Sun West has hopes for next Vegas NHBA show

Dan Coletti can’t wait until the International Builders’ Show returns to Las Vegas in 2023 after the next two years in Orlando.

The show held by the National Home Builders Association gave Coletti, the owner of Sun West Custom Homes, a national stage. He held a press conference with national media and conducted tours of thousands of people passing through the New American Homes he designed and built specifically for the event in 2019 and again in January.

The two homes showcase the latest in design, construction, sustainability, green-building techniques, smart technology and home products for the building and design industry. Both were heavily photographed not only at the show but by vendors who use it to showcase their latest products that were either donated or discounted to Sun West.

Coletti used the homes as models to showcase his work with the expectation that they would eventually be sold.

That happened in February eight days apart when both homes closed for the same price of $5.5 million.

The 2020 New American home at 9 Sky Arc sold Feb 20. The 2019 home at 9 Cloud Chaser sold on Feb. 28.

“They were both fantastic homes and priced right,” Coletti said. “I had people looking at one or the other and when someone moved on the one, it triggered the other because there would be none. It was kind of an ice-breaker that helped move the second one when it was under contract.”

The new owners like the design with open floor plans and views out of the back of the home, Coletti said. They liked home automation and the “latest cool products” as a New American home had the best of Koehler fixtures and LG appliances among others.

The show, which had more than 100,000 people attend, will return to Las Vegas between 2023 to 2025 before returning to Orlando for one year and then back to Las Vegas for an extended run from 2027 to 2039.

“I would do it in 2023 if for sure,” Coletti said. “I like the fact that me and my team learn about all the products before they ever make it to the ground. We become knowledgeable before everyone else does because a home is about a lot of products.”

Coletti also said he likes the idea of a deadline, a timeframe in which the home must be started and finished to be ready for the show.

“I like the marketing aspect that everybody knows about it,” Coletti said. “I enjoy what we get from that perspective.”

The downside is it’s stressful because of the requirement to work with vendors and their products. The deadline to be finished a few months ahead of the show so photography can be done also adds stress, he added.

“The energy spent is not as bad as the reward you get for getting it done and letting everybody see what you created,” Coletti said. “As a design-build firm like Sun West, it’s perfect for us. We design it; build it; and use all of these new products and display it and have an owner move in that loves it all. It’s a full circle. It’s all good.”

The 2020 home sold for $250,000 less than it’s list price of $5.75 million. The 2019 home sold for $1 million less than its original list price of $6.5 million.

Coletti said when you build the homes, you start to realize the price has gotten a little high for it to be sold. The homes are built on expensive lots and with the design and addition of products the price adds up quickly, he said.

He said he had a little concern about the price of the homes being too high, but he ultimately believed the buyers would see the value. And, they did. But he said the pricing does matter even for wealthy people.

“When you go over $6 million, it’s hard. It’s not a good place to be from my perspective. There are fewer and fewer buyers, even from California, that want to go up in that range. Each $1 million increment you go down the cross section of buyers grows exponentially.”

Coletti said he would have to submit a proposal to the NHBA to be considered for the 2023 home. He said it’s too early to say what he would do and where he could build it if he was selected.

“I would be excited with the thought once I know we’re going to do it,” Coletti said. “These two I did were very different from each other. One had a single-sloped, large expanse roof and the other had all of these radiuses on the front of it. If I were to do it, I would come up with something entirely new. But my thoughts will be changing over the next couple of years to whatever I’m thinking today would be different by the time it got here.”