Summerlin, a tony master-planned community in Las Vegas, is a self-contained serene suburb that loves the great outdoors and acts like a city slicker.
The community, which opened in 1991, sits on 22,500 acres, and according to the 2010 census, is home to some 100,000 residents.
It was ranked No. 3 in RCLCO Real Estate Advisors’ national survey of The Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities: Mid-Year Update 2018 and was lauded as one of the “Best Places to Live in America” by Money Magazine in 2014.
It is named after Jean Amelia Summerlin, the paternal grandmother of Howard Hughes, the reclusive billionaire land developer who bought the barren land in 1952.
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Boundaries
Summerlin is bounded on the west by the Spring Mountains and Red Rock National Conservation Area, on the east primarily by Hualapai Way and North Rampart Boulevard, on the north by Cheyenne Boulevard and the Sun City Age Restricted Community and on the south by Maule Avenue.
Price Range
Although prices range from $300,000 for condos to over $20 million for prime estates, Don Kuhl, principal broker for Synergy/Sotheby’s International Realty, said the luxury end of the market for single-family homes is concentrated in the $750,000 to $1.2 million range.
“The top 10% of our sales are in the luxury end,” he said, adding that in the month of May, excluding new construction, there were 125 sales that were over $750,000. “We don’t have a lot in the $20 million range.”
Robin Compagno, fine-homes specialist for Luxury Homes of Las Vegas, said that the age, finish level and size of the home determine the price. She added that the highest-priced property on the market currently is $16.5 million and that the record price, $17.55 million, was set in 2016.
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Mr. Kuhl said that the newest properties of Summerlin’s 555-acre resort-style Summit Club section, which is still under construction, are expected to command at least $1,400 per square foot.
“It’s ultra-exclusive,” he said, noting that it has a private Tom Fazio golf course, clubhouse and fitness center. “It’s like a Who’s Who of Las Vegas.”
Housing Stock
Most of the housing is single family, and residences in the older sections, established in the 1990s, are in traditional Mediterranean and Tuscan styles with red-tile roofs.
“Lately, there has been a shift to contemporary, and the demand for it is growing,” Mr. Kuhl said. “The designs are clean, and they’re in stark contrast to what was built before.”
He added that exterior architecture is governed by the community’s strict design rules.
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“So people are upgrading the interiors to what I would call the rustic contemporary style,” he said.
Ms. Compagno said that some of the newer villages in Summerlin, including The Ridges, where custom homes start at about $3 million, are being built in the desert contemporary style that features expanses of glass walls that bring in natural light and provide views of the outdoors.
“The luxury end of the market in Summerlin in general, and especially in The Ridges, loves technology,” she said. “The creature comforts residents crave in their homes include remote-controlled automation for everything from doors and lighting to security cameras to elaborate home theaters.”
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What Makes It Unique
As a planned community with its own schools, churches, clubs, golf courses and parks, Summerlin is like a little city.
“It has everything,” Mr. Kuhl said, “and it’s only 15 minutes from the casinos, entertainment and world-class dining of the Strip and 15 minutes from downtown Vegas.”
Ms. Compagno said Summerlin’s master plan was “designed with an extraordinary lifestyle in mind. Everything, even the road medians and roundabouts, has a harmonious design aesthetic. In addition to shopping and dining, it has hiking trails, large parks and greenbelts. It caters to people who want to have an active, upscale lifestyle in a pristine environment.”
She added that it’s ideal for those who “want a posh lifestyle yet want to have a sense of community away from the electric atmosphere that Las Vegas is so well known for.”
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Luxury Amenities
Although Summerlin doesn’t quite have the neon nightlife of the Strip—and there’s no reason it should because they’re so close to each other–it has an abundance of shopping, cultural and culinary choices in its 106-acre Downtown Summerlin development, which opened in 2014.
“It’s predominantly an outdoor venue that feels a bit like New York City,” Ms. Compagno said. “You can make an evening out of it. You can go to dinner, walk around the shops and go to a movie.”
Mr. Kuhl noted that there’s a wide variety of restaurants. Vintner Grill, which has white booths and an outdoor cabana, serves New American cuisine with a Mediterranean flair.
“It’s a staple here, and that’s hard to pull off in Vegas,” he said, adding that celebrities like the musician Carlos Santana, Nicholas Cage and retired U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, of Nevada, show up from time to time. “The food and ambience are the absolute best. It also has a good wine list.”
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At Andiron Steak & Sea, which has a Summerlin Omelette on the lunch menu that features cherry tomatoes, spinach, gruyere, roasted mushrooms and breakfast potatoes, “the Bloody Marys are amazing, the service is outstanding and the desserts, which include donuts with crème brûlée, are fantastic,” Ms. Compagno said.
When Mr. Kuhl goes to Grape Street Café, Wine Bar & Cellar, where the dishes have an Italian flare, he orders the New York strip steak with wasabi aioli, which he said is a “winner.”
Ms. Compagno said the Regal Cinemas Summerlin Luxury 5, which has leather reclining chairs and serves food and cocktails, “redefines the whole movie-going experience and spoils you. People bring their cashmere blankets and wear their luxury pajamas and UGG boots.”
The dog-centric community even has a restaurant that caters to canines. “At Lazy Dog, there’s a patio where you can bring your dogs,” she said, “and there’s a dog menu.”
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The bow-wows can order a hamburger or a grilled chicken breast with brown rice for $4.95; for a quick bite, there’s a side of brown rice, $2.50. Water is complimentary.
Downtown Summerlin has all the major big-city brands, including Gap, Sephora, Ann Taylor, Brooks Brothers, Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom, Steve Madden, Michael Kors and Lululemon.
Downtown Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada.
LPETTET / Getty ImagesMs. Compagno likes the cooking classes at Sur La Table, which she said is “Williams-Sonoma times 10.”
Other favorites include The Art of Shaving, which she called “a grooming, pampering spa for men,” and Tiger Lily Flower Shop, which has “exquisite and magnificent arrangements.”
Tivoli Village, a mixed-use shopping development that’s a five-minute drive from Summerlin, has an outdoor farmers market and outdoor concerts.
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For more entertaining fare, residents head to the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which is 15 minutes away in Downtown Las Vegas's 61-acre Symphony Park.
“It’s a coup for us,” Mr. Kuhl said, adding that the five-acre center opened a decade ago. “It has Broadway plays.”
Other Downtown Vegas treasures include the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, which was established in 1991, and the DISCOVERY Children’s Museum, which is in a three-story, 58,000-square-foot building by the Smith Center.
The Las Vegas Ballpark, the $150-million home of the Las Vegas Aviators minor league baseball team, was completed in Downtown Vegas this year.
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The Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, the community’s private, for-profit hospital with 485 beds in private rooms, recently underwent a $16-million expansion.
Mr. Kuhl said that Summerlin’s public schools “are four- and five-star rated.”
Ms. Compagno noted that in addition to “the award-winning public schools, Summerlin has some of the most elite private schools in the State of Nevada. There is no other part of Las Vegas that offers the selection and caliber of private schools that Summerlin does.”
She said that some of her clients who live in other neighborhoods are willing to commute 40 to 60 minutes each way so their children can attend them.
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Summerlin’s private schools include Faith Lutheran, a co-educational school for grades six through 12; the Meadows School, a co-educational college prep for students in preschool through high school that opened in 1988; and Bishop Gorman, the only Catholic high school in the Diocese of Las Vegas, which has some 1,500 male and female students.
With 150 miles of trails, which are ideal for biking and hiking, 25 full-scale parks and 10 golf courses, including TPC Summerlin, where in 1996 Tiger Woods won his first PGA tournament, Summerlin has a vibrant outdoors life.
“In the winter, you can go snow skiing on Mount Charles,” Mr. Kuhl said. “It’s only 45 minutes away.”
Ms. Compagno noted that the Red Rock National Conservation Area attracts cyclists from around the world and that its sunrise yoga classes are popular.
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Who Lives There
Summerlin attracts a variety of residents who have different interests and who are of different ages.
“It’s geared toward families with children, but it also has two villages for seniors,” Mr. Kuhl said. “It’s a cosmopolitan mix.”
Ms. Compagno noted that “it’s more expensive than other parts of Las Vegas, so there aren’t many entry-level home buyers, but there are professionals, single executives, dual-career couples with no children, young families and retirees who enjoy golf and country-club living.”
Mr. Kuhl added that at least 25% to 30% of the properties are second homes. “It’s set up for lock and leave,” he said. “With 330 sunny days a year and two age-restricted communities for seniors, it’s a great place to retire.”
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The weather, however, isn’t the only incentive: There are no state taxes on personal income, corporate income, pensions or inheritances, and the property taxes are low.
“It’s a most attractive relocation community,” he said. “People from California are coming because there are no hurricanes and no fires; after the disasters, some of them have not been able to get property insurance so they are coming here. There also are groups of Canadians.”
Ms. Compagno added that 50%of her luxury clientele is from The Golden State.
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Notable Residents
Mr. Kuhl said that magician David Copperfield, casino mogul and art collector Steve Wynn, interior designer Roger Thomas, and Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, live in Summerlin. He added Frank Fertitta III, the CEO of Station Casinos, and his brother Lorenzo, who is chairman of Fertitta Capital and director of Red Rock Resorts, to the celebrity-studded list, which Ms. Compagno said also includes singer Celine Dion, husband-and-wife tennis greats Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, and musician Carlos Santana.
Outlook
Ms. Compagno is so bullish about Summerlin’s future that she encourages people to invest in it.
“I believe in the quality of its master plan,” she said. “It includes rigorous standards for the care of the homes, and there is a moratorium on speculation homes. Both protect property values beautifully.”
She said that even in the 2009 economic downturn, “Summerlin held its value better than any other area of Las Vegas, and it was one of the first to rebound.”
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She cited SalesTraq’s 2018 Las Vegas Price Appreciation Report on median home prices that shows increases of 9.8% to 21.2% in Summerlin since 2017. She noted that no section of Summerlin showed a decrease from 2017.
Mr. Kuhl said that Summerlin will remain a prime destination for those seeking a luxury lifestyle.
He noted that the community has room to grow—there are 6,000 acres in the master plan that have not been developed—and that the ongoing development in the Las Vegas area will continue to be a big draw.
“We’re building a new football stadium for the Raiders, we’re expanding our convention center, and we’re building two new casinos—Drew Las Vegas and Resorts World—on the Strip,” he said. “If there’s a downturn, we’ll be able to weather it better than most.”
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