Category Archive : Area Living

LAS VEGAS, NV – Vegas, long thought of as one of the most cost-effective and affordable places to live in the United States, will likely hold onto that distinction for quite some time to come. However, at least one aspect of that impressive reputation has been starting to unravel in recent months, with a report indicating that Southern Nevada’s ultra-competitive home prices are now increasing faster than the national average, leading to many being priced out of the market.

The dependence that Las Vegas has on tourism as one of the main driving forces of its economy has always resulted in an ebb-and-low over the years, and the region’s housing market has been just as vulnerable to those variations in activity.

Over the past 20 years, real estate has hit extreme lows and highs, and currently Las Vegas is in the midst of yet another high, thanks mainly to a rapidly-recovering economy, low inventory, and very low borrowing costs that have enabled home buyers to get the very most for their money.

Similar circumstances have taken hold across the country – home prices have increased nationwide overall – but currently there is nowhere it is quite as acute as it currently is in Las Vegas, according to a new report.

The recently-released S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index show home values in Nevada increasing at rates far outpacing the national average; prices in Southern Nevada were up 23.8 percent year over year in August, which represents a much bigger overall jump than the national average of 19.8 percent.

In contrast, August 2020 home prices in Nevada had only increased 4.7 percent year over year, whereas the national average was 5.8 percent, the index notes.

Of course, it should be pointed out that home prices in times of economic hardship have also tended to hit Nevada harder than many other parts of the country as well. During the mid-2000’s recession, home prices in Las Vegas had plunged almost 33 percent year over year; nationally, however, the worst drop by home prices was seen in early 2009, which was just shy of 13 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 Nevada State Apartment Association (NVSAA) released a report earlier this week indicating that the apartment marketplace of Las Vegas is showing definite signs of stabilizing after months of skyrocketing rents and low availability, while nonetheless remaining one of the very fastest-growing markets in the United States.

The report shows that, in the third quarter of 2021, apartment rents in Southern Nevada jumped an eye-opening 22 percent when compared to the corresponding period of time in 2020. The current average apartment rent in Las Vegas is $1,403 per month, representing a $255 increase year-over-year, when the average rent in the region was $1,148.

NVSAA Executive Director Susy Vasquez noted that the report is good news for Southern Nevada, as its previous rate of growth was not sustainable in the long-term.

“Rents are stabilizing as we enter the time of year fewer people tend to move,” she said. “Rents are expected to continue increasing, but not at the rate we’ve experienced this year. The growth rate of the past 12 months is just not sustainable for a healthy market.”

In addition, the average apartment vacancy rate in the third quarter of 2021 was 3.9 percent; this number represents a sizable decrease from the third quarter of 2020, when that number was at 5.4 percent.

The NVSAA noted that Las Vegas is still holding on as one of the fastest-growing apartment marketplaces throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 data indicates that the number of residents of Clark County has jumped by approximately 40,000 people – or 2 percent of the overall population – over the course of the last year.

The fact that the county’s population has continued to swell despite the effects of the pandemic and subsequent business lockdown measures speaks to the region’s quickly-recovering economy and increasing job growth in the recovering leisure and hospitality sectors.

The report also indicated increasing growth in apartment construction, with 6,300 new units currently in development during the third quarter of 2021, as opposed to only 3,800 units in the second quarter.

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 southernmost edge of the Las Vegas Valley is going to be the recipient of a new upscale apartment complex, compliments of a developer hailing from Atlanta, Georgia that had previously opened another rental property across town during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wood Partners is currently in the process of building a new 228 unit project – dubbed Alta Southern Highlands, which broke ground in August 2020 – situated in proximity to the M Resort, located off Southern Highlands and St. Rose parkway, which is slated to be completed and open their doors for business in early 2022.

According to the company’s website, Alta Southern Highlands will possess “next-level finishes” and numerous high-end amenities for residents, including a game lawn, a fitness facility with yoga studios, and more.

The project, upon completion, will no doubt help to address the intense demand in the Las Vegas Valley for rental apartments; during the pandemic, many people moved into the valley – especially from out-of-state – to work remotely while taking advantage of the lower cost of living the area afforded.

However, soon rental space became harder and harder to come by, and correspondingly, rents began to climb in response to the demand; in August, the average rent of a home in Las Vegas was $1,718, which represents a 25 percent increase over the same period of time one year prior.

According to a report released by listing website Zillow, the degree of rent growth in Vegas was the fastest among the 50 metro areas that they examined; projects like Alta Southern Highlands will help to address the demand for rental properties in the region, in addition to stabilizing prices that so far are raising affordability concerns among local residents.

Wood Partners also built a 347-unit apartment complex that is currently completed and open in Henderson, called Alta NV.

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 – Businesswoman, writer, and famed television personality Martha Stewart has announced that she will be opening a restaurant at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, which is planning to demolish part of the existing building to make room to accommodate the new eatery.

The information for the new venture was obtained via paperwork for a construction permit for the facility, which is currently named simply “Martha Stewart Restaurant,” but will most likely obtain a more colorful moniker later on. The restaurant is slated to take the place of the recently-closed Martorano’s, a South Philadelphia-inspired eatery.

Stewart will not be the only celebrity to have a restaurant at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino; instead, she will find herself in the company of Gordon Ramsay Steak – an ultramodern spot serving dishes such as beef Wellington in a “boisterous British setting” – and Brioche by Guy Savoy, a sweet and savory grab-and-go brioche shop offering delectable flaky French pastries.

In addition, this winter will see Paris Las Vegas also open the Vanderpump à Paris, a cocktail bar by British restaurateur, designer, television personality Lisa Vanderpump.

Stewart’s previous attempt at entering the restaurant field was in New York City when she opened the Martha Stewart Café in 2015, which permanently closed its doors for business in 2019.

Caesars Entertainment – the owner of Paris Las Vegas – has yet to officially announce Stewart’s restaurant, nor have any announcements been made in regards to the type of cuisine the establishment plans to serve or its anticipated opening date, but word will likely come soon as construction permits have already been applied for.

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 skyrocketing demand and a shortage in options on the open market, finding affordable housing in Las Vegas is becoming difficult to achieve for some residents, citing steadily rising rents in the valley – which reports say are seeing some of the highest increases nationwide –  as the reason why.

Some Southern Nevada residents are reporting that the cheapest monthly rents they are encountering when looking among available inventory of two-bedroom apartments on the market is ranging from approximately $1485 in the valley’s northeast area to as high as $1700 in Henderson and $1850 in the southwest.

In addition, a report published recently indicates that rents in Henderson have ballooned by as much as 45 percent from one year ago.

Of course, contributing to the rental issue is the fact that Las Vegas is still in the grip of a housing and rental shortage that developers are struggling to address, with numerous apartment complexes and housing communities currently in the works that real estate experts are saying are expected to help stabilize rents in the region once they are completed.

But in the meantime, reports indicate that owners and investors are currently testing the waters in terms of seeing how much they can get for their rental properties in a red-hot marketplace, often increasing their asking prices in light of any amenities that their properties possess, such as it being a newer build or if it has a pool.

However, until more house and apartment rentals are available in Las Vegas – with more and more projects are being announced and started by the day – some local residents are expressing sincere concern over finding affordable places to live in the meantime.

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 mansion of Scott Gragson – a Las Vegas-based real estate broker who is currently serving time in prison in connection with a fatal drunk-driving accident – has been listed on the rental market, for the whopping price of $50,000 per month.

The mansion, located at 5 Promontory Ridge Drive in The Ridges – a wealthy master-planned community in Summerlin – is described as a “desert contemporary masterpiece,” comes in at 10,621 square-feet in size, is fully furnished, and features six bedrooms.

The residence also features a number of posh amenities for its tenant, including clear views of the famed Las Vegas Strip, a private movie room, a guest house, a gym, and a basketball court.

If security is a concern, the mansion also has a a series of two gated entrances with a guard on-duty.

Gragson, 55, had been arrested on May 30, 2019, after he had been involved in a drunk-driving crash in The Ridges that left Melissa Newton, a 36-year-old mother of three, dead. Gragson pleaded guilty in February 2020 to one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm and was sentenced to eight-to-20 years in prison.

In addition to the prison term, Gragson had also reached a settlement deal to pay restitution to Newton’s family in the amount of $21 million; he would pay $12.8 million, and his insurance company would pay the remaining $8.2 million.

Additional settlements were also reached with the surviving passengers of the vehicle – Greg Tassi and Christie Cobbett – although the amounts of those have not been publicly revealed. A third passenger, Christopher Bentley, is set to begin his civil suit against Gragson this November.

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – A developer has announced plans to construct an apartment complex catering to the 55-and-over community, situated right behind a Las Vegas business that considers those in that age group among its core customer base- Henderson’s Sunset Station Hotel and Casino.

Ovation Development has filed plans with Henderson city officials for the apartment complex – dubbed Radiance at Sunset – that would be constructed upon a 5.3-acre section of property that is owned by Sunset Station, located off Warm Springs Road between Marks and Stephanie streets.

Apartment construction has been picking up in Southern Nevada as the pandemic has been slowly subsiding, with developers attempting to address the very real need for affordable housing options in the region fueled by Las Vegas’ recovering economy and job market.

Radiance at Sunset would consist of 249 apartment units, and should have no problem attracting tenants, since Southern Nevada has proven to be a popular destination for individuals that have retired and are looking for an affordable location to call home – Nevada lacks state income taxes and boasts a low cost of living – that also offers nearby entertainment options such as casinos and golf courses.

Sunset Station’s ownership noted that while younger people frequent their casino, their main clientele – especially as restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have eased – remain those aged 65 and older, making a neighboring apartment complex aimed at the older set ideal.

Radiance at Sunset will also be located near other local amenities that would likely prove attractive to seniors, including a 72-lane bowling alley, 13-screen movie theater, bingo, and the Galleria at Sunset shopping mall.

Representatives of Ovation Development have noted that the project is still very early in the development process, and that they are currently “working through some typical predevelopment issues” before construction can commence.

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 – Auric Symphony Park, a new luxury apartment complex situated in downtown Las Vegas, was recently unveiled by Nashville, Tennessee-based developer Southern Land Company, providing some much-needed housing options in that part of the city.

Southern Land Company’s vice president of multifamily development west, Kevin House, said that the developer’s founder, Tim Downey, feels that Auric Symphony Park will “revitalize” the downtown Las Vegas area.

“I think we were probably taking a little bit of a leap when we bought the site,” House said. “Tim, the founder of our company, really saw the vision of the area and saw what the city saw so we were excited to buy in and become part of the area.”

House said that new businesses and entertainment establishments that have recently set up shop in the vicinity – such as The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and World Market Center – will create the need for more housing for employees and tourists, saying that “We’ll bring even more bodies and more life to the area.”

Auric Symphony Park – which took two years to complete – features one- and two-bedroom apartments – varying in size from 591 square feet to 1,452 square feet – with rents ranging from $1,495 to $3,100 per month.

The apartment complex features a plethora of lush amenities for its tenants, including two-story cabanas overlooking a large pool area, a gym that offers residents on-site fitness classes, bike storage with a workshop area, a pet spa and pet park offering free tennis balls for pets, and a resident’s lounge on the fifth floor with impressive views of the Las Vegas cityscape.

In addition, the property also boasts approximately 21,000 square feet of ground level retail and restaurant space. Auric Symphony Park began renting units in early July; currently, the 324-unit complex is about 30 percent pre-leased and 18 percent occupied.

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 a white-hot real estate marketplace, one of the fastest-growing areas of the Las Vegas rental business is turning out to be newly built single-family houses, and a local developer is jumping into it with both feet.

With plans for two projects already drawn up for a total of approximately 450 homes, The Calida Group is planning on constructing these rentals in the Cadence community, located in Henderson. Just over 400 of the homes are slated to be free-standing, while the remaining ones will be attached to townhouses, according to city records.

Calida has plans to break ground on the projects in Cadence – a 2,200-acre community off Lake Mead Parkway east of Boulder Highway – in the third quarter of 2022, and the planned homes will represent the company’s first-ever foray into newly-built, single-family rental tracts in the Southern Nevada region, with more to come in the future, co-founder Eric Cohen noted.

“We are planning many more,” he said.

With the recovery of Las Vegas’ economy and housing market after the mid-2000’s recession, the local rental marketplace exploded, and investors snapped up as many low-cost single-family houses as they could to turn into rental units. The market stalled temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as vaccination rates steadily grow the economy has continued to bounce back, making the demand for rentals in Vegas stronger than ever.

To satiate rental demand, developers such as Calida have been erecting as many apartments as they can; however, newly built single-family homes have been growing in popularity, and several companies have been jumping on the bandwagon as of late; Cohen noted that they are “one of the biggest requests we received” from his renters.

The demand for rental homes has – along with the rest of Las Vegas’ rental market – driven up rent prices across the board; according to reports, the average rent of a Vegas-based house jumped 17 percent from May 2020 to May 2021, and only continues to grow as more people flock to Nevada for an overall cheaper lifestyle.

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 – Low inventory and high demand of apartment units in the Las Vegas Valley are causing rents to skyrocket to near record-breaking levels, a sign of Nevada’s economic recovery as COVID-19 ebbs into its final days. However, the continuing increases in rent in Clark County has come with a downside as well; hardship for some vulnerable local area residents who may have already been having difficulty keeping up with their payments due to the pandemic.

Rents in Las Vegas, while still well below the national average – as of June 2021, the average rent in the Las Vegas Valley was $1,591, whereas the national average is $1,799 – are nonetheless currently increasing at a faster rate than any other large U.S. metro area. Out of the top 50 U.S. metro areas, the speed of Vegas’ rent increases was at the top of the list, with a jump of 3.6 percent from May to June, which equates to approximately $55. Year-over-year from February 2020 to February 2021, Las Vegas rents have surged almost 20 percent, or $260.

Some Clark County tenants are reporting that they’re seeing their monthly rent jumping by as much as $200 or $300. For some – especially many seniors who are on fixed incomes – sudden increases this large can cause financial struggle and force people to cut difficult corners to get by.

Demand is seen as the main driving force behind the rent acceleration; with the pandemic dying down, businesses are hiring again, people are getting jobs, and new college graduates are entering the workforce heading out on their own for the first time. Rents are reportedly growing quickly throughout the country, but again, currently Vegas lays claim to the fastest rates of them all.

And experts are predicting this trend will continue as the country opens up and the economy recovers, but developers in Las Vegas who are hard at work on building several new apartment complexes are expected to help stabilize rents as more units are made available to satisfy demand.

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – A huge apartment building slated to open just south of the famed Las Vegas Strip by the end of 2021, is expected to add more options to the cityscape for people looking for homes to rent near the very heart of Vegas.

Ariva – a 754-unit complex situated several miles off of the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard and just north of Starr Avenue – is currently in the midst of construction efforts, and the initial phase of its development is slated to be open by the end of the year, with the remaining portion of the building expected to be completed at some point in 2023, reports say.

In addition to rental units, Ariva is also planned to encompass approximately 75,000 square-feet of space for retail establishments, restaurants, and office space; this aspect of the complex is expected to be completed before the residential units, according to the developer.

Ariva is located in a less-developed area consisting mostly of tracts of desert, in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip; however, this part of Vegas is seeing more and more investors snapping up land and developing housing projects to accommodate the huge demands of the local real estate industry.

Owned by Silicon Valley-based WTI Inc., Ariva will feature a number of amenities for its residents, including four pools, a yoga studio, basketball and volleyball courts, dog parks, and a sky deck that will offer views of the Las Vegas valley, the developer says.

Another nearby project in the works is Mosaic, a 797-unit townhouse complex off Las Vegas Boulevard at St. Rose Parkway, which offers units in the price range of $260,000 to the low $300,000-range. The developer reports they have already closed on 240 of the units available, with over 200 more currently on their waiting list.

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 reports, Ascaya – a master-planned luxury community located in Henderson that was formed by blasting 15 million cubic yards out of a mountain range – has seen sales on-pace to double their number this year when compared to 2020, a year when sales profits were already at a level that were three times higher than they were throughout the previous three years.

Among the recent new buyers of land in Ascaya is Mark Davis, owner of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team, who purchased a 6-acre plot to construct his custom home featuring views of Allegiant Stadium, his team’s home base.

And according to the developer, the number one draw of Ascaya is the community’s breathtaking views of the surrounding region; in addition, it also features a $25 million clubhouse and a two-acre park currently in the works.

The majority of sales in Ascaya have consisted of vacant lots upon which buyers have been building their own homes to their personal specifications; a small number of sales have been made up of speculative-built homes, reports say.

Currently, the developer of Ascaya – Henry Cheng, a Hong Kong billionaire and owner of NWS Holdings Ltd. – has closed over $38 million in sales in 2021 alone, with an additional $8 million in sales currently under contract. This is in stark contrast to the dismal rate of sales when the community essentially “stalled” due to the housing crash of the mid-2000’s, or even when it re-opened in 2014.

However, with the recent recovery of the Southern Nevada economy and housing market, Ascaya has attracted a new breed of upscale clientele who were attracted by low mortgage rates and the greater bang for their buck Las Vegas afforded them. With that being the case, Ascaya has seen its growth explode over the past year or so.

Ascaya currently features over 300 homesites, and homes that are constructed there are mandated to be of at least 4,500 square-feet in size, according to the developer. Currently, 26 new homes have been built, 18 are currently being constructed, and 21 are in the planning stages.

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.