Category Archive : Real Estate

LAS VEGAS, NV – Rising home prices in Nevada, coupled with a rapidly increasing number of single-family houses being snatched up by corporate investors to be used as rentals properties, has made the path to home ownership for some state residents wrought with insurmountable obstacles due to affordability concerns and an overall lack of inventory.

Investors have been snapping up a significant number of residences in southern Nevada in recent years, with approximately 15 percent of single-family homes in Clark County being owned by such entities. The scope of this issue was laid bare by a report earlier this month that revealed a Dallas-based corporate landlord – backed by Wall Street – had purchased 264 homes in Clark County in a massive sale that took place on a single day in the summer of 2023.

Nevada lawmakers have previously introduced bills with the intent to limit and track the number of homes purchased by investors within the state. The most recent attempt pushed forth during the 2023 state legislative session, SB 395, was vetoed by Governor Joe Lombardo, who claimed the bill would have had a detrimental effect upon jobs, tax revenue, and the availability of rental properties.

However, action on this matter is now potentially being taken on a federal level. U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen and Congressman Steven Horseford, both Nevada-based Democrats, are co-sponsoring a bill called the Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act which, if passed, would make it illegal for any entity to rent or sell a unit at a price that was considered unreasonable, in addition to tasking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with investigating instances of alleged price gouging and manipulation on the part of corporate investors.

Sky-high costs of housing and rent are hurting hardworking Nevadans and putting a strain on their budgets,” Senator Rosen said. “That’s why I’m introducing a bill to crack down on price gouging by corporate investors and lower housing costs for Nevada families. I’m committed to doing everything I can to lower costs and give Nevadans more breathing room.”

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – Despite an increase in sales prices over the course of 2023, a new report indicates that the year was the slowest the Las Vegas Valley housing market has seen since 2008 – a time span of 15 years – with an 18 percent drop from 2022 alone.

According to new statistics from Las Vegas Realtors, in December 2023 the medium price of a single-family home was $449,900, an increase of approximately 6% when compared to the same month in 2022, when that amount was $425,000. However, December 2023’s prices still fall below the all-time record of $482,000, which was originally set in May 2022.

Las Vegas Realtors President Merri Perry – who recently succeeded Lee Barrett in the position – said that the fall in sales can mostly be attributed to a limited housing supply in the region, and anticipates that 2024 will see the Las Vegas real estate scene bounce back in a very real way.

It was good to see interest rates coming back down late in the year. That helps more buyers afford a home,” Perry said. “While we still need more homes on the market, many national experts are predicting at least some increase in the housing supply as we get into 2024. That should help buyers and help us sell more homes.”

Overall, 29,069 existing homes, condominiums, and townhomes were sold in Southern Nevada in 2023, a decrease of 18% from 2022, when 35,584 were sold; in contrast, 2021 saw a record-setting number of home sales for the year at 50,010.

Listings of new homes in Las Vegas saw a 10.3% decrease when compared to November, and a 30% decrease year-over-year. However, housing prices jumped 1.3% in December from the previous month and a whopping 19.5% from December 2022.

Experts are also attributing “sticker shock” to the slowdown in home sales due to elevated interest rates on mortgages. But with those rates anticipated to begin to slowly drop in the coming year, that may fuel more instances of home purchases, particularly in light of the fact that home values currently don’t appear to be dropping. After all, if rates start to drop but prices continue to increase, experts say, it’s better to buy now than in the future when prices may be even higher.

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 a new report released this week, a Dallas-based corporate landlord backed by Wall Street purchased hundreds of homes in Clark County in a massive sale that took place on a single day in the summer of 2023.

Spread out amongst three separate residential transactions that took place on July 18, a whopping 264 homes in Clark County were purchased by Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH) from the Miami-based investment firm Starwood Capital Group. The three transactions consisted of $57.5 million for 155 homes, $26.3 million for 70 homes, and $14.1 million for 39 homes, for a grand total of $98 million, as per Clark County property records.

94 of the homes sold were located in the city of Las Vegas, With an additional 77 homes in North Las Vegas. The purchase price for the homes in question ranged from between $292,000 to $694,000, with the average price being $371,514.

While that deal between Starwood Capital and Invitation Homes may seem mind-bogglingly huge, it was merely part of a larger transaction between the two entities that consisted of a $650 million real estate portfolio swap for approximately 1,900 single-family rental homes, most of which are spread out amongst areas in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

The deal is part of an ongoing phenomenon where hedge funds and corporate landlords backed by Wall Street – in addition to affluent investors – have been responsible for a rash of purchases of single-family homes across the country in recent years that they then typically utilize as rental properties. However, experts say this has been contributing to a shortage of affordable housing for families, in addition to being responsible for a rise in rental rates as well.

At this rate, according to a study by MetLife Investment Management, by 2030 approximately 40 percent of all houses in the United States could be owned by Wall Street corporations.

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 – As 2023 draws to a close on one of the more unusual and noteworthy years in Las Vegas real estate, let’s take a look back over the past 365 days and highlight the top residential sales that have taken place in Southern Nevada. Despite the market experiencing a slowdown overall, some very high-priced homes changed hands in Clark County in 2023, and below you’ll see the top five in reverse order, with the exception of multiparcel sales.

Number five is Skyspace, located at 7 Painted Feather Way in Summerlin’s The Ridges neighborhood, which sold in September for $15.9 million. The 12,162 square-foot residence boasts five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and numerous high-end touches, including a full Italian Scavolini kitchen.

Coming in at number four is a mansion at 8 Rockmount Court in Henderson’s affluent Ascaya community.  This 12,101 square foot home is located on a 2.27-acre plot of land and sold in June for $20.5 million. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a six-car garage, a pool, and even a putting green.

Number three is a residence located at 11765 Discovery Canyon Drive in Summerlin’s pricey The Summit Club, which traded hands in August for $21.2 million. The home – which was reportedly purchased by an individual on behalf of Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg – comes in at 8,419 square feet and has six bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and a pool.

A massive mega-mansion compound located on a 16-acre plot of land at 99 Spanish Gate Drive in Las Vegas’ wealthy Spanish Trail community sold in December for $25 million. The compound – previously linked to Jefri Bolkiah, the prince of Brunei – boasts a super-impressive 25 bedrooms and 46 bathrooms, spread amongst 10 interconnected buildings.

And finally, the number one residential sale in Las Vegas for 2023 comes courtesy of pop megastar Celine Dion, who sold her mansion – located at 10850 Summit Club Drive in The Summit Club – in April for $30 million, setting a new all-time Clark County record in the process. Dion originally purchased the home – which comes in at over 30,985 square feet and has 9.5 bathrooms – in 2017 for 9.2 million, but reportedly never actually moved into it.

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 last bits of COVID-19-era inflation hopefully evaporating next year, Las Vegas real estate experts are expecting current record-high home mortgage interest rates to drop slightly in 2024, slowly transforming Southern Nevada into a “buyers’ market” after several years of the reverse being the case.

However, those same experts are shooting down hopes that interest rates will eventually return to the extremely affordable levels they were at during the start of the pandemic, saying that no matter how much they do go down, elevated rates are expected to be the new norm going forward.

After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates numerous times in order to combat the 40-year high inflation gripping the nation, all eyes are on the agency after their announcement they intend to finally cut interest rates three times in 2024.

Las Vegas Realtors President Lee Barrett said he expects the overnight federal funds rate to indeed decrease next year, but does not anticipate they will eventually get back December 2022’s 4.1 percent; the current average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 7.2 percent.

This is going to be the new norm, higher interest rates and higher mortgage rates,” Barrett said. “They may drop, for the election a little bit, but I think 6.5 or 7 percent is where they are going to range next year.”

That being said, many real estate experts are predicting that 2024 will potentially see the Las Vegas Valley have its worst year for sales since 2008, with some saying it is a genuine mystery where the industry will head next year. However, with inflation improving and mortgage rates expected to come down a bit – leading to many who were holding out on listing their homes due to higher mortgage costs to finally do so – experts anticipate that the industry will shift towards a buyer’s market.

But that is not a certainty, experts say, as Las Vegas has a low inventory of properties currently available, and despite dropping sales figures, home sellers have for the most part been steadfastly refusing to cut their asking prices. Indeed, prices are only expected to drop 1 percent in the second and third quarters of 2024, creating what is known as a “locking” phenomenon in the Southern Nevada market.

Indeed, where the Las Vegas real estate market will go in 2024 is anybody’s guess at this point; the only thing that appears to be sure is that nothing is for sure.

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 – Located within a gated community of Las Vegas’ Summerlin neighborhood, a lavish single-story house hit the market for nearly $2.1 million and quickly sold, signifying how luxury sales in Southern Nevada have remained relatively unaffected by the ongoing inflation and high mortgage interest rates impacting the rest of the country.

Situated within Onyx Point – a gated community at the Cliffs of Summerlin – the home, located at 10020 Terrastone Drive, first listed for $2.075 million and is comprised of 3,490 square feet of living space spread out over four bedrooms, four baths, an office, a three-car garage, and a large backyard.

According to realtor Sarah Gabany, who is representing the seller, the residence was designed with an eye for detail and features numerous amenities and contemporary flourishes, such as 12-foot exposed beam ceilings, porcelain tile with a wooden finish, and several fireplaces.

This single-story home seamlessly combines modern sophistication with natural charm all while being set along Summerlin’s cliff line,” Gabany said. “Situated in an exclusive neighborhood of just 60 homes, it provides a quaint and strong sense of community where neighbors know each other.”

Features include a courtyard with covered entry; an open concept layout with multislider doors that provide a seamless conduit between the indoors and outdoors; a living room with an electric tile fireplace; a chef’s kitchen with a 12.5-foot quartz waterfall island, stainless steel appliances – including a double oven and oversized refrigerator – and white tile backsplash; and a three-car garage with electric vehicle chargers, storage racks, and multiple cabinets.

Meanwhile, the main bathroom offers marble floors, granite countertops, and dual vanities, in addition to a floor-to-ceiling marble tiled shower and soaking tub.

While the furniture is not included in the asking price, interested buyers are able to negotiate to potentially add it to the sale for an additional fee.

The high sale price for this home is yet another example of how the luxury housing market in Las Vegas has defied recent trends; whereas home sales have slowed overall amid the economic turmoil that is gripping the nation, the luxury market in Southern Nevada has not only held steady, but shown signs of continued growth.

The home sold on December 12th, for $2,000,000.

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 Gold Spike & Oasis Hotel, a historic property located in downtown Las Vegas and previously owned by late Zappos boss Tony Hsieh, has been listed on the open market by his family, which has engaged the services of brokerage firm Logic Commercial Real Estate to aid in the sale.

According to Logic Commercial Real Estate’s website, the Hsieh family began accepting offers earlier in December, although no asking price has been listed as of yet, and it is as of yet unknown if any offers have been made or accepted on the hotel.

The Gold Spike & Oasis Hotel is comprised of two adjacent properties with a combined 70,861-square-feet in size, situated on 1.5-acre plot of land. The hotel offers a total of 130 rooms split amongst the two buildings, as well as a bar and a nightlife entertainment venue.

The establishment has not been providing gambling to patrons, but it nonetheless still possesses a Nevada gaming license, which has been preserved by the current ownership.

Originally opening its doors for business in 1976 under the name of The Rendezvous, the Gold Spike & Oasis was purchased by Hsieh in 2013 for $22 million.

Hsieh passed away in November 2021 at the age of 46 due to injuries suffered in a Connecticut house fire, reports say.

For two decades, Hsieh – who was worth hundreds of millions of dollars at the time of his death – headed up retail shoe selling giant Zappos before selling it to Amazon in 2009 for over $1 billion; he later retired as CEO in August 2020. He is also credited for having pledged $350 million to the renovation and revitalization of Downtown Las Vegas.

In February 2021, much of the Las Vegas real estate empire amassed by Hsieh was listed on the open market by his family, totaling nearly 100 properties throughout the downtown area.

Recently, Logic Commercial Real Estate was tasked with selling an additional five of Hsieh’s properties, including The Gold Spike & Oasis, The Downtowner Hotel, the John E. Carson office and the building occupied by Nacho Daddy on Fourth Street.

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 a new report released on Wednesday by local industry association Las Vegas Realtors, home prices increased slightly in Southern Nevada during the month of November 2023, where the housing supply itself showed continued signs of shrinking. 

Last month, the median price for an existing single-family home in Las Vegas was $450,000; this amount represents a small increase from October’s median price, which was $449,000, and a 4.4 percent increase year-over-year, when that amount was $430,990. 

The median price for condominiums and townhomes sold in Vegas during the month of November 2023 was $275,000, which is a 5.8 percent increase from the same period of time in 2022. 

Lee Barrett, president of Las Vegas Realtors, noted in a statement that seasonal trends were being bucked in Southern Nevada due to a number of factors, including a limited number of homes on the market as well as increasing interest rates on home mortgages, which are currently hovering precariously close to 8 percent. 

Interest rates are higher now than in past years and our housing supply is about as low as it gets,” Barrett said “These factors seem to be propping up home prices and slowing down home sales.” 

At the end of November, 4,353 single family homes were available for sale in Las Vegas without any offers, which is a year over year decrease of 40 percent; when it comes to condos and townhomes listed without offers, that amount comes in at 1,261, a year-over-year decrease of 22.8 percent. 

1,894 existing homes, condos, and townhomes in Vegas were sold in November 2023; that number represents a 5.7 percent decrease for homes and a 0.6 percent decrease for condos/townhomes when compared to November 2022. 

Currently, Las Vegas has an approximate four-month supply of properties for sale, in contrast to the same period of time in 2022, when there was a four-month supply. 

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 massive mega-mansion compound in Las Vegas’ affluent Spanish Trail community that boasts a super-impressive 25 bedrooms and 46 bathrooms has been sold for a whopping $25 million. The sale ties the record for the most expensive home ever sold in the region, which was originally set as a 15,000-square–foot residence in Henderson that sold for $25 million in 2021. 

The compound – which was previously built for and owned by Jefri Bolkiah, the Prince of the tiny Asian country of Brunei – comes in at 110,320-square-feet and is situated on a 16-acre plot of land located at 99 Spanish Gate Drive.

The compound has 10 interconnected buildings, with the main house coming in at 37,466-square-feet with five bedrooms and eight baths. There’s also a 47,367-square-foot athletic club/pool house with an indoor badminton and squash courts, a hotel-sized spa and gym, indoor pool, bowling alley and nightclub.

In 2007, singer Michael Jackson had reportedly moved into Bolkiah’s compound and stayed there for some time. 

Construction of the property originally began in 1996 and is approximately 90 percent complete; there has been no additional development of the compound since 1999, according to the listing agent. While the home is completely enclosed and finished, appliances aren’t included and some degree of detailed finish work isn’t complete; however, otherwise, the home is mostly completed.

When asked why construction wasn’t finished, the listing agent noted that when Bolkiah built it, he had “different expectations” regarding Las Vegas and ultimately ended up not moving there. 

The listing agent has not named the now-former owners of the property, noting that he has not dealt with them directly and instead has been conducting business through their lawyers and financial advisors; the reason the property was put on the market is unknown, he said.  

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – Prado, a new Blue Heron Nexus community nestled within Las Vegas’ Section 10 neighborhood – one of the oldest developments in the Valley – is currently offering multiple plots of land upon which buyers can select a series of luxury, pre-designed, custom-built homes that the company will construct for them.  

However, these homes aren’t cheap, with the starting price point coming in at $1.8 million and the average home selling for $3.5 million. Blue Heron offers four different floor plans to choose from, each with different elevation styles and structural options, ensuring each home will be different. 

The Nexus division of Blue Heron is a new addition to the firm, with the communities they create offering an alternative to designing and custom-building homes. Their Las Vegas community – which opened this past June – sits upon 10 acres and currently has 18 oversized homesites, with over 50 percent of them having already been sold. 

(Nexus) started three years ago. We take all the best Blue Heron architecture and predesign a series of homes. We have five different product lines in 10 Nexus communities,” said Chris Beucler, President of Blue Heron’s Nexus division. “What makes this product so unique is we designed it for infill projects. Prado was an old-school site that got sold to another developer. We purchased it from them. We have 10 acres here that we turned into half-acre homesites.” 

For those who wish to try before they buy, however, Blue Heron currently has an impressive $6.5 million show home listed for sale within Prado that illustrates just what you can really acquire from the company if you have exceedingly deep pockets. 

7388 OLIVE CREEK COURT, LAS VEGAS – $6,500,000.00

The show home – located at 7388 Olive Creek Court on a half-acre plot of land – offers 5,887-square-feet of space and features the unique “Vegas Modern” style architecture exclusive to Prado, and a semi-custom floor plan with four en suite bedrooms, five full and one-half baths, and an attached four-car garage. 

You’re getting the same team designing these homes as you are in an elite home,” Beucler said. “You can look at any of our homes, and it doesn’t look like another home you’d see in the market. It looks like a full custom home.” 

See full listing details for 7388 Olive Creek Court, Las Vegas

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 former Las Vegas residence of a mobster linked to the real-life inspiration of one of the characters from the 1995 crime movie “Casino” has been listed on the real estate market for $550,000. 

Casino was directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci. The movie follows Sam “Ace” Rothstein (De Niro), a gambling expert who is asked by the Chicago mob to oversee the day-to-day casino and hotel operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. Other major characters include “made man” Nicky Santoro (Pesci), and Ginger McKenna (Stone), a streetwise hustler. 

The recently listed home – currently owned by an unnamed dancer – had previously belonged to John Spilotro, the brother of Tony “The Ant” Spilotro, who served as the inspiration for Pesci’s character Nicky Santoro, a brutal street enforcer. John inspired the character of Nicky’s brother Dominick in the movie, who was played by Philip Suriano. 

According to an interview by the Las Vegas Review Journal, “John was a known operative” of the Chicago mafia known as “The Outfit,” – was one of Tony’s five brothers and was investigated by the FBI.

3179 DESMOND AVENUE, LAS VEGAS – $550,000.00

The brothers had both lived on the same block and were both members of “Hole in the Wall Gang,” headed up by the elder Spilotro; the family gained a large degree of fame and infamy following the release of “Casino,” which was based on a true-crime novel by author Nicholas Pileggi. 

Tony – who had been accused by the FBI of murdering as many as two dozen people in Illinois and Nevada – and another one of his brothers, Victor, were killed just outside of the city of Chicago in 1986. It is unknown if John is still alive. 

John’s former luxurious one-story home in Las Vegas has four bedrooms and three bathrooms and is located close to the Strip and the airport. It was recently remodeled and renovated, and while the outside is fairly average looking, the interior boasts large rooms with opulent trappings as well as numerous amenities, including an inground pool, hot tub, a treehouse, and even a zip line. 

See full listing details for 3179 Desmond Avenue, Las Vegas

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 – Serving as a testament to how hard-hit Las Vegas new home sales were in the third quarter of 2022 due to rising interest rates on home mortgage loans, sales showed a distinct surge during the third quarter of 2023, serving as a sign that things are improving in the Southern Nevada housing market. 

According to Andrew Smith, President of Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research, the third quarter of 2023 saw 2,383 net sales of new homes – not taking into consideration cancellations – as opposed to the third quarter of 2022, when there were only 1,385 net sales. 

Last year during the third quarter, home sales were slow,” Smith said. “Builders have adjusted their strategies. They have the ability to use in-house financing to offer incentives for new home sales. They can work with buyers on the loans in the way that resales can’t because they own the lending. They also are helped by a lack of resale inventory.” 

Clearly, experts say, developers have adjusted to the higher interest rates that impacted buyers especially hard during that period of time in 2022; while interest rates are still precariously high, both buyers and builders have had time to come to grips with them and adjust accordingly. 

Sales are also being helped by the fact that mortgage rates have been seeing some minute drops as of late, with buyer and builder confidence both being bolstered by the fact that expectations are beginning to build that the Federal Reserve may no longer be raising interest rates to combat inflation going forward. 

In the middle of this week, the interest rate on the average 30-year fixed-rate home mortgage loan dropped to 7.4 percent; while this does provide some degree of relief considering that rate had risen above 8 percent in the middle of October, it’s still the highest it’s been in over 20 years.  

Still, experts are predicting that interest rates will continue to drop and may reach as low as 6 percent by spring; this will represent a vast improvement, despite the fact that rates will still be twice as high as they were in 2021 when mortgage interest rates were at record-breaking lows. 

It is anticipated that if interest rates do indeed reach 6 percent, home sales will surge even more in 2024, both in Las Vegas and nationwide. 

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.