2023 in Review: The Top Residential Sales in Las Vegas Real Estate Over the Past Year

LAS VEGAS, NV – As 2023 draws to a close on one of the more unusual and noteworthy years in Las Vegas real estate, let’s take a look back over the past 365 days and highlight the top residential sales that have taken place in Southern Nevada. Despite the market experiencing a slowdown overall, some very high-priced homes changed hands in Clark County in 2023, and below you’ll see the top five in reverse order, with the exception of multiparcel sales.

Number five is Skyspace, located at 7 Painted Feather Way in Summerlin’s The Ridges neighborhood, which sold in September for $15.9 million. The 12,162 square-foot residence boasts five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and numerous high-end touches, including a full Italian Scavolini kitchen.

Coming in at number four is a mansion at 8 Rockmount Court in Henderson’s affluent Ascaya community.  This 12,101 square foot home is located on a 2.27-acre plot of land and sold in June for $20.5 million. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a six-car garage, a pool, and even a putting green.

Number three is a residence located at 11765 Discovery Canyon Drive in Summerlin’s pricey The Summit Club, which traded hands in August for $21.2 million. The home – which was reportedly purchased by an individual on behalf of Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg – comes in at 8,419 square feet and has six bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and a pool.

A massive mega-mansion compound located on a 16-acre plot of land at 99 Spanish Gate Drive in Las Vegas’ wealthy Spanish Trail community sold in December for $25 million. The compound – previously linked to Jefri Bolkiah, the prince of Brunei – boasts a super-impressive 25 bedrooms and 46 bathrooms, spread amongst 10 interconnected buildings.

And finally, the number one residential sale in Las Vegas for 2023 comes courtesy of pop megastar Celine Dion, who sold her mansion – located at 10850 Summit Club Drive in The Summit Club – in April for $30 million, setting a new all-time Clark County record in the process. Dion originally purchased the home – which comes in at over 30,985 square feet and has 9.5 bathrooms – in 2017 for 9.2 million, but reportedly never actually moved into it.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – With the last bits of COVID-19-era inflation hopefully evaporating next year, Las Vegas real estate experts are expecting current record-high home mortgage interest rates to drop slightly in 2024, slowly transforming Southern Nevada into a “buyers’ market” after several years of the reverse being the case.

However, those same experts are shooting down hopes that interest rates will eventually return to the extremely affordable levels they were at during the start of the pandemic, saying that no matter how much they do go down, elevated rates are expected to be the new norm going forward.

After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates numerous times in order to combat the 40-year high inflation gripping the nation, all eyes are on the agency after their announcement they intend to finally cut interest rates three times in 2024.

Las Vegas Realtors President Lee Barrett said he expects the overnight federal funds rate to indeed decrease next year, but does not anticipate they will eventually get back December 2022’s 4.1 percent; the current average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 7.2 percent.

This is going to be the new norm, higher interest rates and higher mortgage rates,” Barrett said. “They may drop, for the election a little bit, but I think 6.5 or 7 percent is where they are going to range next year.”

That being said, many real estate experts are predicting that 2024 will potentially see the Las Vegas Valley have its worst year for sales since 2008, with some saying it is a genuine mystery where the industry will head next year. However, with inflation improving and mortgage rates expected to come down a bit – leading to many who were holding out on listing their homes due to higher mortgage costs to finally do so – experts anticipate that the industry will shift towards a buyer’s market.

But that is not a certainty, experts say, as Las Vegas has a low inventory of properties currently available, and despite dropping sales figures, home sellers have for the most part been steadfastly refusing to cut their asking prices. Indeed, prices are only expected to drop 1 percent in the second and third quarters of 2024, creating what is known as a “locking” phenomenon in the Southern Nevada market.

Indeed, where the Las Vegas real estate market will go in 2024 is anybody’s guess at this point; the only thing that appears to be sure is that nothing is for sure.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Area 15, a Las Vegas-based 126,000-square-foot science-fiction themed retail and entertainment complex that offers an “immersive” environment for attendees, broke ground on a 20-acre expansion of the facility last week.

Crews began building 36-foot walls that will enclose the expansion, with new attractions slated to include Universal Destinations & Experiences, a year-round horror entertainment experience called Horror Unleashed, indoor skydiving, and a plethora of other attractions that will cater to the ever-changing tastes of the tourists who visit Las Vegas, according to AREA15 Chief Executive Officer Winston Fisher.

Consumers continue to gravitate toward artful new forms of entertainment providing immersive experiences, authentic connections and real emotions,” Fisher said. “The demand continues to grow, and we are ready to dive into this substantial expansion and find more partnerships that will have a lasting impact on the AREA15 District and the City of Las Vegas.”

450,000 square-feet of retail and food and beverage space will be added as well, in addition to multiple building structures ranging from 1,000 to 60,000 square feet, all of which will be available for rent to merchants and businesses.

The completion date for the AREA15 expansion project has not been publicly revealed yet.

AREA15, located on a 40-acre lot in the vicinity of the Las Vegas Strip on the corner of Sirius Avenue and Rancho Drive, originally opened its doors for business in 2018 and has already attracted a reported five million visitors since then. With the name being a playful take on the infamous Area 51 – a secret U.S. Air Force base located in the Nevada desert – AREA15 offers a unique mix of conventions and expos focusing on sci-fi, fantasy, and comic books, in addition to other fanciful events and attractions.

The addition of music performances, corporate events, large-scale art exhibits, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants were originally announced when the venue first opened, and are only now coming to fruition with this new expansion.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – This year, New Year’s Eve partiers need to be on the lookout, as Airbnb will be utilizing advanced artificial intelligence technology to clamp down on parties that are held on December 31 in Sin City.

The online rental hosting service will use what they describe as “proprietary AI and machine learning technology” to ensure that individuals utilizing their service are not violating their guidelines. This, according to Airbnb, will apply to 750 guests in the Las Vegas Valley and 1,290 guests in Nevada overall. A total of approximately 63,000 people across the continental United States that will be affected by this new technology as well.

The aim of this system is to try to identify one, two and three night booking attempts for entire home listings over the holiday weekend that could be potentially higher-risk for a disruptive and unauthorized party incident and block those bookings from being made,” an Airbnb statement said. “Guests able to make local reservations will need to attest they understand Airbnb bans parties and that if they break this rule they face suspension or removal from the platform.”

According to the company, the AI technology being utilized is able to identify hundreds of various indicators that could single out an individual property as being utilized for a banned party event. Among these indicators include the length of the stay that the individual is attempting to book, the location of the listing in relation to where they are coming from, the type of listing being booked, and if the client is attempting to book the reservation at the very last minute.

Airbnb – who noted that they began to use AI technology in 2020 – said that they prevented thousands of individuals in 2022 from booking entire homes for purposes that ran afoul of their guidelines, including 63,550 in the United States alone.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Located within a gated community of Las Vegas’ Summerlin neighborhood, a lavish single-story house hit the market for nearly $2.1 million and quickly sold, signifying how luxury sales in Southern Nevada have remained relatively unaffected by the ongoing inflation and high mortgage interest rates impacting the rest of the country.

Situated within Onyx Point – a gated community at the Cliffs of Summerlin – the home, located at 10020 Terrastone Drive, first listed for $2.075 million and is comprised of 3,490 square feet of living space spread out over four bedrooms, four baths, an office, a three-car garage, and a large backyard.

According to realtor Sarah Gabany, who is representing the seller, the residence was designed with an eye for detail and features numerous amenities and contemporary flourishes, such as 12-foot exposed beam ceilings, porcelain tile with a wooden finish, and several fireplaces.

This single-story home seamlessly combines modern sophistication with natural charm all while being set along Summerlin’s cliff line,” Gabany said. “Situated in an exclusive neighborhood of just 60 homes, it provides a quaint and strong sense of community where neighbors know each other.”

Features include a courtyard with covered entry; an open concept layout with multislider doors that provide a seamless conduit between the indoors and outdoors; a living room with an electric tile fireplace; a chef’s kitchen with a 12.5-foot quartz waterfall island, stainless steel appliances – including a double oven and oversized refrigerator – and white tile backsplash; and a three-car garage with electric vehicle chargers, storage racks, and multiple cabinets.

Meanwhile, the main bathroom offers marble floors, granite countertops, and dual vanities, in addition to a floor-to-ceiling marble tiled shower and soaking tub.

While the furniture is not included in the asking price, interested buyers are able to negotiate to potentially add it to the sale for an additional fee.

The high sale price for this home is yet another example of how the luxury housing market in Las Vegas has defied recent trends; whereas home sales have slowed overall amid the economic turmoil that is gripping the nation, the luxury market in Southern Nevada has not only held steady, but shown signs of continued growth.

The home sold on December 12th, for $2,000,000.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The Gold Spike & Oasis Hotel, a historic property located in downtown Las Vegas and previously owned by late Zappos boss Tony Hsieh, has been listed on the open market by his family, which has engaged the services of brokerage firm Logic Commercial Real Estate to aid in the sale.

According to Logic Commercial Real Estate’s website, the Hsieh family began accepting offers earlier in December, although no asking price has been listed as of yet, and it is as of yet unknown if any offers have been made or accepted on the hotel.

The Gold Spike & Oasis Hotel is comprised of two adjacent properties with a combined 70,861-square-feet in size, situated on 1.5-acre plot of land. The hotel offers a total of 130 rooms split amongst the two buildings, as well as a bar and a nightlife entertainment venue.

The establishment has not been providing gambling to patrons, but it nonetheless still possesses a Nevada gaming license, which has been preserved by the current ownership.

Originally opening its doors for business in 1976 under the name of The Rendezvous, the Gold Spike & Oasis was purchased by Hsieh in 2013 for $22 million.

Hsieh passed away in November 2021 at the age of 46 due to injuries suffered in a Connecticut house fire, reports say.

For two decades, Hsieh – who was worth hundreds of millions of dollars at the time of his death – headed up retail shoe selling giant Zappos before selling it to Amazon in 2009 for over $1 billion; he later retired as CEO in August 2020. He is also credited for having pledged $350 million to the renovation and revitalization of Downtown Las Vegas.

In February 2021, much of the Las Vegas real estate empire amassed by Hsieh was listed on the open market by his family, totaling nearly 100 properties throughout the downtown area.

Recently, Logic Commercial Real Estate was tasked with selling an additional five of Hsieh’s properties, including The Gold Spike & Oasis, The Downtowner Hotel, the John E. Carson office and the building occupied by Nacho Daddy on Fourth Street.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – On Wednesday, December 13, a saga that has taken 23 years to unfold has finally come to fruition as the $3.7 billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas finally held its grand opening with a lavish VIP red carpet event that preceded the opening of its doors to the public just before midnight.

However, guests looking to join in on the grand opening event were required to park their vehicles at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall – which offered free parking – or use valet parking, as the Fontainebleau’s parking garage was not opened until 1 a.m. Thursday, and the venue’s rideshare drop-off was not opened until 2 a.m.

The event was a culmination of decades of effort in order to bring the Fontainebleau project to life, but the road there was wrought with numerous obstacles and setbacks, some so severe that at many points there was intense doubt that the venue would ever open.

Jeffrey Soffer, Fontainebleau Development’s chairman and CEO, first purchased the land for the resort back in 2000. Development later begun on the resort in 2007 – with its grand opening scheduled to take place in 2009 – but work was indefinitely halted two years later by the recession, forcing the project into bankruptcy.

In 2010, Icahn NV Gaming Acquisition LLC purchased the Fontainebleau for $150 million, and then sold it off to developer Steve Witkoff for $600 million in 2017. Witkoff originally envisioned a 2022 completion date; however, that was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

From there, the Fontainebleau sat unfinished for years until Soffer and Fontainebleau Development re-acquired the project and resumed construction in 2021, following Soffer’s securement of $2.2 billion in new funding.

Now that the resort is finally open for business, it will be operated by the company’s subsidiary, Bowtie Hospitality LLC.

The Fontainebleau mostly adheres to the original vision that was laid out for it back when the project was first announced, consisting of a 67-story tower containing 3,780 hotel rooms and suites, 550,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, a casino, restaurants, retail, health and wellness spaces, and many other high-end amenities.

In addition, the resort will be providing approximately 6,000 full-time jobs, which will greatly add to Las Vegas’ already booming economy.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – The long-gestating high-speed railway system between Las Vegas and Southern Los Angeles just got a significant boost this week when U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen announced that $3 billion in federal funding has been secured to begin construction of the project.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing the new funding for the Brightline West high-speed rail system, which according to Senator Rosen, will “help bolster Southern Nevada’s tourism economy and reduce congestion on the Interstate 15 corridor.”

This historic high-speed rail project will be a game changer for Nevada’s tourism economy and transportation. It’ll bring more visitors to our state, reduce traffic on the I-15, create thousands of good paying jobs, and decrease carbon emissions, all while relying on local union labor,” Senator Rosen said. “For decades, Nevadans have heard about the benefits of high-speed rail, and I’m proud to have led the charge for months to push the U.S. Department of Transportation to secure critical funding to make this a reality. I’ll always fight to support Nevada’s tourism economy and create good-paying, union jobs.”

Brightline Founder and Chairman, Wes Edens, thanked the Biden Administration for the financial assistance that will finally bring the frequently-stalled high-speed railway system to life.

We’re honored and humbled in the confidence President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, Senator Rosen and so many others have placed in Brightline’s vision to bring true high-speed rail to America,” he said. “This is a historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry, and a remarkable project that will serve as the blueprint for how we can repeat this model throughout the country. We’re ready to get to work to bring our vision of American made, American built, world class, state-of-the-art high speed train travel to America.”

With the groundbreaking originally announced to take place back in 2020, the Brightline project, once completed, will take the form of a 34-mile stretch of track in Nevada running along Interstate 15 and ending at a station located on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.

This line would be fed by several lines from various locations in California, resulting in a total of approximately 185 miles of track overall. Travelers from Las Vegas would be able to continue from the system to Los Angeles via the Metrolink, which would effectively link Las Vegas with L.A. via a 75-minute trip.

Brightline is boasting that the railway could be responsible for removing “millions” of cars from the I-15, which would go a long way towards reducing pollution.

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – A California-based developer is planning to construct a $380 million mixed-use sports, entertainment, and retail facility in Las Vegas, with Agora Realty & Management having recently closed on financing and land purchases at the former site of two Las Vegas casinos in order to bring the project to life.

Plans for the upcoming facility including housing, retail, and the a professional-grade public ice rink, which will be managed by the NHL‘s Golden Knights, who play at the Las Vegas Strip’s T-Mobile Arena and won this year’s Stanley Cup championship.

The 73-acre project is slated to be called Hylo Park and will be located in North Las Vegas at the intersection of Rancho Road and Lake Mead Boulevard. It will be made up of 1300 residential units, a retail center anchored by a supermarket, and many sports and entertainment aspects that will be added in a number of construction phases.

The main attraction of the project – and the aspect the rest of the facility will be built around – is Champion Square, which will be a sports village and public plaza that will include the public ice rink, as well as practice facilities that can be utilized by youth and amateur hockey and skating leagues.

The idea behind the project is to capitalize on Las Vegas’ rising profile as a sports destination following the recent influx of transplanted major sports teams and events to the region, including NHL, NFL, MLB, and Formula One racing.

Agora Realty CEO Cary Lefton said in a statement that the extensive sporting attractions at Champion Square would appeal to both the local Las Vegas community as well as traveling sports teams, and stands to be a “lucrative traffic generator” for surrounding restaurants and businesses.

From our longstanding work with North Las Vegas we knew that the city needed more housing and community services for its growing population,” he said. “We also recognized an opportunity to leverage the draw of Las Vegas’ fast-growing sports industry.”

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to a new report released on Wednesday by local industry association Las Vegas Realtors, home prices increased slightly in Southern Nevada during the month of November 2023, where the housing supply itself showed continued signs of shrinking. 

Last month, the median price for an existing single-family home in Las Vegas was $450,000; this amount represents a small increase from October’s median price, which was $449,000, and a 4.4 percent increase year-over-year, when that amount was $430,990. 

The median price for condominiums and townhomes sold in Vegas during the month of November 2023 was $275,000, which is a 5.8 percent increase from the same period of time in 2022. 

Lee Barrett, president of Las Vegas Realtors, noted in a statement that seasonal trends were being bucked in Southern Nevada due to a number of factors, including a limited number of homes on the market as well as increasing interest rates on home mortgages, which are currently hovering precariously close to 8 percent. 

Interest rates are higher now than in past years and our housing supply is about as low as it gets,” Barrett said “These factors seem to be propping up home prices and slowing down home sales.” 

At the end of November, 4,353 single family homes were available for sale in Las Vegas without any offers, which is a year over year decrease of 40 percent; when it comes to condos and townhomes listed without offers, that amount comes in at 1,261, a year-over-year decrease of 22.8 percent. 

1,894 existing homes, condos, and townhomes in Vegas were sold in November 2023; that number represents a 5.7 percent decrease for homes and a 0.6 percent decrease for condos/townhomes when compared to November 2022. 

Currently, Las Vegas has an approximate four-month supply of properties for sale, in contrast to the same period of time in 2022, when there was a four-month supply. 

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – A massive mega-mansion compound in Las Vegas’ affluent Spanish Trail community that boasts a super-impressive 25 bedrooms and 46 bathrooms has been sold for a whopping $25 million. The sale ties the record for the most expensive home ever sold in the region, which was originally set as a 15,000-square–foot residence in Henderson that sold for $25 million in 2021. 

The compound – which was previously built for and owned by Jefri Bolkiah, the Prince of the tiny Asian country of Brunei – comes in at 110,320-square-feet and is situated on a 16-acre plot of land located at 99 Spanish Gate Drive.

The compound has 10 interconnected buildings, with the main house coming in at 37,466-square-feet with five bedrooms and eight baths. There’s also a 47,367-square-foot athletic club/pool house with an indoor badminton and squash courts, a hotel-sized spa and gym, indoor pool, bowling alley and nightclub.

In 2007, singer Michael Jackson had reportedly moved into Bolkiah’s compound and stayed there for some time. 

Construction of the property originally began in 1996 and is approximately 90 percent complete; there has been no additional development of the compound since 1999, according to the listing agent. While the home is completely enclosed and finished, appliances aren’t included and some degree of detailed finish work isn’t complete; however, otherwise, the home is mostly completed.

When asked why construction wasn’t finished, the listing agent noted that when Bolkiah built it, he had “different expectations” regarding Las Vegas and ultimately ended up not moving there. 

The listing agent has not named the now-former owners of the property, noting that he has not dealt with them directly and instead has been conducting business through their lawyers and financial advisors; the reason the property was put on the market is unknown, he said.  

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Howard Hughes Holdings is set to open a huge new office project in the southwest Las Vegas Valley in 2024, and while no tenants have been announced yet, experts expect that the property will fill up quickly once construction is complete due to high demand in the area. 

The Meridian campus – slated to open this upcoming January and located near the 215 Beltway on Town Center Drive – will encompass 147,000 square feet, spread out amongst two three-story office buildings that will be linked by a centralized lobby. 

Cushman & Wakefield will be handling leasing duties for Meridian, and according to the company’s senior director, Charles Van Geel, a flood of tenants are expected to vie for space at the facility because it is situated in a very desirable location. 

You can’t help but notice the attractive mountain views in one direction, the cityscape in the other direction yet you’re still in the renowned Summerlin community that has green spaces, great schools seamlessly connected with the valley’s transit infrastructure,” Van Geel said. 

Following the transition to remote work during COVID-19, many employers are attempting to woo workers back to the office now that the pandemic is in the rearview mirror; Amy Lance, a director for Cushman & Wakefield, said that Meridian will make a very enticing carrot on a stick for employers to dangle due to its proximity to the 215 Beltway, ensuring an easy commute 

We’re really hearing from companies who want their employees back,” she said. “I mean they may give them the option to work from home one to two days a week, but I think that’s going to change in the future.” 

Demand for office space in the southwest valley is among the highest in Southern Nevada, with the average rent per square foot coming in at $31.09; in contrast, average rent per square foot in the city of Las Vegas itself is $26.96.  

Shelter Realty is a Real Estate and Property Management Company specializing in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.