Nevada's first-in-the nation growth to start this century was slowed by the Great Recession. But according to two recent surveys, that population growth could be resuming.

With a stuffed plastic garbage bag slung over his shoulder, the curly-haired Santa Claus delivered presents a day ahead of schedule at various Siegel Suites apartment complexes in the Las Vegas Valley on Monday.

New data published by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors shows 10,000 single-family homes were on the market and by the end of November, 7,000 of those homes had zero offers, up 54% compared to 2017 and the highest number of homes in Las Vegas Valley to not get a bid in more than two years.

The national housing slowdown is spreading to markets like Las Vegas and Phoenix, where prices still haven’t reclaimed their pre-crisis peaks.

The Las Vegas metropolitan area has seen not only a significant rise in its population but an altering of its demographics as well, according to new findings from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Las Vegas is having a tough time living down its sordid past. Not that sordid past. It’s our reputation as Ground Zero in the foreclosure crisis a decade ago that has Southern Nevada in the news now.

In case there was any doubt, it’s back. The real estate market in the Las Vegas Valley has seen explosive growth the past two years, creeping toward its pre-recession boom from 2005 to 2007, according to Las Vegas housing experts and real estate agents in the valley.

A Fitch Ratings report published by Forbes designating Las Vegas as the most overvalued real estate market in the nation has homeowners who survived the foreclosure crisis jittery and real estate agents angry. But experts say contrary to increasingly frequent warnings from Fitch and others, Las Vegas is not in danger of suffering another housing bubble. We’re just coming up from underwater.