Showcase home sells for $25M, smashing all-time Las Vegas record

A showcase home built by a luxury builder in the Henderson hillside development MacDonald Highlands has shattered the all-time Las Vegas sales record by going for $25 million.

Luxury Realtors monitoring the marketplace said the buyer is Anthony Hsieh, the founder and chairman of LoanDepot, a California-based non-bank consumer lender of home mortgages throughout the country. Clark County records weren’t immediately available to detail the transaction that closed late Friday afternoon.

Hsieh won’t immediately take possession of the home, but instead will lease back the property to Blue Heron to use as a show home, said Blue Heron CEO and founder Tyler Jones. He said he did not know how long that will be but that it will “be quite some time.” The home was designed to be an experience center for Blue Heron’s custom home division.

“That was always the intention to use this to demonstrate what we’re capable of and for ideas and inspiration for our clients,” Jones said.

Jones said Hsieh said he bought the home because he appreciated what “a work of art this home is.” He said Hsieh owns other special real estate in California and elsewhere, and this is the newest piece of his collection.

The newly built three-story Blue Heron home shot past the previous record of $17.55 million in 2016 when magician David Copperfield bought a home on what’s called Billionaires Row in Summerlin.

Kristen Routh-Silberman, a global real estate advisor for Synergy Sotheby’s International Realty, represented both the buyer and Blue Heron.

“I’m grateful, appreciative and humbled about breaking the record,” Routh-Silberman said. “I had a team of superstars to help make this happen, and all of the stars had to align to get this done. While I’m so thrilled for the buyer and seller, I’m deeply thrilled for Las Vegas, the city of Henderson and MacDonald Highlands. It’s a big win for everybody.”

It’s been quite a month in Henderson. A 12,100-square-foot estate in Ascaya sold for $14.69 million, the highest price ever paid for a single-family home in the city and the third highest ever paid in Las Vegas Valley’s history for a single-family home.

There have been custom homes built in the valley for their owners for a higher price than the $25 million but none that have changed hands, at least publicly on the Multiple Listing Service of the Las Vegas Realtors association.

The new sale breaks the record held by Luxury Realtor Ivan Sher with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices who represented the buyer and seller in the Copperfield purchase. That record sale wasn’t part of the MLS.

“Kristen should be super proud of this,” Sher said. “It’s a great accomplishment. She earned it and worked really hard. I had that moment and know what it feels like, and it’s incredible.”

Sher said Las Vegas has gone from a place where high-end luxury sales were hovering around $10 million to $12 million and then reached $15 million before going to $17 million. With this sale, there’s a new benchmark that shows luxury is changing in the city.

“It’s a huge moment for real estate in Las Vegas,” Sher said. “All of sudden now we’re edging toward some of those California coastal properties.”

Sher said he’s talking to clients with homes in Las Vegas worth $50 million to $100 million who want to put them on the market at some point.

Sher said some of the new homes built in the Summit Club in Summerlin, the new uber-luxury resort community, will be $70 million, $80 million, $100 million and $120 million homes, he said.

“It’s super exciting and there’s far more to come,” Sher said. “The sale is a beacon of where luxury is going in the city.”

Jones and his design team created the Vegas Modern 001 (VM001) in the exclusive double-gated Dragon Reserve of MacDonald Highlands, the 15,000-square-foot show home epitomizes Blue Heron’s 17-year design evolution of innovative custom home design.

“It’s 100 percent an evolution,” Jones said. “The architecture of this house is an example of everything we do and an interpretation of the thought process behind how we approach all our projects.”

“Vegas Modern is not a style,” Jones said. “It’s a thought process, approach and philosophy totally independent of style. This is about designing and building environments that are true to our time and place. It’s about homes that are appropriate for the social and human side of things as well as the climate and the environment.”

Sited on 1.26 acres, the three-level modern mansion features state-of-the-art technology, three en suite bedrooms, including a master suite with outdoor experience and the second-level Sky Suite accessed over a glass bridge. Every room showcases views of the Las Vegas Strip, mountains and surrounding landscape.

Home amenities include an executive office casita, digital den, glass-encased wine cellar, upper-level sky bar and lounge, second-level billiards room, formal dining room centered around a private garden, powder room with 35-foot ceiling, elevator, craft room with pet bath and feeding area and 5,000 square feet of exterior deck space. The garage, customizable up to 11 vehicles have televisions and an electrical vehicle charging station.

The entry winds through a canyon-style walkway, all the while teasing a view of the home’s entrance. Along the path, a trickle of water begins early in the progression, building to a predominant water feature at the home’s entry. The water’s path divides the main-level living area from a private master wing.

A stone path leads off the home’s entrance through the waterway and calls attention outward toward a view of the Strip framed perfectly by the walls of the home.

“This path to nowhere invites you to take a few more steps out to experience the space,” Jones said about the walkway across the water. “It’s about framing that view and drawing your eye and interest through the project to one of the most important concepts, the view.”

The grand foyer showcases a three-story, lighted floating staircase set against soaring 31-foot ceilings. The distinctive foyer is what Jones refers to as one of the home’s incredible architectural moments.

Surrounded by water on three sides, the main-level great room’s design combines polished concrete flooring, central fire feature, comfortable custom furnishings, 90-inch big-screen television and 25-foot ceilings with second-level views. Expansive pocket doors open the entire space to the outdoors.

“When this is open, it is really hard to distinguish what is inside and what is outside,” Jones said. “You get this great layered effect with plants, stone walls and water spilling over the water element.”

From the great room, clear views open to the expansive digital den and its 13½-foot LED display across another waterway on the west side of the room. Custom textured stucco walls add to the visual appeal.

The kitchen is a chef’s paradise with linear islands, Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, built-in touch screens and concealed catering kitchen with a hidden oversized pantry. Bordering the entire space is a custom eatery bar with walnut top designed by Blue Heron’s Furnishings, a custom furniture design division of the company.

“Most of the furniture in this house is customized specifically for this project,” Jones said, noting the firm’s desire to provide turnkey homes for its clients. “Literally, bring your toothbrush and your clothes. You could have a party the day you moved in because it’s a fully functioning home.”

On the other side of the entry, the private master retreat features metaquartzite stone walls, a beverage bar and expansive walk-in closets. Sourced from the south Vegas quarry, the metaquartzite stone provides the home with further connection to the region.

“That was important to us to pick a material to design the aesthetic around that was appropriate for the Mojave Desert and Vegas Modern philosophy,” Jones said.

Stepping down into the sleeping area reveals unobstructed views of the Strip through walls of glass. The zero-edge water feature bordering a custom-designed bed contributes to the home’s seamless tie to nature.

“When you’re in bed you’re literally looking across the water to the city view,” Jones said. “Nighttime it’s incredibly gorgeous.”

The spa-like master bath serves as a relaxing retreat complete with a black soaking tub, waterfall-edge vanity with retractable mirror, walk-in shower and stone accents. The layered design welcomes the outdoors in, creating a serene environment.

The second level’s Sky Suite, a second master, is accessed over a glass bridge. The suite’s custom-designed bed is bordered by a glass wall showcasing views of the Strip.

The personal space features custom furnishings retractable television, wood flooring, private patio, washer/dryer and bath with huge walk-in shower, soaking tub and vanity with retractable mirror.

The home’s second-level billiards room features built-in couches, cozy furnishings and beverage bar. The space opens to an upper-level deck with a cantilevered walkway extending toward the Strip skyline.

Rising three levels above the main level, VM001’s sky bar and lounge are designed as a space for social gatherings. Floor-to-ceiling windows reveal unobstructed views and access to an exterior deck.

The home features innovative cutting-edge energy technology. The property has one of the largest solar systems in Nevada. Two hundred solar panels sit atop the property’s multiple rooftops. It also has a groundbreaking energy-management system. Partnering with Racepoint Energy, the system works in tandem with Savant home technology to optimize the creation and storing of energy through passive and active solar strategies. The result is the storage of excess energy in an expansive battery storage system.

VM001 is the first installment of several planned Blue Heron showcase homes. Jones said his company is working on finding a location for Vegas Modern 002.

“I think Vegas historically hasn’t been taken seriously in the design industry,” Jones said. “The architecture in this home is a serious conversation about high-quality design and construction. I think Las Vegas deserves to get a lot of credit for what we do here.”