A national real estate brokerage is bullish on Southern Nevada’s apartment market in 2015.
In Marcus &Millichap’s new National Apartment Report, Las Vegas inched up four spots to No. 37 among the 46 markets it analyzes for supply-and-demand indicators including job growth, vacancy, construction, housing affordability and rents.
Employment growth in the technology, construction and hospitality sectors will lift the city’s rental market in 2015, the analysis said. Above-average employment and population growth will help as well: The market will rank No. 6 for job growth, with gains of 3.2 percent, and its population of adults ages 20 to 34 — a prime rental demographic — will grow faster than any other city’s, at nearly 3 percent.
“Las Vegas’ steady job growth over the past four years will continue into 2015, resulting in increased demand for housing,” the report said. “Both corporations and developers are bullish on the future performance of this market and placing capital in local expansions.”
The report cited in particular new jobs traced to the Downtown Project’s investments in the city’s core, as well as developments such as MGM Resorts International’s The Park, in front of the arena under construction between the New York-New York and Monte Carlo.
Pointing to Downtown Summerlin, the analysis said plans for The Constellation, a high-end apartment community, would “provide residents quick access to high-end stores and restaurants, strengthening the area’s desirability for rentals. That live-work-play environment is attracting many workers in the 20-to-34-year-old group, which already accounts for nearly 500,000 (Las Vegas) residents,” the study said.
The city’s growing number of young professionals also will spur need for housing near the Strip and other office and employment hubs. And obstacles such as down payments and credit requirements will mean a strong pool of renters for at least the next year.
Marcus &Millichap also said it expects the market’s effective rent to end 2015 at an average of $795, up 3.4 percent from $769 in 2014.
The only reason Las Vegas didn’t jump farther in 2015’s rankings? The market will place No. 4 for vacancy rates, with an average of more than 6.4 percent, behind only Indianapolis, San Antonio and Phoenix.
Investors looking for “value-add plays” will gravitate toward Sunrise Manor and the urban core, while institutional buyers who want stable vacancies will stick with Summerlin and Green Valley, the report said.
California investors make up 65 percent of local new owners, drawn by stronger returns than they’re finding along the higher-priced coast.
Broker going to the dogs
What makes a home a home? A dog, according to Coldwell Banker Real Estate.
The franchise is launching a dog-adoption campaign with a TV ad during the Academy Awards. Through its Homes for Dogs Project, the company is partnering with Adopt-a-Pet.com to find homes for 20,000 dogs nationwide in 2015. The company is asking its 87,000 affiliated sales agents across the country to place dogs through tactics such as hosting adoption days in partnership with shelters in the Adopt-a-Pet.com network.
“With more than 43 million U.S. households having dogs, there is no question that our pets go hand in hand with our love of home. The Homes for Dogs Project takes this a step further, allowing our affiliated companies to join us in helping adoptable dogs find homes,” said Sean Blankenship, chief marketing officer for Coldwell Banker Real Estate.
▶ A national real estate network has added a Pahrump brokerage to its list of affiliates. Weichert, Realtors has welcomed REO Asset Services-1st Realty Group into its franchise network. Brokerage owners Thomas Blanchard and Krista Blanchard will lead the office, now known as Weichert, Realtors-1st Realty Group. The Blanchards said Weichert’s “strong lead network, extensive marketing tools and specialized agent training” drew them to the franchise. Weichert has affiliates in more than 250 markets in 37 states.
Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.
