Category Archive : Market Updates

LAS VEGAS – Last week, Southern California was rocked by earthquakes as high as 7.1 in magnitude in the Death Valley region, causing a plethora of issues in communities near and far of the affected areas. Luckily, there was no loss of life reported, despite the fact that numerous buildings were damaged and multiple fires started as a result of the intense tremors.

The quakes were felt in Los Angeles, Mexico, and even nearby Las Vegas, Nevada, causing concerns that the currently-ongoing construction of the NFL Raiders football stadium would be affected. However, according to reports, the effects of the quake did not cause any issues with the stadium or any injuries to construction personnel, and progress is such that they are still on track to meet its projected 2020 completion date.

According to reports, the company in charge of constructing the stadium noted that the earthquakes resulted in no injuries and no structural damage whatsoever to the project. The company said the stadium was thoroughly inspected and that all critical structural elements had been examined by an independent testing firm. The fact that the stadium is currently incomplete did afford it an increased level of vulnerability when compared to other structures of his type, but apparently work was of such quality that the stadium was able to absorb the effects of the earthquake with no issues.

As a precaution, work crews concentrated their efforts on ground-level work – as opposed to work higher up – in order to maintain an acceptable level of safety until inspectors had given the green light to resume normal operations. The stadium itself is being constructed with the ability to withstand intense seismic events, which likely figured in to its ability to ride out the California quakes with no damage.

The stadium project had recently encountered minor issues when it was discovered that several roof trusses did not fit properly, but it was noted by the construction company that the issues were not going to create any significant delay in the completion of the project, which is expected to host the Raiders for the start of their 2020 NFL season.

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 – The City of Las Vegas announced that ground has officially been broken on an ambitious new project- the construction of a new $56 million, four story municipal courthouse that is slated to handle nearly every aspect of law and justice within city limits, according to reports.

Located in the center of the city’s downtown area at 100 East Clark Avenue, the upcoming courthouse will eventually see a consolidation of municipal court operations upon its anticipated completion in January of 2021 in an effort to increase public efficiency and convenience. Currently, municipal court operations are handled in the city’s Regional Justice Center, located at 200 Lewis Avenue.

The new courthouse, slated to be approximately 140,000 square-feet in size and featuring the latest in energy efficient technologies, will handle a variety of municipal court cases, ranging from criminal misdemeanors, civil ordinance infractions, traffic and municipal code violations and more. Each of the city’s municipal court judges – six in all – will have new offices, courtrooms, and chambers located at the new facility. In addition, there will be space allotted for the city attorney’s criminal division, traffic court, administration, customer service, classrooms, and more, reports say.

The developer of the project, Molasky Group of Companies, is set to begin work on the project soon, with the work expected to generate at least 150 construction jobs. The project is being funded by a $23.5 million county buyout of the current Regional Justice Center lease along with an additional $35 million in general obligation building bonds, which reports note where previously approved in January by the city council.

Originally, the Regional Justice Center was used to host city, county, District and Supreme Court operations within a single building in order to streamline the justice process; however, as time went by, the building proved to be inadequate to accommodate all needed operations, especially on the part of the county. With the county’s buyout of the lease from the city, they will come into possession of more much-needed square footage of the Regional Justice Center for their own operations come 2021.

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 – Gindi Capital, an investment firm headquartered in New York, officially announced last week that they had purchased a large chunk of Las Vegas Boulevard for a whopping price, with the stated goal of developing a hub for new retail businesses in the area, according to reports.

Gindi confirmed that they had bought 9.5 acres of real estate on the famed boulevard for the whopping price of $172 million, an amount that comes to approximately $18 million an acre, officials say. The purchase – made from New York investment firm Spectrum Group Management – includes pre-existing real estate that is home to adjacent retail plazas Hawaiian Marketplace and Cable Center Shops.

The announcement indicated that Gindi – also the owner of the nearby Showcase Mall, located at 3785 S. Las Vegas Boulevard – is currently in the midst of working with design teams in order to develop plans to transform the acquisition into “a new flagship retail, entertainment and dining experience.” The company did not expand on exactly what their plans are in any additional detail.

Reports indicate the possibility that Gindi may raze all of the structures on the property to make way for a completely new project in order to take advantage of the large amount of foot traffic that area currently boasts. While it is unknown if this is actually the case, it would be a change of direction from many of the other structures located on the Strip, which currently are comprised mostly of hotels, casinos, and resorts.

Spectrum Group Management had previously bought the property in 2010 after the previous owners had declared bankruptcy following the recession; originally, it had been slated to be used for an Elvis-themed hotel and resort. Spectrum originally owned and was selling an 18-acre plot of land on the Strip, but the need for such a large piece of property – as well as the prohibitive cost – lead them to break the land into smaller swaths for sale. After the sale to Gindi, Spectrum still possesses approximately 6 acres of land on Las Vegas Boulevard.

This is not the first purchase Gindi has made from Spectrum; they also recently acquired a Walgreens Pharmacy from them for $30 million, reports say.

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 – Eldorado Resorts has announced that they will be purchasing Caesars – and in the process acquiring over 35 of their casinos – in a deal comprised of both cash and stock valued at over $17 billion, according to reports. The deal will result in Eldorado essentially becoming a casino mega-power, with a total of approximately 60 casinos and resorts to its name as a result of the purchase.

The acquisition, which took place on Monday of this week, now gives Eldorado a presence in 16 states and makes it one of the largest entertainment and gambling entrepreneurs in the country, according to a statement released by Eldorado Chief Executive Tom Reeg.

“Together, we will have an extremely powerful suite of iconic gaming and entertainment brands,” he said, “as well as valuable strategic alliances with industry leaders in sports betting and online gaming.”

The overreaching company in charge of this empire will be dubbed Caesars – taking advantage of the internationally-recognized brand name – and will be headquartered in Reno, Nevada, in addition to having a “significant corporate presence” in Caesars’ hometown of Las Vegas.

The deal will see Eldorado paying $8.40 per share of Caesars’ stock, as well as an exchange of $12.75 in Eldorado stock for each share of Caesars stock; in addition, Eldorado will assume approximately $8.8 billion of Caesars’ debt. According to the details of the transaction, Caesars is currently valued at about $8.6 billion; in 2017, the casino giant had emerged from federal bankruptcy protection, but has continued having financial difficulties since then.

Eldorado most likely made the move to acquire Caesars in light of the increased popularity of casinos in general, with sports betting growing in market share after successful legalization efforts in recent years. If approved by gaming regulators and shareholders from both companies, the deal is expected to be closed in early 2020, reports say.

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. was a Las Vegas Valley, Nevada based business that was the largest owner, operator and developer of casinos throughout the world. It was part of the Hilton Hotels chain and was spun off from Hilton as Park Place Entertainment in 1998, and renamed as Caesars Entertainment in 2003. The company was acquired in 2005 by Harrah’s Entertainment, which later took on the Caesars Entertainment name.

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.

Multi-Million Vegas Circa Hotel Project Showing Progress Towards 2020

LAS VEGAS – Circa, a multi-million-dollar downtown Las Vegas hotel project being constructed by developer Derek Stevens, is underway and targeting a December 2020 opening date, provided everything goes according to plan.

Over 600 workers on various shifts are firing on all cylinders to meet that projected opening date, according to reports, with crews following an aggressive 24-hour-a-day, 7 days-a-week schedule in order to erect the 1.25 million-square-foot, 44 story hotel and resort. This week, in order to help achieve the established December 2020 opening goal, a new crane was installed at the site, and the first delivery of steel is scheduled for July.

The 600 workers are split up for numerous projects; at any given time, 200 are assigned to the Circa site, with another 40 or so concentrating on the site’s parking garage – a proposed nine-story, 1,201-space structure dubbed Garage Mahal – while up to 100 others are handling form and rebar building. On top of that, there are many members of the project’s support staff on-hand at any given time as well, usually consisting of approximately 150 managers and engineers, according to reports. Rebar and support structures are delivered to the construction site for installation after having been created at a different location.

Work is anticipated to continue at the current 24 hour-a-day pace and last throughout the end of the construction phase, with developer Stevens noting that the public should be treated to some excellent views of the Circa as it begins to take shape and form. The 2020 release date is considered a lock for Stevens, as he would be able to take advantage of local tax breaks if the hotel opens its doors for business by that point.

The Circa has been designed by architecture firm Steelman Partners, in conjunction with contractor McCarthy Building Companies Inc. The hotel-casino, initially announced at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center in January 2019, also holds the distinction of being the first downtown Vegas resort to be built from scratch – as opposed to the renovation or re-purposing of an existing structure – since 1975.

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 – Lawmakers in Nevada have recently passed a number of new pieces of legislation that are aimed at governing certain aspects of the housing market in the state, such as the eviction process, defect claims on construction projects, and the development of affordable housing.

To start with, the state Legislature – currently under Democratic control – enacted a law to counter one passed four years ago when the lawmaking body was under Republican control. The new law enables victims that allege that a contractor has engaged in sub-standard construction work to have an easier process if they wish to sue said contractor for damages in court. Due to take effect on October 1, 2019, Assembly Bill 421 enables customers of a contractor to report alleged defects in housing and building development projects in “reasonable detail” when presenting a notice to the contractor; previously, the law in place was more exacting, requiring “specific” and “exact” levels of detail. In addition, plaintiffs now have 10 years in which to file a lawsuit against a contractor, as opposed to the six years allotted under the old law.

Next was a new law aimed at potentially providing a boost to the construction of affordable housing for Nevada residents of limited financial means. Due to go into effect on July 1, 2019, Senate Bill 103, gives local municipalities the ability to apply discounts on some of the fees that are typically levied on affordable housing projects. In addition, Senate Bill 448 – due to come into force on January 1, 2020 – adds to the support of affordable housing construction by allowing Nevada officials to provide financial assistance to new projects with the ability to issue transferable tax credits in the amount of $10 million per year. 

State lawmakers are hoping that these bills will assist with the issue of affordable housing for low-income residents, which number at approximately 73,000, according to reports. Currently, developers construct about 1,000 units annually that are aimed at this population; these bills could increase that output to as much as 1,600 per year.

And finally, Senate Bill 151, due to kick in starting July 1, 2019, would increase 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; in addition, late fees for delinquent rent payments will be capped at five percent of the full amount of the tenants regular rent amount, and more time will be granted – seven business days, as opposed to the previous five –  for tenants to pay overdue rent to landlords to avoid eviction. Evicted tenants will also be allowed to enter their former dwelling to procure “essential” belongings, such as medicine, for up to five days.
Whereas the previous laws could be seen as overly favoring renters and developers, some are saying these new laws have swung the pendulum too far in the opposite direction, while others are applauding the new bills.

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 – After several years of nonstop, skyrocketing growth, the Las Vegas real estate market appears to have finally begun to stabilize as the median sales price of single-family homes have remained relatively flat throughout spring of 2019, according to reports.

So far, throughout March, April, and now May of 2019, the median sales price of single-family homes – particularly pre-owned ones, which make up the largest segment of the market currently – have remained at approximately $300,000.

To drive the point home, the price of a single-family house in May of 2018 saw an increase of 18 percent from the same period in 2017; in May of 2019, however, that increase amounted to only 1.7 percent, which represents the smallest year-to-year increase in seven years, according to reports.

The slowdown in Las Vegas’ real estate market has been becoming more noticeable in the last few months. Not only has it been apparent in the smaller increases in housing prices, but sales overall have decreased from the shocking levels they attained over the past few years, with the amount of available listings on the market increasing slowly but steadily. This is only natural in a market where real estate has experienced a nearly unprecedented amount of growth in such a short amount of time.

Previously, availability was becoming so scarce – and prices growing so quickly – that affordability concerns were being expressed by many moving to the region.

Strong demand is clearly still out there for housing in the Southern Nevada region, with resale prices still increasing in Las Vegas. This, experts say, is just a sign that the market has reached the point where pricing on real estate must stabilize in order for it to still remain viable.

The Las Vegas real estate market reached its highest price point in June of 2006, when a median house would fetch approximately $315,000 on the open market. That amount, of course, plummeted after the real estate bubble burst shortly thereafter, leading to the national recession.

Regardless of the fact that prices have remained rather flat during the spring, re-sales continue to do well in Las Vegas, with over 3,200 single family homes selling in May, an increase of 4.5 period from the same period one year prior. However, over 7,800 houses were on the market without offers by the end of last month, representing a 90 percent difference from the same period in 2018. Developers, who recently have been scrambling with construction projects in order to keep up with housing demands, have also noted that they have been selling fewer units in recent months.

Again, while still one of the most active and profitable real estate markets in the country, Las Vegas appears to finally be experiencing a plateau, and it is important for sellers to recognize this and make appropriate adjustments to their sales models in order to ensure continued 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 – According to reports, AECOM, a Los Angeles-based construction and engineering firm, was named as the general contractor of the upcoming MSG Sphere performance venue slated to be built off of the famed Las Vegas Strip.

The futuristic music venue MSG Sphere, a joint venture between Sands Corp. and Madison Square Garden, will be a 400,000-square-foot, 18,000-seat, 360-foot-tall globe-shaped arena slated to be constructed on 63 acres of property located behind the behind the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The exterior of the sphere will feature 36 miles of variable intensity LED lighting, enabling the structure to allow outside spectators to peer through a transparent facade to watch the concert within; at higher lighting intensities, outside vision will be obscured. In addition, images of Las Vegas taken via a camera system could be projected upon the sphere.

The venue will typically not feature sporting events, but rather cater to musical performances and concerts; however, the occasional boxing or MMA contest could be held there if needed. A 180,000-square-foot ceiling with massive video screens and a floor-based bass speaker system should give the venue a multi-genre and event capability.

AECOM is no stranger to construction projects in southern Nevada. The company, which has offices in Las Vegas, was also the builder of the T-Mobile Arena, a project that was completed three years ago for a cost of 375 million dollars. They are also responsible for the construction of the Mercedes-Benz stadium and State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as the USTA Billie Jean King national tennis center in Queens, New York.

AECOM has been doing preliminary work on the site since February, excavating dirt and preparing the structure’s foundation. Ground was officially broken on the site in late September of 2019.

The MGS Sphere project, according to reports, could create up to 3,500 construction jobs during its creation and an additional 4,400 permanent jobs on-site once the venue is completed and open for business. Currently, the projected cost of the project is now yet known, nor is the estimated date of completion. However, if it holds true to its ambitions design goals, the MGS Sphere will indeed be an extremely impressive attraction in Las Vegas’ already flashy and busy skyline.

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 – A $4 billion high-speed railway project that would have provided a direct connection between Las Vegas and Southern California that was scheduled by Virgin Trains USA has been delayed for possibly as much as two years, according to reports.

The issue at hand, reports say, is that Virgin Trains USA was unable to secure the necessary tax abatements during the current legislative session, despite Virgin Trains’ vice president of government affairs Robert O’Malley having spent the past month in Carson City, Nevada, attempting to secure them. Due to the failure to do so, the high-speed railway project could be delayed as much as 24 months, if not longer.

The project is slated to take the form of a 185 mile long, dual rack system that would run along Interstate 15. Aside from the abatements, Virgin noted that they are not asking for any additional money from local government, such as grants or tax credits; the project will otherwise be privately funded.

Abatements are a critical part of the financing of any construction project, with many companies seeking them from those municipalities that they are conducting work within; especially is such work serves a vital public interest.

Virgin Trains has noted that they will attempt to once again secure the abatements when the 2021 legislative session begins, however, without these tax exemptions the project may not come to fruition. 

Virgin Trains, formerly known as Brightline, most recently had constructed a similar high-speed rail system in Florida, joining Orlando and Miami, with the company receiving the required abatements from state government in order to take on the work. Virgin representatives have touted the boon to the local economy and job market that the construction of a cross-state railway would provide for the Southern Nevada region. In addition, they also noted that a modern train system provides a more efficient and convenient transportation option for local residents – reportedly removing 4.5 million cars from I-15 annually – as well as one that produces far less in terms of environmental pollution overall.

It is not currently known why Nevada lawmakers were against the abatements to Virgin during the current legislative session, despite having done so for other companies in the recent past.

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 – While the prices of new home sales in Las Vegas have showed some signs of slowing in recent months – clearly indicating that the red-hot real estate market is approaching the maximum buyers are willing to pay – those prices are still growing at rates that are twice the average elsewhere in the United States, according to reports.

In March 2019, the national average growth in home prices, year-over-year, was 3.7 percent, which contrasts sharply with the prices in Las Vegas, which are up 8.2 percent from the same period last year. S&P Dow Jones Indices released their S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index recently, which indicated that Southern Nevada continued to feature the fastest-rising prices in the 20 markets that the report covers, and has remained at the top of the list for the past 10 months.

In contrast, growth overall throughout the rest of the nation has slowed recently, reports indicate. Bucking that trend, Las Vegas’ August 2019 home prices represented a whopping jump of nearly 14 percent from the same period in 2018.

After Las Vegas recovered from the mid-2000’s burst of the housing bubble and subsequent economic recession, demand rose sharply for affordable housing as money and businesses began flocking to Southern Nevada due to the relatively low cost of living when compared to many other regions in the United States. However, the market – due to demand – saw house prices and mortgage rates steadily rise as sellers looked to take advantage of the desperate scramble for their wares. 

Experts have been predicting that eventually these sellers would hit a wall when prices began to get too high, and it appears that we are rapidly approaching that point now. Sales are reported beginning to drop and the once emaciated amount of houses available on the market has begun to slowly grow once again.

Las Vegas, according to experts, is still considered a fantastic seller’s market; the median sales price of a single-family home in April was $300,000, which represents an increase of 3.8 percent from 2018. However, in order to ensure that the market remains strong, sellers should consider having more realistic outlooks for pricing models to ensure stability for the real estate market in the long-term, especially in light of recently increased inventory due to the output of developers looking to get sorely-needed affordable homes and apartment complexes built and on the 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 – Las Vegas Raiders officials announced this week that they have addressed potential parking concerns surrounding their stadium being constructed at Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue by purchasing additional areas of land in the area in order to convert it into additional parking, reports say. This land will add to the property’s 63-acre plot where the new $2 billion, 65,000-seat home of the Raiders is slated to open for the start of the team’s 2020 season.

Accompanying the purchase and conversion of the new properties for parking purposes is also a comprehensive transportation plan for ferrying attendees to and from their vehicles; the move is expected to provide a large boost to the amount of parking available for the stadium, Raiders officials say. Currently, there are only 2,725 parking spots situated on the stadium property itself, but this move – Raiders management have purchased several plots of land adjacent to the stadium – is expected to provide approximately an additional 12,000 or so spaces nearby, as well as increase the number of the stadium’s on-site spaces to almost 6,000. With the Clark County requirement of at least 16,250 parking spaces at the stadium, this move will exceed that number by at least 1,700 or more.
Raiders management are working out deals with area casinos to lease out excess fields for events and overflow parking when needed, reports say.

Transportation options are being researched and proposed by Clark County and Raiders management for attendees parked at the off-site lots, including a pedestrian bridge and an underground “people mover” that inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk’s the Boring Company recently won the $48.7 million bid to construct. Work on the people mover, which will involve a looping tunnel that shuttles attendees back and forth via electrical train cars, is stated to take just a year to complete.

Since the construction of the Las Vegas Raiders stadium was announced, one of the major issues that had generated concern was in regards to the parking available in the area, since much of the surrounding land is currently undeveloped. However, with the announcement of the additional land purchases by stadium management, these issues appear to have been adequately addressed, providing a viable solution that is expected to be ready for attendees in time for the Raiders’ 2020 opening day festivities.

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 – Despite last-minute objections by two board members, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) voted on Wednesday last week to award the Boring Company – owned by technology entrepreneur, investor, engineer, and Tesla, Inc. co-founder Elon Musk – the contract to create and construct an underground transit system for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The relatively inexperienced Boring Company (not yet having completed any significant project) won the contract with a $48.7 million bid for the mile-long “people mover” project, coming in both below their competitors’ bids as well as offering an accelerated construction schedule that beat out other companies vying for the job. Boring’s plans also presented less disruptions to events and activities currently taking place at the Convention Center, another attractive prospect to LVCVA board members.

The underground tunnel would focus on pedestrian transportation to and from the Convention Center, with Boring’s plan involving autonomous electric vehicles operating in a continuous loop that would ferry approximately 4,400 passengers every hour, reports say. Currently, the travel time by foot via the same route above-ground is an average of 15 minutes; the people mover would shorten that to just one minute, by Boring’s estimate.

While the favored company for several weeks now, Boring ran into a potential roadblock recently as two LVCVA board members objected to Musk’s company being awarded the contract, fearing the start-up would be unable to live up to their lofty promises. Instead, the two board members – Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Michelle Fiore – favored the bid from the more experienced Dopplemayr Garaventa, who they allowed a last-minute presentation involving an elevated rail system to the LVCVA board last week in order to potentially sway their votes. However, their efforts were unsuccessful; the board majority nonetheless voted to officially award the people mover contract to Boring.

If Musk’s company proves itself and successfully completes the new Las Vegas Convention Center transportation system – both on-time and on-budget – additional Vegas-based projects may be awarded to the company in the future, including a commercial tunnel.

To date, the Boring Company has made just one successful tunnel; a test project based in California, solely to be used for tunnel construction research purposes. Boring has proposed several projects in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, none of which have come to light.

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.