Federal Judge Strikes Down CDC’s Nationwide Eviction Moratorium Saying The Agency Exceeded Its Authority; DOJ Will Appeal

LAS VEGAS, NV – On Wednesday, a federal judge overturned the COVID-19 national eviction moratorium enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that was currently set to expire at the end of June, which may be the catalyst for millions of evictions across the country if the decision is allowed to stand.

Judge Dabney Friedrich of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia noted in her decision that the CDC exceeded its authority when it first enacted the eviction ban in September 2020; the ban was originally set to end at the end of January 2021, but President Joe Biden later extended it first to April, then June.

“The question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not,” Judge Friedrich said in her ruling.

Upon hearing the news of decision, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it will appeal Judge Friedrich’s ruling, in addition to seeking a stay of the decision; if granted, it would keep the eviction ban in effect until the issue is resolved in court.

In response to the DOJ, Judge Friedrich agreed to put a temporary hold on her ruling, but gave groups representing landlords and property owners that had challenged the eviction ban a May 12 deadline to submit legal paperwork voicing their opposition to the delay. Friedrich also gave the DOJ four days to respond to the landlord groups after they have filed their papers.

Reports indicate that 1 in 5 renters across the United States are having financial issues that affect their ability to pay their rent; however, landlords and property owners have criticized the long-term eviction ban, saying that they can’t afford to continue housing people for free.

Judge Friedrich’s ruling does not impact state or local government eviction moratoriums, including the one enacted by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, which due to expire on May 31.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 reports, Airbnb has announced that they will be blocking one-night rentals in Las Vegas – and across the United States as a whole – during the Fourth of July weekend, and only guests with a significant history of positive reviews in their previous Airbnb transactions will be allowed to rent properties at all during the period of time surrounding Independence Day.

The announcement comes as multiple neighborhoods across the country have issued previous complaints regarding Airbnb customers disturbing their neighbors with wild partying, with the rental company referring to the upcoming months as their “summer of responsible travel.”

“As the July 4 weekend approaches, we are deploying more stringent restrictions on one and two-night reservations that may pose heightened risk for parties,” Airbnb announced in a statement. “For example, we will leverage our technology that restricts certain local and last-minute bookings by guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb and also block reservations within an expanded radius.”

Airbnb has instituted similar policies in the past around other holidays that tend to attract avid partiers, including News Year’s Eve. Previously, neighborhoods in the Southern Nevada region have complained about Airbnb rentals hosting disruptive groups that would engage in loud parties, leading to local municipalities enacting strict legislation to curb such activity.

In order to address such complaints from neighborhoods where Airbnb rentals had received such complaints, last summer the company suspended 20 listings in Clark County that had hosted house parities.

Short-term rentals in Las Vegas have taken off in the last year, and especially during the ongoing pandemic, as it allows homebound families and friends to vacation in a fancy home in a tourist destination while maintaining lodging that adheres to social distancing regulations, more so than most hotels can manage.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 recently-released report from the Nevada State Apartment Association (NVSAA), the demand in the apartment market in Las Vegas has continued to remain strong and has even shown signs of growth, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Southern Nevada economy over the course of the past year.

The NVSAA report notes that apartment rents have continued to rise while vacancy rates have continued to shrink over the past 12 months. Rent has grown by 9.3 percent in the first quarter of 2021 when compared to the same period of time one year prior. Currently, the average rent of an apartment in Southern Nevada is sitting at $1,198 per month, which represents an increase from $1,138 from the fourth quarter of 2020 and $1,096 from one year ago.

However, despite the rising rents in Las Vegas, the NVSAA report is still quick to point out that they are still lower than the national average, which is currently $1,414 per month, a 2.9 percent increase from one year earlier.

As for vacancy rates, the average vacancy during the first quarter of 2021 is 5.4 percent, which represents a decrease from 5.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2020 and 6.9 percent from one year ago.

Over the years from 2015 to 2019, Southern Nevada apartment rents increased at a regular rate until the pandemic hit last March; at that point, rents dropped significantly but – just as quickly – rebounded and have now gone beyond their pre-pandemic peak.

Another reason for the high demand is a lack of new inventory on the market; during the peak of the pandemic, new apartment development was slowed, but has since regained speed; according to the NVSAA, as of the first quarter of 2021, 3,826 Las Vegas apartment units are currently under construction.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 reports, the upcoming high-speed railway system between Las Vegas and Southern Los Angeles that has been long-gestating has finally seen some forward momentum, as Brightline West CEO Mike Reininger has confirmed construction of the high-speed railway system – expected to have top speeds of 200 miles per hour – is still on-track to start in 2021.

Reininger had noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had created a series of speed bumps that interfered with the anticipated raising of funds for the project, but that Brightline West had made good progress with their plans to sell private activity bonds allocated for the project by the U.S. Department of Transportation – as well as both Nevada and California – to finance the railway’s construction.

“The world changed as a result of the pandemic, but we continued to work wherever we possibly could towards advancing the ball,” Reininger said. “The project remains a very high priority for us. The tenor of the financial markets today is dramatically different, the stock market is doing incredibly well, people are optimistic about a massive rebound in the economy, jobs are heading in the right direction. That gives us confidence about our ability to keep the project on track.”

The finished rail line would result in a 34-mile stretch of track in Nevada, running along Interstate 15, 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.

Construction will be broken into six segments, three in California and three in Nevada. The project, according to Brightline West’s official website, will create more than 40,000 construction jobs and more than 1,000 permanent jobs, with an economic income of $9 billion. In addition, it will generate $1 billion in tax revenue.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 – Yet another real estate record was set in Las Vegas recently when the French countryside-style estate of former casino executive Barry Shier sold for a whopping $11.3 million, the highest price yet paid for a home in 2021.

That impressive record seems destined to be short-lived, surprisingly enough; in the Henderson hillside community of Ascaya, a 12,100-square-foot home is reportedly under contract for $15.9 million. But for now, the Shier sale is the king of the mountain in 2021.

The Shier property is located on Enclave Court in Country Club Hills in Summerlin, which is a seven-home exclusive neighborhood known as “Billionaires Row.” It was purchased by John Lagerling, the CEO of Mercari, an e-commerce website that is considered a competitor to sites such as eBay.

After closing on the property on Monday, Lagerling’s Realtor, Greg Clemens of Coldwell Banker Premier, reported that South Point casino owner Michael Gaughan made an offer to his client to acquire the property he had just purchased for $15 million, which would have netted him a $4 million profit. However, Lagerling turned the offer down, Clemens said.

Clemens noted that the Shier home fetched such a high price due to the fact that property in Las Vegas is in high demand, despite the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a home that has probably been on the market for about five years,” he said. “It sold now because our market is so strong. There’s no inventory. I have three to four people I am working with right now who are looking for homes over $10 million, and I can’t find them anything. It’s a sign of supply and demand. The supply is low, and demand is through the roof.”

The all-time record home sale in Las Vegas, however, remains the 2016 purchase of a 31,000 square-foot home located in Enclave Court to magician David Copperfield for $17.55 million.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 reports, the Nevada Assembly last week approved a bill on a vote of 26-16 that will seal records of evictions that occur during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the passage of Assembly Bill 141, tenants who have received summary evictions from their landlords or property managers for non-payment of rent for the duration of the pandemic will automatically have the records of said evictions automatically sealed. As a result, any landlord in the future would have no way of knowing of their prospective tenant’s history of rent delinquency, up to and including having been evicted.

The bill would cover the period of time beginning March 20, 2020, and will remain in effect until Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak calls an official end to the state of emergency brought about by COVID-19.

Renters across the state have rejoiced at the news of the bill’s passage, with Tiara Moore, Housing Justice Organizer with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), saying that it will help residents to find housing without being burdened by their pasts.

“The passing of AB141 is a start in the right direction to help Nevadans facing housing insecurity,” she said. “For many, a single eviction is enough to keep a family housing insecure and reliant on others to find a place to stay for years. This would break down that barrier for Nevada’s tenants who have had to endure one of the hardest economic crises in our lifetime.”

Assembly Bill 141 also represents yet another distinct disadvantage for landlords who have already been forced to shoulder many burdens throughout the pandemic due to multiple state and federal eviction bans. Prior to the bill’s passage in the Assembly last week, it faced steep pushback from property landlords and owners.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 reports, Auric Symphony Park – a new luxury midrise apartment community at Symphony Park in downtown Las Vegas – has officially begun pre-leasing units, according to an announcement by Southern Land Company.

Southern, a national real estate developer whose mixed-use developments and master-planned communities have won awards, will be holding hard hat tours for interested tenants later in April while the community is still under construction. The first batch of residents are currently anticipated to begin in June of this year.

Auric Symphony Park is described as a luxury apartment complex for those seeking “a blend of indulgence, comfort and respite.” All units will come with high-end finishes including quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and tile flooring.

The 480,000-square-foot, five-story building is located north of Donald W. Reynolds Symphony Park – an open-space park outside of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts – on six acres of land, and is the first luxury multifamily development in that area.

The community will offer a mixed-use property consisting of 324 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom for-lease apartment homes, with the ground floor offering a selection of restaurants and retail establishments as well as a secure parking garage for residents-only.

Speaking of secure, residents of Auric Symphony Park will have multiple security features safeguarding them, such as access control via an app they can download and utilize on their smartphones; residents can also send entry codes to guests as well , in addition to a multitude of video surveillance cameras and overnight private security.

Residents will have access to an impressive number of amenities, such as a resort-style pool with two-story cabanas and an outdoor bar, rooftop bar overlooking Symphony Park, resident lounge, a fitness center, pet park, grooming area and a business center.

Apartment homes will range in size from 591 square feet to 1,452 square feet for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, with rent starting at just over $1,300 per month.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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, NY – Tower 16 Capital Partners, a real estate investment and management company based out of San Diego, has recently sold a three-property group of apartment buildings located in Las Vegas for the whopping total of $182 million, according to reports.

The three apartment buildings in question include Accent on Rainbow, a 540-unit complex located at 6666 W. Washington Avenue; Accent on Decatur, a 313-unit complex at 2950 S. Decatur Boulevard; and Accent on Sahara, a 312-unit complex at 4801 E. Sahara Avenue.

All three buildings are multifamily communities with each having multiple resident amenities, including pools, a workout gym, a clubhouse and more. In addition, Accent on Sahara also features a children’s play area and a dog park.

Tower 16 originally bought all three properties over two years ago for a total of $112 million, and then invested an additional $10.3 million in renovations across all three buildings, including improvements made to leasing offices, adding amenities, and upgrading approximately 40 percent of the apartment units. The undisclosed buyer will be continuing to invest into the renovation efforts of all three properties, according to reports.

Tyler Pruett, a Tower 16 co-founder, noted that the three properties needed some TLC to get them into proper shape for a sale.

“We are excited to announce the successful sale of our Las Vegas portfolio to a very strong and reputable buyer,” he said. “Upon our acquisition, all three assets needed significant physical and management improvement, which we quickly implemented at all three properties. The result was an extraordinary execution, far surpassing our goals for the properties.”

Mike Farley, another Tower 16 co-founder, said that Las Vegas is an ideal city to invest in multifamily rental properties, and that his company would continue to do so in the future.

“Las Vegas has proven to be a very strong market for multifamily, especially in the workforce housing space,” he said. “We remain enthusiastic about the future of Las Vegas and will continue to look for new acquisition opportunities in the marketplace.”

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 extended Nevada eviction moratorium expiring at the end of May – and a federal version to expire afterwards at the end of June – the Nevada Legislature says they are looking into methods of expediting the distribution of millions of dollars in federal rental assistance, despite the fact that no bill mandating this has yet to be introduced by lawmakers, according to reports.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has stated that his latest extension of the eviction moratorium – originally put in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – will be the last one, leaving both tenants facing homelessness and cash-strapped landlords who have not been receiving rent for months hanging while awaiting relief that isn’t coming quickly enough.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) has stated that her fellow legislature members were working with the Supreme Court and the counties in order to distribute the funding to those who need it most, but gave no other information on how that would be accomplished.

“We’re trying to figure out the best way to help facilitate getting that money to pay for those tenants that have been unable to pay, get back to those landlords and help keep those tenants in their properties,” she said.

With Governor Sisolak’s announcement that he would not extend the eviction ban again, he also decreed that once that ban ends on May 31, tenants will still be safe under its federal counterpart, set to end June 30.

However, starting June 1, landlords can begin initial preparations to evict tenants who have not been paying their rent, but they will be required to include information in any correspondence informing tenants of resources available – such as assistance programs – and how to access them.

“They’ll still be protected, they won’t become homeless, won’t lose their housing,” Sisolak said. “We want an opportunity for after the 60 days expires, some of the landlords can go in and start to file papers… it will get our process started while the clock runs off the CDC moratorium.”

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 – Long in development, Elon Musk’s “The Boring Company” has finally completed the Tesla-powered underground people mover – AKA “The Loop” – that will service attendees of the Las Vegas Convention Center going forward, according to reports.

The Loop is comprised of a series of underground tunnels, dug by The Boring Company, that will ferry people back and forth to the Convention Center in a series of Tesla automated electric cars in approximately two minutes each way. Normally, the route would take an average of 30 minutes for a person to walk on their own.

The Loop system project cost is $52 million, with construction originally started in 2019 underneath the convention center campus. The system will be serviced by 62 Tesla cars, although it has been said that the system can handle more if needed; the current vehicle allotment can transport an estimated 4,400 people per hour.

The Boring Company has stated that they plan on expanding the tunnel system that they have started for the Convention Center, with plans for new people mover routes to various area resorts and even the airport having already been submitted to city officials.

The expanding high-tech underground people mover network is anticipated to be yet another major draw for tourists in Las Vegas, where the local economy is dependent on the income brought in by out-of-town visitors.

The first major event at the Convention Center that will make use of The Loop will be The World of Concrete, the commercial construction industry’s largest annual international event for concrete and masonry professionals, set to be held from Tuesday, June 8 through Thursday, June 10, 2021.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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.

NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV – Reports indicate that a prominent real estate developer that specializes in warehouses has purchased a huge stretch of land in North Las Vegas with plans to develop a large-scale industrial park for use by e-commerce firms and other companies.

350 acres were bought for $44.75 million by VanTrust Real Estate, which noted in a press release announcing the deal that was the one of the largest in recent years by a private developer in the Southern Nevada region.

The property was sold by Southern Nevada land investor and broker Mason Harvey, and according to property records the sale closed on March 31.

Work on the project’s initial infrastructure phase is slated to commence this fall and will make up approximately 1.5 million square feet; this phase of construction is expected to be completed in 2023, at which point the second phase will begin.

Currently, the final completion date for the industrial park has yet to be announced.

In recent years, the industrial component of Las Vegas’ construction has been expanding and increasing, with many developers concentrating on building warehouses that end up housing businesses such as distribution centers for e-commerce firms. The allure of developing these projects in Southern Nevada is due to the large amounts of land available and the low prices and cost of living when compared to many other regions of the United States.

VanTrust has completed several such warehouse facilities in North Las Vegas in recent years, with big companies such as Amazon, The Honest Company, Sephora, and Fanatics among those that have moved in to establish distribution centers there.

VanTrust’s overall construction in North Las Vegas is comprised of 5.5 million square feet, all of which has been quickly sold, with their most recent sale being the $110 million sale of an 855,000-square-foot Amazon warehouse to an investment firm in Los Angeles.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 elaborate, castle-styled mansion owned by magician Lance Burton, located in Henderson, Nevada, has been listed on the market for a whopping $4.49 million, according to reports. The move comes after Burton moved from Las Vegas – he hasn’t performed there since 2018 – to a farm based in Kentucky in late 2020, which has been in his family for nearly 100 years. He had previously been a regular performer at the former Monte Carlo hotel-casino on the Strip, but ended his run there in 2010 and has been doing shows both nationally and around the world since then.

The mansion, located in southeast Henderson off College Drive, west of U.S. Highway 95 in the Black Mountains, was originally built by Burton in 2006 and was designed to resemble a medieval-style castle. Taking up 14,376 square feet and situated on 10 acres of land, it boasts three stories and six bedrooms and features a observation tower with 360-degree views with a three-car garage. The address is 1280 Scooter St, Henderson, NV 89002.

Burton noted that the castle-like exterior – including cutouts at the top where defending archers could shoot through in medieval times – is merely a façade; the interior is just a comfortable modern home with all the amenities one would expect of a high-end residence, including guest bedrooms, a gym, a two-story library, and a home theater with eight reclining seats. The home also features a large living room, complete with a bar and four televisions.

With Burton being a magician, there are also some more whimsical aspects to the mansion as well; it has secret doors built into the walls that, when closed, are undetectable to the average person; in fact, the second story of his library is only accessible via such a secret door.

The only major amenity that the home lacks is a pool, since Burton said that he didn’t use the one in his last residence; however, the master bedroom does have a grotto area and spa. The spa is indoors but has the pocket with doors that open to the outside; and privacy is not an issue, ether – the mansion sits atop a mountain and entry requires passing through a series of three gates.

All in all, a unique and impressive piece of real estate.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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.