Las Vegas master plan sales buck national trend

Cadence, the east Henderson master-planned community, has risen the ranks of one of the leading residential developments in a new ranking that places it at No. 4 in the nation.

■ Cadence, which was ranked No. 10 at the 2023 mid-year rankings by RCLCO, recorded 726 sales during the first six months of 2024, a 63 percent year-over-year increase. It ended 2023 in the No. 6 spot.

■ Summerlin, which has held the leading rankings in the valley for decades, came in at No. 5 for the mid-year. It was ranked No. 5 for the same time last year, but ended 2023 in the No. 4 spot. The major master plan had 596 sales, a 10 percent year-over year increase.

Cadence’s median price for new homes has hovered around $450,000, while Summerlin’s has surpassed $700,000 as builders continue to add more affordable products.

Cheryl Gowan, Cadence’s vice president of marketing, said they’re happy with their ranking as the leading master plan in Las Vegas in terms of sales so far this year. Cadence has homes that start in the mid-$300,000s and go as high as $773,000.

Boyd Gaming recently announced plans for a 10,000 square-foot casino adjacent to Cadence called Cadence Crossing that will open in 2026. Boyd cited how Cadence is expected to have 12,000 homes after its build with some 5,200 homes already being constructed.

“We’ve worked very hard with our builders to get the word out about Cadence,” Gowan said. “The number of products that we have vary so there’s something for everyone, whether their looking for a first-time home or moving up or scaling down. We’re excited to be in the top five for the mid-year rankings, and as we track our sales we see that momentum continuing into the fall.”

“The inclusion of two Howard Hughes communities in the top 10 best-selling MPCs in RCLCO’s mid-year report is a testament to exceptional high-quality lifestyle that they offer,” Howard Hughes CEO David O’Reilly said in a written statement. “Our year-to-date increases in home sales in Summerlin and Bridgeland solidify our expectation that 2024 will be the best year for residential land sales in the history of Howard Hughes. Our impressive mid-year results show a 163 percent increase in residential land sales revenues and a 35 percent increase in average price per acre compared to our 2023 mid-year results. Despite high interest rates and national headlines propagating a misleading singular picture of the housing sector, the communities across our national portfolio are delivering strong year-over-year improvement.”

Howard Hughes’ Bridgeland, in the Greater Houston area, ranked No. 8 nationwide with 498 new homes sold in the first six months of this year.

■ Inspirada in west Henderson came in at No. 38 in the ranking of the top 50 master plans. It had 261 sales, one more than the 260 in the first six months of 2023. It was ranked 40th a year ago.

■ There was a newcomer to the list with Heartland at Tule Springs, a development of D.R. Horton, coming in at No. 41 with 244 sales. The master plan wasn’t surveyed in 2023 so there is no comparison from a year ago.

■ Coming in just inside the top 50 was Skye Canyon in northwest Las Vegas with 213 sales, a 3 percent increase over the 206 in the first six months of 2023. It was ranked 55th a year ago outside of the top 50.

■ The Villages in Florida remained No. 1 in the nation with 1,515 sales, the same as 2023.

Cadence had the second-highest percentage jump of any master plan in the country at 63 percent. A South Carolina development at No. 7 jumped 67 percent.

RCLCO Principal Karl Pischke called the master plan numbers an “optimistic picture” of Las Vegas where homebuilding in general has been ahead of the rest of the country.

“Las Vegas master plans continue to get things right,” Pischke said. “They have done a great job of capitalizing on demand and leading the market for new homes in what’s been a hot place to live literally and figuratively.”

Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research reported 6,652 net sales for the first six months of 2024, 16 percent higher than 5,589 during mid-year in 2023, as sales ramp up despite elevated mortgage rates.

The pace of single-family home sales nationally were 1.1 percent lower through the first half of 2024 compared to the prior year, Pischke said.

“Things are a bit slower than last year nationally,” Pischke said. “The top 50 for the first half of this year is 0.3 percent higher than it was the first half of last year, which is still better than the national new-home market being 1.1 percent off.”

Some 18 master plans across the country recorded a decline in sales but none of those were in Las Vegas.

“The four communities ranked in the last mid-year report saw a 23 percent increase in sales,” Pischke said. “The country overall saw modest declines or similar sales to last year but Vegas continues to stay strong with an overall increase in sales. It’s a testament to how attractive that market has been for attracting new residents migrating to the area and households locally choosing to locate in some of these master-planned communities.”

While Pischke called Summerlin “remarkably consistent,” he said Cadence made a big jump that “was impressive” in what they’ve been able to do.

“Part of what we’re seeing nationally is where builders have been willing to offer incentives on price given how high mortgage rates have been,” Pischke said. “Where we have seen those jumps elsewhere has tended to be where there’s a lot of supply and new homebuyers have found a more attractive deal with builders helping in buying down rates. Also, master plans are where they are finding new home inventory.”

As for Heartland at Tule Springs, Pischke said there will be other builders that will be constructing homes that will further boost that number in the future.

“I would expect to see more significant sales going forward,” Pischke said.

Nationally, home sales may drop in the second half of the year because permit activity has declined month-over-month, just the opposite of what they saw a year ago.

That’s in contrast to Las Vegas where permits are up 17 percent year-over-year despite falling 16 percent in June.

“We may have to have a more modest look for overall new home sales in the balance of the year but the flip side is inflation continues to trickle down, and the potential of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve and their impact on lowering interest rates could have a substantial effect on sales picking up in 2025,” Pischke said.

Pischke pointed out, however, Las Vegas showing that level of permit activity during the first half of the year “bodes well for their ability to continue to gain ground on other markets through the rest of 2024.”