Aliante, a 1,900-acre development of North Las Vegas real estate by North Valley Enterprises, was rated No. 1 for Las Vegas new home closings among all master-planned communities in Southern Nevada during the first quarter, a local housing research firm reported. Aliante Homes‘ No. 1 ranking follows a report from the national housing research firm of Robert Charles Lesser & Co. that the Aliante community was the sixth top-selling master plan in the nation during 2004. Las Vegas home builders at Aliante are Astoria Homes, Del Webb, D.R. Horton, Meritage Homes, KB Home, Lennar, Pardee Homes, Pulte Homes and US Home. Prices range from the high $100,000s to the high $600,000s. Contact MS Las Vegas Real Estate for more information.

Passenger traffic at McCarran International in Las Vegas continued to climb in April with the airport processing more than 3.7 million arriving and departing passengers, up 3.8 percent from a year ago. Year-to-date, local air traffic topped the 14 million mark in just four months and was 6.1 percent ahead of last year’s record-setting pace. Anyone who’s been to Vegas knows that air travel plays a vital role in the health and growth of our economy. Regular readers of this blog are familiar with the performance of McCarran International exactly for this reason. The Southern Nevada economy continues to perform at an optimum rate and the market for Las Vegas homes is strong and solid. MS Las Vegas Real Estate invites you to explore your residential options.

Open-air double decker buses are popular in many vacation destinations, and it seems as if Las Vegas is next on the list. In early July, Las Vegas strip patrons can look forward to an authentic British experience as red double decker buses roll down the strip for the very first time. The new company is called London Transport and each London Transport bus will be air conditioned on the lower level, with open-air seating above. They’ll also offer onboard guides to provide Las Vegas trivia and history to passengers. The Regional Transportation Commission, which owns and operates the Citizens Area Transit bus system, in June expects to receive its first shipment of new double-decker buses from Alexander Dennis, one of Great Britain’s largest manufacturers. Even the city is getting in on this gig! MS Las Vegas Real Estate invites you to a trip past the Bellagio fountains from a newly elevated point of view. Please bring your camera!

The Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes rose 0.2% in April from the month earlier to a record annual rate of 1.32 million units. For April, sales of new homes were up 13.3% from a year earlier. The median price of a new home rose 3.8% to $230,800 from a year earlier. The price increases on new homes weren’t as eye-popping as gains reported Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors on prices for existing homes. The Realtors’ report showed median prices of existing homes were 15.1% higher than a year earlier. The Las Vegas real estate market continues to provide a steady supply of new homes and appreciation rates are generally above the national average.

Sales of existing homes rose 4.5% in April to the highest sales pace on record, as low mortgage rates continued to fuel a housing boom, a national trade group reported Tuesday. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of single-family homes and condominiums climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.18 million units last month, the fastest pace on record. The national median home price rose 15.1% to $206,000 from a year ago. That marked the biggest increase since November 1980, when prices rose 15.6%. MS Las Vegas Real Estate provides comprehensive service in one of the most dynamic residential housing markets in the country. Las Vegas homes have been a phenomenal investment to say the least.

Clark County politicians have approved a $2.4 billion plan to complete McCarran International Airport’s long awaited capacity expansion by 2011, almost three years earlier than previously planned. Approximately 47 percent of last year’s record 37.4 million local visitors funneled through McCarran Airport according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Local travel leaders hope to increase visitation to 43 million by 2009, with approximately half of those guests slated to arrive by airplane. In addition, the local population in Southern Nevada increased by 20% from 2000 to 2004 and this played a significant role in the expansion decision. Las Vegas homes are such a good investment because Las Vegas has become one of the most dynamic and important cities of the 21st Century. This is a real city in every conceivable way and MS Las Vegas Real Estate is your personal tour guide to the metropolis that we are rapidly becoming.

At MS Las Vegas Real Estate, we love country music! Las Vegas just got done hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards this week and followed it up with a huge concert event at Mandalay Bay. The concert was recorded and will be aired on CBS in December. It stars Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Merle Haggard, George Strait and many others. It makes no difference what your tastes may be, Las Vegas offers it’s residents every type of entertainment experience on the planet! Las Vegas homes provide a lifestyle that just can’t be beat.

UNLV is planning a major expansion of it’s educational facilities at a new site about 20 miles from the existing campus. The new research-focused campus would be built on 640 acres of Bureau of Land Management property between Pecos Road and Lamb Boulevard. Enrollments at the state’s colleges and universities will increase about 60 percent by 2014 to 162,000 students, according to the state’s system of higher education. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno and the Community College of Southern Nevada are each expected to grow about 50 percent by then and are seeking to expand their campuses to make room for the new students. North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon said the campus will be part of a 16,000-acre master planned community of new North Las Vegas real estate. The Aliante homes community also has permission to build 6,500 Las Vegas homes, bringing in 250,000 new residents to the area.

The southwestern Las Vegas valley location and park-like setting of the Mountain’s Edge master-planned community are contributing to brisk sales of new Las Vegas homes. Mountain’s Edge real estate will feature five parks, including a regional park with athletic fields, ramadas and playgrounds, and a trail system. Contact MS Las Vegas Real Estate for more information.

Statistics released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors showed that the median price of Las Vegas homes rose to $291,000 in the first quarter, an increase of 29.4 percent when compared with a median price of $266,400 in the same quarter a year ago. That performance earned the Las Vegas real estate market the number six spot on the association’s 136-city list of residential appreciation rates.

The Southern Nevada Index of Leading Economic Indicators showed modest upward movement for April, indicating continued steady performance during this year’s early months. The index, compiled by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, stood at 130.18 in April, up slightly from 130.02 in March and 129.16 in April 2004. The number of new residents coming to Las Vegas, based on out-of-state driver’s licenses turned into the Department of Motor Vehicles, grew 6.6 percent in April to 6,600. More than 60,000 jobs have been added to the Southern Nevada economy in the past year as well. The market for Las Vegas homes continues to hold steady and looks poised for moderate price appreciation in the second half of the year. MS Las Vegas Real Estate is your personal resource for information concerning residential opportunities in Southern Nevada.

Not only did Las Vegas draw a record 37.4 million visitors last year, but March of this year set an all-time monthly attendance record! Nearly 3.4 million visitors came here in March, a record tally that crushed the prior monthly best of 3.33 million set in October, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said Friday. Year-to-date, Las Vegas’ nearly 9.4 million visitor count was 1.4 percent better than last year’s three-month pace. We’re on track to break last years visitor record! MS Las Vegas Real Estate is continually stressing the superb economic underpinnings of one of the most incredibly performing residential real estate markets in the entire country. Las Vegas homes are a great value in a city with an economy that continues to surge forward.

Beginning at 10 a.m. this Saturday, the western-themed Helldorado parade will march along Fourth Street in downtown Las Vegas. The parade, which will feature musicians, cowboys, horses and over 170 floats, is just part of the overall Helldorado Days celebration, being revived this year as part of the city’s 100th birthday celebration. The once annual event began back in 1934 as the Boulder Dam, later renamed Hoover Dam, neared completion. The festival was a tool to bring tourists to town. For more information, visit www.lasvegas2005.org. MS Las Vegas Real Estate salutes Las Vegas on it’s centennial birthday and wishes our great city another awesome 100 years in the future!

More than 20 Las Vegas Boy Scouts from four Summerlin community troops recently fulfilled requirements for their cooking merit badges at a special clinic conducted by chefs at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas. The clinic was headed by Chef Ryan Carson with assistance from Chef Chris Smith. The clinic was underwritten by The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of the Summerlin master-planned community. MS Las Vegas Real Estate continues to make the case in this blog that Las Vegas is a real city and a well-rounded lifestyle awaits anyone with an open mind and a tolerance for 325 sunny days every year! You’ll find an easy-to-use page on our website that features the Summerlin community and beautiful Summerlin homes.

Newsweek magazine recently did an academic survey at the high school level and Green Valley High School in Southern Nevada won top honors in the state and was additionally ranked as one of top 1000 high schools in the nation. Green Valley’s national ranking was 272. To create its rankings the magazine divided the total number of Advanced Placement tests and International Baccalaureate tests a high school’s students took by the number of students in its graduating class. The magazine also looked at the share of graduating students taking at least one of the tests. To take a closer look at the Green Valley community and Green Valley real estate, visit MS Las Vegas Real Estate at www.mslasvegasrealestate.com. Look down the left side menu and you’ll find Green Valley right there.

New residents of KB Home’s San Destin neighborhood of North Las Vegas real estate will be among the first Southern Nevada residents to save as much as 75,000 gallons of water per year through a program launched by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The Water Smart Home made its debut Monday at the company’s San Destin-Palazzo subdivision within the Aliante homes master-planned community. The program, launched by the water authority, requires the incorporation of particular water conservation principles by the home builder. Specifications cover outdoor landscaping design, appliances and plumbing fixtures. Las Vegas homes that meet minimum standards may carry the Water Smart Home designation. This year alone, KB expects to build 2,500 homes under the program in the Las Vegas Valley. Contact MS Las Vegas Real Estate for more information at 888-349-2595.

Pulte Homes provides three Las Vegas golf home collections for entry-level buyers at its Silverstone Ranch community in the northwestern valley. Several Las Vegas homes within the three collections are available for quick move-in. The Merion Collection of Las Vegas real estate offers three two-story homes ranging from 1,583 to 1,890 square feet and priced from the low $300,000s. Only single-story designs are featured in the Oakmont Collection. Available designs measure 1,520 to 1,881 square feet and are priced from the $320,000s. The Cypress Collection has four single and two-story Las Vegas golf homes ranging from 1,881 to 2,665 square feet. They are priced from the mid-$300,000s. Central to the community is the 27-hole Silverstone Golf Club. Additionally, the community has a 6-acre park, basketball and tennis courts, playgrounds and arbors. Call MS Las Vegas Real Estate for more information at 888-349-2595.

Rhodes Homes is developing Henderson real estate at the master-planned Tuscany Residential Village. In addition to these beautiful Henderson homes, the community will include a golf course, recreation center, central marketplace and hiking trails. Tuscany will feature several neighborhoods with homes for every budget, including luxurious condominiums and townhomes, single-family homes and executive estates. Many of these homes line the fairways of the Tuscany golf course. The first set of models are now open and MS Las Vegas Real Estate would be happy to introduce you to the newest master-planned community in Henderson, Nevada.

Two Las Vegas real estate penthouse condominiums at Turnberry Place will be offered at live federal public auction on Wednesday, May 18, at 2 p.m. at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. Interested bidders may also participate online through a live Internet simulcast of the auction that allows online bidders to compete against in-person bidders. Now, how do you think these two incredible pieces of high-rise Las Vegas luxury real estate ended up in the hands of the federal government? Take a guess.

Wow…..the median price of a home in California is $495,400. In order to qualify for a loan for a “median” California home, you need to be making roughly $116,000….or you can forget it. For God sakes, come to Las Vegas….where the median price of a resale home is about $270,000. The economy couldn’t be stronger and Las Vegas real estate is just a little more reasonable. Hey, don’t forget all those California taxes you leave behind as well.

There are only five Las Vegas luxury homes left at The Villas and The Christopher Collection at the Southern Highlands luxury golf community. Floor plans range from 3,155 to more than 5,200 square feet and are priced from about $1 million to $2 million. Many of these stunning Las Vegas homes are located on sites aligning the fairways of the private golf course, and two of the homes are models, which are professionally designed and furnished, and ready for immediate move-in. Call MS Las Vegas Real Estate at 888-349-2595 for a private showing of these outstanding estate properties.

Here’s some red-hot Las Vegas real estate! Reservations have been completed for all 1,283 units in tower 1 of Trump International Las Vegas. A second tower is planned and it seems as if they’ll need it. The big job now is to turn those $20k reservations into complete transactions. Trump Las Vegas will include 880 studio units and 352 one-bedroom condominiums on floors 16 through 59, and 50 suites of one, two, or three bedrooms on the top five floors. Prices range from $600,000 to $6 million. Call MS Las Vegas Real Estate for more info at 888-349-2595.

Las Vegas has become one of the major condo conversion markets in the country with an 8 percent share of the $6.5 billion in conversion volume among 10 major metropolitan areas, a report from Marcus & Millichap Research Services shows. Some 17,000 apartment units in Las Vegas are projected to be converted to condos, said Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research. About 7,500 are being actively marketed as condos and 10,000 are proposed to be converted. The median price per unit for major conversion properties is $130,000 this year, up slightly from $129,000 in 2004. Prices are expected to rise substantially in the second quarter based on prices for properties under contract. Contact MS Las Vegas Real Estate for more information on this exciting segment of the market for Las Vegas homes.

Wynn Las Vegas is the most expensive resort hotel ever built. It would be amazing enough if it were the most expensive piece of Las Vegas real estate ever, but this is the world heavyweight champion price tag for a hotel. At $2.7 billion total with a per-room cost of $1 million each, Wynn Las Vegas breaks all previous financial records as it reaches for the ultimate in opulence and style. At MS Las Vegas Real Estate we like to talk about the tremendous growth in Las Vegas luxury real estate, but this is just astounding.