Most Las Vegas Homebuilders See Double-Digit Sale Increases Year-Over-Year

LAS VEGAS, NV – A new report indicates that the majority of homebuilders in Las Vegas saw strong sales increases during the first half of 2024 when compared to the same period of time in 2023, with seven of the top ten developers in the region reporting impressive jumps in the double-digits.

Led by Lennar, the current top homebuilder so far this year, there were a total of 884 sales of new construction homes in Las Vegas in June 2024 alone, which represents a 31 percent decrease from May – when that number was 1,273 – but a 15.6 percent decrease from June 2023, when 1,048 new homes were sold.

But despite the overall slowdown in sales in June, 2024 is nonetheless going strong, with a total of 6,652 in net sales having been made, which is a 16 percent jump from 5,589 from the same period of time in 2023.

Among builders seeing double-digit sales increases Lennar led the pack, having had 1,198 net sales so far in 2024, which – when taking away cancellations – represents a 19 percent increase over the 1,009 they sold in the first half of last year. Lennar was also the top selling builder in June as well, with 148 net sales.

Next up is D.R. Horton, whose 931 net sales in the first half of 2024 was a jump of 6 percent over the 879 sold in the first half of 2023. In third was the Pulte Group with 900 net sales – 15 percent higher than the 785 sold in 2023 – and in fourth was KB Home, which had net sales of 728. However, despite their placing on the list, KB actually recorded a decrease in sales when compared to last year, moving only 728 new homes as opposed to 856 last year.

Fifth place goes to Richmond American with 578 net sales (up 37 percent over 422 in 2023); in at sixth was Century Communities with 410 net sales (an impressive 122 percent jump over 185 last year); and seventh goes to Toll Brothers, who had 36 net sales (up 80 percent over 191).

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 administration will be authorizing the sale of a set acreage of land in Southern Nevada by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the price of $100 per acre, expressly for the construction of affordable housing to address the shortage plaguing residents of the state.

Currently, the federal government owns 88 percent of the land in Clark County along, with over half of that property – 2.6 million acres – managed by BLM. The failure to release parts of that land for development has contributed to the current housing crisis being experienced in the region, experts say.

BLM has been authorized to release 525.5 acres for 15,000 units of affordable housing for $100 an acre, with the initial 20 acres located in the middle of a Mountain’s Edge neighborhood in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.

During a previous visit to Nevada while campaigning for reelection in November, the President had also encouraged lawmakers to pass a bill to establish a 5 percent cap on rent increases in existing rental units.

In a statement, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo addressed both the proposed rent cap and the decision to allow BLM to release land for affordable housing development. He acknowledged the action as helpful but insufficient to fully address the challenges faced by prospective homeowners in the state.

While the release of federal land for subsidized housing in Las Vegas is one arrow in our quiver, significant work remains in alleviating high housing costs for the middle class and eliminating federal barriers to housing development across the state,” Lombardo said. “Like many others, I’m also concerned about President Biden’s rent control proposal, which studies have repeatedly shown to inadvertently raise rental costs and lead to lower-quality housing options. My administration remains committed to delivering sustainable and practical long-term housing solutions for Nevadans.”

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 – In response to the ever-rising need for additional accommodations for out-of-town visitors, a Las Vegas-based developer – Schulman Properties – has announced they currently have two new hotel projects in the works in the Valley.

According to Schulman Properties chairman and owner Bob Schulman, the first of these two proposed projects is a $115 million luxury apartment and medical facility complex in the city’s bustling Arts District named Ilmunia Midtown, slated to be located near the intersection of Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway.

Schulman said that the growing popularity of the Arts District has been attracting more and more tourists in recent years, making it a prime site for new hotel space.

The Arts District, providing the restaurants and the entertainment and stuff it does, and the arts, I think it’s all huge,” he said. “I think we’re like San Diego’s (Gaslamp Quarter) 20 to 30 years ago.”

The second hotel proposed by Schulman Properties is yet another luxury complex, this one situated in Lake Las Vegas. Both projects are in early stages of development, and currently any schedule for their completion is not yet available.

Schulman’s company is focusing on luxury real estate in Las Vegas – a segment of the industry that he says is growing by leaps and bounds as of late – having opened a 232-unit apartment building earlier this month in Henderson called Ilmunia on Raiders Way that is already quite busy.

The developer noted that his apartments cost an average of approximately $90 million to construct, followed by an additional $20 for high-end amenities that include gourmet room service, pools, outdoor movie screens, exercise facilities, dog parks, and much more.

Rents in Schulman Properties’ apartments range anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 per month for one or two-bedroom units, all the way up to $8,000 per month for penthouses; despite the high prices and having only just opened in early July, Ilmunia on Raiders Way is already 35 percent leased, Schulman 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 – Ask any Las Vegas resident to choose one word that best describes the climate in the region, and 10 out of 10 will most likely tell you “Hot.” Often excessively hot, which is only natural because the city is situated in the middle of a desert.

With that being said, making sure tenants have proper working air conditioning is a must, but what are the rights of both parties and how can landlords avoid being taken advantage of by renters who may be using an alleged A/C issue to avoid paying?

Nevada State law [NRS 118A.380(1)] defines requirements as they pertain to renters, that are considered “essential services” that landlords must provide, service, and repair if a tenant runs into any issues with it working properly. According to the Southern Nevada Health District air conditioning is included as an item warranting an “Essential Service Complaint” if not provided while Nevada Legal Services says “most judges in southern Nevada consider air conditioning to be essential.”

If the landlord is required by the rental agreement or this chapter to supply heat, air-conditioning, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, a functioning door lock or another essential item or service and the landlord willfully or negligently fails to do so, causing the premises to become unfit for habitation, the tenant shall give written notice to the landlord specifying the breach. If the landlord does not adequately remedy the breach, or use his or her best efforts to remedy the breach within 48 hours, except a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, after it is received by the landlord, the tenant may, in addition to any other remedy:

If a tenant does run into an issue with their air conditioning not working properly, there are certain steps they are required to take to bring the issue to their landlord’s attention.

First, a tenant must send their landlord a written notice – either via email, text message, or USPS certified mail – about the problem with their A/C and both parties should make sure they keep a comprehensive record of their communications back and forth in case there are any complications. It is especially important to keep a “paper trail” in case the matter ends up going to court.

After the notice has been sent, the landlord has 48 hours – business days only, not holidays or weekends – to respond and have the A/C repaired.

If the landlord responds and fixes the A/C, great. Problem solved. However, if they tenant claims – true or false – that the problem has not been fixed, they have several avenues to pursue, including – as a last resort – withholding rent entirely until the alleged A/C issue has been addressed. However, for landlords already weary from pandemic-era instances of tenants pulling scams to live rent-free in their properties for months or even years at a time, have no fear; there are certain safeguards in-place to ensure that any back rent is recovered once the tenant’s A/C is repaired.

First of all, tenants withholding rent over a purported A/C issue are not shielded from being evicted, so if you believe that their issue is not genuine, you may begin eviction proceedings if they are indeed not paying rent.

Also, if a tenant is withholding rent, it doesn’t mean they get to live in the apartment for free; instead, they are required to pay the rent directly to the court during the period of time they are withholding it in order to prove they’re not just trying to pull a fast one. After the A/C issue is addressed, the money collected by the court is given to the landlord.

Most landlords have constructive and positive relationships with their tenants, but on the occasion that this is not true, it’s important to know what your rights are as a landlord in order to protect yourself and your property.

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 – While visiting the city of Las Vegas on Tuesday’s campaign trail, President Biden announced new actions on the part of his administration to address rising home and rent prices and the construction of more affordable housing options, both in Nevada and in the United States as a whole.

While in Vegas, the announced actions included calling on Congress to pass proposed legislation that would place a 5 percent cap on rent increases on the part of corporate landlords who own more than 50 units, with a failure to comply resulting in the potential loss of federal tax breaks.

Rent is too high and buying a home is out of reach for too many working families and young Americans, after decades of failure to build enough homes,” Biden said in a White House statement released prior to his speaking engagement at the NAACP convention on Tuesday. “I’m determined to turn that around. Today, I’m sending a clear message to corporate landlords: If you raise rents more than 5% on existing units, you should lose valuable tax breaks.”

According to government watchdog Accountable.US, the cost of rent has increased 31.4 percent nationwide since 2019, outstripping the average worker’s wage growth during that period of 23 percent; this, as claimed by the White House, is causing many Americans to struggle with being able to afford housing.

In addition, the President noted that his admin’s actions also include ongoing efforts to release more public land in Nevada in order to facilitate the construction of more affordable housing, as well as to add to the housing stock in pre-existing neighborhoods in the state.

Currently, the federal government owns 88 percent of the land in Clark County along, with over half of that property – 2.9 million acres – managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The failure to release parts of that land for development has contributed to the current housing crisis being experienced in Southern Nevada, experts say.

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 week, the Oakland Athletics are set to reveal the financing details and overall construction plan for the Major League Baseball (MLB) team’s proposed new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip, ahead of their highly-anticipated relocation there starting with the 2028 season.

At the meeting of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority scheduled for Thursday, July 18, one of the items on the agenda is the Athletics’ draft development agreement, which is slated to contain a full breakdown of where the money streams that will make the proposed $1.5 billion stadium a reality are coming from, including $380 million courtesy of Southern Nevada taxpayers.

The new home of the Athletics – who are joining the NFL Raiders in moving from their former hometown of Oakland, California – will be on a nine-acre plot of land situated on the 35-acre site of the Tropicana, located at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.

Currently, the plan is to demolish the Tropicana to make way for the A’s stadium and to build a new 1,500-room hotel and casino on the remaining acreage. Bally’s Corp., who owns the Tropicana, has stated that they will be imploding the two hotel towers in October.

The A’s home stadium will take the form of a 35,000-seat retractable roof stadium. In addition to the $380 million in public funds that have been earmarked for the A’s new stadium, and the project in its current form could potentially also receive up to $180 million in transferable tax credits as well.

Construction is scheduled to begin on the team’s Las Vegas Strip ballpark in April 2025; the A’s will be playing their final season at their Oakland Coliseum this year, after which they will temporarily be based out of a Sacramento minor league ballpark for the 2025-2027 seasons before moving to Las Vegas.

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 – If you’re interested in buying a house in Las Vegas and are starting from scratch when it comes to saving for a down payment, a new study indicates that it could take over 17 years for the average person to accumulate enough dough to ensure they have an affordable monthly mortgage payment, given the conditions of the 2024 housing market.

According to Zillow, the median household income in the Las Vegas Valley is $77,502, and the average home there is worth $427,509; in order to be able to “comfortably” afford a monthly mortgage payment, the average family would need to have a down payment of $198,306.

With that in mind, if an average household were to sock away 10 percent of their income each and every month, it would take them 17.6 years to save that amount. That period of time represents a decrease from its peak – which was 20 years of saving in 2022 – and an increase of 3.3 percent from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy noted that the current issues that many families are facing when it comes to the affordability of housing is forcing them to remain as renters for the time being, although relief may be coming in the form of an expected home value drop by as much as 1.2 percent over the next 12 months.

(This) reflects a market where more listings are coming onto the market, and staying there for longer, than previously anticipated,” he said. “Many homeowners are breaking free of rate lock, cashing in on massive appreciation of their property, and moving on with their lives. Meanwhile, would-be buyers are struggling with monthly mortgage costs that have more than doubled since pre-pandemic times.”

This situation is exasperated in Las Vegas, Divounguy said, due to the fact that the local real estate market remains much more competitive when compared to much of the nation.

Home value appreciation (in Las Vegas) has been stronger than the national average over the last year, partly because housing demand has kept up with the increase in supply,” he said. “While new listings are now up 23 percent compared to a year ago, total for sale inventory is just 3.5 percent higher than in May 2023. Although momentum has shifted somewhat, Las Vegas remains in a bigger hole than the nation in terms of available inventory, compared to normal, pre-pandemic levels.”

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 by a Sothern Nevada real estate industry group, the prices of homes in Las Vegas continued to increase during the month of June, while the inventory of residences being put on the market also showed growth.

Las Vegas Realtors noted that the median sale price for an existing single-family home in the Las Vegas Valley was $475,000 in June, which was a $2,000 jump from May, when that price was $473,000. It also represented a year-over-year increase of 7.7 percent over June 2023’s price of $440,990.

And when it came to condominiums and townhomes, in June the median price for these types of residences was $295,000, the same price that it was in May and a 7.3 percent increase year-over-year.

At the end of June, there were 4,114 single-family homes listed for sale without any offers, a small bump from May’s 3,869 home availability but a jump of 11.8 percent from the same period of time one year prior. In addition, there were 1,367 condos and townhomes on the market without offers at the end of June, an increase from May’s availability of 1,324 and a whopping 47 percent increase from June 2023.

Las Vegas Realtors President Merri Perry noted that the cost of housing in Las Vegas continues to rise despite the fact that home mortgage interest rates remain at historically high levels.

Fortunately, our local housing market has been outperforming most of the country in a few key ways,” said Perry. “For example, home sales have been down nationally and approaching some of the lowest levels on record. Here in Southern Nevada, we’ve been selling more homes this year than we did last year. And unlike much of the nation, homes here have actually been selling faster than they were at the same time last year. At the same time, we’re seeing more homes available for sale, which is good news.”

In June, the combined total of homes, condos and townhomes sold was 2,698.

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 – Renaissance III, an “underperforming” Las Vegas shopping center that recently went into foreclosure, has been purchased by Aspen Real Estate for $24.7 million, as announced by the New Jersey-based private equity real estate investment firm via a press release on Monday.

The 225,748-square-foot property, located in a heavily-populated area two miles from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas at the corner of East Flamingo and East Pecos Roads, was acquired by Aspen from LNR Property LLC, representing the CMBS bond group.

Las Vegas-based Logic Commercial Real Estate, which represented both parties during the transaction, has also been made Renaissance III’s new leasing agent as well.

On the announcement of the sale, Philip Proetto of Aspen pointed out the firm’s long history of investing in foreclosed retail and commercial properties, and stated that he was looking forward to improving the facility and leasing its units to interested parties as soon as possible.

Our history of purchasing foreclosure property helped us secure the contract. Ren III represents a fantastic Value Add opportunity,” Proetto said. “Various tenants have wanted to lease space at the property, but the bond group could not offer tenants money for improvements. Aspen has allocated $7 million for renovations and tenant improvements.”

This acquisition was especially of interest to Aspen, as Renaissance III is located in a very densely-populated area; within a five-mile radius, there are approximately 182,541 households with a total number of 465,278 residents, each and every one of them a potential customer for the shopping center.

We believe this powerful demographic, combined with a 62,000-per-day car count, will attract numerous retailers,” said Proetto.

Current Renaissance III tenants include multiple national chains, such as Planet Fitness, America First Credit Union, Ichabod’s restaurant and gaming, and Panda Express, as well as the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and several smaller, locally-owned businesses. In addition, Aspen is currently offering a 60,000-square-foot space in the center to several supermarket owners.

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, lavish ranch located just south of Las Vegas that was once owned by legendary entertainer Wayne Newton has been listed on the market by Nevada-based Smoketree Group for an eye-popping $31.3 million.

The ranch – situated at 6629 South Pecos Road on a 39.5-acre plot of land – was originally built by the world-famous actor and singer in 1966, and was dubbed “Casa de Shenandoah” during the time that he lived there.

The ranch started out small at first – with just his Southern-style mansion initially located there – but over the years Newton expanded to match the opulence that “Mr. Las Vegas” himself is known for by adding an additional eight homes, a horse stable with 50 stalls, a museum for his collection of 100 cars, a facility for exotic animals, and even a runway for his private jet.

In 2010, a firm called CSD purchased Casa de Shenandoah for $18 million, with plans to change it into a public attraction similar to Elvis Presley’s Graceland, with plans for Newton to continue living there while retaining a portion of the property’s ownership.

However, the star soon entered into a lengthy legal battle with one of his business partners over the Newton Museum project, and when the matter was finally settled in 2018, Casa de Shenandoah was then closed to the public.

Smoketree later purchased the estate for $5.56 million in 2019, only to turn around and list it a year later for $29.9 million. The property failed to sell – even after several reductions to the asking price – and it was later removed from the market in February 2022.

Smoketree re-listed it in 2023 for $28.5 million, eventually pulling it once again when there were no takers; however, with the greatly increased number of sales in the Las Vegas ultra-luxury home market recently, their latest attempt to sell the property may finally be met with more success.

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 – As the profile of Las Vegas has risen considerably in recent years, prompting many to want to move there to take advantage of its lower cost of living, the city has encountered a housing crisis as demand is currently far outstripping the amount of inventory available to would-be homeowners.

And one of the primary reasons for this crisis, according to a growing number of those in the real estate industry, is due to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with the federal agency currently managing nearly three million acres in Clark County; the U.S. government currently owns 80 percent of the land in the state of Nevada overall – the most out of any state in the country – and 88 percent of Clark County.

Mike Ford, co-owner of Las Vegas-based public lands consulting firm Abbey, Stubbs & Ford and a former BLM employee, said there is currently no good reason for the federal agency not to release more land for development in Clark County than they already have, which would go a long way towards alleviating the housing shortage currently plaguing local residents.

There’s 2.9 million acres of BLM land in Clark County, and that’s what we really need to focus on because land managed by the other (federal) agencies is generally not available for disposal because it has environmental attributes or it’s part of a congressionally designated special management unit,” Ford said.

In 1998, the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) was passed that set aside approximately 67,000 acres out of the 2.9 million available in the Las Vegas Valley for development of residential housing units or commercial uses, with an additional 33,000 acres that have also been earmarked for potential development that have not yet been released.

The idea was for the BLM to be totally out of the urban land management business in the valley within five to 10 years,” Ford noted. “And that hasn’t happened.”

Multiple members of Las Vegas’s real estate industry have become increasingly vocal with their complaints over the two main issues they claim are affecting the shortage of land in the valley: zoning issues and permit delays that are seen as restrictive on the part of Clark County, and BLM’s seeming reluctance to set aside more land for residential or commercial development, either by releasing it outright or allowing it to go to auction.

When you have 2.9 million acres of land in Clark County, some of it environmentally sensitive land, which is really important, managing rural lands, why would (the BLM) spend 90 percent of the time on the 67,000 acres that are urban lands that are better managed by local units of government?” Ford said. “That’s the million-dollar question.”

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 Las Vegas home contractor is facing felony charges after he allegedly bilked numerous clients out of a combined total of over $200,000 in payments for remodeling work he never completed…and all with a license that had previously been suspended back in January, officials say.

Gabriel Adame – owner of Adame Handyman Services, AKA Adame Construction – was taken into custody by authorities last Wednesday following a disciplinary hearing with the Nevada State Contractors Board over funds he purportedly stole from clients for work he never bothered to finish.

Adame and his attorney had accepted multiple charges in February after complaints were filed against him by multiple homeowners, with some claiming that the contractor had left them with as much as $35,000 in uncompleted remodeling work.

At the hearing four months ago, the judge presiding over the complaints, Noah Addison, listened to the tales of five of Adame’s alleged victims, many of whom were very angry over what they said were his deceitful and criminal business dealings with them.

One Las Vegas homeowner, Emily Moon, when asked is she had anything to add about the accused, declined, saying that, “I don’t think I want those words on record.”

Director of Investigations for the Nevada State Contractors Board, Terry Wike, noted upon Adame’s arrest last week that his organization had been looking into the contractor’s activities for quite some time, and wanted to make sure that they had all of their ducks in a row before finally having the cuffs slapped on him.

The investigation took more than a year. We have recently filed five charges against Gabriel Adame for his acts in taking money from homeowners and not completing work,” he said. “There’s a variety of levels of uncompleted work. He would take a down payment, and he would not complete the work.”

Wike said that homeowners should be very cautious when looking to have remodeling work done on their homes, making sure that they use common sense when it comes to issuing down payments and to thoroughly vet any contractor before having dealings with them.

You can’t take a down payment in excess of $1,000 or 10 percent of the value of the contract, whichever is less. We were often seeing down payments of 50 percent of the price of the project,” he said. “Make sure all your contracts are in writing, and they include scheduled payments. That’s so the payments don’t get ahead of the work.”

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.