New Las Vegas mansions draw celebrities

Oakland Raiders President Marc Badain and two YouTube sensations are among the high-profile buyers of the 20 highest priced newly constructed luxury homes closed in 2019.

Badain bought a $2.13-million home in Southern Highlands, not far from where the Raiders’ practice facility will be in Henderson when the team relocates to Las Vegas in 2020.

Famous video gamers Alia Shelesh, who goes by SSSniperwolf, and Evan Young, known as Evan Sausage, bought a $2.9-million home in MacDonald Highlands.

Some of those other top buyers include California residents, an MGM Resorts International executive, off-road racer, the president of a construction equipment rental company and doctors.

MacDonald Highlands in Henderson was the dominant player at the top end of the luxury new-home construction market with the top four highest-priced new homes closed during the first six months of the year and eight of the top 20.

Five of the top 20 highest-priced new home closings were in Summerlin, four were in Southern Highlands, and there was one each in Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, the Henderson hills and the southwest valley.

William Lyon Homes with five led the way in the top 20 with four in Silver Ridge in Summerlin and one in Lake Las Vegas.

Christopher Homes had four town homes in MacDonald Highlands in the top 20 and Lennar Homes had three in Olympia Ridge in Southern Highlands.

1. The most expensive new semi-custom home closed in 2019 was for $3.99 million in MacDonald Highlands at 661 Falcon Cliff Court to Falcon Cliff LLC, which is listed as a Delaware corporation according to Clark County records that doesn’t list the owner’s name.

It measures 7,500 square feet and contains six bedrooms and seven baths, according to public records.

“The buyer (a California business executive) put a $1 million in upgrades,” said Kristen Routh-Silberman, MacDonald Highlands master listing agent and a Realtor with Synergy|Sotheby’s International Realty. “It’s really cool. It has a lot of artificial intelligence and smart-home features. The theater is phenomenal and there’s super upgraded audio visual.”

The home was part of the Richard Luke Five Star Collection at MacDonald Highlands that held the top four positions on the list, and this particular home was built by Unique Custom Homes, Silberman said.

The Richard Luke luxury homes, which are a group of 20 and constructed by five different builders, debuted in December. They are single- and two-story homes that range from 5,000 square feet to 7,000 square feet with listing prices of $3 million to $5 million, Routh-Silberman said. Eighteen homes of the 20 have been either closed or under contract, and there are plans to add another 15 to 20 that will be announced in the fall.

The homes feature pocket walls and open concept designs, Routh-Silberman said. They have theaters, game rooms, wine bars, offices and a wine cellar. There’s also infinity-edge pools. The homes have 15-foot ceilings, European flooring and contemporary counterparts, she said.

“We have done our research of who the buyer is, what they want and the price point, and we have the knock-out views,” Routh-Silberman said. “You couldn’t sell them fast enough.”

The next three Richard Luke homes that were sold were for $3.3 million and $3 million and $2.9 million.

2. Clark County records show the $3.3-million home was purchased by Gerald and Yvonne Conrad of Costa Mesa, California.

3. Records show Jeffrey Ward of Del Mar, California, bought the $3-million home.

4. The $2.9-million home was bought by a famous YouTube couple. The home is listed under the Red Channel Living Trust and Evan Young Trust, according to Clark County and state records. It measures 5,000 square feet and has three bedrooms and four baths.

Shelesh talked about her new home on You Tube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-s2CorLWws

5. Next on the list at No. 5 following the MacDonald Highlands sales was a home built by Jewel Homes in the south valley in Enterprise for $2.9 million on behalf of George Kliavkoff, president of Entertainment &Sports for MGM Resorts International.

6. A home in Southern Highlands built by Paragon Homes was sold to off-road racer Bryce Menzies for $2.69 million. It has six bedrooms and 5½ baths and measures 6,726 square feet.

7. Pardee Homes was No. 7 with a home it built in its Axis subdivision in Henderson for $2.5 million.

8. Toll Brothers came in at No. 8 in Granite Heights in Summerlin priced at $2.25 million.

9. Lennar built a $2.14-million home in Olympia Ridge in Southern Highlands.

10. Raiders’ Badain and his wife, Amy, purchased No. 10 on the list a $2.13-million home in Olympia Ridge in Southern Highlands.

Lennar also had the 16th ranked home at Olympia Ridge valued at $1.87 million.

Nos. 11 to 13 were three William Lyon Homes — $2.05 and $2.04 million in Silver Ridge in Summerlin and $2 million at Lago Vista at Lake Las Vegas.

William Lyon also had the No.18 and No. 20 homes on the list at Silver Ridge priced just above $1.8 million.

Christopher Homes had four on the list falling between 14th and 19th. It’s part of their Vu collection of town homes at MacDonald Highlands. Those are priced between $1.8 million and $1.99 million.

Don Ahern, president and chief executive of Ahern Rentals who recently bought the shuttered Lucky Dragon casino, was one of the Vu buyers for $1.89 million at 407 Tranquil Peak Court. It measures 6,100 square feet.

Real Estate Millions reported last week that sales of new production homes priced at $1 million and more are up 41 percent for the first six months of 2019. Some buyers, unhappy with some of the Tuscan and Mediterranean architecture in existing homes are looking for semi-custom homes rather than wait a year or two before building a custom home for themselves.

Custom lot sales

The state of the luxury market, however, is more than just home closings by production builders. At the uber high end, those wanting a luxury home purchase a lot and select a builder to construct the design they want. Those numbers don’t show up in the 123, $1 million-plus closings. During the first half of 2019, there were 101 custom lot sales, two fewer than the 103 during the first six months of 2018, according to Andrew Smith, president of Home Builders Research.

Some 44 lots were sold in MacDonald Highlands to lead the way. There were 20 custom lots sold in Summerlin, including seven at the Summit Club. There were nine in Southern Highlands, five in Lake Las Vegas, and three in Ascaya in Henderson. Builder Blue Heron Homes sold seven lots in the Black Mountain foothills in Henderson, according to a listing through June provided by Home Builders Research

Tyler Jones, Blue Heron’s founder, said he has six active communities, and that’s the most he has ever had. He said the company has had its “best sales year by a large factor” with a boost from California buyers, which represents 25 percent of the sales.

Blue Heron sales don’t show up as closings because the builder sells the lot even with a pre-designed home, Jones said.

The company builds throughout the valley, including its newest pre-designed subdivisions in Lake Las Vegas called Vantage that start at $799,000 and will go as high as $1.2 million with amenities and Obsidian in the Henderson Hills that will average about $2.5 million.

“There are a lot of people who prefer that convenience and a more simple process,” Jones said. “Our pre-designed neighborhoods are doing extremely well, but so is our custom business. Given a choice if people can get exactly what they want, and it’s ready to go, most people will do that. There are still a lot of people out there who want to go through the full experience and build for their needs, family and style and do something special.”

Macdonald Highlands

Of the 44 custom lots, some 33 were sold for $10.25 million as a bulk sale from MacDonald Highlands 40 LLC, which listed developer Bruce Deifik, who died in a car crash in April, as an officer. MacDonald Highlands developer Rich MacDonald was minor partner in the LLC that sold the lots.

Home Builders Research lists Dragon Rock LLC with Black Rock Development as the buyers. Jeff Fegert, owner of Target Construction, is a director with the group. Dragon Rock also bought another parcel from FHP Ventures for $750,000.

Blue Heron and Target Construction have planned a joint project to build about 45 new custom luxury homes priced in the $2 million to $4 million range, Routh-Silberman said.

“We have never seen anything like it in MacDonald Highlands,” Routh-Silberman said. “It’s in a hidden valley surrounded by rocks where nobody has lived, and there are no other houses in the canyon. It’s right under the dragon formation, and it’s going to be a whole village that they’re calling Dragon Rock. They will be showstoppers.”

Routh-Silberman said MacDonald Highlands has completed a sale of about 75 lots to Christopher Homes to build Vu Pointe, and homes are getting framed. The homes will measure from 2,800 square feet to 4,000 square feet; and prices will range between $1 million to $2 million, she said.

The Summit Club

The Summit Club has been the uber high-end resort community with a championship golf course that’s generated the most buzz. It’s a joint venture between Discovery Land Co. and the Howard Hughes Corp., and is believed to be attracting titans of business, celebrities and athletes. In addition, there have been seven lot purchases in 2019 so far with the highest price at $4.75 million.

Home Builders Research reported 38 lot sales in 2018; some 21 sales in 2017; and 52 in 2016 when sales started. That’s 118 sales from 2016 through the first half of 2019 in the Summit Club.

The 555-acre development, in addition to custom lots to build homes, includes bungalow lots and luxury clubhouse condominiums. The $100 million-plus clubhouse is under construction and is expected to be completed in 2021.

At the beginning of June, there were seven households living in the community full time. There were 35 homes under construction with the expectation that more than half will be completed by the end of the year.

Of the 156 custom lots, the development reported, 108 were closed and five were under contract. The development had 146 lots but 10 bungalow lots were converted to custom lots to take advantage of the views.

There are 80 unattached bungalows, of which 25 were sold through the end of May. Some 21 were under construction with the first delivered in June.

The smallest units are 3,200 square feet and the largest are about 5,000 square feet. They range in price from $5 million to $9 million.

Of the 32 condo units in the clubhouse 17 have been sold. Those range in size from 1,900 square feet to 3,500 square feet. Prices range from $3 million to $11 million for a penthouse. Those units as part of the clubhouse will be completed by the end of 2020.