Turnberry Tower Luxury Condominium Resale Report

With the recent completion of the East Tower for Turnberry Towers now completed for over a couple of months and resale units being available for sale on the Las Vegas MLS, it’s interesting to see what the end user activity is going to be – not only for Turnberry Towers but multiple other Las Vegas high rise luxury condominiums that have just been completed. All hype aside, the truth lies in actual numbers from resale activity and the Las Vegas luxury condominium market (with the exception of a couple of older towers) is a new market in comparison to established condominium markets such as Chicago and New York.

I can’t really comment or compare other cities such as New York since I’m not licensed for these markets. But… I am a licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker and have a pretty good understanding of what fuels the Chicago condominium market. Let’s put it this way, there is a little less speculation going on for determining what is a good price for a downtown Chicago condominium in an “established” area and that’s due to the history of the resale market. Chicago condominium developers know this… and so do the “experts”. The actual “end user” for a Chicago condominium (somebody who is actually going to live there) certainly does not care what the developer’s construction costs are or future appreciation rates, they care more about several other factors such as location and amenities. In other words, you better be able to justify your price for a new luxury condominium tower in Chicago based on facts and not speculation.

As of today, there are 102 Turnberry Tower East units available for sale ranging in price from $428,000 for a 814 sq. ft. 1 Bed/1.5 Bath unit to $1,600,000 for a 1,657 sq. ft. Penthouse on the 45th floor. Obviously, these are asking prices and more importantly, let’s get into actual sales as reported on the Las Vegas MLS.

For actual sales, we have three sales as reported on the Las Vegas MLS ranging in sales prices from $409,000 for a 814 sq. ft. 1Bed/1.5 bath unit that was on the market for 52 days to $690,000 for a 1,405 sq. ft. unit with 2 bed/2baths that was on the market for 125 days. Currently, there are no properties listed as Contingent or Pending in the Las Vegas MLS.

* $15,000 Reported Seller Contribution.

According to tax records for the 1,405 square foot unit, the seller paid $795,000 for it brand new. On paper, it appears the buyer who paid $690,000 got a good deal but establishing what a good deal actually is, is going to take a little longer then going off of what builders say the condominiums are worth or their current pricing. It’s going to matter what the end user says they are worth when the towers are actually being lived in. Obviously with the number of units never lived in (100 of the 102 Units listed for sale on the Las Vegas MLS are listed as “vacant”) it’s more then apparant there was a fair amount of speculation going on.

In terms of an actual investment analysis, we obviously need to know other important factors such as established rental values, otherwise all we have is speculation.

Turnberry Towers Rentals – On the Las Vegas MLS, there are currently 55 units available for rent in the East Tower with four units under a contingent status. A 1,399 sq. ft. unit for $2,650, a 1,405 sq. ft. unit for $2,500, and two 814 square foot units that had an available price of $1,500 a month.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment or contact me with the information below.

Paul Francis, ABR,CRS | Coldwell Banker Premier | Las Vegas Luxury Condominiums | 702.592.3058