Summerlin land sales down 13.6 percent in 2017

Summerlin developer Howard Hughes Corp. disclosed Monday that it sold 206.6 acres of residential land in Las Vegas’ largest master-planned community last year, down 13.6 percent from 2016. The average price per acre, $584,000, rose 26.1 percent.

Howard Hughes attributed the price increase to a builder’s bulk purchase of 117 acres in 2016 for $40 million. The buyer had to install power and drainage facilities, so the land traded for a lower price per acre than usual, the company said.

It did not identify the buyer, but it was likely Pulte Homes, which shelled out $40 million two years ago for a large chunk of its 300-acre Reverence community.

Dallas-based Howard Hughes also reported 1,022 new-home sales in Summerlin last year, up 50 percent from 2016.

Summerlin spans 22,500 acres along the valley’s western rim and has more than 100,000 residents. Howard Hughes released the full-year sales and price figures in its annual report, not long after announcing its latest earnings.

Bolstered by a $94 million benefit “primarily driven” by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cut, the company booked $149 million in profit for the fourth quarter, up more than threefold from the same period in 2016.

Other highlights released Monday:

■ Downtown Summerlin, Howard Hughes’ 106-acre outdoor mall at Sahara Avenue at the 215 Beltway, is 96.6 percent leased.

■ One Summerlin, its nine-story office building there, is 95.2 percent leased.

■ Howard Hughes recently started construction of the $59 million, 267-unit Downtown Summerlin Apartments just east of the mall.

■ Two Summerlin, the $49 million, six-story office building it’s developing just east of Red Rock Resort, was 22 percent pre-leased as of Dec. 31, with 11 percent earmarked for Howard Hughes’ local operations.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.