Developers in landlocked Las Vegas have reaped a bonanza with auction buys of dozens of acres of land from the federal government for a combined $16.5 million.
The Bureau of Land Management listed 10 parcels of land on Energy.net, of which eight — comprising 41.85 acres — sold, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, citing the BLM.
Combined the purchases work out to $394,265 per acre.
The developers paid more than $1.2 million over fair market value for parcels between 2.5 acres and 25 acres. Two of the largest lots, at 25 acres and 10 acres, didn’t sell.
Purchases broke down as follows:
- Haikal Exemption Trust, for which no information was immediately available, won three bids during the sale. The trust paid $1.5 million for 2.5 acres east of South Rainbow Boulevard and North Gomer; $1.7 million for 2.5 acres at Roban Avenue and South Las Vegas Boulevard; and $2.1 million for 5 acres east of the 215-Beltway at West Azure and North Hualapai Way.
- Atlanta-based Beazer Homes, an Atlanta-based home construction company, won bids for two adjacent 5-acre parcels east of South Racetrack between Burkholder Boulevard and Venice Avenue, for $1.7 million and $2 million.
- Elite Excavating, based in Utah and Nevada, paid $3.7 million for 12.5 acres east of U.S. Highway 95 along Sun Village Park Drive and Kyle Canyon Road.
- Hamid “Henry” Moradi paid $2.6 million for 6.85 acres off Blue Diamond Road between South Grand Canyon Drive and Hualapai Way.
- Khusrow Roohani, owner of locally based Seven Valleys Realty & Construction, paid $1.2 million for 2.5 acres north of Blue Diamond Road along South Buffalo Drive and West Cougar Avenue.
- Two parcels received no bids, including 10 acres at the southwest corner of West La Madre Way and North Fort Apache Road, with a fair market value of $4.3 million, and 25 acres east of the 215 Beltway, on the northern border of West Centennial. They may be reauctioned.
It’s not clear why 35 acres of available land didn’t sell.
Funds from the BLM land auction will pay for recreational opportunities and wildland fire reduction, according to the agency. The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, primarily in 12 western states.
Developers in Las Vegas point to a local land crunch, with one builder saying 25,000 acres of land around Las Vegas Valley are available for development, with the region poised to run out of buildable land in as little as seven years, according to the Review-Journal.
Home builders at a Keller Williams’ Meet the Builders panel in March cited challenges to development, including the lack of land, high land costs, record residential real estate prices and high mortgage rates.
The BLM, which controls approximately 88 percent of the land in Clark County, is coming under increased pressure from the private sector to sell off dirt. Last month, Gov. Joe Lombardo pressured state legislators to issue a resolution urging the Department of the Interior to release land for housing.
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