Category Archive : Area Living

LAS VEGAS, NV – Minnesota-based Life Time, which runs a chain of luxury health and gym facilities, acquired Las Vegas’ Sullivan Square site in November 2019; according to reports there are potential plans in the works to transform the abandoned property into apartments, offices, and a gym.

Sullivan Square was originally purchased in the mid-2000’s with plans to transform it into a site for a Manhattan-style series of skyscrapers, but due to numerous factors – up to and including the recession – the plans never materialized, and the plot of land has sat in a state of disuse ever since, giving mute testament to the real estate crash that held Las Vegas in its grip for nearly a decade before only recently recovering in spectacular fashion.

Life Time has not officially announced plans for the Sullivan Square property, located across from Ikea at the southeast corner of Durango Drive and Sunset Road, however, reports indicate that Life Time plans to install one of their trademark luxury health and gym facilities at the location, in addition to a possible high-end apartment complex and office space for businesses. Retail options were not mentioned in the report, but should probably not be ruled out until concrete plans are revealed.

Originally, in the mid-2000’s, Sullivan Square was intended to be comprised of mixed-use space that would encompass apartments boasting nearly 1,400 residential units; 45,000 square feet of retail space; and 272,000 square feet of office space. However, the recession, combined with a series of lawsuits, resulted in the project never getting off the ground.

New construction of residential high-rise buildings are rare in the Las Vegas region in recent years, due in part to how expensive it is to both build and maintain such a facility. But the developers in this case must see the positive economic growth in Southern Nevada recently as a sign that high-rises may once again present the potential for profit in the years to come.

Photo via Loopnet & The Hoffman Company: Sunset & Durango; Las Vegas, NV 89113 · 14.89 AC · Land For Sale http://www.hoffmanland.com

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, The Boring Co. – the tunneling company owned by Elon Musk – officially began construction on Nov. 15 on a tunnel that will house an elaborate “people mover” train system at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

A people mover is a type of small scale automated guide-way transit system. While many people movers transport passengers from airports, downtown districts or theme parks to other destinations, the one that the Boring Co. is developing for the Convention Center – a dual-tunnel people mover – would be more limited in scope, solely dedicated to servicing event attendees only.

The people mover is being constructed in partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and is slated to be completed in January 2021, which would coincide with the Consumer Electronics Show, held annually at the Convention Center. The Boring Co. won a $52.5 million contract bid for the project in May, which is the company’s first major underground tunneling project.

In addition to the tunnel, additional work located above-ground – including stations and stops – began in October.

Previous work at the site of the people-mover has consisted of delivering and assembling parts that make it ready in time for the project’s start date. As the Boring Co. will be doing exactly what their name implies – boring into the earth – the timeline of the project may experience adjustments on the fly based on what types of potential deposits and/or obstructions they encounter as they make their way through their designated boring path.

The Las Vegas Convention Center has been expanding recently, with the final result encompassing two miles from end to end. The addition of the people mover is expected to make negotiating the vast complex far more manageable for the estimated million people who visit the site on an annual basis, once work is completed of course.

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, construction on a new upscale apartment complex is currently underway adjacent to the Wyndham Desert Blue timeshare tower located west of the famed Las Vegas Strip.

The project, currently without an official name and headed up by developer Fore Property Co., is taking the form of building 287 luxury apartments, with the first grouping of units being made available for rent by December 2020; the project as a whole is expected to be completed in April 2021, reports say.

The project – the first apartment complex being constructed in close proximity to the La Vegas Strip in 25 years – is slated to offer a number of posh amenities for tenants, including a dog park, sky lounge, and a yoga studio, among others. The facility closeness to the Strip will offer tenants easy access to local attractions, entertainment, and employment, which will most likely make the complex very attractive to prospective tenants.

However, such accommodations may put a dent in your wallet; according to Fore Property Co., rents are expected to range from $1,400 to approximately $3,000 per month. However, similarly-priced units at other apartment complexes built in the Las Vegas region by Fore have been snapped up by tenants in the past, illustrating the desire for high-class accommodations by select members of the public.

In recent years, in order to meet demand for housing options in light of the rapidly-expanding population of Las Vegas due to the economic upturn – developers have been constructing apartment complexes in areas previously having few. Examples include Fremont9 in Vegas’ downtown and the currently in development shareDOWNTOWN in the Arts District. In addition, Fore has noted their interest in another potential apartment complex in Chinatown.

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 a recent opinion piece published by Edward Kania, the Southern Nevada Eviction Services president argued that recent new laws governing the Nevada eviction process are ultimately unfair to landlords, placing undue stress and hardship upon them in the event that a tenant fails to pay their rent or live up to the responsibilities of their lease. While opinions are very much divided on this issue, Kania made several points that served to illustrate how landlords are set to be affected – in a negative way – by this new law.

The law Kania refers to is Senate Bill 151, which kicked in on July 1, 2019; the law increases protections for those renting properties by granting more time to tenants before they are able to be evicted by landlords for lack of payment on their rent, as well as capping late fees at five percent for delinquent rent payments. In addition, more time is granted to tenants to pay their overdue rent – seven business days, as opposed to the previous five – to avoid eviction. Evicted tenants are also allowed to re-enter their former dwelling for up to five days to retrieve “essential” belongings they may have left behind.

Kania notes that the new law essentially portrays landlords as “villains” simply for expecting to have their lease agreements complied with and their rent paid in a timely manner – something the tenant agreed to do upon moving into the unit, he said.

The new – and some would argue, excessive – leeway that tenants receive under the Bill essentially forces landlords into an unfair position, Kania said.

Landlords are not tenants’ parents,” he said. “They are not their means of support nor spouse nor friend nor charity. Neither Target nor supermarkets are required to provide free services. Why, then, are landlords?”

Kania also argues that tenants are automatically guaranteed a hearing after they receive a notice regarding delinquent rent, even if they have no defense whatsoever for not paying. With all of the tenant safeguards now available, often an individual can delay eviction for weeks or even months; all the while, the landlord – who is only trying to pay their bills – is the one experiencing the financial strain of that situation in the form of unpaid rent, not the tenant.

“New eviction laws…make the eviction process harder for landlords and easier for tenants,” Kania concluded. “These new laws help renters who don’t comply with their leases, but will likely lead to higher rents and security deposits, shorter rent due dates and higher mandatory credit score levels for everyone else.”

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 – Town houses have reached their highest level of construction in the Las Vegas area since the burst of the Mid-2000’s housing bubble, and that trend looks to continue into the foreseeable future, according to reports.

By the end of August of 2019, there were 974 town home closings in the Southern Nevada region, which accounts for 14 percent of all home closings so far in 2019. This represents a whopping 16 percent jump over the same period one year prior, when that number of closings came in at 840; that time town homes made up 12 percent of closings. 

Despite that upward trend, town homes have yet to reach their pre-recession marketplace peak of 16 percent. However, their continued growth is encouraging, as they have bounced back from a drastic and record low of 1 percent in 2012. Growth since then has been encouraged by legislation passed in 2015 by Nevada State that served to make the legal processes surrounding repairs and litigation involving town home construction more streamlined.

Town homes are attractive to many buyers due to affordability concerns, as increases in land prices from the recent real estate boom in Las Vegas making single-family home ownership more and more expensive (although still far less so in comparison than in many other regions of the United States). The ability to fit more homes – town houses typically consist of attached homes, often one with a small footprint on multiple floors – within the confines of a smaller plot of land enabling developers to keep prices lower per unit than many comparable single-family homes.

Town houses also represent an attractive stop-gap measure to those currently renting who are looking for an alternative means of home ownership – such as young people or the elderly – that combines affordability and cost stability.

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 – Cherry Developments, owned by developer Sam Cherry, announced this week that a new apartment complex – dubbed ‘shareDOWNTOWN’ – will soon be constructed in downtown Las Vegas, located at Casino Center Drive and Colorado, according to reports.

The idea of shareDOWNTOWN – small, affordable apartments conveniently located within a busy employment area – is to give workers a local place to live within easy walking distance of their jobs, according to Cherry.

“This area has a diverse group of restaurants and bars, and this will be the first larger project — the largest project in the area,” he said in a statement. “It will be a place where people who work in the bar, work in the restaurants, the hair salon, the galleries can actually live. They can walk to work. It will help move the needle significantly in the neighborhood.”

The apartment complex, which will be three-four stories in height, will feature over 60-one bedroom units aimed at people who work at the many bars, clubs, restaurants and retail establishments that are in the area. The apartments are slated to be small, just 480 square-feet in size, with a projected rent ranging from $1,100 to $1,300 per month, reports note.

Cherry Developments noted that shareDOWNTOWN is slated to be the first in a series of apartment complexes located in the Las Vegas downtown region that target the people who work locally in an attempt to provide quality housing and promote job growth.

Overall plans for the shareDOWNTOWN project, including the approximate start date for construction and proposed amenities, are due to be revealed soon; once started, the development is expected to be finished by in May of 2020.

Developer Sam Cherry was previously known for construction of high-rise complexes prior to the mid-2000’s burst of the housing bubble in Las Vegas;  shareDOWNTOWN represents the first development project he has worked on since that period.

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 – 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 downtown Las Vegas skyline as of late is littered with numerous cranes and other pieces of construction equipment, giving visitors plenty to look at as the area undergoes a serious period of development not seen in decades.

Nearly 60% of Las Vegas visitors stop by downtown, and most of those do so because of Fremont Street Experience. Our crown jewel is the massive Viva Vision canopy featuring free light shows nightly.

One of the most noticeable construction projects in the region is the Circa Resort & Casino, situated at the corner of Main Street and the Fremont Street Experience. Upon completion, the Circa will have 777 guest rooms, five restaurants, a two-level casino, one of the largest sports books in Las Vegas, and a nine-story parking garage dubbed “Garage Mahal.” Above the casino will be a rooftop deck and amphitheater with six swimming pools and a 125-foot screen. It is expected to open in December 2020.

Also under development in the downtown area is the third tower of the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino, a seven-floor, 495-room expansion scheduled for completion by the middle of next year. Located at 3rd Street and East Ogden Avenue, the Downtown Grand currently has two hotel towers- an 18-story Casino Tower built in 1985 with 295 rooms, and a 25-story Grand Tower with 334 rooms. The East Tower is connected to the ground level casino. The completion of the third tower will boost the overall number of rooms in the Downtown Grand to 1,124.

And yet another construction project with high-visibility in the Las Vegas downtown area is the ongoing renovation of Viva Vision, a LED display “canopy” that runs along the Fremont Street Experience promenade from Main Street to Fourth Street. 

Currently, Viva Vision is the world’s current largest video screen. Originally, nearly 2.1 million incandescent lights were housed in the canopy. With the completion of the $17 million upgrade, more than 12 million LED lamps will illuminate the overhead canopy. The new LED upgrade was designed and engineered by LG Electronics, who is also the primary corporate sponsor of the canopy. Within the canopy itself are 220 speakers powered by 550,000 watts of amplification. Light and sound shows are presented nightly beginning at dusk on the Viva Vision video screen.

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, despite the fact that rental prices for apartments in the Las Vegas area have increased over the past 12 months more than any other major U.S. metropolitan area in the United States, the market is nonetheless still considered by experts as remaining quite healthy and affordable, especially compared to neighboring states such as California.

In a recently-released Zillow report, the median rent in Las Vegas for all property types was $1,435, which represents a 10 percent jump from the same period one year prior. However, local realtors are disputing this figure, noting that the median rental price is more around $1,100; this price is made possible by the fact that developers have been working long and hard over the past year to construct more apartments and condos to satisfy the rapidly-growing demand for affordable housing options in Vegas.

However, reports note, developers have not quite met housing demands as of yet; Clark County occupancy is currently at 95 percent, which is considered the hallmark of a healthy rental market, and further stability of the market would be ensured if more building was completed.

Experts say that Las Vegas’ prices are still considered a bargain, especially when compared to regions where rental prices have increased to points where the cost of living has become prohibitive, such as Seattle, Washington or California’s Bay Area.

Recognizing Las Vegas’ need to expand its rental options in order to further lower prices, developers have been hiring in droves in order to bolster their workforces; experts note that apartments can’t be built fast enough, and that the market has yet to completely recover from the lack of construction activity that took place in Vegas during the recession, a time when numerous projects where either abandoned or outright cancelled. 

Another factor that real estate experts say will be affecting the market in the near future is the impact that professional sports will have upon rentals in Las Vegas; once the Las Vegas Raiders NFL Football team begins hosting home games in the city at the start of their 2020 season, demand for rental units – which are typically cheaper than renting hotel suites for ten or more games per year – will likely increase even more as fans of the team flood the city on a regular basis.

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.