Recently, I made a live in-studio appearance on FOX 5 News in Las Vegas to discuss some of the intangibles of the Las Vegas Strip real estate market. It was nice of the local press to recognize that not everything is doom and gloom. They took notice that the top-three residential price-per-square-foot records in Las Vegas history were recently set and wanted me to share some of the factual events that have happened over last year or so.

Sure, the overall market in Las Vegas (including the high-rise market) is going through dramatic challenges and changes. The one thing we need people to understand, however, is that the single family home market and luxury condominium high-rise market are two separate entities. Even with that being said, we need to break the high-rise market into multiple categories....

-Residential High-Rise Condominiums
Sky Las Vegas, Turnberry Towers, Turnberry Place, Panorama Towers, Allure Las Vegas, Veer Towers, The Harmon Residences, Mandarin Oriental, The Plaza Hotel (planning), and the Palazzo Luxury Condominiums

-Condo Hotel properties (fully-furnished turn-key units which can be thrown into an owners nightly rental program)
Signature at MGM Grand, Cosmopolitan Resort Casino, Vdara Condo Hotel, Palms Place, Trump International, and Fontainebleau

-Off Strip Locations
Panorama Towers, Turnberry Towers, Turnberry Place, Trump International, Allure Las Vegas, Palms Place, Signature at MGM Grand

-On Strip (meaning the Resort Corridor)
Sky Las Vegas, Fontainebleau, The Plaza Hotel, Palazzo Luxury Condominiums, Veer Towers, Mandarin Oriental, The Harmon Residences, and Vdara Condo Hotel (which is more of a Harmon Ave. development).

Learn more about project locations - View VegasCondoScene.com's brand new, color-coded Las Vegas Strip Condo Map Here

Aaron Auxier preparing to appear live on FOX 5 News in Las Vegas

Something to think about

As of April 2008 and up until almost 2010 when MGM MIRAGE CityCenter opens (developer is saying November 2009) there is only one open high-rise condominium tower located directly on the Strip, and that is Sky Las Vegas. So as of April 2008, there is only 409 condo units and only 10 penthouses with a Las Vegas Blvd. in the Resort Corridor.

The next scheduled condo buildings to open directly on the Strip in the Resort Corridor are the four projects in CityCenter (Veer Towers, Vdara Condo Hotel, The Harmon, and Mandarin Oriental). Cosmopolitan Resort and Fontainebleau (both condo hotels with casino component are also planning to open late 2009). After that, the Palazzo Luxury Condominiums (residential) could open in 2009, with The Plaza Hotel possibly opening after 2010.

MGM MIRAGE CityCenter had over $1.6 billion in sales since the CityCenter Sales Pavilion opened in February 2007. In addition, they have sold many penthouses at Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers, and The Harmon Residences for prices (in some cases) over $2,400 a square foot.

The Clark County Assessor recently released their new assessments for land on the Las Vegas Strip. At only approx. four miles long, several parcels in the Resort Corridor experienced taxable appreciation of up to 99 percent in 2007.

In Closing

There's no denying we are in challenged times. The important thing, however, is to do research and learn all of the facts, many of which are not being reported. Whether it be a primary residence, vacation property, or second home, if you're thinking about making an investment in Las Vegas, you need to investigate. Make sure to consult someone who specializes in the high-rise niche of real estate, should that be the area of product in which you wish to purchase.

Aaron Auxier REALTOR®, ABR can be reached at 702-205-1818

Copyright © 2008 Aaron Auxier. All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer: All information in this post is subject to change without notice. Subject matter: is an opinion, is not guaranteed, may be time sensitive, and may be based on information collected from several sources which may or may not be reliable at the time of sourcing.