Las Vegas’ homebuilding market has been pumping the brakes this year with fewer sales and a drop in construction plans, while people who do buy are paying high prices.

Southern Nevada is not alone. Builders across the country are selling fewer homes as prospective buyers face high borrowing costs and other financial headwinds.

Locally, builders logged 640 net sales — newly signed sales contracts minus cancellations — in July, down 28 percent from the same month last year, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research.

Nationally, the sales pace in July for new single-family houses was down 8.2 percent from the same month last year, federal officials recently reported.

All told, elevated mortgage rates and ongoing economic uncertainty “are weighing heavily on buyer demand,” Buddy

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