Photo: Cesar Cid / Unsplash
Rent vs. sell
Rent or sell your Las Vegas home?
Put your monthly cash flow from leasing next to what a sale nets you today. The sample rent is the July 2026 median asking rent for Las Vegas leases at $5,000 a month and up.
Live from the MLS
Luxury homes for lease in Las Vegas now
Single-family luxury rentals in Las Vegas and Henderson at $3,500 a month and up, live from the MLS.
How to read your numbers
Rent vs. sell in Nevada: four things the calculator can’t see
The 2-of-5-year clock on your tax-free gain
If you owned and lived in the home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale, up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly) can be excluded. Lease the home for more than about 3 years and that window can close.
IRS Publication 523 · 26 U.S.C. § 121
Depreciation comes back at the sale
Once a home is a rental, depreciation is deducted over 27.5 years. When you sell, that depreciation is taxed as unrecaptured Section 1250 gain at up to 25% federally, even when the rest of the gain is excluded.
IRS Publication 523 · IRS Topic 409
Your property-tax cap can change
A primary residence gets a 3% cap on annual tax increases. Leasing the home at market rent can move it to a cap of up to 8%.
NRS 361.4722
Vacancy is a cost, not a rounding error
Clean, rent-ready, correctly priced homes were leasing in about 14 to 21 days in fall 2026. Each month empty costs a full month of rent plus HOA dues and utilities.
Rice Real Estate & Property Management, Oct. 1, 2026
General information, not tax or legal advice. Run your own numbers with a CPA before deciding.
Questions owners ask
Rent or sell: owner FAQ
Is it better to rent or sell a luxury home in Las Vegas?
It depends on three numbers: your mortgage rate, your tax-free gain window and your net rent after HOA, taxes, insurance, vacancy and management. A low-rate mortgage favors keeping the home. A large gain that would lose its exclusion favors selling within the 2-of-5-year window.
What cap rate does a luxury rental earn?
Luxury homes usually earn lower yields than entry-level rentals, because rents rise more slowly than prices. Enter your own figures above: the calculator shows net operating income and the cap rate on today’s value.
Can I rent my home short-term instead?
Not in these communities. Summerlin bans short-term rentals, Henderson bars them in most HOA communities, and Clark County was issuing no new licenses as of September 2026. Plan on leases of 30 days or longer.
How much deposit can I collect?
In Nevada, the security deposit plus last month’s rent cannot exceed three months’ rent (NRS 118A.242). A tenant may offer a surety bond instead, which you may accept or decline.
Owner consultation with Dr. Jan Duffy
Get real rent and sale numbers for your home
Thirty minutes with closed lease comps and closed sales from your community, so both columns use real figures.