Courtesy
A view of the Las Vegas Strip from a SkyVu model home in Henderson Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Photo Courtesy of Christopher Homes
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 | 2 a.m.
The homes in this luxury real estate community boast an unadulterated view of the Strip, 72-inch fireplaces, and — in some cases — aesthetic wine lockers, recreational rooms where residents can shoot pool and vanities with mirrors ringed in halos of light.
The houses are cropping up in the hillside of MacDonald Highlands, a luxury community in Henderson, where longtime local developer Christopher Homes is building its latest neighborhood: SkyVu.
“It’s a resort-style community,” said Erika Geiser, vice president of marketing at Christopher Homes, which already has two other neighborhoods in MacDonald Highlands. “I mean, homeowners who live here say they feel like they’re on vacation every day.”
The homes start in the upper $2 million range and can span up to nearly 6,500 square feet depending on their floor plan, said Kimberly Stuhmer, director of sales at Christopher Homes.
Clients can choose between a single, two-story or three-story model, and elevators are available to add in the latter, she said from one of five model homes in a $30 million collection that the company debuted this month.
Christopher Homes prides itself on designing modern and even minimalistic homes, while still maintaining comfort and livability, she said.
“Every single thing that we’ve done in the home has a design intent that was specifically thought out,” Stuhmer said. “It wasn’t something that was an afterthought. Everything was specifically designed in the mind of having that luxury.”
There are several reasons for the boom in high-end housing, said Las Vegas Realtors President Merri Perry, who specifically pointed to the local supply, Nevada’s lack of a state income tax and a low cost of living compared with neighboring states.
“Right now luxury is the best it’s ever been,” Perry said. “And I don’t see a slowdown.”
Each of the five SkyVu models — differing in color, decor and layout, but similar in their opulence — can be customized or personalized to a client’s taste, Stuhmer said. That could mean adding more bathrooms or expansive, suite-style bedrooms, a dry or wet cocktail bar or a “wellness center” containing a massage table, sauna and exercise area.
Just over a year into sales, she said, 40 of SkyVu’s 102 lots are already under contract.
“We offer a full service,” she said. “What I mean by that is somebody can come in and they select their lot, they select their home site, and we’ll do everything from the landscaping to the hardscaping to the water in the pool to a beautiful built-out barbecue. So somebody really just needs to come in and bring their toothbrush.”
With a custom-built home, the buyer is responsible for hiring an architect, interior designer, landscaper and builder separately, Geiser said. With SkyVu, she emphasized, that’s not the case.
“Because we can bring those resources of all those consultants together to design these homes and that knowledge, the buyer ends up benefiting,” Geiser said. “And it ends up really being a custom-level home, even better than custom-level.”
Clients can specify what they want down to the flooring, the countertops or the cabinet finishes, she added.
“The buyer when they walk in here — whatever they see, they get,” Geiser said on a luxe sectional in one of the model homes’ living room. “We’ll accommodate that. They want that light? We’ll put that light in their home.”
SkyVu is all about creating indoor-outdoor transitional living, as well, Stuhmer said, whether through the 11-foot sliding glass doors in each home that open to the patio, the upstairs entertainment areas called “sky lofts” that attach to a deck or skylights in the bathrooms — where, also, standalone bathtubs may sit with a view of greenery or the Strip.
The view, specifically, is what sets the property apart, Stuhmer said. Not only can residents see the Strip — which “comes to life” at night, she noted — they can also take in the unique red-rock mountains.
That view is visible not only from the first- and second-floor patios, but also from floor-to-ceiling windows in the homes’ master bedrooms and, in some cases, the dining rooms. It makes it seem like the Sphere and other Strip attractions are right in a client’s backyard, Stuhmer said.
Las Vegas is a great place to entertain, she continued, especially when people can throw open their doors and windows — where, outside, luxury pools are lined with bronze sculptures, tables and chairs, fire pits and even a miniature golf course.
“The way that we design our homes is — the kitchen is basically the heart of the home,” Stuhmer added, pointing to one of the model homes’ kitchens, where the appliances and even deep cabinet space are virtually invisible so as not to dominate the space. “Everything is specifically designed to be tucked away or we have art that’s sitting right above our cooktop.”
Nevada’s favorable tax structure leads people to purchase luxury homes in Las Vegas, Stuhmer said, but what she’s found is that those who intended to only live here for a few months at a time end up enjoying it so much that they sell their homes in other states.
“Just within Henderson, there’s wonderful restaurants — we’re 15 minutes from the Strip, so great restaurants and entertainment,” she said. “And so they feel like they can live here and have everything they want within a seven-mile radius.”
Perry echoed the sentiment, saying she doesn’t expect Las Vegas — with its growing, world-class array of entertainment, sports and restaurants — to see a dip in the luxury real estate boom any time soon.
“Even with the interest rates going higher, it’s not slowing down luxury,” Perry said. “Because a lot of people are paying cash, and we’re a lot cheaper than neighboring states and we have everything that you could possibly want to offer.”
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