Category Archive : Economy

LAS VEGAS, NV – Not only are mainland Americans noticing the unique opportunities and affordability offered in Las Vegas, when compared to many other high-priced cities across the U.S., such as New York, and California, but Native Hawaiians have been flocking to Sin City, in large numbers, according to a recent AP story featured in U.S. News and World Report.

Highllighted in that report were 2021 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, indicating that the biggest demographic growth in Clark County, Nevada, were Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations. California’s Sacramento County also showed similar growth for the same demographic.

Native Hawaiian, Kona Purdy, who was interviewed on the subject by AP reporters said he never wanted to live anywhere else, but with a looming raise in rent and the lure of no state taxes, better earning wages, restaurants catering to Hawaiian taste and a solid base of Hawaiians flocking to Vegas, the attraction was too clear to ignore, moving his family to Henderson in 2017. According to Purdy, who had been paying $2300 a month to “stuff his four-member family” into a single room, there is even a real estate brokerage that helps families relocate from the islands.

So, it’s real painful, because you do get disconnected from the land, which we’re so connected to, being born, and raised [there].” Purdy said, “You go into any store in any part of the valley, and you’ll find someone from Hawaii working there or shopping there,” he added.

To back the numbers up comes a decade span in the American Community Survey, which is recorded by the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, which indicated there were 221,600 Native Hawaiians in the continental U.S. in 2011 and by 2021, 370,000 recorded, closing in on close double just a decade later.

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 – Construction on new upcoming Formula 1 headquarters, located near the Las Vegas Strip, officially commenced this week in preparation for the organization’s upcoming Grand Prix race this November, with the esteemed sporting event taking place in a new racetrack – which is currently in development as well – next door.

Currently, building materials are being dropped off at the site of the headquarters and construction equipment such as bulldozers and tractors are excavating land and preparing for the laying of the infrastructure needed to make the project a reality, less than ten months from now.

Upon completion, the Formula 1 headquarters will stand four stories tall and will offer 300,000 square-feet of office space and other facilities; in addition, it will also serve as both start and finish line for the Grand Prix race itself and will offer VIP seating sections where special guests can enjoy the racing action up-close and personal.

Meanwhile, with the impending arrival of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, local Las Vegas hotels and entertainment venues are gearing up for the influx of tourists and out-of-towners who will be making use of their establishments. Indeed, the Grand Prix is anticipated by many to create a large economic boom in Sin City this November.

A major note on the Formula 1 headquarters is that it will be open year-round – and not just during races – and will offer Formula 1-related activities every single day, ensuring that racing fans will be flocking to Las Vegas throughout the year and not just on Grand Prix weekends.

Formula One originally announced in March 2022 that it would hold a 50-lap Grand Prix in Las Vegas in November 2023; the track that is currently in the works will, upon completion, run for 3.8 miles, with racers expected to hit top speeds of 212 miles per hour.

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 – Following the approval of Nevada voters of Ballot Question 2 – the Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana – the purchase, possession, and consumption of recreational marijuana for adults became legal in Nevada on January 1, 2017.

“A person who is 21 years of age or older is allowed to possess and consume retail marijuana,” the law says. “A marijuana consumer may possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana or 1/8 of an ounce of concentrated marijuana. Marijuana can only be purchased legally from state-licensed retail marijuana stores.”

However, since the law was enacted, outside from private residences there have been no legal places to consume cannabis in Nevada, but that is set to change with the arrival of cannabis lounges to the Las Vegas Strip in 2023.

The state of Nevada – and especially the city of Las Vegas – will be allowing legal cannabis-consumption lounges in the New Year. These venues would function similarly to standard bars, but would only allow the use of marijuana by both residents and tourists; alcohol would be prohibited in such establishments.

The largest cannabis dispensary in Las Vegas, Planet 13 – located approximately one mile from the Las Vegas Strip – has already voluntarily given up its liquor license in favor of opening a cannabis lounge. In addition to existing dispensaries being allowed to open cannabis lounges, 20 licenses for stand-alone lounges will also be issued by the state of Nevada, with several expected to open on the Strip in 2023.

However, none of those 20 cannabis lounges will be located in hotel/casino resorts, as federal law prohibits such a thing; however, the stand-alone lounges will be allowed elsewhere on the Strip once their licenses have been granted by the state.

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 – Las Vegas has been on the comeback trail in a variety of ways since the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, and 2023 promises even bigger and brighter things to come. But it’s always important to learn from and reflect upon the past, and the top real estate transactions of 2022 prove that – despite some setbacks encountered along the way – the Las Vegas marketplace is once again becoming red hot.

The top five Las Vegas real estate transactions of 2022 were, in no particular order:

Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta made some major waves when he spent a whopping $270 million in June on a 6.2-acre plot of land at Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue that will become the home for a currently unnamed 43-story, 2,420-room hotel-casino.

Next up is Formula One, who purchased approximately 40 acres east of the Las Vegas Strip at Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane in June for $240 million, upon which they are constructing a new race track that is scheduled to debut in November 2023, at which time it will host a 50-lap Grand Prix race.

Also of note is MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay’s properties coming under the full ownership of Vici Properties, who was previously the landlord of those establishments. Vici, which had owned a 50.1 percent stake, announced that they are in the process of buying the remaining 49.9 percent from New York-based financial firm Blackstone for $1.27 billion in cash, giving them full ownership going forward.

Next  on the list is Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg, who purchased 2.5 acres in Summerlin’s The Summit Club for $15.6 million in July, followed by another Summit Club residence in August for $14.5 million. The actor noted that the hefty acquisitions were not only so he could become a Nevada resident, but so that he could also use his purchases to construct movie studios in an effort to make Las Vegas “Hollywood 2.0.”

And finishing off the list is Station Casinos’ purchase of about 126 acres at Las Vegas Boulevard and Cactus Avenue for $172.4 million in July, as part of the company’s efforts to increase their foothold in Southern Nevada by 50 percent.

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 upcoming high-speed railway system between Las Vegas and Southern Los Angeles – which has been gestating for a number of years now, having been plagued by a series of delays – has finally seen some forward momentum, as reports indicate that developer Brightline West is now ‘on-track’ to officially break ground on the project in 2023.

With the groundbreaking originally announced to take place back in 2020, the $8 billion 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.

“The environmental assessment underscores the positive environmental impact of utilizing the I-15 for high-speed rail and is a significant step in the process to receive the key approval to begin construction,” the company said in a statement.

Funding for the project is slated to come from several sources, with Brightline applying for federal grants and private activity bonds in both Nevada and California; in addition, funding could be procured from the recently-passed federal infrastructure bill, part of which is earmarked to support rail projects.

The Brightline West railway project has been long-delayed due to several reasons, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects upon financial markets to the 2020 presidential election and the economic uncertainty that it created at the time.

If the project finally proceeds in 2023, the expected completion date would is expected to be in 2027.

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 sale of the former apartment complex of late entrepreneur and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has been deemed fraudulent by a Las Vegas judge since his estate never approved of the transaction, leaving the buyer in a state of limbo in regards to the rights to their purchase.

Much of the Las Vegas real estate empire amassed by Hsieh has been listed on the open market by his family, totaling nearly 100 properties throughout the downtown Las Vegas area. Hsieh had passed away in November 2021 at the age of 46 due to injuries suffered in a Connecticut house fire, and had no will before his death, reports say.

The apartment complex in question, known as Cassia – which Hsieh purchased in 2012 – is located at 319 South Ninth Street, and was purportedly sold in March for $1.2 million by an individual named Santiago Espinosa, who claimed to be a managing member of Hsieh’s limited liability company that owned the property.

However, attorneys representing Hsieh’s estate were not informed of the sale until May, at which point they stated they had never heard of anyone named “Santiago Espinosa.” District Judge Gloria Sturman subsequently ruled that the sale of Cassia was “clearly fraudulent” and ordered that the deed be immediately returned to Hsieh’s estate.

While the whereabouts of the individual claiming to be Santiago Espinosa are currently known to authorities, the same cannot be said regarding the person who notarized the fraudulent sale, reports say. A source close to the situation alleges that the attempted sale of Cassia was part of a large-scale attempt to rip off real estate buyers across the Las Vegas valley.

The apartment complex had been sold to Galaxy Home Buyers LLC – managed by realtor Sarah Sorrells – and that the reversal of the sale by the judge resulted in the firm taking a $1.2 million loss that they have no choice but to accept.

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 housing market nationwide has been experiencing a series of hurdles and setbacks due to the ongoing inflation and rising mortgage interest rates that have been plaguing prospective homebuyers throughout 2022. However, real estate experts are noting that while Las Vegas isn’t immune to these issues, the marketplace is currently proving to be far more affordable overall than much of the country.

As 2022 soon enters into its final month, Las Vegas real estate expert Kirby Scofield stated in a recent interview that – despite the economic roadblocks that are in the way – individuals can still get a great deal in Southern Nevada if they’re willing to put in the effort, as the region features a unique set of circumstances that can prove rewarding for homebuyers.

“We have four casinos going up, two more sports teams supposedly going to be announced and thousands of jobs coming into Las Vegas, that means people are going to be moving…moving means buying and selling homes,” he said.

The factors contributing to an improving Las Vegas real estate marketplace include gradually-lowering home prices coupled with reduced competition for the current inventory; this situation, Scofield said, can provide the ability to secure a good deal on a purchase despite high interest rates on home loans, which are currently past 7 percent.

Scofield notes that buyers should be looking at homes that they can afford based on the current interest rates, but also keep in mind that the tough market is now causing sellers to offer compromises that can lower the overall money you need to sink into a deal.

In addition, Scofield also said that some first-time home buyers may qualify for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) home loan, which would require only a three-and-a-half percent down payment.

“Utilize that it’s currently a buyer’s market to get seller concessions to buy down the points, and pay for your closing costs and get keys for home you deserve,” he said. “More homes available in FHA limit, double than we had in inventory in January alone of every home total in 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 – According to a newly-released report, the housing market in Las Vegas is continuing to show signs of cooling, with prices – although still relatively high – dropping from September to October amid slowed activity brought about by high inflation and mortgage rates.

In October, the median price for an existing single-family home sold in Southern Nevada was $440,000, which represents a 2.2 percent decrease month-over-month from September, when that price was $450,000.

October’s drop was the fourth time in five months when home prices in Vegas have lowered from the previous all-time record for the region, which hit a whopping $482,000 in May of this year. Regardless, the median price for an existing single-family home in October was still up 7.3 percent from the same period of time in 2021.

Meanwhile, prices of townhomes and condominiums in Southern Nevada also dropped last month, although not to the degree of houses. In October, the median townhome and condo price was $266,000, a decrease of 1.5 percent from September but an increase of 12.7 percent from October 2021.

Brandon Roberts, president of Las Vegas REALTORS®, said that ever since the Federal Reserve began jacking up interest rates in an effort to curb national inflation, it has had a correspondingly harsh effect upon real estate, even in strong markets such as Nevada.

“Ever since mortgage interest rates started rising this summer, we’ve seen the housing market cool down,” he said. “Prices have been going down slightly since we hit our all-time peak in May. We’re seeing more homes on the market, and fewer homes are selling. Through October, local home sales are down about 22% from this time last year.”

In October, 2,192 homes, condos and townhomes were sold in Las Vegas, which is a drop of 44 percent year-over-year for homes and 41.9 percent for condos and townhomes, respectively.

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 real estate in Las Vegas – along with the entire country – has been facing a recent slowdown amid rampant inflation, high prices, and increasing mortgage rates, one aspect of the market has not only endured, but has actually continued to flourish- Southern Nevada’s warehouse market.

In October, newly-built industrial park SunPoint West sold for $143 million to German asset manager DWS Group. What was especially notable about the sale was that before the construction on the facility was even completed in September, it had already been fully-leased by tenants.

SunPoint West represents just one of a series of new warehouses near North Las Vegas Airport that are being snapped up as quickly as they are being built. The faciltiy’s developers, SunCap Property Group and Diamond Realty Investments, originally announced plans for the facility in 2021 as a six-building project spanning nearly 40 acres and covering approximately 730,770 square feet.

While demand for industrial real estate in Las Vegas grew quickly in the last few years, it only increased more during the COVID-19 pandemic and hasn’t let up since; greatly heightened public reliance on internet-based shopping paved the way for a much larger need for distribution facilities, with Southern Nevada proving to be extremely valuable in that regard.

Currently, industrial vacancies in the region are at record-lows, and rents are correspondingly rising higher and higher, with more and more landlords purchasing buildings and developers announcing new projects, with the main focus being placed on North Las Vegas.

Much like the home-purchasing frenzy in Vegas during the pandemic when buyers were often over-bidding and closing on houses sight-unseen, it’s now become fairly common within the last several years for industrial facilities to be fully-leased before construction on them has even been completed, with demand currently outstripping supply.

Essentially – despite the overall hurdles facing the real estate market currently – developers in Las Vegas seemingly can’t build industrial and warehouse space fast enough.

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 – Construction workers in Las Vegas have seen increased wages throughout last year, according to a recently-released study, but unfortunately those extra earnings have been gobbled up by the 40-year high inflation that currently holds the country in its grip, essentially negating any gains that were to be had.

The study, released by Construction Coverage, indicates that Nevada residents overall have been paying an additional $805 every month on everyday expenses, ranking the state seventh in the nation in terms of the toll inflation has taken upon it.

But construction workers – of which Las Vegas boasts approximately 7,600 – have seen the 7.1 percent pay bump that they experienced in 2021 reduced to the equivalent of just 3.4 percent when inflation is taken into account, showing that this segment of the workforce has been hit especially hard by the current economic crisis.

Throughout the heightened degree of inflation that the country has been experiencing, the Construction Coverage study illustrates that wages have struggled to keep up with the financial burden being placed upon Americans. In particular, Las Vegas has been in great need of construction laborers and inflation has not only been taking its toll upon them, but the industry as a whole – not even to mention that the prices of building materials have also skyrocketed.

Despite their importance to the industry, construction workers are among the lowest-paid segment of real estate development, with the median annual income being about $37,770; in contrast, Las Vegas construction laborers make an average of $37,500 a year, so any gains that are swallowed up by inflation are hurting these workers in the wallet more than usual.

Nevada recently ranked 28th in the country for gains in construction laborer wages, whereas Indiana and Montana had the largest increases in wages in the 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 – Plans for a massive resort and casino on the famed Las Vegas Strip submitted by Houston, Texas-based billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta have been approved by the Clark County Commission, paving the way for work on the luxury establishment to begin in the near future.

Fertitta’s currently-unnamed resort is slated to be constructed upon a 6.3-acre plot of land located on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Harmon Avenue near the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. When completed, the resort will have an impressive 2,420 rooms spread out over 42 stories, in addition to a 2,536 seat theater and an on-site multi-story parking garage as well.

Clark County records indicate that the resort will also include retail space, indoor and outdoor restaurants, an extensive 37,000 square-foot spa and fitness center, 91,000 square-feet of convention space, business offices, a wedding chapel, and even an auto showroom.

Fertitta – owner of Fertitta Entertainment Incorporated – reportedly paid the sum of $270 million in June for the parcel of land that the establishment is to be built upon. No stranger to hotel-casinos, Fertitta is also responsible for the Golden Nugget Las Vegas as well as gambling venues in New Jersey, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Rebecca Miltenberger, a lawyer from the Las Vegas law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP that represents Fertitta Entertainment Incorporated, recently laid out the approximate timeline for completion of the project for Clark County Commissioners.

“We are very excited to bring this project to fruition over the next two years,” she said.

Despite nationwide inflation reaching levels not seen in 40 years, large-scale construction projects are still making major progress in Las Vegas, with multiple venues currently in the works, including entertainment, gambling, and medical complexes, which have all begun to spring up en masse in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 – After holding steady for months amid lowering home and condo prices due to the nation’s inflation and rising mortgage interest rates, prices of luxury homes in Las Vegas have finally begun to feel the sting as well, with September representing their first decrease in value since January 2021.

However, experts are saying that this lull is only temporary, with values are already starting to pick up once again as October nears its end, proving that despite the nation’s economic woes having a very real negative impact upon the housing market, luxury homes remain very much in demand.

In Las Vegas during the month of September, reports indicate that 99 homes with a value of $1 million or more were closed upon, a 1.5 percent decrease from August; this is the lowest number since January 2021, when 86 closings of homes in this value range.

The all-time record for the Vegas luxury marketplace, in contrast, was 218 closing in April 2022; this was followed by 178 luxury closings in May, 156 in June, 106 in July, 118 in August, and 99 in September.

But real estate experts say that, despite the dip in September, the market appears to already be bouncing back, with 164 pending deals in-place at the start of October, representing a significant uptick from the month before.

Experts are attributing the lower-than-expected sales of luxury homes in Vegas in September to increasing national mortgage rates – which currently sit at 6.94 percent and rising – which has fueled the highest rates on 30-year fixed-rate home mortgages in 20 years.

In addition to pricing some buyers out of the market, the inflated interest rates have also caused a slowdown of sales due to some sellers now taking a “wait-and-see” approach to listing their properties until interest rates go back down and the market improves.

However, the Vegas luxury market is less affected by these factors, experts say, due to the fact that a few interest points more or less may not dissuade individuals with the significant buying power and net worth from purchasing homes sooner rather than later, as opposed to middle-to-lower-class buyers who not might want, but need – to wait.

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.