Category Archive : Economy

LAS VEGAS, NV – Las Vegas Realtors Association President Brandon Roberts is predicting that, as Southern Nevada’s home prices continue to break record after record – causing intense affordability concerns – the market will eventually right itself and stabilize, noting that the current situation is “not sustainable” long-term as it is.

In February 2022, the median price of existing single-family homes in Las Vegas reached a new record – $450,000 – which itself leapfrogged the previous record just the month before. Overall, the median price was just $355,000, with the new record representing a whopping 26.8 percent year-over-year increase and over three times the $118,000 existing homes were fetching in January 2012 during the recession.

It’s easy to see how much the intense housing demand is driving home prices up in the region; in 2021, there were 38,601 home sales in Vegas, and over 50,000 when townhouses and condominiums are added into the equation. However, this represents a situation that Roberts says can’t last.

“Local home prices can’t keep going up this fast, forever. The increases we’ve been seeing in the last year or so are just not sustainable,” he said. “It remains to be seen how much higher these prices can go and when we might start to see the market stabilize, as many national experts have been predicting. Either way, I seriously doubt you’ll see home prices more than triple again in a single decade.”

Given the record-setting nature of the real estate industry in 2021, Roberts said that he expects this trend to continue into 2022 but that prices and demand will start to level off as interest rates on home loans begin to slowly rise from the historic lows they hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That affects people’s buying power, which could affect the demand on some of the properties,” Roberts said. “I do think we will stay strong because we have low inventory, and we will continue to see that. As soon as they are coming on the market, they’re selling. We’re in a shortage of housing, I don’t think builders could build it fast enough because of supply, labor and permits. I think we will see increases (in prices) but not at the level we saw last year.”

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 – Ever-increasing home prices in Las Vegas are now outstripping the current average in the United States, according to a recent Case-Shiller report, with the end of 2021 setting the stage for what to expect in 2022.

House values in Southern Nevada in December 2021 had shockingly jumped 25.5 percent from the same period of time in 2020; this runs in contrast with the 18.8 percent price climb on a national basis, according to reports. Vegas home prices have been accelerating past the national average now for the past seven months in a row.

Arizona, specifically Phoenix, is also a region where home prices have been rising fastest over the course of the past year, blasting past the national average to an even greater degree than Vegas. As of press time, home prices in Phoenix have jumped a whopping 32.5 percent year-over-year, illustrating the exuberant degree that home prices have raised overall in the United States during the past 365 days, despite – or perhaps because of – the impact of the pandemic.

Among the 20 markets covered by S&P Dow Jones, home prices are at an all-time high despite high unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; this factor has been mitigated by rock-bottom interest rates on home loans that have allowed buyers to maximize their budgets.

Rising home costs, both in Las Vegas and nationwide, have also been driven by limited inventory and “persistent demand,” real estate experts say.

However, of the 15 markets tracked by the Case-Shiller report, Southern Nevada has been proven to be an especially popular place for people to move to due to its low cost of living when compared to other regions with higher tax brackets and overall lower – for the time being – home prices.

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 north edge of the Las Vegas Strip was in the midst of multiple construction and development projects that – with the arrival of the mid-2000’s economic recession – instead resulted in huge empty tracts of land and little-to-no foot traffic. The vibrancy and excitement of the Strip had failed to carry to the end of Las Vegas’ casino corridor… until now, it seems.

Originally, plans for megaresorts and other projects were slated for the north edge of the Strip, but the recession stalled these plans indefinitely; however, new development is finally being spearheaded, and local residents are hopeful that the turnaround they’ve been long hoping for is finally set to take place.

In June 2021, Resorts World Las Vegas – a $4.3 billion casino and resort – opened for business, representing the first new resort constructed at the northern end of the Strip in over ten years. Fontainebleau Las Vegas, derailed by the recession, is finally back under development and is slated to finally open in late 2023, after being purchased once again by its original developer. And finally, a $1 billion, 1.4 million-square-foot expansion Las Vegas Convention Center’s West Hall was completed and opened in June 2021.

In addition to projects that have been started from scratch, there are others that are centering on pre-existing properties that are currently being renovated or upgraded in some way, such as the Sahara Las Vegas, which is remodeling its 1,100 rooms and pool to the tune of $150 million, along with adding new restaurants.

Also, The Strat recently finished a $110 million facelift as well – adding a new coat of polish to its rooms, casino, and restaurants – and Circus Circus expanded its arcade and carnival game area, added a new ride, and is in the middle of a $9 million renovation of their food court.

With the Las Vegas economy bouncing back and tourism picking up again in a big way with the (hopefully) final days of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts are expecting the new-found interest that developers are paying to the north edge will result in the area possibly becoming the “hot side of the Strip” within the next five years.

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 – At this point, it may be a moot point, but the numbers for January 2022 are in, and once again home prices in Las Vegas have set yet another all-time record, showing that – even with the advent of yet another new year – the real estate scene in Southern Nevada does not appear to be showing any signs of slowing down.

Reports indicate that last year’s red-hot market has carried over into 2022, with January’s median sales price of previously-owned single-family homes – which makes up the majority of home sales in Las Vegas – was $435,000, an increase of 2.4 percent – or approximately $10,000 – over December 2021, which itself was yet another record-setting month.

In addition, last month’s new record represents a whopping 26.1 percent increase – or about $90,000 – year-over-year from January 2021.

However, both sales overall and the amount of homes available on the market have both dropped recently; 2,561 houses were sold in January, which is a drop of 19.4 percent from December and 2.9 percent year-over-year. Only 1,821 single-family homes were listed in January without offers, which is a 19.1 percent decrease from December and 21.3 percent less than January 2021.

In addition, January’s record was a threefold increase from ten years ago following the national recession, at which time home prices in Southern Nevada reached a record low of $118,000 in January 2012.

Experts say that Las Vegas’ home sales are still being driven in-part by current low interest rates on home loans, which are expected to steadily rise as the year goes on but are still expected to remain historically low for the foreseeable future; this has resulted in fast sales and rapidly rising prices, making Vegas currently very much a seller’s market.

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – With all of the real estate milestones that occurred in Las Vegas over the course of 2021 – perhaps one of the unlikeliest years for this to have taken place, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – the local high-rise condo marketplace is yet another aspect of this industry that broke records over the course of last year.

Las Vegas’ high-rise market saw itself break its all-time record in 2021, recording more than twice the sales than it did in 2020; in addition, the highest price ever paid for an individual unit was eclipsed in 2021 as well with the $16.25 sale of a condominium at The Martin, a luxury tower located in Paradise, Nevada.

2021 represents an amazing about-face for Las Vegas’ high-rise industry after it sank to concerning lows in 2020 due to the pandemic; that year, high-rise condo sales dropped 18 percent to 584, whereas that number had been 692 in 2019. The reasoning for the decrease year-to-year was attributed to buyers purchasing more homes in an attempt to isolate themselves during the peak of COVID-19, eschewing densely-populated high-rises.

However, 2021 saw all that change once vaccinations were rolled out, and the many amenities that high-rise condos offer for tenants – such as pools, gyms, spas, salons, restaurants, retail, and more – proved to be very attractive, especially for those weary from long-standing lockdowns.

Las Vegas saw 1,321 condo sales in high-rises of five stories in 2021, a number which waylaid the previous record-holding year of 2017, when 970 condos were sold; every year forward, that number had dropped annually until 2021’s turnaround.

In addition, a report that tracks 21 high-rises along and near Las Vegas Boulevard and downtown, One Queensridge Place in the west valley showed 1,161 sales in 2021, up from 505 in 2020 and 607 in 2019. The average price paid for a unit in one of those 21 high-rise towers in 2021 was $561,252.

High-rise condos are expected to continue to be red-hot going into 2022, although the buying frenzy in 2021 means there are far fewer units on the market this year; currently, reports say that just 228 units were listed at the end of 2021, averaging in price at $1.15 million.

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 – Last year, no segment of Las Vegas’ real estate market exploded quite like the luxury market, and experts are anticipating even greater heights in 2022. In 2021, the market skyrocketed, with an increase in the number of sales of many expensive properties – including those costing millions – being driven by residents of neighboring states transplanting themselves to Southern Nevada during the era of COVID-19.

Records indicate that 1,686 sales of homes costing at least $1 million or more were made throughout 2021, as compared to 825 in 2020 and 596 in 2019. And that just covers homes sold via the Las Vegas Realtors association’s Multiple Listing Service; any off-markets sales wouldn’t be covered in those totals, which could be significantly higher in reality.

With such high sales, experts have speculated that the trend will continue into 2022, even though developers have been struggling to build enough high-end luxury homes in order to keep up with the vast demand.

When it comes to percentages, the biggest increases in sales were in the $4 million-plus market; 101 single-family homes in this category were sold in 2021, compared to 51 in 2020 and 20 in 2019.

Luxury homes in the Southern Nevada region have attracted numerous buyers since Las Vegas re-opened after its government-imposed shutdown due to COVID-19. Vegas saw many transplanted residents from neighboring states –with homes at all price points being snapped up – but the largest demand of all was directed at luxury residences.

The momentum in the luxury market is expected to continue into 2022, considering the fact that glut of sales in that category – 223, to be exact – took place right at the very end of 2021. Real estate experts are bullish on 2022 due to several pending pieces of legislation in California aimed at increasing the state’s already insufferably high taxes even higher;  given the fact that these bills are due to go into effect in the very near future, a new wave of transplants into Las Vegas are expected shortly.

This impending influx of wealthy new residents already has some luxury homeowners in Southern Nevada gearing up to sell their homes, and experts are expecting the low inventory to potentially fetch some extraordinary prices, possibly even eclipsing 2021’s all-time record luxury sale amount of $25 million, which was paid for a residence in MacDonald Highlands in Henderson.

Experts say there are properties out there that can possibly command higher prices in 2022, especially considering that pricing and price-per-square-foot has continued to break records consistently in the region.

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 – Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 saw a record-breaking year in Southern Nevada – its highest ever, in fact – both in terms of home prices and sales, driven by demand and low borrowing costs. And according to real estate experts, that trend is expected to persist well into the new year, with 2022 likely to continue breaking records time and again.

According to Frank Nothaft, chief economist with housing tracker CoreLogic, the pandemic initially caused a large drop in the real estate market; however, once the summer of 2020 hit, things started taking an unexpected turn for the better when mortgage rates dropped.

“Mortgage rates fell to 3 percent or even lower, and for many prospective homebuyers who didn’t lose their jobs, they saw this opportunity presented by record-low, rock-bottom mortgage rates, and the affordability that introduced,” he said. “We saw a lot of prospective homebuyers jump into the market, first-time homebuyers in particular. They saw this as an opportunity to trade up, buy more house, and more house, more room is exactly what they wanted during the pandemic. They needed more space because they needed the office from home. And if they had kids, at that stage of the pandemic, they had to plan for a school room from home, too.”

Nothaft noted that he was surprised at how long Las Vegas’ hot streak has lasted, saying that he had expected interest rates on home loans to have increased by now.

“Our forecast was that we’d see mortgage rates rising by now…well, they didn’t. Mortgage rates reached record-low levels. That has been a very powerful stimulant to the housing market,” he said. “In Vegas, we’ve got buyers coming in who earn a lot more money than the typical Vegas household who are able to buy a much more expensive home.”

However, Nothaft stated that the boom has made it harder for some Las Vegas families to be able to afford homes in the region, previously well-known for its low cost of living.

“You see prices really getting bid up. It makes it just that much harder for households, families that have been living in a market like Las Vegas to afford to buy,” he said. “What we’ve observed during the summer is something that we’ve never seen in the last 20, 25 years in the country. In the summer of ’21, more than one-half of the homes that sold on the MLS sold above the list price. And it’s not just that they’re selling above the list price, they’re selling quickly.”

Nothaft said that he’s expecting mortgage rates to eventually begin to climb, but most likely that will not happen at a rate that will have an impact upon Las Vegas home sales in 2022, which are expected to continue to climb… along with prices.

“We’re expecting a gradual rise in mortgage rates,” he said. “So, if that scenario comes to pass, and we see mortgage rates gradually rise and return back to some type of normal level, by the time we get to 2023, 2024, then we’ll see a gradual slowing down in home sales activity and in home price growth.”

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 – 2021 was many things to many people, but for Southern Nevada, it represented the all-time record-setting year in the region’s real estate history, despite the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic upon its economy still being felt to this day.

A record 50,010 residential properties – encompassing houses, condominiums, and townhomes – were sold in Las Vegas in 2021, which is a jump of 21.5 percent from the year before.

In December, the median sales price of previously owned single-family homes reached a never-before seen $425,000 – an increase of 1.2 percent over November’s record, and 23.2 percent year-over-year – with 3,178 single-family homes purchased.

The previous all-time high for home sales in Las Vegas was originally sent back in 2011, and that number was 2,000 homes less than the record set in 2021; experts called what was achieved last year in “remarkable,” considering the fact that these records were set in the midst of a pandemic, during a period where local home prices have never been higher and the supply never lower.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to high unemployment rates throughout Las Vegas – 33 percent of the workforce was unemployed in spring 2020 – but despite an early hit the real estate market rebounded far faster than experts had expected, driven in-part by super-low mortgage rates that allowed buyers to get the very most for their money.

As for sellers of Las Vegas homes, most were inundated with offers, and many sold at or even well above their respective asking prices; median sales prices often set new records nearly every month. Buyers jockeying to purchase newly-built homes, due to fierce demand, were often forced to join waiting lists and at times even drew names for the chance to submit a bid on a home.

The real estate market in Las Vegas is mainly driven by single-family homes, but demand increased for attached dwellings during 2021 as well; condos and townhomes also set records last month, with the median sales prices of both hitting $242,000, a 30.1 percent year-over-year increase. Who knows what 2022 will bring?

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 – Amid the announcement that Allegiant Stadium – home of the newly-transplanted NFL Las Vegas Raiders football team – would be hosting the Super Bowl in 2024, expectations of business and residential development and growth in the surrounding area to take advantage of the expected influx of visitors to the region has hit an all-time high.

Currently, the area surrounding Allegiant Stadium is made up of mostly commercial buildings, but as of the 2024 Super Bowl announcement, experts are expecting that will change as quickly to take advantage of the incoming tourist-related sporting activity that is expected in the wake of the 2024 NFL Super Bowl.

An agent that just sold a building directly around the corner from Allegiant Stadium, Ross Fabrizio, was recently interviewed by Las Vegas 8 News Now, and noted that the upcoming mainstream sporting activity in Vegas has the ability to transform the area around Allegiant Stadium into a unique money-making opportunity for all involved.

“The Raiders and Allegiant Stadium gave [my buyer] an opportunity for him to move his business elsewhere and take advantage of the situation,” Fabrizio said. “I think you will see some transition, that is a really tight timeline. This is a ‘make it happen’ kind of town if you have a dream in the morning you can make it happen in the evening, that is the Las Vegas way.”

According to County Commissioner Michael Naft, the area round Allegiant Stadium had been originally approved to be a more pedestrian-friendly area with restaurants and entertainment venues; however, with the recent announcement of the 2024 Super Bowl coming to Vegas, those plans may be fast-tracked in order to bring them to fruition as soon as possible.

Naft said that he expects more businesses to re-locate to the area round Allegiant Stadium as the 2024 Super Bowl comes closer and closer to kick-off time.

“We continue to work with business owners in the area who want to go through a transition, some of it is going to happen naturally, some of it is going to happen with us encouraging it to happen,” he said. “10 years ago that was largely a warehouse district, as more and more events take place like the Super Bowl, the makeup of the surrounding areas is going to change over time.”

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 the prices of pre-owned homes in Las Vegas continue to shatter records nearly each and every month, prices of newly-built homes have been continuing to break records of their own, actually surpassing their pre-owned comrade in the month of November by a significant margin.

According to Las Vegas homebuilders, the median price of a newly-built home in the Southern Nevada region for the month of November 2021 was $444,677, as compared to the median price of pre-owned homes during the same period of time, which was $420,000.

The median price of newly-built homes noted for November represents an 11.5% increase over the same period of time in 2020, and due to non-stop demand and supply chain issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, that upward trajectory is not expected to end anytime soon, experts say.

November’s numbers mark the sixth time that the record for prices of newly-built homes in Las Vegas shattered all-time records, illustrating that 2021 was a year of significant growth for the industry.

Builders closed 1,054 new-home sales in November, which is a 26% increase year-over-year; this brings the total of newly-built homes sold in Las Vegas for 2021 up to 10,915, a jump of 17% from November 2020. And of course, that’s not taking December’s numbers into account, which should be out later this month.

In addition, 1,293 new-home permits were issued in Las Vegas last month, up 28% from one year ago, for a total of 13,774 so far this year – a massive 32% increase over November 2021.

The majority of residences that builders have been concentrating on constructing as of late are single-family homes, and sales have flourished throughout 2021 due to rock-bottom mortgage rates that have allowed buyers to lock in low-interest loans, getting them the most for their dollar when it comes to purchasing a house.

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 – Despite their efforts to combat the high demand for housing and apartment options in the Southern Nevada region for the past year-and-a-half, developers in Las Vegas have reported numerous impediments in their pathways, in particular high costs and supply-chain issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the housing market in Las Vegas remaining super-hot, experts say, delays brought about by supply chain disruptions have spelled costly issues for developers throughout the region. As a result, contactors in Las Vegas have noted that building and renovating homes and rental units in the region has been “10 times more difficult than two years ago”, despite the intense demand.

With materials hard to come by, the costs of construction have been elevated by several degrees beyond what they would have been prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Nat Hodgson, the director of the Home Builders Association of Southern Nevada.

“Everything you can imagine that goes into a house (is affected), because people say can you give me a list of what’s hard to get? It’s like it depends on what day of the week it is,” he said.

While overall, construction materials have jumped over 14 percent compared to what they would have cost a year or so ago, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders. Lumber in particular – a primary component of home construction – has significantly increased in demand – with a top price of $1,600 on the NASDAQ during summer of 2021, for the first time ever, before settling on the still-high price of $1,100 during recent months.

John Compagno, president of Renovations of Las Vegas Inc., said that the scarcity of materials presents challenges, but the continued affordability of homes in the region has remained constant, and workarounds mean that construction projects can continue for the time being.

“Although things are challenging at times with the lack of workmen and the cost of materials, on the flip side we’re very, very busy. So, it’s somewhat of an offset,” he said.

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – In Las Vegas, the all-time records just keep getting higher, as the prices of pre-owned homes on the market reached yet another milestone in the month of November 2021.

According to reports, the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Southern Nevada in November was a whopping $420,000, which represents a jump of 2.4 percent over October 20201 and an increase of 21.7 percent from the same period in November 2020, when that price was $345,000.

As for the Southern Nevada condominium and townhome marketplace, the median price for November was reported as being $240,000, which also breaks the all-time record and represents an increase of 20.2 percent from the process they were fetching in November 2020, which was $199,700.

However, as the Las Vegas real estate market ventures into 2022, experts are anticipating home and condo prices to continue to increase, but at slower levels than they have previously, due in-part to rising interest rates on mortgages.

If median home prices continue to increase by double-digits as they have over the past year, experts say that it will be the first time the region has seen double-digit price growth three years running in over a decade.

Meanwhile, Southern Nevada’s inventory of available homes for sale continues to be smaller than preferred given the intense demand – with only a one-month supply being available which is considered far from ideal – and homes continue to sell at a far greater pace than they have in recent years.

At the end of November 2021, it was reported that 2,805 single-family homes were listed for sale without an offer, which is 25.3 percent lower than in November 2020.

By the end of November, a total of 4,135 existing local homes, condos and townhomes had been sold in Southern Nevada, with those numbers representing an increase in sales of 7.8 percent for homes and 18.7 percent for condos and townhomes over November 2020.

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.