Subdivision delays expected to slow new-home permits
The latest local housing numbers show a continuing struggle with prepping home sites for development.
Las Vegas builders closed on 3,203 homes from January through July, down 1,061 closings, or 25 percent, from the first seven months of 2013, an Aug. 27 report from Home Builders Research shows.
New-home permits were down less, posting a decline of just 5 percent, or 222 permits, for a seven-month total of 4,162.
But the year-end permitting results will be “greatly impacted” by delays in subdivisions that have pushed their delivery dates from 2014 to 2015, said Dennis Smith, president and CEO of Home Builders Research.
“We are told time and again that homebuilders continue to run into issues while dealing with new or adjusted requirements from some of the government entities,” Smith wrote in his housing-market newsletter. “A six- to eight-month delay with engineering the lots and getting plans ready for permits is not unusual.”
On the resale side, closings were down 14 percent year over year through July, ending the month at 22,540 units.
Closings have “hit a plateau, and it is unclear how long this level of activity will remain,” Smith wrote. “It appears there is (now) nothing to change the lack of urgency that seems to be a part of the resale market segment. The threat of rising interest rates doesn’t seem to be enough to get many consumers off the fence.”
Real estate legends
The Commercial Alliance Las Vegas has scheduled a daylong educational symposium for Sept. 191.
The keynote event of the symposium will be a lunchtime panel discussion among longtime local developers.
The panel, called “Las Vegas Real Estate Legends: When Cocktail Napkins Were Contracts,” will include veteran homebuilder John Midby and commercial and residential developer Ed Nigro. The talk will focus on how Southern Nevada real estate industry has evolved.
Besides the luncheon, real estate instructors Mark Dotzour, Todd Kuhlman, CCIM, and Soozi Jones Walker, CCIM, SIOR, will lead classes. Real estate professionals can earn as many as six continuing-education credits for attending both morning and afternoon courses.
The symposium runs 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. inside the Gold Coast. The luncheon begins at 11:30.
All-day admission costs $99 for members of the Commercial Alliance and its affiliate group, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, and $149 for nonmembers. For more information or to register, call 702-784-5050.
Deal watch
■ Voit Real Estate Services helped close a sizable industrial deal.
Broker Jennifer Levine represented National Loan Acquisitions Co. in its $1.1 million sale of 14,840 square feet of space at 4485-4495 Delancey Drive. Derek Belanus of Crown Point Realty represented the buyer, Chris Day.
■ Brokers with Sun Commercial Real Estate helped arrange several sizable deals.
Lisa Hauger and Tim Behrendt represented SLP Northbrooke 3 LLC in its sale of a 13,368-square-foot office building to Anthony Deichler. The property, at 4325 N. Rancho Drive, sold for $1.7 million.
Jeff Berg and Mica Berg worked with Sahara Vegas LLC on its $535,000 sale of a 7,640-square-foot retail building at 2535 W. Craig Road. Capish Real Estate assisted the buyers, Darren Erker and Jessica Erker.
And the team of Cathy Jones, Paul Miachika, Jessica Cegavske, Roy Fritz and Cash Jordan represented landlord MSCI 2006-IQ11 Cheyenne Avenue LLC in a lease to Pointe North Dental. The lease was for 3,010 square feet of office space at 7312 W. Cheyenne Ave. The value of the 91-month agreement was $437,202.
■ The Sauter Multifamily Group of commercial brokerage NAI Vegas represented both buyer and seller in a recent apartment deal.
The team brokered the sale of Lynnwood Apartments, a 38-unit complex at 2616-2636 Lynnwood St. and 2625 Van Patten St. The community, built from 1962 to 1977, sold for $1.2 million, or $31,579 per unit.
The seller of the property was We Rent! LLC. The buyer was 2626 Lynnwood LLC of Las Vegas.
■ CBRE announced two multimillion-dollar loans for commercial property buys in recent weeks.
The company closed on an $11.6 million loan to High Valley VI LLC for the purchase of The Grove, a 54,490-square-foot retail center at 345-445 W. Craig Road.
The commercial brokerage also announced a $2.06 million loan to High Valley VII LLC for the purchase of Durango Courtyard, a 10,900-square-foot shopping center at 4705 S. Durango Drive.
CBRE didn’t reveal details of the loans, except to say they were long-term and had fixed interest rates.
Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.