Realtors expect another record-breaking year

It’s been a record-breaking year for the Las Vegas luxury home market, and the city’s Realtors are confident that trend will continue in 2025 based on the optimism they’re hearing from prospective buyers.

During 2024 through November, Las Vegas has already surpassed the 150 closings of $3 million and above recorded for 12 months of 2023. The 210 closings for 11 months in 2024 is likely to grow double digits once Realtors post their year-end sales on the Multiple Listing Service in early January. The previous record was set in 2021 coming out of the pandemic when a buying frenzy and relocations resulted in 195 closings of $3 million and above, according to numbers from Forrest Barbee, a corporate broker with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.

Even the entry-level of luxury will set a record this year when the final numbers are calculated, breaking the mark of 1,686 set in 2021. There were 1,608 closings of $1 million and above through November. The one caveat is price increases since 2021 have pushed more homes on the market that were $750,000 back then to more than $1 million category, today. There were 1,396 closings of $1 million and above in 2023, according to Barbee.

Kamran Zand, broker and founder of Luxury Estates International, who had the second-highest sale of 2024 and third-highest sale of all time with a $29.25 million closing in the Summit Club in December, said he’s very optimistic about 2025. The number of buyers entering the luxury market has picked up and expects the uber-luxury segment to grow with the new presidential administration, Zand said.

“That’s what I am hearing and feeling,” Zand said. “After the election, I started to get more phone calls for viewings of my higher-end listings. That leads me to believe we’re going to have a strong 2025.”

Whatever happens on a national level with the economy, Las Vegas counters that with California being its feeder market for the luxury homes that show no sign of slowing, Zand said. There’s also a growing amount of inventory with new construction for the luxury buyer of $5 million and higher to entice buyers, he added.

“I think Vegas continues to be a sought-after destination to relocate to,” Zand said. “We are more and more of a major city than ever before with new developments and construction and teams and arenas. People are realizing we’re more than just the Strip.”

Zar Zanganeh, managing partner with The Agency who said he expects prices to increase in 2025, said his firm had a 34 percent increase in their luxury business in 2024 with buyers willing to pay higher prices.

“As prices per square foot in the luxury product are becoming more expensive, we’re getting more high-end properties that people are willing to pay those dollar amounts for,” Zanganeh said. “We used to not see any sales over $1,000 per square foot, and now it’s becoming the norm to have $1,500 and almost $2,000 per square foot sales in the ultra-luxury market.”

Anthony Spiegel, a Realtor with Lusso Residential Sales, who was the listing and buyer’s agent on the top sale of the year at $35 million at The Summit Club, said he sees continued demand from buyers from California and the Pacific Northwest and even Illinois. The values are attractive because homes are selling at or below replacement costs, he added.

“What’s going to happen in the first quarter, I couldn’t tell you,” Spiegel said. “What’s going to happen over the next five to 10 years is explosive growth and hopefully for the benefit of everyone in Vegas and not just the wealthy. It’s been a fascinating year, and I think you will see continued growth at the prime and superprime level.”

Zanganeh said regardless of what happens in other real estate segments in the valley, he sees the volume in the $5 million and above category increasing with entrepreneurs and CEOs relocating from California.

Inventory isn’t a problem, Zanganeh said.

There are more than 20 homes under construction in Ascaya worth more than $20 million that will add more inventory to the market in the future, Zanganeh said. A lack of inventory has hurt the luxury market in the past, but Zanganeh said there are a lot of luxury homeowners willing to put their properties on the market if someone approaches them with a high offer.

“I see our market getting stronger and stronger on the high end,” Zanganeh said. “It’s a much more sophisticated market that we’ve not experienced before. It’s exciting to see more clientele willing to pay these big dollar amounts. A lot of buyers are throwing that out the window if something makes sense for them and has a level of quality.”

Rob Jensen, broker/president of the Rob Jensen Co., said 2025 will be a good year because there’s more inventory on the market than a year ago.

“As baby boomers continue to retire and others look to escape California, we will continue to have a strong demand for housing,” Jensen said.

The luxury market slowed over the summer and started picking up speed at the end of the year, according to Ivan Sher, owner of IS Luxury. He attributes that to the aftermath of the election and confidence about the economy that has been engendered by wealthy buyers even though the outcome remains to unfold in 2025.

“It seems everyone is moving forward in the right direction,” Sher said. “I’m very bullish on 2025, and I believe January, February and March are shaping up to be among the best that we’ve seen in the luxury community. There’s definitely some exciting sales happening. The luxury game is elevating, and you’ll see it in Henderson (in Ascaya and MacDonald Highlands master plans) and Vegas.”

While the all-time record was set in 2024 with a $35 million sale in The Summit Club, Sher said he expects that to be broken again and sees a home there fetching $40 million. He said he can see a sale of $25 million to $30 million in Ascaya this year.

Luxury buyers are buoyed by the 20 percent-plus gain in the stock market for the year, gains in cryptocurrency and their positive sentiment where they believe “we’re moving in the right direction,” Sher said. During the summer and fall, the luxury market was quiet and everyone suggested that after the election it would be different, and they’ve been right, he added.

“That’s exactly what I’m seeing,” Sher said. “That pause is no longer, and people are excited about buying houses and the next steps financially and investing in themselves and the economy. We have an incoming president who made a lot of promises like every president does. Let’s see what happens. I’m optimistic about the delivery, but let’s see how it shakes out. The public buying luxury properties believes it was a good choice and a good decision. They are buying into some of the promises. It’s always perception.”

Simply Vegas owner Gavin Ernstone said January closings are set up to be “a very good month” with some large deals closing. The market is showing “a great deal of resilience,” and he noted that 2025 can be one of the best years the valley has ever seen for luxury.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the election and opening of the economy,” Ernstone said. “The same things we’re seeing in the stock market (with its gains) we’re seeing in the luxury real estate market.”

Kristen Routh-Silberman, a Realtor with Douglas Elliman, said she expects “slow and steady growth” in the luxury sector, and described how there’s competition out there among prospective buyers.

“There’s too many indicators for the growth of our city to not be super bullish,” Routh-Silberman said.

Homeowners who put their homes on the market to end 2024 did so seeing the prices buyers had been paying earlier in the year, but Routh-Silberman said they may need to drop their prices a little given the slowdown over the second half.

There will be inventory because many older luxury homeowners are looking to downsize and possibly move into high-end condos where they don’t have to worry about maintenance, Routh-Silberman said. Companies are also ordering employees back to the office so people who relocated to Las Vegas working remotely will put their homes on the market, she added.

“A lot of people could work from anywhere (after the pandemic) so they moved to Vegas so we will see how it affects the starter-luxury people (of $2 million-plus),” Routh-Silberman said.