area, and incentives narrow the gap. Lower maintenance, a warranty and newer efficiency standards reduce the cost of ownership; the lot is often smaller and the landscaping is not included.
Do you need a realtor to buy new construction?
No, but one costs you nothing when the builder pays the commission, and the builder's agent represents the builder. Register your agent on the first visit; most builders will not pay one who appears later.
Can you negotiate the price on a new construction home?
The base price rarely moves. Incentives do: closing cost credits, rate buydowns, included upgrades, and lot premiums. Completed inventory near the end of a quarter is where the negotiation is widest.