Real estate survey ranks two Las Vegas communities in top 10

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Mountain’s Edge and Providence, both developed by Las Vegas-based Focus Property Group, ranked in the top 10 master-planned communities in the United States in a survey by RCLCO, a Bethesda, Md.-based real estate advisory firm.

Mountain’s Edge, a 3,500-acre residential development in southwest Las Vegas, was certified as the No. 5 top-selling community with 644 sales in 2010, an improvement from 596 in 2009.

Providence, a 1,200-acre master plan in northwest Las Vegas, ranked No. 7 with 378 sales, down from 388 the previous year.

Mountain’s Edge and Providence ranked No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in 2009.

“It tells me what sorry shape the rest of the country is in terms of sales,” Las Vegas housing analyst Dennis Smith said Wednesday. “There’s a lot of competition, particularly for Providence. There’s a lot of pricing pressure because of that and a lot of good deals out there.”

Many builders are selling new homes for less than $100 a square foot, even less than $90 a square foot at Providence, Smith said.

The Summerlin community dominated master-plan sales for much of the late 1990s and into the 2000s, ranking No. 1 for several consecutive years. That changed as the move-up market disappeared in Las Vegas and Summerlin’s higher land basis thwarted new-home development, Smith said.

Focus Property Group Chief Executive Officer John Ritter said he was pleased with the top-10 rankings for Mountain’s Edge and Providence, given weak market conditions in Las Vegas compared with the majority of the nation.

“The continued performance by these communities is even more gratifying considering their size and that they are located in a city with a population of under 2 million compared to some projects in the survey that are much larger, with double or triple the population in their marketing regions,” Ritter said.

The Villages in Florida, an active adult community, was No. 1, and Irvine Villages in Orange County, Calif., was No. 2.

RCLCO has been releasing its top-selling master-planned community rankings since 1994.

Mountain’s Edge and Providence have consistently ranked high since making the RCLCO list. Mountain’s Edge has placed in the top five for the past six years, while Providence has ranked in the top 10 for the past five years, with four of those years in the top five.

When fully developed, Mountain’s Edge will have 14,500 residential development units, four elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. The community features the 80-acre Exploration Park with trails, picnic and play areas and outdoor amphitheater.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.