Recent boom in Las Vegas is in housing, not casinos

“People either love Las Vegas or they hate it,” said former Chicagoan Stephanie Bryson. “Personally, I think it’s a great place to live.”

Tired of shoveling snow, she headed here a year ago and bought a condominium at Summerlin, a master-planned development in the Las Vegas Valley.

Bryson, a registered nurse, has joined the multitude of home buyers who have made Las Vegas one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation, propelling its population to 1.6 million from about 500,000 in 1985. Projections call for 2 million by 2010.

The city’s housing boom was sparked in large part by a new wave of casino and hotel construction that started with the Mirage in the late 1980s. It was followed by Excalibur, Treasure Island, MGM Grand, Luxor, New York New York, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Paris, Venetian and others.

Last year, new-home sales at the 280 active subdivisions in the Las Vegas area topped 22,500, twice the number sold in 1992.

Just as the big-name shows on the Strip are no longer super-bargains, so too the town’s relatively low-cost housing has become more expensive.

The median price of a new home topped $200,000 for the first time in April as a result of strong demand and low inventory, according to SalesTraq. The median price of a resale home increased to $163,000.

“Despite these higher prices, homes still look inexpensive to buyers coming from California, New York and Illinois,” said Lee Venable, Las Vegas division president of Kimball Hill Homes, headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows.

He noted that property taxes also are comparatively low, averaging about $1,000 a year on a $200,000 home. And Nevada levies no state income tax.

Cost is less of a concern in the upper-bracket housing market. Singer Celine Dion bought a $1.2-million house at Lake Las Vegas, one of the region’s expensive enclaves. She plans to live there during her three-year run at Caesars Palace.

Situated 17 miles south of the Strip in Henderson, Lake Las Vegas is a mixed-use development that includes Hyatt and Ritz-Carlton hotels, three golf courses, more than 200 homes and a 320-acre private lake. There also is a new gambling operation, Casino MonteLago.

One of Henderson’s 13 subdivisions is Vila di Lago, a gated community that overlooks the lake and a golf course. Three local townhouses, ranging in price from $850,000 to $1 million, were dubbed the New American Home and displayed during the National Assn. of Home Builders annual convention in Las Vegas in January.

Most housing in Las Vegas, however, is in a much more affordable range. Most residences are low-rise, with stucco walls in desert sand colors and red-tile roofs. Single-family homes typically have private backyards with solid 6-foot fences.

With only 4 inches of rainfall a year, the area sports few green lawns. Most homeowners opt for desert landscaping, usually a mix of rocks and cactus.

Venable noted that retirement housing accounts for 18% of the growth in Las Vegas.

“This is an ideal place for retirees,” he said. “It has outdoor recreation, including golf and water sports, and gaming is another activity.”

Flying over Las Vegas gives the impression that it is surrounded by an unlimited supply of desert for future development. Surprisingly, builders are worried about running out of land.

“Land is an issue,” Venable said. “Most of it is federal. All the big tracts are owned by the government.” This has created an artificial shortage, he added.

“The Bureau of Land Management periodically auctions off property, and that drives up the cost,” he said. Venable noted that land prices have increased from $90,000 an acre in 1995 to as much as $250,000 an acre now.

“Projections are that we have six to eight years of land left,” he said. “But I feel that will expand to many more years.”

One way to conserve land is to build up. So far, though, the only high-rise condos are near the Strip. One of the new projects is Turnberry Place, which is to have four 40-story towers. Two are finished, one is under construction and the last one is expected to go up by 2005.

Prices for 1,550- to 8,000-square-foot tower units range from $500,000 to $5.2 million. Amenities include a private club and balconies with views of the Strip, the valley and distant mountains.

Although a neighborhood that attracts 35 million visitors a year may not sound like the ideal place for a residence, Bryson is pleased with the town’s image. “Some of the Sin City stuff still exists, but

After buying a condo, Bryson liked the area so much that she purchased a new single-family home in Summerlin, the 35-square-mile fledgling community where the Howard Hughes Corp. plans 30 villages.

She expects to move into her new residence, built by Pulte Homes, in September. She is buying an 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom home for $250,000.

While Las Vegas swelters in 100-degree daytime temperatures from June through September, “the rest of the year is beautiful,” said Nikki Liesse, operations and marketing coordinator for Centex Homes. “There’s a huge emphasis on outdoor living here. Indoor fireplaces are out of fashion, but outdoor fireplaces in the patio are in. Water features, such as waterfalls and pools, are popular in backyards.”

Houses have open floor plans and fewer formal rooms, according to Liesse. “In this great-room concept, there is no definition between rooms.”

Centex is building mainly in the northwest part of the valley, “where land is available and where prices are affordable,” Liesse said. Residences range in size from 1,213 to 3,060 square feet and in base price from $130,000 to $260,000.