Actor Mark Wahlberg and former MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren have been associated with three of the top four luxury real estate transactions in August and September.
There were 111 luxury sales of $1 million and higher in September, an increase over the 101 in September 2022, when sales slowed amid rising interest rates.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Sept. 28 that Wahlberg sold his bungalow in The Summit Club for $16.65 million. The sale of an existing Summit Club home on Aug. 31 for $21.25 million, the highest-priced sale this year, has been linked to him by public records and confirmed by area luxury Realtor not involved in the transaction.
Unlike the purchase of his bungalow in August 2022 for $14.5 million, the latest purchase in the resort community wasn’t listed under Wahlberg’s name in public records. Instead, it’s listed under the Discovery Canyon Drive Trust with Rose Cortina of Newton, Massachusetts, as the trustee. Cortina serves on the board of directors of the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation based in Newton.
In a Monday Today.com interview Wahlberg addressed the question about whether his family was leaving Las Vegas after the sale of his bungalow in The Summit Club.
“When we decided to move (to Las Vegas), we wanted to move before school started, so we moved into a temporary place, and we now moved into another place,” Wahlberg told the NBC outlet.
Before buying the bungalow in 2022, Wahlberg paid $15.6 million for 2.5 acres on which to build a luxury mansion. That construction has yet to start, and it isn’t known what his plans are for that project.
The sale of the bungalow was done off market and involved the Discovery Land Co., the developer of The Summit Club, and was not listed by a Realtor on the Multiple Listing Service until the sale was completed.
Wahlberg’s new home measures 8,419 square feet with six bedrooms, eight baths and a three-car garage. It sits on 0.65 acres and has a swimming pool. The two-story home was built in 2022.
Outside of the bedrooms, there is nothing considered unusual about the home. It doesn’t have a gym, theater room or formal dining room. The outdoors has a pool, spa, fire pit and a kitchen. The sellers were Neil and Michelle Patel, according to Clark County property records. Patel is an internet personality known for his work in digital marketing and social media and the creator of Ubersuggest, a popular SEO tool.
The listing agent Anthony Spiegel with IS Luxury declined to talk about the buyers and was instructed not to release any photos of the home as is customary when Realtors close such a high-priced sale.
“The Summit is pretty private,” Spiegel said. “The kind of people that are living there and buying, part of the reason they live there is not just because they can afford it but because it’s a certain lifestyle and sense of security and privacy.”
Wahlberg paid $2,524 a square foot for the home, considered one of the highest price per square foot ever paid in Las Vegas for a single-family home not sold by a developer. Spiegel said the home was on the market for a few days before it sold.
“There’s such a limited amount of inventory and such a limited pool of buyers, it operates differently than other markets,” Spiegel said. “There are people who are looking. There are 276 home sites of which are custom lots, and a lot of them haven’t been built on yet so there’s limited inventory; so when a finished home becomes available, there’s people waiting to buy these.
“If you are a wealthy person, the difference between $50 million and $55 million is irrelevant.”
As for the buyer for Wahlberg’s bungalow, Clark County property records list it under an LLC with Andrew Basso in Chicago. Basso is listed as the chief financial officer for JHL Capital Group.
The two-story bungalow, built in 2020, measures 7,327 square feet with four bedrooms, four full baths and two half baths. It sits on 0.36 acres.
Murren sells home
Murren’s home in The Ridges in Summerlin, which was listed for $17.75 million, sold for $15.95 million. Ivan Sher with IS Luxury was the listing agent and buyer’s agent. The buyer is Outrageous Vegas LLC, according to public records.
The home on Painted Feather Way, built in 2009 and sitting on 1.47 acres, measures 12,991 square feet with five bedrooms and eight baths.
The home went on the market in July 2020 at the start of the pandemic for $10.5 million before Murren removed it.
Sher called it one the “most exceptional architectural estates” in Southern Nevada. It is known as “Skyspace,” which Sher called a unique home at the base of Red Rock Canyon.
Designed by architecture firm Marmol Radziner, builder Jack Raftery and artist James Turrell, Sher called the home “a masterpiece of desert contemporary architecture.” It has views of the Strip and desert skyline and showcases the integration of art and design, Sher said.
The home is one of only two residences in Southern Nevada designed by Marmol Radziner.
“Its striking composition consists entirely of glass, steel and concrete, with bamboo and pine trees seamlessly incorporated into the living spaces, creating an enchanting indoor-outdoor living experience,” Sher said. “Floor-to-ceiling glass walls grace almost every room, providing unobstructed panoramic views of the golf course, city lights and surrounding mountains.”
The home includes four bedroom suites in the main house, a detached one-bedroom guest casita and eight baths. The home’s indoor-outdoor design incorporates the desert landscape with bamboo and pine trees integrated into the main living spaces and floor-to-ceiling glass walls in nearly every room. It offers unobstructed panoramic views of the golf course, city lights and surrounding mountains, Sher said.
The property’s “Skyspace” by James Turrell is an art installation that plays on space and light and is one of just a few residential installations from the artist in the world.
“’Skyspace’ is an immersive art and sensory experience,” Sher said. “It captures the natural light of the rising and setting sun, combines that with a sophisticated pattern of lights inside the structure and creates the illusion through its lighting that you are floating through space. It is a truly transformative experience.”
The estate features several luxury amenities including an elevator, subterranean half basketball court, residential fitness room, dedicated office space, in-home movie theater, and expansive wine cellar. The primary suite features a modern bath with a centered oversized tub. The suite’s outdoor amenities include a private terrace with a Zen garden, Jacuzzi and cold plunge.
At the center of the home is a Scavolini luxury Italian kitchen. The kitchen is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and showcases professional-grade appliances. A detached formal dining room appears as if it is suspended over the edge of the property and features three completely glass-enclosed walls, Sher said.
Entertainment opportunities expand to the courtyard, which is completed with a resort-style patio, outdoor kitchen, advanced surround-sound audio system and a pool that overlooks the Bear’s Best Las Vegas golf course, Sher said.
A climate-controlled garage is hidden from view, surrounded by native desert landscaping designed by Sage Design Studios and the Springs Preserve. Walking paths throughout the property lead to the casita, dining room, art installation and gardens, Sher said.
“Nothing can compare to the unique experience this home offers,” Sher said. “The architecture is unlike anything else in Las Vegas. It truly is a desert sanctuary.”
No. 3 September luxury sale
The No. 3 sale in September after the Wahlberg and Murren sales was $7.5 million for a two-story home on Sanctuary Peak Court in Ascaya in Henderson. The 8,723-square-foot home has four bedrooms and 5½ baths. Evangelina Duke-Petroni with IS Luxury was the listing agent while Ivan Sher with IS luxury was the buyer’s agent.