Las Vegas Real Estate Blog

LAS VEGAS, NV – With inflation still hurting most Americans in the wallet and prices in the housing market skyrocketing nationwide, a new report indicates that among the major metro cities where costs are increasing the most, Las Vegas is now currently ranked number two in terms of rising rents, leading to concerns over affordability despite signs that the market may be starting to stabilize.

Among the 15 major metros covered in the report where rents are rising the fastest, residents of the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise area are experiencing one of the highest percentage rent increases from pre-pandemic 2019 to 2022, as per a study released by San Francisco-based rental software firm Stessa Inc.

Southern Nevada is ranked number 2 in terms of rent increases, with the median rent in 2022 currently $1,485, which represents a jump of 24.8 percent when compared to the median rent in 2019, which was $1,190.

The Las Vegas region comes in closely behind the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, California metro area, which took the number 1 spot with its 2022 median rent increasing 25.3 percent to $1,830, compared to $1,461 in 2019.

The main factors driving the rent increases in Southern Nevada include limited inventory, coupled with a rapidly-recovering post-pandemic economy that has driven fierce competition among prospective tenants, leading to many – especially those with a degree of affluence – paying for rentals well above the initial asking price, according to the Stessa report.

With rising real estate prices, 70 percent of the growth of the rental market since 2009 has come from higher-income earners who might otherwise have bought a home,” they said. “And as more high earners enter or stay in the rental market, builders and developers are incentivized to provide more luxury units, which means less new stock to meet the needs of low and middle-income earners.”

Nationally, median rents rose 12.5 percent in 2022 to $1,445, up from $1,284 in 2019.

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 – Formula 1, the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), has revealed the extent of their considerable investment in their upcoming Las Vegas-based Grand Prix location, which is slated to take place in the center of the city – with the track situated partly on the Las Vegas Strip – starting in November 2023.

Formula 1 will be putting $240 million into the street-based night race as part of a multi-year deal with the city, making the event their third annual Grand Prix in the United States, following the United States Grand Prix at Austin, Texas and the Miami, Florida Grand Prix.

The $240 million that Formula 1 will be investing will be going to the acquisition of a 39-acre site in Las Vegas – located north east of East Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane – in order to build a permanent pits and paddock facility, according to Greg Maffei, CEO and President of Liberty Media, Formula 1’s commercial rights holder.

“Liberty Media did enter an agreement to acquire 39 acres east of the strip to lock in circuit design and capacity for the pits and paddock, among other hospitality and race support venues,” Maffei said at a press event last Friday.

Maffei noted that Colorado-based Liberty Media’s decision to promote the Grand Prix in Las Vegas in conjunction with local partners was driven by several factors.

“One is proximity: It’s fairly easy relatively to being in Denver to get to Vegas for us to do the work and we have knowledge of local US market relative to many other markets,” he said. “But more importantly we see the opportunity of being a promoter is a way to expand our understanding of the business, understand how to be the best F1 product on the track for other promoters as well, and to look at the opportunity to grow our knowledge and understanding and potentially promote other races down the road.”

“Vegas is going to be large and a perhaps unique opportunity so from a financial perspective we think this one sets up pretty well to be worth the time/extra focus to become the promoter,” Maffei added.

Formula 1 cars are the fastest regulated road-course racing cars in the world, and the Grand Prix races take place worldwide on both purpose-built circuits and closed public roads.

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 former Royal Links golf course is finally on its way to providing numerous affordable homes for Southern Nevada residents, having recently held its officially groundbreaking ceremony to signify that impending start of construction efforts for the eastern Las Vegas Valley-based housing tract.

Touchstone Living founder Tom McCormick, who purchased the shuttered Royal Links golf course in December 2021 for $33.7 million, said that the new housing community his company will be building – now dubbed Independence – is currently due to commence on the third quarter of 2022, initially starting with model homes to entice buyers before moving on to the proper homes they will be offering.

Already, the grass from the original golf course has been removed, with the landscape now covered with various pieces of construction equipment in anticipation of the start of work, which is expected to produce up to 1,600 homes, in addition to numerous residential amenities, such as parks, pools, and playgrounds.

Independence – located along Vegas Valley Drive east of Nellis Boulevard – is hoping to attract first-time buyers and will offer homes in the $200,000 price range; McCormick has noted there are no other projects producing new homes in Southern Nevada in such a buyer-friendly price range.

To drive home that point, those attending the groundbreaking on Monday were wearing blue-and-white Independence shirts with the slogan “why rent?” on them, touting the affordability that the new community will be offering to local residents.

In Southern Nevada, home development is predominantly carried out in suburban areas such as the southwest valley, Summerlin and Henderson; in comparison, the east valley is relatively ignored by developers, allowing the 162-acre Independence a degree of distinction among its peers.

The affordable prices that Independence will be offering for housing will run in direct contrast with the average median home price in Las Vegas, which recently hit $483,000 in March.

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 – Since a recently-passed piece of legislation – Nevada State Assembly Bill 363 – has done away with a previous ban on short-term rentals in unincorporated Clark County, officials who will eventually be tasked with overseeing the industry are asking for public opinions on potential regulations that will be implemented when rentals become legal as of July 1.

As of the first of July, short-term rental services – either independently-owned or via companies such as AirBNB or VRBO – will be allowed to offer their services in Clark County, often in the form of houses situated within normal neighborhoods. And since these neighborhoods will be directly affected by these new rentals, Clark County is asking these people for input in crafting laws and regulations that will govern the industry locally.

Many of these people have already been negatively impacted by illegal short-term rentals in their communities, many of which are leased to groups who hold loud, disruptive parties; as a result, many who have given their opinions on possible regulations are split regarding their desire to even have rentals in their neighborhoods.

District A County Commissioner Michael Naft noted that an ordinance with tentative rental regulations has been drafted, but that officials are holding regular meetings and are inviting the public to attend in order to fine-tune the laws and minimize any possible annoyances or disruptions that short-term rentals could cause for residents.

“There are a lot of voices in this conversation. There are people on every side of this issue,” Naft said. “This is about coming up with some rational common-sense ways. To do what the state required us to do.”

Some of the regulations that are expected to make it into the final version of the ordinance include hosts being required to possess business licenses; approval of a homeowners’ association in any community where rentals will be set up; a maximum of 16 people allowed in any given rental property; and for it to be illegal to utilize apartments, mobile homes or manufactured homes as rental properties.

Naft noted that it is important for local residents to voice their opinions in order to help them create a set of regulations that will ensure everyone involved is able to maintain their previous quality of life.

To see Clark County’s initial draft of their regulations governing short-term rentals, please click here.

Meanwhile, residents of Clark County are able to submit questions and comments to STRComment@ClarkCountyNV.gov.

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 city of North Las Vegas is set to be the recipient of a new 40-acre park located in the vicinity of the 215 Beltway and Revere Street, and when it’s completed the facility is slated to be one of the city’s largest parks offering a wide variety of amenities for local residents.

Tule Springs Regional Park, which will be situated between Dorrell Lane and Deer Springs Way, will take approximately two years to build, and when it is completed and open for public use, it will include numerous family-friendly features, including:

• Four baseball/softball fields
• Three soccer/multi-use fields
• A playground
• A splashpad
• Basketball courts
• Sand volleyball courts
• Trails
• Shade structures
• Restrooms

Cass Palmer, director of parks for North Las Vegas, said that Tule Springs Regional Park will have a little something for everyone, no matter what they are looking for in an outdoor recreational experience.

“Between the athletics and the play features, I think anybody of any age is going to go out there and have fun,” he said.

The construction of the park will be a welcome addition to the several new housing developments that have sprung up in recent years in North Las Vegas. Currently, residents in that area are suffering from a lack of neighboring outdoor recreational spaces, so the news of Tule Springs Regional Park will certainly be welcome, and will assist with future population growth in the area.

“Where are we now, and where do we need to be for the next 10-15 years to support the growth?” Palmer asked, adding that “desert landscaping” will be used wherever possible at Tule Springs due to the notoriously dry climate in Las Vegas.

“We’re integrating the legislative mandate for xeriscaping for all of our parks and trails. We’re anticipating the use of artificial grass in a lot of areas,” he said. “We’ve found a couple of grasses that the SNWA (Southern Nevada Water Authority) prefers. Requires less watering.”

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 – Laguna Point Properties, a multifamily investment company based out of Mission Viejo, California, has announced the purchase of two large apartment complexes in Las Vegas in an off-market transaction worth a total of $129.7 million, giving the company a large foothold in the Southern Nevada rental marketplace.

Topaz and Viridian, two apartment communities that are located adjacent to one another on West Viking Road, were part of the Laguna Point Properties deal. Topaz, constructed in 1985, offers 252 units featuring both one and two bedroom floorplans; Viridian, built in 1981, offers 456 units in the form of studios, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments.

The two Las Vegas acquisitions are part of a larger, multi-state deal on Laguna Point Properties’ part; the firm has recently spent the sum of $566 million acquiring not only the two aforementioned complexes in Nevada, but an additional five properties in Los Angeles, California and one in Jacksonville, Florida, for a grand total of 1,945 apartment units overall.

Las Vegas-based property management company Cushman & Wakefield have been tapped by Laguna Point Properties to oversee the Topaz and Viridian, whereas Greystar and ZRS Management will manage the Los Angeles and Jacksonville complexes, respectively.

According to Laguna Point Properties’ website, the company’s mission “is to opportunistically acquire and renovate class “B” and “C” multifamily assets in the Western and Southeastern United States. The typical acquisition will range from 100 to 500 units and have a price between $15 million and $70 million. The Company and its affiliates have acquired over 6,500 multifamily units, with a current portfolio of 5,200 apartment homes and a total capitalization of $758 million.”

It is currently unknown if Laguna Point Properties has any plans to renovate or make any changes to Topaz and Viridian upon taking them over.

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 – Easily ranking as one of the largest real estate sales the Las Vegas Strip has ever seen, VICI Properties Inc. announced this week that they have completed their acquisition of Las Vegas’ MGM Growth Properties LLC for $17.2 billion, which has increased the buyer’s presence on the Strip in the form of multiple hotel resorts and casinos.

The deal, which was first announced in August 2021, results in VICI Properties acquiring a large amount of Las Vegas Boulevard-based, MGM Resorts-operated properties, including Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, The Mirage, Park MGM, New York-New York, Luxor and Excalibur.

The acquisition also includes several other casinos located in other states, such as the MGM Grand Detroit and MGM National Harbor near Washington, D.C.

Overall, the merger will likely not result in any outward changes to the properties in question, as VICI will not be overseeing the day-to-day operations of the properties, but instead will merely be collecting rent from the management companies that do. While the deal includes VICI Properties assuming $5.7 billion of MGM’s debt, the company is also standing to receive over $1 billion in rent on an annual basis from their new acquisitions.

As a result of the purchase, VICI Properties is now one of the biggest property owners on Las Vegas Boulevard, with the firm now owning a whopping ten resorts on the Strip; this represents approximately 40,775 hotel rooms, 1.2 million square feet of casino space, and 5.9 million square feet of meeting and convention space.

“The addition of the MGP portfolio, together with the recent closing of our Venetian acquisition, elevates VICI to the top ranks of American four-wall [real estate investment trusts], making VICI a top-5 REIT by [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] and a top-10 REIT by enterprise value,” said VICI CEO Edward Pitoniak. “We also become the largest owner of hotel and conference real estate in America, within what we believe is the superior transparency and integrity of the Triple Net Lease model.”

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 PublicCommentCCBL@ClarkCountyNV.gov 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.