California-Based American Homes 4 Rent Gets in on Las Vegas Rental Market

LAS VEGAS, NV – American Homes 4 Rent®, a California-based company that renovates and leases single-family homes (it already owns over such 1,000 homes in Las Vegas alone) has made the move to up its game in Southern Nevada, announcing recently that they would be constructing rental homes from Vegas, a move they have already pulled off in 14 other markets, according to reports.

American Homes 4 Rent was established in 2012, and is one of the first large public companies to begin investing heavily in single-family homes, following the entry of The Blackstone Group into the field; as of 2018, it owned over 51,200 single-family homes in 21 states, many of which were acquired through the Multiple Listing Service and foreclosure homes via auction. 

According to Clark County records, American Homes 4 Rent recently applied for 14 new home permits, the first time they have done so in the Las Vegas area, located in multiple plots of land that the company purchased in 2018. These permits are intended to make up a community the company is designing that will be named Serene Park in the southwest valley, according to reports. Once completed, the community will consist of a total of 21 single-family homes, all of which will be designed for long-term rentals and will range from 2,000 to 2,200 square feet in size.

The current slate of homes that American Homes 4 Rent already has on the rental market in Vegas range in price from $1,200 to $2,600 per month. The company has stated to media that the expansion into home construction – as opposed to just purchasing existing homes – came about due to an opportunity to build for approximately the same cost as acquiring structures that are already made, resulting in higher-quality rentals.

Once completed, the rent is expected be approximately $1,795 a month for a three-bedroom house and $1,950 a month for a four-bedroom house.

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 short-term vacation rental market is booming in Las Vegas, with Nevada becoming the fourth-highest such market in the country. Vegas has always been a destination city for a variety of reasons, but after the recovery of the city’s economy, the recent influx of money, jobs, businesses and the arrival of the recently-transplanted Raiders NFL team – tourism has reached a fever pitch in Southern Nevada. Enter the rental market. Tourists have been turning increasingly to short-term home rentals when visiting Las Vegas, and investors have sat up and taken notice. Within the span of the last ten years, the vacation home rental industry in Vegas has gone up a whopping 50 percent, reports say.

Some of the most popular areas to rent vacation homes locally include Henderson, due in part to it’s proximity to the famed Las Vegas Strip; after such rentals were made legal there, reports indicate that anywhere from a 200-300 percent increase in the number of investors who have purchased homes in order to rent them out to tourists. Home rentals for tourists are often more popular then hotels and other accommodations; this holds especially true for families with children, according to reports.

Home prices in Vegas, while still climbing at record rates due to the law of supply and demand, are still nonetheless much cheaper than the national average, especially when compared to neighboring states such as California. Some investors report seeing quick returns on their investment dollars, with some Airbnb users noting that it’s possible to make as much as $8,000 a week if your play your cards right.

However, the short-term vacation rental market comes with its caveats, among them the fact that it may see an increase in rent and traditional home-buyers being pushed out. Due to this, the rental business could end up making things more difficult for both type renters and buyers alike.

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 Las Vegas rental market – just like any other aspect of the real estate market in Southern Nevada these days – is still experiencing record degrees of growth, with prices that are rising at levels not seen in well over a decade. Rental prices, while showing signs of slowing down and stabilizing in recent months, are nonetheless approaching amounts that rival the boom period of Las Vegas real estate seen just prior to the mid-2000’s burst of the housing bubble.

But obviously – as all things are not created equal – some areas of Las Vegas are commanding higher rental fees than others. But while rental fees continue to rise, a new study reveals that not all things are created equal, as obviously there are some areas of Las Vegas that are just plain more expensive to rent in than others. The study broke things down by individual zip codes, noting which ones were pricier than their neighboring peers. 

The study analyzed 4,400 zip codes in over 130 markets, and based on that established national, regional, and state rankings for rental costs. In Nevada, the Las Vegas Valley – zip code 89123 – is the most expensive area in the state to rent, with the 2019 average price coming in at $1,789 per month; this amount represents an increase of 6.6 percent from 2018.

In second and third most expensive the study indicated a tie; zip codes 89521 (Northern Nevada) and 89436 (Reno) average about $1,685 a month. In fourth place comes Henderson – zip code 89012 – with the average rent amounting to $1,541; a jump of 7.7 percent from last year, the study notes. And finally, in fifth place, Clark County zip code 89141 has an average rental cost of approximately $1,523 a month.

However, it should be pointed out that overall, the cost of living in Las Vegas is still well below the national average, especially when compared to neighboring states such as California, where the rent in zip code 90024 – Los Angeles – will set you back a cool $4,944 a month (up 4.1 percent from 2018).  However, the most expensive zip code in the United States to rent in currently is Manhattan, NY (10282), where the average rent comes in at a whopping $6,211, a 12.4 percent year-over-year increase.

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 – In the mid-2000’s Las Vegas housing market, prices reached their peak; in June of 2006, the median sales price of a single-family home hit an all-time high of $315,000, right before the recession hit and rendered the Southern Nevada market nearly inert for almost a decade.

Fast-forward to 2019, and real estate in Las Vegas has finally experienced something of a boom period once again. With the recovery of the economy and the influx of money and jobs into the region, experts began to notice the skyrocketing growth in the housing market. Inventory was scarce and prices were rising, but did they stand a chance of hitting the highs seen before the housing bubble burst? Some were skeptical, but none denied the record-setting growth.

But it appears to be happening, experts say; in September 2019, the median sales price of a single-family home hit $310,000. Closing the gap significantly between what is and what once was. Clearly, home prices – while their growth has finally started to slow recently – are on the cusp of reaching, and perhaps even surpassing, their previous mid-2000 levels.
However, experts say not to read too much into that milestone, as when taking inflation into consideration, the gap is not quite what it once was thought. Inflation means that, in 2019 currency, that peak 2006 home price of $315,000 would actually equate to 398,300. Also, while things have improved overall, they have yet to reach the point where lenders were practically giving loans away; from banks to developers, everyone touched by the real estate industry is playing it a little more safely these days, based on how badly they were burned last time around.

So while the symbolism of the new 2019 peak is a great way to bid farewell to the hardships that the recession forced upon Las Vegas – and indeed, the rest of the nation – it still indicates that there’s room for improvement, and illustrates just how bad things got when they were at their worst. But it also shows how far Vegas has come, and how far it’s still more than capable of going in the future.

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 – Wayne Newton, known far and wide as “Mr. Las Vegas” for his many years serving as an entertainment headliner, is making news this week as his former Clark County ranch has sold for a whopping $10.53 million, according to reports.

Despite the large dollar amounts involved, however, the sale price – which also includes a separate deal for surrounding commercial property – represents a significant drop from the $19.5 million it was purchased for back in 2010, reports say.

The 36-acre ranch – called Casa de Shenandoah – is located at 6629 South Pecos Road and was part of a double real estate transaction where the ranch was purchased for $5.56 million, and 10.3 acres of surrounding property – which contained retail land that catered to tours of the Newton ranch, including a gift shop – for an additional $4.97 million, Clark County records say.

The Newton estate includes a white mansion, an additional six homes, horse stables, tennis courts, and an equestrian pool. Public tours were previously held on the property from 2015 to 2018.

The sales were made by ICSD LLC, which purchased the ranch in June 2010 from Newton with failed plans of turning it into a tourist attraction. The buyer was Harsch Investment Properties; currently, there are no publicly-disclosed plans as to what Harsch’s plans are for the property.

Wayne Newton, now 77, is a world-famous singer and entertainer and one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas, where he is known by the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment. His most well-known songs include “Daddy, Don’t You Walk So Fast,” “Years,” and “Red Roses for a Blue Lady.” His signature song “Danke Schoen” was famously-used in the soundtrack for the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

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 – While the growth of home prices on the real estate market has slowed as of late after a period of massive growth, Las Vegas is still outpacing the vast majority of large cities in the county; that is, except its neighboring city of Phoenix, Arizona, according to reports.

In Southern Nevada as of July 2019, median home prices have been recorded as increasing 4.7 percent since the same period in 2018; this runs in direct contrast with the national average of 3.2 percent, reports say.

However, Phoenix has jumped in the rankings, showing a 5.8 percent gain year-over-year for the second month in a row. Previously, Las Vegas had occupied the top of the price growth list for a full year; for the past two months, it’s had to settle for number two on that list, a no less impressive distinction.

Currently, the median price of a single-family home in Las Vegas is $305,000 as of September, which represents a 3.4 percent increase over the same period of time in 2018. Growth is still there, although demand has decreased as developers have addressed the city’s rampant housing shortage brought on by a booming economy and an influx of out-of-state transplants looking for good jobs. The number of homes on the market is slowly increasing, which is helping to stabilize the formerly skyrocketing rate of growth for new home prices in the region.

In contrast, the median sales price of a single-family home in Las Vegas in August of 2018 represented a 13.5 percent increase over the same period in 2017, reports say; a massive jump, indeed. 

The current growth of the Las Vegas real estate market is seen as more sustainable, according to experts, many of whom were worried that the previous rapid growth the city was experiencing would soon affect the region’s much-touted affordable cost of living.

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 – Recently, with real estate booming in Southern Nevada, investment firms in New York have been delivering an influx of capital into multiple upcoming development projects in Las Vegas, signaling a strong belief in the current and future potential of the region, reports say.

The Rio Resort and Casino was sold last month by Caesars Entertainment Corp for $516.3 million to Imperial Companies, making the latest high-profile – and high-dollar – sale of a Vegas property to a New York-based investor or group. As per the deal, Caesars will continue to function as management for the Rio for the next two years – or possibly longer – while paying $45 million in rent annually.

Prior to the mid-2000’s national recession – before housing values in Las Vegas had collapsed and multiple development projects were abandoned – many New York-based investment firms swept in and financially backed numerous construction and real estate projects, a trend that has continued to this very day with the recovery of the economy.

One of the very biggest New York investors in Las Vegas is The Blackstone Group, owned by Stephen Schwarzman. Among the Vegas-based purchases that Blackstone has made in recent years – in addition to multiple local-area apartment buildings – include the Hughes Center office park for $347 million in 2013, the Cosmopolitan for over $1.7 billion in 2014, and the World Market Center furniture showroom hall in 2017; the amount of that last acquisition has not been publicly disclosed.

Steve Witkoff, a prominent New York-based developer, purchased the Las Vegas Strip-based Fontainebleau – in an unfinished state at the time, and now called Drew Las Vegas – for $600 million in 2017, along with partners based in Florida. In addition, the Nakash family of New York, in partnership with Gindi Capital, purchased the Showcase Mall – located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise – for over $367 million, the deal done in two phases in 2014 and 2015. Gindi, on their own, also bought 9.5 acres of property on Las Vegas Boulevard for $172 million in 2019.

Many other deals and investments have been made by New York-based entities as well.

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 Palms Casino Resort has announced that they will be constructing an elaborate climate-controlled dome over one of their outdoor pool areas in order to provide a venue for year-round outdoor partying – known as “day-clubbing” – for their many guests, reports say.

Known as the “KAOS Dome,” the Palms Casino Resort will be building a frame and transparent panels around one of their swimming pools and its surrounding cabanas; the venue will be tied into the resort’s KAOS Dayclub and Nightclub venue by both name and design aesthetic, according to recent announcements. The structure is slated to be approximately 70 feet in height and will be built around a 60-foot tall sculpture by artist Damien Hirst entitled “Demon wit Bowl.”

Palms Casino Resort – owned by Station Casinos – is located near the Las Vegas Strip, has 703 rooms and suites, and contains 95,000 square-foot casino, recording studio, Michelin-starred restaurant and 2,500-seat concert theater. The resort’s Fantasy Tower is also home to several nightlife venues including Moon Nightclub and The View. The tower holds what are known as the Sky Villas and Fantasy Suites, which are some of the most expensive hotel suites in the world. The two-story Sky Villa on the top floor, billed at US $40,000 per night, is listed at number 5 on the World’s 15 Most Expensive Hotels, according to reports.

The pool area that will be converted into the KAOS Dome will be closed on September 15 to accommodate construction and remodeling efforts, and is slated to re-open by October 31 – Halloween – for a celebratory “Demon Dome” party, as which rapper Cardi B is expected to entertain attendees.

The Palms Casino Resort first broke ground in July 2000; construction was completed on September 26, 2001, and the resort opened for business on November 15, 2001. In May 2016, Station Casinos purchased the Palms from the Maloof family – the original owners – for $312.5 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 – Matter Real Estate Group has obtained a $150 million loan in order to push forward with their proposed work on a Las Vegas mixed-use facility that will offer business offices, apartments, retail, dining, and entertainment options, all combined into one unique location, reports say.

Due to be constructed off of Durango Drive and the 2015 Beltway in the southwest valley, UnCommons – the name of the mixed-used facility – will essentially be a mini-city within a city, a space where the various employees working for the businesses located there will have solutions to all of their needs right at their fingertips. Initial plans for the project call for 150,000 square-feet of office space situated on a 40-acre lot, in conjunction with restaurants, shopping establishments, an exercise studio, relaxation options, several parking garages, and 875 apartments.

Phase one of the UnCommons project – currently budgeted at approximately $400 million – is set to break ground in 2020, and as long as there are no unexpected issues, completion of construction is expected by the middle of 2021, with additional phases planned on afterwards to add more features, amenities, and functionality, reports say.

While the construction and real estate boom that has overtaken Las Vegas since the country’s recovery from the mid-2000’s recession has seen numerous housing and office building projects erected by developers looking to take advantage of the region’s booming economy, few mixed-use projects such as the UnCommons have been included.

Therefore, experts are expecting the UnCommons project – with its proposed goal of catering to the extensive needs of a diverse cross-section of the professional population – to make quite a splash when it is completed. 

Mixed-use developments such as the UnCommons are notoriously difficult and complicated to design and construct, and as a result they tend to be even harder still to acquire financing for. Usually more pedestrian and time-tested developments are easier to get solid backing for, but members of Matter Real Estate Group have been beating a path across the country in recent months in order to successfully drum up support from investors, reports say. 

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 Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada has been sold by Caesars Entertainment to a real estate investment company for $516.3 million.

The buyer, controlled by the firm Imperial Companies, has agreed to acquire the Rio Casino-Hotel, which is located on the famed Las Vegas Strip. Under the terms of the announced agreement, Caesars will still operate the hotel/casino for at least the next two years, paying the new owners $45 million a year in rent. After two years, Caesars retains a $7 million option to continue managing the property for an additional year; further years of management are also possible after the expiration of the lease as well, according to the agreement.

Caesars CEO Tony Rodio noted in a released statement that the move to sell the Rio would enable the company to concentrate on their many other holdings in the Southern Nevada region and beyond.

“This deal allows Caesars Entertainment to focus our resources on strengthening our attractive portfolio of recently renovated Strip properties and is expected to result in incremental EBITDA at those properties,” he said.

Caesars Entertainment Chief Executive, Tony Rodio

First opening its doors for business on January 15, 1990, the Rio was the first all-suite resort in the Las Vegas area. It was named after the city of Rio de Janeiro and is influenced by Brazilian culture, and is the host casino for the World Series of Poker.

The hotel towers are covered in blue and red glass. The Rio hotel’s 2,522 suites range in size from 600 to 13,000 square feet and have floor to ceiling windows. There are several private villas on the property for high-rollers. In addition, the complex includes a wine cellar that has more than 50,000 bottles. The Rio Pavilion convention center has a total of 160,000 square feet of space. A Race and Sports Book is also available.

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 – Many Las Vegas construction projects that are either in the planning stages or are currently in the works are facing the very real threat of skyrocketing costs in the face of trade tariffs brought on by the ongoing US/China Trade War, according to recent reports.

As previously announced by President Donald Trump, on October 1, 2019, new tariffs – ranging from 25 percent to 30 percent – will be placed on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods; in addition, $160 billion worth of Chinese goods will come under a new 15 percent tax due to be instituted on December 15.

How this affects construction in Las Vegas – and much of the United States, for that matter – is in steel, one of China’s main exports, which is also home to six of the 10 largest steel-producing companies headquartered there, according to reports. 

And the increased steel prices that the tariffs are causing are making many developers think twice about going forward with – or scaling back – numerous planned projects in the Southern Nevada region due to the ballooning costs involved. For example, a proposed sports and entertainment complex for the Las Vegas Strip headed up by former NBA star Jackie Robinson has raised its estimated costs from $2.7 billion to nearly $3 billion as a result of increased steel costs, reports say. In addition, the developers of the MSG Sphere at The Venetian have increased their initial estimate from $1.2 billion to $1.7 billion.

However, an equal number of developers are pressing forward and taking on the extra costs as they come, while others are managing to remain on-budget as pre-existing purchase contracts with exporters have rendered them temporarily immune to the rising costs brought about by the US/Chine trade war. Projects that report no significant cost overruns due to the conflict include the Las Vegas Raiders Stadium and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) convention center expansion.

According to the LVCVA, there are ongoing or currently planned projects scheduled to open through 2022 totaling in the amount of $15.2 billion within the confines of the city.

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 – Derek Stevens – noted owner of several high-profile Las Vegas casinos, including D Las Vegas and Golden Gate and developer of the under-construction Circa Resort & Casino – recently announced his plans to build a warehouse near the downtown area to service his hotels, according to reports.

The warehouse, whose project plans have been approved by the Las Vegas City Council, would be built in a vacant lot at the northeast corner of Bonanza Road and Main Street and is slated to be 62,976 square-feet in size.

The lot, previously empty for an extended period of time, was the former home of the Nevada Biltmore Hotel in the 1940’s. It has remained in disuse since then, with an attempt to build a $135 million, 296 unit condominium complex there in the mid-2000’s never coming to fruition due to the recession; Stevens later acquired the property through foreclosure.

The warehouse, according to reports, would be used primarily to service Stevens’ currently-in-construction Circa Resort & Casino, a 777 room hotel that is expected to open in December 2020. The warehouse would also service other hotels that Stevens owns in the downtown area. 

Ground is expected to be officially broken on construction by April of 2020. The project’s general contractor has been announced as being Tré Builders, and efforts have been made to open up channels of discourse with neighboring residents of the project in order to get feedback from them.

According to reports, some of local residents are unhappy with the impending warehouse and its planned aesthetics, claiming that it will have a negative impact upon them. 

Others, however, have been supportive of the warehouse project, noting that the vacant lot is currently home to many undomiciled people.
Attempts to placate neighbors of the project include numerous design elements that will reportedly enhance the visual appeal of the warehouse, including cypress trees, wall vines and a mural.

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.