LAS VEGAS, NV – On Tuesday, the end of an era was marked as the Tropicana Las Vegas – one of the oldest remaining vanguards of the iconic Sin City hotel-casinos of the Rat Pack era – closed its doors for business two days prior to its 67^th anniversary, with the structure slated to be imploded later this year to make way for a new stadium for the newly-arriving Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball (MLB) team.

Originally, casino operator Bally’s Corp. had announced that play in the casino would cease at 3 a.m. Tuesday, but in reality, workers had begun breaking down many of the table games at around midnight; the slot machines had already been decommissioned several days prior, and most of the food outlets and restrooms were already closed.

One of the few remaining bars open in the Tropicana, Chill’m, was inundated with customers that evening – including bloggers, YouTubers and influencers – where they celebrated the closing of the iconic hotel-casino with a champagne toast at approximately 1:30 a.m.

In April of 1957, the Tropicana opened with 300 rooms, and had ties to organized crime; today, in its current form, the resort features 1,470-rooms, 50,000 square-feet of gaming floor space, and 72,000 square-feet of convention and exhibit space.

In April 2021, Bally’s entered a deal to acquire the Tropicana from Gaming and Leisure Properties in a deal valued at $308 million. Later, the Athletics’ ownership reached an agreement with Bally’s Corp. and the owner of the resort casino’s underlying land, Vici Properties, to purchase the property for the MLB team’s proposed new $1.5 billion ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.

The A’s new home is slated to take the form of a 33,000-seat retractable roof stadium, with the team expected to play their first season in 2028.

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 – January 2024 saw the second-highest number of luxury home sales in Las Vegas ever, proving that high-end residence sales in Southern Nevada are still going strong – and picking up steam – despite whatever challenges are encountered by the national real estate market overall in light of high inflation and mortgage rates.

In all, 102 homes and condominiums priced at $1 million and higher exchange hands last month, an amount eclipsed only by the current record-holding year of January 2022, during which 122 abodes in that price range were sold. The next two highest months in Las Vegas history were January 2021, when 86 luxury sales took place, and January 2023, when 76 were sold.

January’s luxury home sales in Vegas were bolstered by a number of expensive purchases, topped by the sale of an estate in Summerlin’s affluent The Summit Club community for a whopping $19 million. This home, acquired by Insight Tech Holdings NV LLC – a buyer from Asia – from Chambord Revocable Trust with Michael L. and M’Lissa M. Gravelle listed as trustees, was an all-cash deal.

The home, located on Stardust Drive, was originally built in 2020 and subsequently renovated in 2021; it features four bedrooms and 4.5 baths in a residence with an “ultra-modern design” that offers 7,908 square-feet of living space. Situated on a 1.37-acre plot of land, the property also boasts a pool and unobstructed views of the famed Las Vegas Strip.

The second highest-priced home that was sold in Vegas in January was a two-story residence in McDonald Highlands in Henderson for $8.45 million. Built in 2022, renovated in 2023, and located on a 0.3-acre plot of land on Tranquil Rim Court, the 7,373 square-foot home has five bedrooms, five full baths, two partial baths, and a six-car garage. Amenities include a movie theater, bar, game room, wine cellar, and elevator.

The third-highest luxury sale in Las Vegas in January was $7.3 million for a Southern Highlands home, followed by a home in The Ridges in Summerlin for $5.76 million.

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

LAS VEGAS, NV – The recent drought of affordable housing options in Las Vegas can be contributed to a number of different reasons, but a new report indicates one of the factors affecting the situation is the large number of California residents relocating to Nevada that have been outcompeting state residents for housing for some time now.

Bob Cleveland, President and Chief Executive Officer for the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Southern Nevada, noted that Californians have been outbidding Nevadans for homes in the Las Vegas Valley for several decades now. The situation was exasperated even further starting in 2022 when the Federal Reserve began increasing interest rates in order to curb record-high national inflation.

I hate to say it but it’s California, and that’s me growing up in the construction industry and I used to work for a builder,” he said. “During the first boom that we had, I was the area manager for the Northwest and we would release a section of homes at 3 o’clock in the morning and there would be a line of people and almost all of them would be from California. And you had to put down $20,000 cash deposit just to get on the list to buy these houses.”

Over the course of the last several decades, Californians have comprised approximately one-third of all new residents moving to Nevada, with the vast majority of those transplants coming from Los Angeles.

When it comes to Californians edging out Nevadans on the housing market, the edge that the former holds is clear; according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Los Angeles is $83,000, in contrast to just $66,000 in the Las Vegas Valley. In addition, the average price of a home in Los Angeles is approximately $900,000, as opposed to just $400,000 in Southern Nevada.

It’s these circumstances that Cleveland says creates an enormously unfair advantage for California residents when it comes to competing for affordable housing in the Las Vegas Valley.

Our income is just not on par with California’s income,” he said. “So our housing prices have gone up because of the influx of California money, and our income hasn’t been going up so it makes it hard for the average Joe to keep up.”

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 by Zillow, Las Vegas residents need to be earning nearly $70,000 a year to be able to afford rent in the valley, an amount that is currently higher than the median household income. The current rental asking price comes in at $1,745, a 1.9 percent year-over-year increase and a whopping 34 percent jump since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the median annual income for a household in the Las Vegas Valley was $66,356; experts note that dollar amount has not risen by any significant degree in subsequent years due to decreased national wage growth.

In early 2021, the average household needed to be bringing in $52,000 a year to afford rent, meaning that the Las Vegas Valley has experienced the 15th largest increase of all major metro areas in the country.

Rent is typically considered “affordable” if it is takes up less than 30 percent of your monthly income. Rental rates in the Las Vegas Valley actually dropped slightly at the beginning of 2024.

Senior public relations specialist with Zillow, Mark Stayton, notes that the Las Vegas Valley is currently in an unusual situation where the number of units to rent and rental rates are both increasing.

The vacancy rate, which is seasonally adjusted, in Vegas is 9 percent, and has risen by 2.5 percentage points over the course of the pandemic,” he said. “that’s the 12th largest hike among the 50 largest U.S. metros by population.”

However, Skylar Oslen, the chief economist at Zillow and author of the company’s January rental report, predicts that rental rates should start going down across the country in 2024 due to the record levels of apartment construction that is currently underway.

Softer rent growth is ultimately good news for today’s renters who have faced significant financial strain from both general and rent inflation throughout the pandemic,” she said. “With wage growth now slower, but still persistent, rent affordability, the share of a typical household’s income that would go to market rate asking rent, stabilized over the past year at 29 percent. That’s down a percentage point from the record high set in June 2022.”

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 Super Bowl LVIII attracting thousands upon thousands of sports fans to Las Vegas – where the big game is being hosted on February 11 at Allegiant Stadium – police have announced that they will be cracking down on loud and rowdy parties at short-terms rentals this weekend, and are asking the public to contact them to report any disturbances in their neighborhoods.

Super Bowl LVIII will determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2023 season. A rematch of Super Bowl LIV, it will be played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

In response to community concerns about disruptive parties at short term-rentals during the Super Bowl, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has been passing out flyers urging the public to contact them if they are experiencing any issues this weekend.

It’s almost Super Bowl weekend and we need your help,” the flyer reads, a copy of which was shared by authorities on X (formerly Twitter). “Please report large parties at short term rentals in your neighborhood. See flyer on how to report them. Thank you!”

The flyer states that the “LVMPD needs your help to report chronic nuisance or party homes in your neighborhood.” Residents are asked to call 911 to report “active emergencies or crimes” taking place, and 311 if they think that police “need to be aware of suspicious or nuisance behavior,” including large and disruptive parties. Service requests can also be filed at www.lvmpd.com, and anonymous online tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Nevada at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

If you are aware of a problem or a party house in your community, we want to know about it,” the flyer says.

The crackdown on short term rentals by police comes in the wake of the city of Las Vegas starting to impose large fines on unlicensed renters; recently, the city imposed a $180,000 penalty upon the owner of an Airbnb who they say was operating without the required license.

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 Super Bowl slated to take place in Las Vegas this year, experts are predicting that the elite event – which will be attracting sports fans from across the nation, and perhaps even the world – will result in the highest hotel average daily rate (ADR) for any host city in Super Bowl history.

Super Bowl LVIII, the championship game of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2023 season, is scheduled to be played on February 11, 2024 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. A rematch of Super Bowl LIV, it will be played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

With that being the case, the rental market’s ADR in Las Vegas is projected to reach $573 between the days of February 9 through 11, the highest level out of any Super Bowl weekend in history. The reason for such a surge in prices is clear when you look at the statistics- it is currently anticipated that the rental market in Vegas – from Friday through Sunday night on Super Bowl weekend – will reach a whopping occupancy rate of 87.9 percent, and that level of demand naturally has a significant effect on pricing.

The ADR of $573 – combined with the projected occupancy rate of 87.9 percent – would equate to a revenue per available room (RevPAR) rate of $504. This would result in not only the highest level of demand in Super Bowl history, but also one of the highest for any sporting event in the history of Sin City itself; for example, the Formula One Vegas Grand Prix – held in November 2023 from a Thursday through Saturday period – resulted in an ADR of $502 a RevPAR of $390.

The current record holder for the highest Super Bowl ADR and RevPAR level is Miami, and one of the main reasons that Las Vegas is expected to overtake that record this February is due to the fact that the city has over twice the number of hotels (393) and rooms (172,707) available when compared to the Floridian city.

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 – 2023 saw an impressive number of condominium sales in Las Vegas, with the highest-priced property that exchanged hands last year taking place courtesy of Mark Davis, the owner of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team, who sold off his condo located in Summerlin’s affluent The Summit Club for a cool $10.5 million.

Davis – who had originally listed the condo for $13.5 million – purchased the 2,862-square-foot unit in March 2021 for $5.3 million, making the sale price a substantial return on his initial investment.

Clark County property records lists Stay Away LLC as the buyer of the two-story condo, which boasts two bedrooms, two three-quarter baths, one half bath, a great room with a fireplace, a large kitchen, and a balcony.

Davis made the decision to sell his condo because he wanted to be closer to West Henderson, where the Raiders’ headquarters is located. At the time of the listing, he reportedly stated he realized he would be unable to see the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium from The Summit Club abode, which was “starting to drive me crazy.”

Davis currently has a $14 million home under construction at 77 Sunset Strip in the Henderson hillsides of Ascaya, where he plans to reside full-time.

The 15,000-square-foot Ascaya residence is being developed by luxury builder Blue Heron on a 6.3-acre plot of land that Davis purchased for $6 million. The three-story home is being built so that it resembles Allegiant Stadium – of which it will have unobstructed views – with the upper floor being patterned after the bridge of a ship.

Following Davis’ condominium, the number two condo sale in Las Vegas for 2023 was an $8 million tie between a 6,401-square-foot penthouse at Turnberry Place and a 3,922-square-foot condo at the Waldorf Astoria on the Las Vegas Strip.

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 – A California-based developer is planning to construct a $380 million mixed-use sports, entertainment, and retail facility in Las Vegas, with Agora Realty & Management having recently closed on financing and land purchases at the former site of two Las Vegas casinos in order to bring the project to life.

Plans for the upcoming facility including housing, retail, and the a professional-grade public ice rink, which will be managed by the NHL‘s Golden Knights, who play at the Las Vegas Strip’s T-Mobile Arena and won this year’s Stanley Cup championship.

The 73-acre project is slated to be called Hylo Park and will be located in North Las Vegas at the intersection of Rancho Road and Lake Mead Boulevard. It will be made up of 1300 residential units, a retail center anchored by a supermarket, and many sports and entertainment aspects that will be added in a number of construction phases.

The main attraction of the project – and the aspect the rest of the facility will be built around – is Champion Square, which will be a sports village and public plaza that will include the public ice rink, as well as practice facilities that can be utilized by youth and amateur hockey and skating leagues.

The idea behind the project is to capitalize on Las Vegas’ rising profile as a sports destination following the recent influx of transplanted major sports teams and events to the region, including NHL, NFL, MLB, and Formula One racing.

Agora Realty CEO Cary Lefton said in a statement that the extensive sporting attractions at Champion Square would appeal to both the local Las Vegas community as well as traveling sports teams, and stands to be a “lucrative traffic generator” for surrounding restaurants and businesses.

From our longstanding work with North Las Vegas we knew that the city needed more housing and community services for its growing population,” he said. “We also recognized an opportunity to leverage the draw of Las Vegas’ fast-growing sports industry.”

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.

LAS VEGAS, NV – According to a new report, the prices of homes in the Las Vegas valley experienced a small increase during the month of October – which is usually the opposite of established norms during the fall season – while both sales and the number of listings currently on the market slowed slightly. 

As per industry group Las Vegas Realtors, in October the median price of an existing single-family home that was sold in Southern Nevada was $449,000, representing a 2.6 percent increase from September and an 18.3 percent increase year-over-year.  

One of the main factors that experts cite for the rise in home prices during what is normally considered an off season can be attributed to the lower number of listings currently available in the Valley, which is pushing the average list price for a home up. 

The number of available home listings last month was down 38 percent when compared to October 2022 and down 0.9 percent from September 2023, as per the Multiple Listings Service.  In addition, the number of homes sold in October also decreased from September by 6.7 percent and 1.5 percent year-over-year.  

All told, $922 million in homes traded hands in the Las Vegas Valley last month. 

Due to these and other issues currently impacting the industry – including record high inflation and increased interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to get that financial malady under control – Las Vegas Realtors President Lee Barrett noted that the real estate scene in Southern Nevada is going to be experiencing a few tough months. 

The historically tight housing supply we’ve been dealing with this year, along with the cyclical patterns we see almost every year around this time, seem to be propping up prices,” Barrett said. “We usually see home prices and sales cool down a bit along with the weather as we head into the fall and winter. We’ll see how these traditional trends play out this year. Higher interest rates and a smaller housing supply are playing a bigger role than in past years.” 

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.