LAS VEGAS, NV – Ground was broken last Friday on a unique and pioneering affordable living apartment complex in downtown Las Vegas that caters exclusively to the needs of blind and visually impaired residents.

Dubbed “Visions Park,” the $30 million project will be located next door to the Blind Center of Nevada campus at 950 Visions Park Lane, and will feature numerous amenities to help sight-challenged tenants retain some degree of independence, including flooring that makes different kinds of noises when you walk on it in order to help blind individuals navigate, as well as special types of lighting to assist those who are visually impaired.

In order to bring this project to life, the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Clark County, and even the state of Nevada have pooled their collective resources in order to create an apartment complex that is accessible to those who rely on the resources of the Blind Center of Nevada.

In addition, the project will aid in reducing travel time and costs getting to and from the Blind Center, as currently some – such as Havander Davis, a visually impaired man who has attended the campus since he was a child – report a commute of anywhere from one to two hours every day.

This is something that blind people or even people with disabilities need, moving into a place that is already going to be accessible is going to be amazing,” Davis said.

Henderson City Councilwoman Carrie Cox, who helped make the project a reality, said that the challenges of visual impairment have affected members of her own family, making this cause a deeply personal one.

It takes a toll. I’ve had a personal experience with my own mother and seeing her sight fail her towards the end of her life,” Cox said, noting that her mother’s situation improved when she began attending the Blind Center. “And to know the difference that that made for her, there was really not a lot of options. So, this is amazing to me that the Blind Center has taken this leap to bring us all together and to make something happen for those that are visually impaired.”

Visions Park is slated to open in the beginning of 2026; there are already 300 people on the waiting list.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 cost of rent continues to be a hot button topic in Southern Nevada, with the dough tenants are handing over to their landlords each and every month increasing in some parts of the Las Vegas Valley while decreasing in others. But for renters looking to save a few bucks and find a slightly more affordable place to call home, a new study by digital marketplace Zumper sheds some light on where in Vegas they should be looking.

Out of the 100 cities in the nation that Zumper examined as a part of their report, Las Vegas came in at the 67th most expensive in terms of rent, solidifying its status as one of the more affordable places in the United States to live these days. In August, the median price of a one-bedroom apartment in Vegas was $1,210, a 0.8 percent month-over-month increase; in addition, the median price of a two-bedroom apartment in August was $1,500, remaining the same exact cost as the month before.

The Zumper report examined several areas in the Valley with very heavy rental activity – Henderson, Spring Valley, Winchester, Paradise, and the City of Las Vegas – with Paradise having the most expensive one-bedroom median rent at $1,640, followed by Henderson at $1,460, Winchester with 1,220 and the City of Las Vegas at $1,210.

In addition to having the highest median rent, Paradise also had the largest year-over-year rent increase at 9.3 percent, followed by Spring Valley with 7.5 percent. However, some other areas in the Valley examined in the report saw decreases in rent when compared to last year, with Winchester going down 10.9 percent and the City of Las Vegas dropping 3.2 percent.

In addition, the median rent in the City of Las Vegas is approximately $300 lower than the national average, according to the Zumper report.

In contrast, New York has the dubious distinction of having the highest rental prices in the entire United States, with the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan coming in at a whopping $4,500.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 – If you’re interested in buying a house in Las Vegas and are starting from scratch when it comes to saving for a down payment, a new study indicates that it could take over 17 years for the average person to accumulate enough dough to ensure they have an affordable monthly mortgage payment, given the conditions of the 2024 housing market.

According to Zillow, the median household income in the Las Vegas Valley is $77,502, and the average home there is worth $427,509; in order to be able to “comfortably” afford a monthly mortgage payment, the average family would need to have a down payment of $198,306.

With that in mind, if an average household were to sock away 10 percent of their income each and every month, it would take them 17.6 years to save that amount. That period of time represents a decrease from its peak – which was 20 years of saving in 2022 – and an increase of 3.3 percent from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy noted that the current issues that many families are facing when it comes to the affordability of housing is forcing them to remain as renters for the time being, although relief may be coming in the form of an expected home value drop by as much as 1.2 percent over the next 12 months.

(This) reflects a market where more listings are coming onto the market, and staying there for longer, than previously anticipated,” he said. “Many homeowners are breaking free of rate lock, cashing in on massive appreciation of their property, and moving on with their lives. Meanwhile, would-be buyers are struggling with monthly mortgage costs that have more than doubled since pre-pandemic times.”

This situation is exasperated in Las Vegas, Divounguy said, due to the fact that the local real estate market remains much more competitive when compared to much of the nation.

Home value appreciation (in Las Vegas) has been stronger than the national average over the last year, partly because housing demand has kept up with the increase in supply,” he said. “While new listings are now up 23 percent compared to a year ago, total for sale inventory is just 3.5 percent higher than in May 2023. Although momentum has shifted somewhat, Las Vegas remains in a bigger hole than the nation in terms of available inventory, compared to normal, pre-pandemic levels.”

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association (SNHBA), the Las Vegas Valley – in the span of as little as eight years – could potentially run out of land upon which to develop housing, a serious situation that the organization said needs to be addressed sooner than later to avoid issues in the future.

SNHBA CEO Tina Frias noted that the eight-year timeframe – based on data supplied by a company called Applied Analysis – necessitates government action to free up additional federal desert lands to develop in order to keep Southern Nevada’s housing supply on par with the current level of supply and demand.

At the end of the day, from a homebuilding perspective, we need more land,” Frias said. “So, it’s important for us to have the land to develop in the first place.”

According to officials, the federal government currently owns 88 percent of the land in Clark County, with over half of that property – 2.6 million acres – managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A BLM spokesperson said that the 1998 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act Mandated the federal agency to sell select plots of public land within the Las Vegas Valley, and so far nearly 44,000 acres have been sold or leased, with an additional 27,000 acres still pending.

In an effort to do away with the bureaucracy that some say is the cause behind the difficulties in accessing land for development in Southern Nevada, Governor Joe Lombardo recently endorsed a bill called the Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act in an effort to cut through the red tape and get the feds to release more land in the region for badly-needed home construction.

Nevada families deserve access to attainable housing – and that begins with eliminating governmental barriers to development,” Lombardo said.

According to Redfin, the current median sale price of an existing single-family home in the Las Vegas Valley has jumped 9.2 percent year-over-year alone, driven by low inventory and high demand; opening up more land for development, experts say, would help lower home prices in the long run and make the housing market more affordable.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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.

Painted Desert

Painted Desert is a guard-gated, master-planned golf course community on the northwest side of the Las Vegas Valley, located just west of the I95 and south of Ann Road. It began development in 1987 and was completed in 2003.

Painted Desert features a variety of homes, villas, and condominiums – 1,600 in all, ranging in size from 1,022 to 5,231 square feet – spread out over 460 acres. Painted Desert is considered one of the more affordable golf-based communities with a wide array of amenities that are ideal for individuals or families who wish to enjoy the feel of living on an actual golf course.

As of March 2024, the median price of an existing single-family home in Painted Desert was $427,250, which represents a year-over-year increase of 19.7 percent. To date in 2024, 16 homes have been sold, with the median number of days on the market being 66.

The main draw of living in this community is the Painted Desert Golf Club, which was among the first of the desert-style golf courses designed in the Las Vegas area; in addition to being considered one of the best-maintained in all of Nevada, it also features fine dining options for residents and guests. A majority of the homes in Painted Desert feature breathtaking views of the course, which boasts a desert motif juxtaposed with luxurious vegetation.

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Residents of Painted Desert are located in the Northwest region of Las Vegas, and thus have easy access to a number of shopping plazas with highly rated restaurants, such as the upscale Centennial Hills community. There are also a number of casino-resorts nearby, including the Santa Fe Station Casino, Rampart Casino, Suncoast Hotel & Casino, and Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa. In addition, the famed Las Vegas Strip is less than a 30-minute drive away as well.

Nature-lovers are also catered to, with Painted Desert located nearby to the Red Rock Canyon area, the 2,000-acre Floyd Lamb State Park, and Mount Charleston, which offers hiking, rock climbing, camping, snowboarding and skiing. Also in proximity is the Clark County Shooting Complex – the biggest outdoor shooting facility in the country at 2,900 acres – that features trap, skeet, sporting clays and 5-stand shooting, in addition to firearm classes and rentals.

The health-related needs of Painted Desert residents are served by a number of local-area medical facilities, such as Centennial Hills Hospital and MountainView Hospital.

As for schooling, Painted Desert is served by the Clark County School District and features access to some of the highest-rated institutions in Las Vegas, including Dean La Mar Allen Elementary School, Justice Myron E. Leavitt STEM-focused Middle School, and Centennial High School. Also in the vicinity are numerous private schools as well, such as Northwest Career & Technical Academy, SpringStone Lakes Montessori School, and Spring Valley Montessori School.

If you’re someone with a penchant for golf and are on the lookout for a high-end and beautiful place to live situated near a variety of amenities, Painted Desert may be just what you’re looking for.

If you are considering relocating in or around the Painted Desert area, our company would be delighted to help you find your way or pick the best place to settle in or find your dream home. Please give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Two developers – Cherry Development and Schulman Properties – have pitched two separate mixed-use apartment complexes for the downtown Las Vegas area that, when completed, will produce almost 400 units in an effort to address the housing shortage in the city.

Based in Las Vegas, Cherry Development is slated to hold their official ground-breaking later in March on their delayed $27 million shareDOWNTOWN project – originally slated to open in June 2020 – which is located on 1.2 acres of city-owned land at 1100 D Street, the former location of the Greater New Jerusalem Church.

In order for the developer to keep the project costs low and, in turn, keep tenant rent at affordable levels, the city is selling the land to Cherry Development for just $6. When completed, shareDOWNTOWN – which is catering to individuals who work in Las Vegas and who wish to reside near its downtown area – will take the form of a five-story building with 104 one-bedroom apartments, each one approximately 500-square-feet in size. It will feature 20 units going for the current market rate, and 84 units with rent caps determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

shareDOWNTOWN will offer a business center, a fitness center, a community kitchen, a co-working area with private conference room and an outdoor courtyard. In addition, there will also be a retail component on the ground floor, mainly consisting of restaurants and other assorted eateries, as well as an 8,400-square-foot shop.

The other project – Schulman Properties’ six story, $115 million Ilumina Midtown, located near Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway – targets a different demographic in the city, as it will offer 275 luxury apartments ranging in size from 600 to 1,800 square feet. It will also have numerous high-end amenities for its tenants, including a 4,000 square-foot restaurant, a 40,000 square-foot health club, a gym, a pool, sports courts and a co-working area.

Ilumina Midtown is currently pending approval by the Las Vegas Planning Commission in April; if given the go-ahead, development is anticipated to begin in spring of 2025, with completion expected in either the summer or fall of 2026.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 Property Management specializes 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 per a new report released by Zillow, in the Las Vegas Valley rents showed a distinct decline to kick off 2024, with experts saying now is a good time to be looking for an affordable new apartment in the city.

As per Zillow’s January rental market report, 16 major metropolitan areas in the United States saw a decrease in the average rental asking price at the beginning of the year; among those 16 was Las Vegas, where the average January rent was $1,745, which represents a 0.3 percent decrease from December 2023.

Senior Zillow economist Orphe Divounguy noted that there are several factors in Las Vegas that are contributing to lower rents – such as a cooling job market – resulting in landlords lowering their rates and offering additional perks in order to entice new tenants to sign on the dotted line.

It’s not a bad time to find a new apartment in Las Vegas. Rents are relatively soft right now, annual growth is just $33, and a slight monthly decline is the sixth largest among major metros,” he said. “Concessions offered by landlords, such as free rent or parking, are on the upswing too, and are now offered for nearly 40 percent of Zillow’s local rental listings. But the surge in rents in 2021 and 2022 means they’re now $400 more expensive than before the pandemic.”

Despite Zillow’s report noting the rental decrease in the aforementioned 16 major metropolitan areas in the country, the overall average rent in the United States is nonetheless 29 percent higher than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with average increases over the last four years of 7 percent annually. In contrast, prior before the pandemic took hold of the nation, the average yearly rental increase rate was 5.5 percent.

Aside from Las Vegas’ 0.3 percent decrease from December, the highest drops in rent in the country were in Austin, Texas (0.5 percent), San Diego (0.4 percent), Buffalo, New York, (0.4 percent) and Riverside, California (0.3 percent).

In addition, experts note that there is less of an incentive for renters to buy homes these days, due to the fact that house prices are increasing at a much faster rate than rent; given the current stability in the rental market, many are saying that is much more feasible to remain a tenant for the time being as opposed to a homeowner.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 Property Management specializes 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 – Multiple parcels of land in the Las Vegas Valley, totaling 589 acres, have been sold by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands – for the impressive sum of $93 million. 

BLM had previously announced that they would be auctioning off some of their land in the Las Vegas Valley this past July, with the federal agency being allowed to do so thanks to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998. 

While the majority of the parcels sold were relatively small in size, one parcel was particularly large – coming in at 505 acres and located east of Red Rock Canyon and West of Interstate 215 – and was purchased by Las Vegas real estate developer Lawrence Canarelli for $55 million. 

While Canarelli has not publicly stated what he intends to use the land for, experts note that due to its large size and how other properties in the area have been utilized in recent years, it will most likely be utilized for housing projects. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management issued a press release announcing that the property sold was acquired by its new respective owners by way of a “competitive” online auction process. 

The sale of this public land within a congressionally-designated disposal boundary will generate funding to enhance recreation opportunities, promote species and habitat conservation and reduce the threat of wildfire in locations across the state,” the release said. 

BLM noted that 85 percent of the proceeds from the sale will be utilized mainly for projects to benefit the public, such as developing parks and trails as well as federal land capital improvements, purchasing land encountering environmental issues, landscape restoration projects, and the reduction of hazardous fuels. In addition, 5 percent will go towards the Nevada General Education Fund and the remaining 10 percent will go to the Southern Nevada Water Authority. 

An additional 225-acre parcel of land that was originally slated to be included in this auction will be put up for sale at a later date, according to the BLM, which currently owns 48 million acres in Nevada, or approximately 67 percent of the state.

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 – Realtors in Las Vegas are beginning to show serious concern over a growing trend that eerily reflects market conditions prior to the mid-2000s recession; back then, it was Wall Street packaging risky subprime mortgages into mortgage-backed securities.  

Fast-forward to today, and Las Vegas Realtor Noah Herrera says that Wall Street is back at it again in a slightly different fashion, purchasing as many homes in the valley as they can, renting them out in what some allege is a “predatory” fashion, and packaging them as rental-backed securities. 

Wall Street is destroying Main Street…again,” Herrera said. “And it’s kind of hard to stomach because at the end of the day, this is capitalism.” 

Herrera Isn’t the only one expressing these concerns; reports indicate that many real estate agents based in the Las Vegas Valley are chiming in on multi billion dollar Wall Street hedge funds and investors snapping up homes left and right, pushing everyday homebuyers out of the market with what many are referring to as “aggressive buying and rental tactics.” 

In Clark County alone, 80,000 single-family homes are owned by investors and hedge funds, which represents approximately 14 percent of the 563,000 homes within its borders. In addition, almost 10 percent of all home purchases within Clark County since 1988 had been made by Wall Street, reports say, and about 13 percent of all single-family home sales in the county since 2012 were made by investors. 

Wall Street home purchases in the Las Vegas Valley hit their highest level in 2021, making up approximately 18 percent of all sales; home purchases by investors swelled even higher in other parts of Southern Nevada, reaching as high as 20 percent in some regions. 

According to Shawn McCoy, director of UNLV’s Lied Center for Real Estate, many of these homes being snapped up over the decades by Wall Street never again hit the market. 

Since 1988, 77 percent of homes that were purchased by investors were never sold again, suggesting that roughly three quarters of homes that are purchased by investors are held as long-term rentals,” McCoy said. 

Las Vegas Realtor Steve Hawks said this situation has the effect of pricing out local buyers and results in a large portion of local Las Vegas housing inventory being owned not by residents, but by out-of-state investors. 

Wall Street hedge funds have completely destroyed the traditional real estate cycle and industry as we know it,” he said. “For example, entry-level buyers no longer have access to affordable entry-level homes. People wanting to downsize no longer see it worthwhile to downsize due to the lack of entry-level homes under $500,000.” 

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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 – During the mid-2000s recession, numerous families lost their homes to the dreaded malady of foreclosure. And while the housing market has obviously improved significantly since those days, experts are noting that the number of foreclosures nationwide is starting on an upward trajectory once again, with Las Vegas being considered as currently having the highest number of them. 

However, it’s not time to panic just yet, as the current level of foreclosures aren’t even close to approaching those seen during the recession; however, a new report from Attom Data does provide some sobering insight into the current state of the real estate industry, with both Las Vegas and Nevada as a whole placing prominently in it. 

According to Attom Data’s real estate market data analysis, approximately one in every 2,200 homes in Nevada is currently in a state of foreclosure, which is currently the highest rate out of any other state in the country. 

Las Vegas itself ranks 4th in the country among metropolitan areas with over 200,000 residents, with about one in 1,800 homes in foreclosure; the city also ranks first among metropolitan areas with over one million inhabitants. 

However, real estate experts are not sounding the alarm yet, because this is a situation that was anticipated for numerous reasons, the main being that pandemic-era mortgage moratoriums are no longer in effect after a sustained period of time when they were in force following COVID-19 related job losses.  

Current issues caused by the economy and inflation are also contributing to families having difficulty meeting their monthly home payments. 

However, experts note that there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel, as the Federal Reserve appears to be almost done with the rate hikes they’ve been imposing in order to curb inflation and avoid a potential recession. With that being the case, it is most likely that mortgage rates will start to decrease back to more affordable levels, which should prove to be a large boon to the housing market.  

In the meantime, if you are having difficulty making your housing payments, foreclosure may not be your first option; it is recommended that you look into any programs that your local government or municipality may offer to assist you. 

Shelter Realty Property Management specializes 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.