Earlier this month, Lennar, Shea Homes, and Woodside Homes bought 630 acres of land in the North Valley. East of the I-95, the land purchased is part of Skye Canyon, where the median sale price is currently $424,722 and homes in the area are 1-3 years old. According to the Review Journal, the homebuilders spent $89 million on the parcel, which will include 1,300-1,400 homes from Lennar, 900 homes from Shea Homes, and 700 homes from Woodside Homes. The community will launch in 2021, a much-needed addition to the supply of homes in Las Vegas. Oddly enough, the unnamed development is in the shape of Nevada, a symbolic move that portends positive growth in the North Valley.

Home building site in Las Vegas

The Project

The mixed-development community will include condos, single-family homes, and age-qualified residences, all with extensive amenities. Lennar’s homes will feature the “Everything Included” package, and some of the homes will include the latest tech from Amazon. Lennar has also been noted for partnering with Opendoor to help buyers trade up their old homes for a completely new Lennar home.

The community as a whole will have 15 acres of parks and trails as well as convenient access to Mount Charleston, Lee Canyon, and Red Rock Canyon. Shea Homes will feature prominently, since their site will mostly consist of an active adult community under the Trilogy brand.

"We are excited to partner with Shea Homes and Woodside Homes to apply our thoughtful approach to community design to create a diverse and vibrant community on this unique parcel of land within this prestigious setting," said Joy Broddle, Las Vegas Division President for Lennar, in a press release. "The limited supply and the shortage of affordable homesites in the northwest were all contributing factors to this strategic acquisition."

Largest Land Purchase in Years

Strategic is right: This is no small land purchase. In fact, it’s the largest land purchase in Las Vegas in recent years, and Lennar has no shortage of homes and communities in Las Vegas as it is. To put the 630 acre parcel into perspective, the last time Las Vegas saw such a significant land buy was in 2016 when Farraday Future bought 930 acres of land in North Las Vegas for a factory that later got scrapped in lieu of an existing development in California. And this was a commercial land purchase. 

Lennar, America’s largest homebuilder according to Business Insider, is making significant waves in Las Vegas with this sale. Per the Review Journal, land sales in Las Vegas may be on the rise, but massive parcel purchases of this size have all but vanished in the Valley. The fact that a group of major homebuilders would make this purchase in the Valley clearly signals the success of the area and the need for more homes in Skye Canyon. And commercial development is likely to follow, as is often the case in new areas. Plus, the benefit of living in Skye Canyon is being somewhat removed from The Strip and the traffic that comes with it.

A Bright Future

Suffice to say, a land purchase of this size is a move in the right direction for Las Vegas. With new developments coming to South Las Vegas Boulevard, it seems the future for Las Vegas residents is looking bright. With six other master planned communities seeing new construction in 2018, Lennar’s latest development may not be ready for homeowners just yet, but the new development will mean more options for buyers in North Las Vegas.

Las Vegas may be the most overvalued housing market, but it still appears to be thriving on both the local and national scene.