Category Archive : Real Estate

LAS VEGAS, NV – A Las Vegas developer has listed a swanky new spec home built on the grounds of the Southern Highlands Golf Club for the whopping sum of $5.29 million, and to sweeten the deal they’re throwing in a $100,000 Tesla to help fill out the dwelling’s spacious four-car garage.

A spec house – short for speculative house – is a new house that a home developer builds on the speculation that it will sell easily for a profit. Builders design these move-in-ready homes to be as appealing to home buyers as possible.

That being said, Domanico Developers – the builders of the new Southern Highlands Golf Club listing – certainly gave it their all when attempting to offer an appealing home. Located at 15 Fire Rock Court in a guard-gated enclave, the home comes in at two stories and boasts a contemporary design.

The home uses stone on its exterior, and a huge double-height great room boasts vaulted ceilings and a humongous fireplace mantle. There are two master bedrooms on each wing of the lower level, each with a spa-steam shower, walk-in closet, a washer and dryer, and a private trellis-covered courtyard. Next to the great room is a game room that can be used as a theater.

15 FIRE ROCK COURT, LAS VEGAS – $5,290,000.00

The backyard has a swimming pool, barbecue area, a fire pit and serving bar.

According to the realtor representing the developer, in addition to the $100,000 Tesla, another move to sweeten the deal for prospective buyers includes a $100,000 allowance for furniture as well; the home comes with furniture from Staged To Sell which can be purchased by the buyer, if they so choose.

And if the buyer already happens to own a Tesla, they can instead receive a discount on the sale if they prefer, according to listing agent Ernie Domanico, Jr, who noted that the impressive incentives included in the same are part of a creative marketing strategy.

“If the buyers already have a Tesla, we can just credit them $100,000 and they can do whatever they want with it,” Domanico said. “We are trying to do something new to grab people’s attention. Electric cars are a big thing and everyone that goes with electric cars seems to be going toward a Tesla.”

LAS VEGAS, NV – Many Las Vegas residents can recall the period in the mid-2000’s when home prices in Southern Nevada were skyrocketing – much as they are now – and then came crashing down when the Great Recession hit.

However, while circumstances are painting a similar picture these days, experts are noting that there are enough major differences this time around that local residents need not fear another real estate crash, as Las Vegas is most likely proving to be “bubble resistant” – at least for the time being.

Low inventory and rising interest rates on mortgages are two factors that are contributing to the greater stability of the Las Vegas housing market this time around, and while these issues can spell frustration and affordability concerns among homebuyers, they should also prevent yet another bubble from forming – and bursting – once again in Southern Nevada, realtors say.

Experts note that the rising interest rates are slowing things down – which is a good thing – and due to the relative lack of inventory, Vegas isn’t currently seeing price drops on the homes available for sale.

A solid job market is also helping to create stability when it comes to home prices, as are the greatly-improved lending standards that have appeared since the previous mid-2000’s market crash. Previously – from 2004 through 2006 – lenders were practically giving loans to just about anyone who applied for them; however, nowadays, the more stringent qualifications in-place are ensuring that individuals that receive loans actually deserve to have them.

Rising interest rates have created a sense of urgency among home buyers, who are desperate to lock in lower rates before they get too high; not too long ago, the average buyer could lock in a 3 percent mortgage rate, whereas nowadays that number is currently over 5 percent. However, while rates are indeed going up, they still remain historically low; in 1981, the average 30-year fixed rate was 16.6 percent.

For the time being, there’s no better time to buy a house in Las Vegas, provided you can find one.

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 – 26 acres of land located along the south edge of the famed Las Vegas Strip, the site of a proposed – and failed – Ferris wheel project is now on the open market, with the property owners asking for $7 million per acre, for a total of $182 million.

Real estate brokerage CBRE Group now has the property for sale, which includes land that was originally slated to be the home of SkyVue, an observation wheel project that was started but never completed; currently, the only indication that the project ever existed at all is the presence of two concrete columns, with the effort never advancing past that stage.

The SkyVue property has been offered on the market previously, most recently when it was purchased four years ago via bankruptcy court by Seattle-area businessman Wayne Perry via a credit bid.

However, experts anticipate that the property will most likely fetch top-dollar in the current marketplace, as the Vegas Strip has recently exploded in terms of development following the waning days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, the latest offering comes as real estate sales and development plans gain momentum in and around Las Vegas’ famed casino corridor, amid the tourism industry’s continued rebound from the pandemic. The property’s close proximity to prominent sports venues – such as Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena – as well as the Tropicana hotel-casino should make it especially attractive to investors.

To sweeten the deal, the SkyVue property offering also includes a separately-owned apartment complex.

As originally envisioned, the SkyVue project would have encompassed a 500-foot-tall observation wheel, a roller coaster and retail and restaurant space. However, if purchased, the current property owner doubts that any buyer would consider restarting SkyVue; instead, they feel that the new owners would most likely knock down the two existing concrete columns to make way for a hotel casino.

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 private guard-gated MacDonald Highlands is set to receive a new $900 million luxury resort-style condominium development, as the Henderson City Council has officially granted their approval for the project, with construction expected to commence in early June of this year.

Pinnacle Residences at MacDonald Highlands – the name bestowed upon the new high-rise condo project, the first of its kind to be built in the valley since the mid-2000’s recession – is ready to go now that the City Council has given the green light to a development agreement, zoning changes, tentative maps and a design review.

The 11-acre project, which will be co-developed by Las Vegas and Mexico-based Azure Resorts and Canada- and New York-based Luxus Development, will consist of two towers with 171 luxury condo units split between them. In addition, there will also be 10 single-family luxury homes built upon the property as well, along with two model homes two blocks away; work on the model homes is expected to commence within 90 days, with a completion deadline set within 14 months.

Azure President and Founder Jim Reilly notes that the project already has multiple reservations, despite the fact that the firm has yet to do any advertising; currently, Pinnacle Residences is still accepting fully-refundable reservations – in amounts anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 – for interested parties.

The initial terrain blasting is expected to begin in June, with full construction on the project – starting with foundation work – commencing in either December 2022 or January 2023. The initial 24-story tower is slated to take 27 months to complete, with an anticipated opening in the second quarter of 2025; the second 25-story tower will take an additional 44 to 60 days to finish afterwards.

Currently, prices are anticipated to start “at the $2 million range and go up in excess of $20 million,” according to Reilly, who said that the community is aiming to appeal to empty-nesters in the 45-to-65 age range.

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – The housing market in Las Vegas has experienced a historic degree of growth in the past year, with fierce competition for the city’s limited inventory resulting in fast sales, multiple offers – many well above the asking price – with cheap money in the form of low-interest mortgage loans fueling the activity to levels not seen before the mid-2000’s recession.

However, one vital piece of the puzzle – and one of the main driving factors – of that sales activity is quickly going away. Borrowing costs have been steadily rising as of late, and the resulting higher-interest home loans have been slowing down sales, both in Las Vegas and nationwide, reports say.

One year ago, the average interest rate on a 30-year home loan was just 2.98 percent; however, as of last week, that average is now up to 5.1 percent, which represents a significant addition to a borrower’s monthly payment.

As a result of steadily rising interest rates, the buying frenzy that the country has been in the grip of is starting to abate, according to Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater in a news release.

“The combination of swift home price growth and the fastest mortgage rate increase in over forty years is finally affecting purchase demand,” he said, noting that currently skyrocketing home prices should slow down to “a more sustainable pace later this year” as a result.

Overall, nationwide home prices have increased by almost 20 percent year-over-year in February, and while Las Vegas has experienced fluctuations in real estate activity on a regular basis over the years, the city’s increasing housing costs are still comparably higher than other major marketplaces across the country, driving concerns over affordability.

However, there are signs that the local market is beginning to show signs of stability; in March, sales of pre-owned single-family homes were down 12 percent year-over-year, and Southern Nevada builders recorded almost 1,260 net sales in March, the largest number in a 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 – Clark County has released a series of proposed rules that short term rental companies such as Airbnb and VRBO – as well as independent renters – will need to abide by and are looking for feedback from the public in order to fine-tune these rules to make sure they address the concerns of county residents before they go into effect.

In 2021, Assembly Bill 363 – sponsored by Assemblywoman Rochelle Nguyen – was voted into law, and decreed that as of July 1, 2022, short-term rentals would begin to be legal in Clark County; furthermore, the county would also be tasked with regulating the new industry within its borders, and lawmakers have been working ever since to craft ordinances for that purpose.

The Clark County Commission is not only looking to find an method to address the huge number of house-sharing rental applications they will receive, but also how to crack down on the even larger number of illegal short-term rentals that are clandestinely operating within the county’s jurisdiction; current estimates put the number at approximately 10,000 properties.

Currently, the list of rules to govern the legal short-term rental industry in Clark County has been distilled into the following:

• Short-term rentals will not be allowed in Mt. Charleston and at apartment buildings.
• 2 people per bedroom or 10 people maximum per unit
• Licensee may not accept bookings of fewer than 2 nights
• Multiple bookings prohibited
• The unit may only be available to people within the same family or group during the same booking period
• 24-hour complaint hotline must be provided
• Noise monitoring devices must be installed for rentals that are not within multifamily homes

The rules must be finalized by July 1; anyone that wishes to give feedback on the proposed rules – be they renters or community members that stand to be affected by the legalization of short-term rentals – are asked to provide their comments to [email protected] by 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 18.

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 – UnCommons – a large mixed-used facility currently under development in southwestern Las Vegas – has officially entered phase two of its construction after having fully leased the buildings that were erected during the first phase.

Upon completion, UnCommons – located at Durango Drive and the 215 Beltway in the southwest valley – will essentially be a mini-city within a city, consisting of 500,000 square feet of offices, in addition to restaurants, health and fitness studios, relaxation options, and over 830 residential units.

The concept behind the development is that it will be a space where the various employees working for the businesses located there will have numerous solutions to all of their needs – living space, entertainment, exercise, and more – right there at their fingertips.

Phase one of the $400 million project – which broke ground in August 2020 after a series of delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic – consisted of two office buildings, two parking garages, and food and beverage space.

According to Matter Real Estate Group – the company behind UnCommon’s development – the first office tenants will start opening for business in June, with food-and-beverage outlets starting in July; currently, the company notes that retail options at UnCommons are approximately 90 percent leased.

The second phase will add an additional two office buildings, a third parking garage, and a building called The Assembly, which will offer 5,000 square-feet of conference center space to accommodate up to 250 people, as well as food catering provided by the various eateries located in UnCommons itself.

Experts are expecting the UnCommons project – with its proposed goal of catering to the extensive needs of a diverse cross-section of the professional population – to make quite a splash when it is completed.

Phase two of construction for UnCommons is slated to be completed in summer 2023.

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 Nashville developer that has already opened one luxury apartment complex in downtown Las Vegas last year has just announced plans to construct a second apartment complex in the same area, adding to their already impressive portfolio in Southern Nevada.

Symphony Park was announced by Southern Land Company, with work on the project expected to begin in fall of 2022. The current plan for Symphony Park is for a complex that encompasses over 500 units spread out amongst a five-story building and a 22-story tower; construction on the smaller building would commence first, with work on the high-rise building slated to start in approximately one year.

In addition, Southern Land Company has another project lined up in Las Vegas’ Arts District, with the City Council having just approved plans for an as-yet untitled 335-unit apartment complex at the intersection of California Avenue and Third Street. A timetable for the groundbreaking for that project has not yet been announced.

The site of the Arts District project is currently vacant, aside from a small commercial building that is in a serious state of disrepair that will most likely be demolished when work commences.

In a statement, Southern Land representatives noted that the company was making serious efforts to address the demand for downtown apartment units “to help meet a need and offer dynamic, luxury residential options in areas of Las Vegas that we anticipate will only continue to transform and thrive.”

These two projects join Auric, a 324-unit rental complex that Southern Land developed previously that is located directly next door to the upcoming Symphony Park site. Auric is currently about 70 percent leased, according to Southern Land representatives, and features a resort-style pool area, a resident lounge with bar, and concierge service.

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 there haven’t been many ‘motels’ on the Las Vegas Strip in recent years amid the massive hotels and casino resorts that the roadway has become well-known for, one of the remaining holdouts – the Travelodge Motel – was listed on the market for a whopping $52 million.

Situated next to Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, the Travelodge – located on a 1.8-acre plot of land on the northern part of the Strip – boasts 100 rooms spread out over two stories, and the sale also includes a three-story commercial building next door on Las Vegas Boulevard as well as the Bonanza Gift Shop, a souvenir shop catering to local tourists looking to purchase Vegas memorabilia.

Haim Gabay, the current owner of the Travelodge, appears to be trying to take advantage of the recent uptick in development in the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip recently, with that part of the roadway plagued for years by unfinished construction and a lack of foot traffic. The new effort to develop that section of town is already having a positive effect and is drawing the eyes of investors, making this likely a unique opportunity to list the Travelodge on the market.

The Travelodge is located across from the still-in-development Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a 67-story hotel resort that is scheduled to open in 2023, and adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center’s newly-opened West Hall and the $4.3 billion, 3,500-room Resorts World Las Vegas. Also of note is a 10 acre-lot nearby recently purchased by a Chilean developer, although exact plans for that project have yet to be revealed.

While few in number currently, the Travelodge isn’t the only motel to call the Las Vegas Strip home; others include Diamond Inn, Motel 8 Plus, and the former White Sands, a long-closed motel across from the Luxor.

However, the $52 million asking price for Travelodge is significant, experts say, especially when compared to White Sands’ current sale price of $12 million and what the Motel 8 Plus recently sold for, $7.4 million in 2018. Time will tell if Gabay gets any takers, or if he will be forced to lower his price.

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 new report released this week indicates that home prices in Las Vegas continue to increase on a regular basis, despite the fact that home sales in Southern Nevada overall have begun to slow down when compared to the same period of time one year ago.

According to Las Vegas Realtors (LVR), the median price of existing single-family homes sold in Las Vegas in March 2022 was $460,000, which once again breaks the all-time record, as has been the case each and every month for the last several months. Just one year ago – in March 2021 – the median price was just $363,000, which was 26.7 percent lower than it is now.

Another all-time real estate-related record was set in March as well – the median price of local condos and town homes sold in March hit $270,000, smashing last month’s record and representing a 39.2 percent jump from March 2021, when that price was $194,000.

In contrast, the lowest homes reached in terms of cost in recent times was during the mid-2000’s recession, when the median price of existing single-family homes bottomed out at a mere $118,000.

However, LVR President Brandon Roberts noted that the number of homes selling on the market is starting to ebb slightly, driven by several factors.

“We keep expecting prices to slow down at some point, but it’s not happening, yet,” Roberts said. “With mortgage interest rates rising recently and the inventory of homes available for sale as low as it has ever been, it’s no surprise that we’re starting to see fewer homes being sold.”

For example, there were only 2,005 single-family homes on the Las Vegas marketplace without any offers, which is an increase of 13.1 percent from the same period of time in 2021. In addition, 4,205 existing local homes, condos and town homes sold in March, which is 12.2 percent less for homes and 6.5 percent less for condos and town homes than one year prior.

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 the luxury home market in Las Vegas going strong and showing no signs of slowing down as affluent residents from neighboring states continue to transplant themselves into the region, the number of $1 million and higher homes sales in Southern Nevada in the month of March has set an all-time record.

According to reports, there were an incredible 196 homes in Las Vegas with an asking price of $1 million and higher sold in March, with the priciest being a residence in Summerlin that sold for $11.4 million and featured a $35,000 tub in its master bedroom.

The buyer of the expensive Summerlin home – located at 44 Hawk Ridge Drive, – has chosen to remain anonymous, driving a great deal of speculation about their identity. Construction of the residence commenced in 2018 and lasted until 2021, at which time it was listed on the market for $11.9 million, eventually closing for $11.4 million according to property records from Clark County.

The two-story home features an eight-car air-conditioned garage, swimming pool and the aforementioned $35,000 tub in the master bedroom. The home measures 10,609 square feet with four bedrooms and five-and-half baths.

No buyer’s agent was used, and the mysterious buyer utilized an out-of-state attorney for the transaction.

The home was previously owned by former Red Rock Resorts president Richard Haskins, who had passed away after a July 4, 2020 water accident in Michigan; Mike and Linda Huhn then bought the residence, which was still approximately 75 percent into its construction, and sank an additional $2 million into its completion before listing it.

At one point there was speculation that the buyer of the property was then-NFL Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, who was said to be buying a home in Summerlin after being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders. However, in a local interview, Mike Huhn said that he was unaware of who had purchased his home, and could only say that the attorney representing them was located in New York.

“It would be pretty cool if [Adams] did buy it,” Huhn said. “Whoever moved in, moved in a week after we left. We’re still curious and, hopefully, we’ll find out sooner than later.”

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – A growing number of homebuyers in the Southern Nevada region are paying for their purchases in cold, hard cash as opposed to taking out mortgages, a recent report says, which could be fueled by several factors, including investment and the arrival of affluent transplants from neighboring states.

The Las Vegas Realtors group report released last Wednesday indicates that 32 percent of all property transactions that took place during March 2022 – which includes existing homes, condominiums and townhomes – were paid for in full with cash, which is an increase of 8 percent over the same period of time one year prior.

Experts say there are numerous factors that could be contributing to the increase in cash real estate purchases in Southern Nevada as of late, such as an increase in investors sinking their money into the market. In addition, there has been an influx of new, wealthy residents to the region from neighboring markets such as California, where homes overall are far pricier; after selling of their old homes, these new transplants to Nevada are flush with cash and ready to take advantage of the comparatively lower home prices.

The median price for an exiting home in Las Vegas in March was $460,000 – yet another record amount – and the median price for a condominium or townhome was $270,000; compare that amount to the median home price in Los Angeles, which came in at an astonishing $935,640. With those numbers in mind, it’s no wonder that California homeowners are cashing out and fleeing for neighboring states such as Nevada with a lower cost of living.

However, this bump in cash sales, while significant, is nonetheless still less then Vegas’ peak rate which in 2013 following the recession, where the number of cash-based transactions hit a whopping 60 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.