After much anticipation, ASCAYA is now selling its custom home sites. This is fantastic news for the Las Vegas luxury community. When Henry Chang, chairman of NWS Holdings Ltd, began buying the land in the early 1990’s valley residents had little idea of the amazing things to come. Though it has been a long-and-difficult journey, ASCAYA now sits poised to become Las Vegas’ premier luxury community.
ASCAYA was initially slated to begin selling home sites in 2009, and even had many pending lot sales. Though, at that time, the traumatic real-estate market did not offer prime conditions to proceed to full release, and ASCAYA owner Henry Chang decided to take all home sites off the market. With more than twenty-five years of planning and hard work behind the project, Chang knew that an ill-timed release would destroy the long-term value of the community. By waiting for the right market conditions, Chang ensures enduring value for ASCAYA’S future owners.
Now the project is in full-force again, and there are plenty of great things happening at ASCAYA right now.
“We have seen a tremendous amount of interest and excitement,” says an enthusiastic Darin Marques, ASCAYA’S sales manager. In fact, there is an ever-present flow of prospective buyers and local real-estate agents coming to tour the home sites and discuss community specifics.
SAYING NO TO THE SALE
Darin and his team turn down offers from spec builders all the time. The reason: ASCAYA is committed to being an owner-inspired community, and protecting its residents’ future home values.
Spec building is when an individual or group purchases a lot, builds a custom home, and then immediately lists it for sale. While this is the practice at many other luxury communities (and can actually account for inflated sales numbers) it does not accurately reflect the success of a particular development.
Spec building can be problematic for owners who build a custom home with the intent of retaining long-term value. For instance, a spec builder buys ten lots at a luxury community for $500K per lot. They then spend another $750K per lot building each home. Average home prices are expected to be $3-4MM per finished home in that community. The spec builder now controls a small, but significant, percentage of the community’s limited product. Spec-built homes are not meant to sit on the market long, and can be the cause of drastically-decreased property values if the spec builder chooses to sell below market value. Even selling each house well below the estimated $3-4MM price point, the spec builder can make a handsome profit at the expense of everyone else’s home values. This is another of the reasons ASCAYA does not allow spec building.
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Darin explains that there are many committed buyers waiting for that just-right home site to become available. Those reasons to wait can be pretty compelling.
With home sites reaching one-thousand feet, demand rises with the elevation. Meaning, everyone wants to be at the top. Release phases are designed to fill in the lower elevations before the higher. Filling the community this way is smart because it keeps construction centralized during each release. Also, the community expands on a uniform time frame. This is great for buyers because they know that their homes will be completed at or near the homes closest to their own. This allows owners to move in without worrying about construction traffic and noise.
ASCAYA is still in the process of landscaping and putting the finishing touches on everything, like street lights. As for landscaping, ASCAYA is very conscious of its environmental impact on the valley. They made the decision to delay landscaping as long as possible, saving untold gallons of water (also one of the reasons the community has no golf course). Rather than landscaping the entire mountainside at the outset, they chose to wait until sales began to start planting and watering. This is very much in line with ASCAYA’S environmental commitment to the community. In fact, the whole development was formed with reclaimed materials. The tiered walls are made from rocks harvested during construction. Nothing was taken off site thanks to ASCAYA’s very sustainable build plan.
ASCAYA will be breaking ground on one of the most innovative clubhouses in the country this fall. This build schedule is part of ASCAYA’s long-term plan. Just like landscaping, ASCAYA chose to build the clubhouse with the initial sales release to minimize environmental impact and protect owner values. Rather than building the clubhouse with the first release in 2009, ASCAYA chose to wait until construction began on sold lots. By doing this, ASCAYA will give its owners a brand-new facility, boasting the latest architectural and design trends, as well as incredible owner amenities. While this is a great thing for future residents, it can slow initial sales. Some owners prefer moving into a community that has all of the resident amenities fully finished. Though, with all that ASCAYA has planned for their clubhouse, future owners have plenty to look forward to.
ASCAYA prides itself on its desert-contemporary design standards. This beautiful style celebrates its natural desert surroundings and is becoming the benchmark of luxury desert living. This style is fairly new, and some prospective owners are waiting to see just how it will look as homes begin to go up. Regarding pending builds, Darin says, “Several homes are set to begin construction in the next couple of months and we are confident that this will increase demand even more.” Overall, prospective owners are very excited about ASCAYA’S design requirements. They love the idea of being in on the first wave of this coming trend.
While some of these concerns are valid and may have influenced initial home sales, ASCAYA knows its clientele and the luxury market. Everything they do benefits not only their future owners, but the Las Vegas community as well. Fully committed to the future, ASCAYA’S rise to the top of Las Vegas’ luxury market is just beginning.
