Luxury home rentals are surpassing $50,000 a month and that trendline shows no sign of slowing as inventory continues to dwindle and lease rates rise.
Just like demand and prices for luxury for-sale homes increased after the initial COVID-19 homes, the same is happening in the luxury rental market for both homes and condos.
The newest listings on the market include properties that rent for $35,000, $40,000, $50,000 and $60,000. Including furniture, one is going for $65,000.
Last fall, a Summerlin mansion was rented for $50,000 a month with a one-year lease that includes landscaping, pool maintenance and weekly cleaning. It’s the most existing expensive rental in Las Vegas today, as shown on the Las Vegas Realtors association Multiple Listing Services.
That furnished home on Promontory Ridge Drive in The Ridges measures more than 10,600 square feet with six bedrooms and six baths. It includes a casita with a separate entrance.
The one-story home on 0.82 acres built in 2007 and estimated to be worth more than $9 million on Redfin has a four-car garage. It has separate lofts for a private office and upstairs game room with pool tables. There’s even a movie room, and sunken wet bar with floor-to-ceiling glass doors overlooking the backyard and resort pool with spa. The home has a gym and a basketball court.
Realtor Ivan Sher with the Ivan Sher Group of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices was the listing agent for a home that’s being leased in Ascaya for $30,000, the second most expensive currently on the MLS.
“We thought we had a supply issue when it comes to new homes and resales, but we had no clue the residential rental market on the luxury side has nothing,” Sher said. “It makes it look like we have abundance on the sales side so the cost to rent properties has increased significantly. People always say if I sell my house where am I going to go, it would be in a rental, but they’re hard to find.”
Sher said they’ve done a lot of off-market rentals lately in which they approach clients to rent out their homes, and they’re fetching higher and higher prices with the bulk of luxury homes going for $10,000 to $20,000 a month. Prior to COVID and a run on luxury sales, homes at the high end were getting $25,000 to $35,000 a month, but they’re higher now, he said.
“We have a new threshold for rentals,” Sher said. “We have been dealing with that price range in the last 12 months. We’re seeing numbers — $50,000 for a rental for a phenomenal home is not a shock. It’s what it is. It’s all supply and demand.”
Some of these people wanting to rent are looking to renovate their own homes and need to move out. Others have moved to Las Vegas and need time before they purchase.
“The majority are waiting to build, and they need a place to go. Some have sold their home,” Sher said.
Most expensive homes on the market
■ A three-story home on Promontory Pointe Lane in The Ridges is on the market for $60,000 a month. Built in 2009, the home sold for $10.1 million in 2020 and is estimated by Redfin to be worth more than $14 million. It sits on 1.1 acres and is designed for entertaining and privacy. It has nearly 15,000 square feet of livable space with five bedrooms and 6½ baths. It has a six-car garage. The home underwent a four-year multi-million-dollar renovation that included changes in the floor plan and elevation, according to the MLS.
It’s in a section in The Ridges known as The Pointe, the highest residential elevation in Las Vegas. It’s a triple guard-gated enclave with two swimming pools, massive fire pits and waterfalls. Other features include a theater, elevator, sauna, steam room and massage area. The home comes fully furnished, with weekly pool and landscaping service. The listing agent is Philip Gusterston of LVRE.
■ A three-story home built in 1999 on Palms Greens Court in Tournament Hills in Summerlin on the TPC golf course is on the market for $50,000 a month. It sits on a 1.1-acre compound and measures more than 14,700 square feet. It has eight bedrooms and four baths and a four-car garage. The home includes an elevator, two swimming pools — one outdoor and one indoor. There’s two dry saunas, fitness room, ballroom, library, offices and a large master suite. California Bay Area-based broker Stanley Lo with LuxeSF is both the home’s owner and listing agent.
There’s a two-bedroom guest house with a two-car garage, which is not included in the monthly lease. Prior to COVID, Lo said he’s been coming to Las Vegas for years, sometimes 10 to 15 times a year and stayed in luxury hotels. He said he bought it in 2016 and renovated it.
Because of his unwillingness to fly during the pandemic and keeping busy with business in the Bay Area, Lo said he decided to put the home on the rental market but keep the guest house when he returns to Las Vegas unless someone wants to rent that, too.
“I am after the celebrities and successful business executives who want to stay there one or two years,” Lo said. “If they want it furnished, it’s another $15,000 a month for $65,000 a month.”
Lo said he would even be willing to sell the home if someone made a great offer. It’s estimated on Zillow to be worth $6.4 million. He bought the home in August 2016 for $3.37 million, according to Clark County property records. “Money talks,” Lo said.
■ A penthouse on the 41st floor at the Waldorf Astoria on the Strip is on the market for $40,000 a month. It measures nearly 4,000 square feet and has three bedrooms and four baths. It has a spacious great room with floor-to-ceiling views of the valley and Strip. It has spa-style baths, designer stone countertops and luxurious touches throughout.
The penthouse offers resort-style living with five-star amenities, including concierge services, laundry, housekeeping and in-room dining.
Listing agent Matthew Brimhall, chairman & CEO with MDB Realty, said the penthouse has nearly 360-degree views. What attracts people to lease condos over homes is the amenities that come with it, such as room service, valet and concierge, he said.
“It was rented out to the CEO of a large web site,” Brimhall said. “The owner is a very successful entrepreneur and businessman who has a number of properties at the Waldorf.”
Property records point to the owner Jim Plante, manager and founder of Thynk Capital and CEO of Klotho Therapeutics. Brimhall said the luxury rental market is “brisk and robust” with one person in the same tower signing a five-year lease and paid it all up front in the hundreds of thousands of dollars because he likes living in the building.
“The normal rate at the Waldorf is going to range from $13,000 to $20,000 a month,” Brimhall said. “Once you get to those corner penthouses, there’s so few of them that it’s rarefied air. We’ve had famous individuals in the past who have opened a show in Las Vegas apply to lease before. The Waldorf is known as a safe and secure building with unlimited services.”
He said the majority of the Waldorf owners are cash buyers and savvy investors who see opportunities in leasing units.
“That building is the top-tier professionals that you will find in Las Vegas,” Brimhall said. He said there’s a lack of inventory of rental properties of $15,000 a month and higher. Landlords are requiring a significant security deposit of two or three months rent in addition to an entire year paid up front.
“As people look to take advantage of this red-hot market and sell their properties, they are looking to turn around and rent while they buy, build or recapture what they sold,” Brimhall said. “That’s putting even more strain on inventory.”
A two–story Tuscan-style home on Quintessa Circle at The Enclave at Southern Highlands Golf Club is on the market for $35,000. It has more than 10,100 square feet. The lot measures about three-quarters of an acre. It has five bedrooms, eight baths and a five-car garage. There’s a lake across the street.
The home has an open floor plan featuring two primary suites located on a bottom level. It has a large custom kitchen with double islands and seating for 10. The home has a formal living room, dining room and office, wet bar and two-floor den. An exercise room and two-story fireplace in the living room emphasizes the opulent finishes throughout, overlooking the oasis resort-style backyard with a large pool, spa, waterfalls and fountains. There’s a basketball and sports court, outdoor kitchen and seating for entertainment.
The listing agent is Zar Zanganeh, managing partner of The Agency.
There are different reasons why people rent out their homes rather than sell, Zanganeh said. It’s listed for $5.45 million. “This property happens to be for sale and for rent so we want to have different options,” Zanganeh said. “A lot of people feel like the market is going up and a lot of people have low-interest mortgage rates so it’s cash-flow positive for them to be able to rent out their properties. And some people are living in other homes that they have and want to keep the option to come back to the property.”
The renters include people building multi-million-dollar homes in the neighborhood and need a place to live for a couple of years, Zanganeh said. Sometimes it’s people who had an accident in their homes and insurance companies will rent one for them, he said.
Other times it’s high-worth individuals and celebrities and those who work in the cash industry who don’t qualify to make a purchase but can afford these properties, Zanganeh said.
“It’s definitely more popular than ever,” Zanganeh said.
“Just like the for-sale market people are looking for bigger properties because they’re working more from home, Vegas is an interesting market where people have all kinds of income like in the cannabis industry where they deal in cash. There are a lot of people building in neighborhoods like Ascaya and The Summit building homes north of $10 million and paying $20,000 to $50,000 a month for rentals isn’t something they don’t object to at all. They just have a hard time finding them. There aren’t many options at that price point.”
There are three homes on the market with a lease price of $25,000 a month, two of them in historic Las Vegas neighborhoods.
One is on Westwood Drive in Scotch 80s. The two-story, four-bedroom and 5½-bath home sits on a 0.58-acre lot.The home built in 1979 was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright architectural designs. All bedrooms are en suite. It has a 50-gallon pool. The listing agent is Kenneth Couture with eXp Realty.
The other is a two-story, midcentury modern home on Alta Drive in the Historic District. It measures 7,200 square feet and sits on a 1.2-acre lot. Built in 1974, it has seven bedrooms and 5½ baths. The home has marble floors, a chef’s gourmet kitchen, and three gas fireplaces in the family room, kitchen and primary retreat, which has a balcony and Jacuzzi overlooking the backyard. It has a pool and two separate casitas with a loft- style design, kitchen, bathroom, living room and dining room.
Zanganeh is the listing agent. The home can be had for 30-day and other shorter-term leases that aren’t allowed in other neighborhoods with homeowners associations, he said.
“The type of tenant that comes to that one are a lot more celebrities and NBA Summer League players and poker players,” Zanganeh said.
The third home listed for $25,000 is on Liege Drive in MacDonald Highlands in Henderson. It has five bedrooms and seven baths and measures nearly 7,000 square feet. The home is valued at more than $4 million.
Built in 2008 on 1.1-acre, the tri-level home with pool and spa has a rooftop patio. There’s a raised wet bar with built- in fish tank, music area, game room, theater, mini golf course, office, wine cellar and sauna room. Zanganeh is the listing agent.