• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Nevada Business Magazine

The Decision Maker's Magazine

Subscribe Now!

  • Subscriptions
    • Print
    • Mobile App
    • Email
    • Nevada News & PR Wire
  • Features
    • New This Month
    • View Issues
    • Cover Stories
    • Feature Stories
    • Industry Focus
    • Building Nevada
    • Special Reports
    • Meet the Decision Maker
    • Press Release Wire
    • Nevada Industries
  • Departments
    • A Matter of Opinion
    • Around the State
    • Business Indicators
    • Commentary
    • Commercial RE Report
    • Crossfire
    • Expert Advice
    • Face to Face
    • Free Market Watch
    • Inside Politics
    • Power of Attorney
    • Profit & Loss
    • Speaking for Nevada
    • Tech.knowledge.me
    • The Last Word
    • Vital Signs
  • Planning Calendar
  • Advertising
    • Advertising Info
    • Advertising Staff
    • Submission Requirements
    • Online Advertising
  • Events
    • NBM Events
  • About
    • About the Magazine
    • Contact the Staff
  • Connect
    • Business Directory
    • Press Release Wire
    • Business Calendar
    • Submit Listing
    • Post Press Release
    • Add Your Event
    • Sign Up
    • Log In
You are here: Home / Features / Building Nevada / Multi-Family in Nevada

Multi-Family in NevadaLet’s Get Vertical

April 1, 2021 By Jennifer Rachel Baumer Leave a Comment

When the pandemic locked Nevada into quarantine in 2020, multi-family commercial real estate market professionals braced for bad news. With the state essentially at a standstill, the most likely scenario was the multi-family commercial real estate market would take a direct economic hit. Instead, the opposite happened. The pandemic accelerated the market nationally, and the same thing happened in Nevada. People left highly dense markets and engaged in social distancing by moving somewhere there was literally more space per person.

“They left New York, San Francisco and LA,” said Trevor Richardson, broker, Dickson Commercial Group. “Everybody wants to talk about it like it was an exodus but, it’s not like nobody lives there, it’s just that a lot of the density has left.”

While that meant rents are rising in Reno to levels previously unseen, multifamily users are getting more space, and amenities, for their buck. So, the number of people coming to Nevada continues to drive rent prices upward, and building sites are becoming scarce. In a nutshell, this market is not what commercial real estate professionals expected from the pandemic.

“We’re all gun shy about recessions in Reno, but I have data that shows Reno outperformed every market on the West Coast during the pandemic,” Richardson said. “We’re not over-saturated. Even if everything that’s under construction was built today, it’s still not enough multifamily to curb the market and to make it affordable.”

Home is Where the Heart is

In southern Nevada, residential building has taken a turn and headed into the city, rather than out of it as multi-family projects go up in the center of the city.

“What’s truly interesting is we’re seeing more assets being built in the core,” said Devin Lee, CCIM, Northcap Commercial. Northcap has a project in the Hughes Center and another being built in front of Symphony Park. “That’s new, where the core is getting built. I’m pretty exited about it, because I’ve been living here my whole life and we’ve always been building out.”

Projects are still being built pushing out from the core, but now they’re also being built at the heart of the city. Increased density is one of the key trends of multi-family construction in 2021. The days of the old 2-story garden walk-up apartment properties have passed. Density is the name of the game in metro areas, with 30 to 70 units per acre. Housing shortages in high population, high density cities are driving the need for larger projects with lots of amenities. Concierge services, resort settings and smart technology all combine to allow busy professionals to control their homes even when they’re not in them.

“The whole apartment game in Las Vegas is developing,” said Lee. “The last five to, almost, 10 years, people are building to a better spec, and also trying to find places to build where there’s walkability. That’s another relatively new concept [in this market].”

In northern Nevada, multi-family properties are building in south Reno and in Sparks, and they’re looking for infill sites. By far the largest infill project is RED Development’s Reno Experience district, a multi-use, multi-family project already renting out 1,500-square-foot, 2-story loft units with rents running $3,000 a month. That’s a shocking amount for Reno rents, but the units are leasing out and the locals have shown the most interest in leasing.

Other than that, Richardson said, northern Nevada doesn’t have enough units even under construction to curb demand, it hasn’t for the last six years and probably won’t in the next two. And there are boundaries to expansion.

“Land is incredibly expensive and going up. Construction is incredibly expensive and going up. Lumber has never been more expensive than it is right now, that will fluctuate. We currently have all these forces in Reno that are causing our town to become denser,” said Richardson.

Some of those barriers won’t change. Reno is in a small valley surrounded by 360 degrees of mountains. There’s nowhere to sprawl. Boise can build to the east for another hundred years, Phoenix is surrounded by flat developable land. Reno has mountains, so building apartments means building up, like the apartments at the Reno Experience district.

“It’s cut and dried and simple,” said Richardson. “We have four layers of converging facts: geography, population, overwhelming demand to live here because of our climate and a growing industrial and business community. Throw all those into a small market that can’t expand very much, and prices go through the roof, land values go through the roof. That’s what we’re experiencing.”

When people started leaving the bigger, more densely packed cities, they moved to secondary markets, often leaving a densely populated state like California for the nearest population center in the next state over. The result is booming rents in the secondary and tertiary cities, and rents dropping in once-denser cities.

Reno’s in the top 20 nationally in terms of single-family median home prices. What’s unusual is that Reno’s single-family home prices have remained high even as rents continue to climb. That makes Reno unique, because other markets with expensive single-family prices saw rents drop.

Richardson sees that distinction as a function of fundamentals: people, mountains and migration. People have been coming to Nevada from California for 150 years. They just have more reason to do so with California’s current politics and pandemic. Others come for pure migration purposes. They just want to be in Nevada.

Amenities, the Needs of Now

With the ability to work remotely, people are spending more time than ever in their homes, sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity. Spending so much time at home means, for most people, home needs to offer more.

Today’s multi-family projects are expected to have a well decorated clubhouse and game rooms, likely equipped for billiards, foosball, and Xbox. Outdoor activities are a must, yoga studios are par for the course and higher end properties offer amenities more typical in condos: concierge services, resort-style pools and landscaping and restaurants.

Most of the properties being built are considered Class A. In fact, some are considered double Class A, or Class A+ – or just more. Tuscan Highlands is a 304-unit luxury property at St. Rose Parkway and the I-15. Located in the Southern Highlands master planned community, the property opened during the pandemic. There is a restaurant on property for residents that, with 12,000-square-feet of outdoor dining, means eating out while staying safe during COVID-19. Concierge services exist to handle the minutia of life.

Today’s multi-family units range from 500-squarefeet to more than 1,500. Some residents downsized to apartments; others are looking for all of those perks in a house-sized apartment.

Home offices have been trending for years, but the pandemic really put them to work. The ability to work from home is a benefit when businesses have to shut down to ensure the safety of employees and customers. But the ability to work from home also means people are home around the clock. That’s led to changes in the amenities renters want. Some of the perks they’re looking for include outdoor events as well as health clubs, salons and chiropractic services. Pet parks, resident lounges and co-working spaces are on wish lists and in developments, said Jonathan Fore, managing partner, Fore Property Group.

“Resident lounges are the community room from 20 years ago but now with a wine bar, a coffee machine, billiards and a foosball table,” said Fore. “An area where tenants who live there can gather within the building.” Fore Property Group is currently working on Jade Las Vegas luxury apartments on West Twain Avenue, and a 143-unit project near U.S. 95 and Durango.

Also high on resident’s wish lists is solitude. In addition to rooms set up for creating videos and podcasts, there are quiet rooms available where tenants can work. “For residents, if they’re not going into an office, they need to have a quiet area. If they don’t have it in their apartment, they need to have it in the building where there’s the ability to video conference, meet with other people and close the door and have a quiet space to work,” said Fore.

Technology made work from home possible. It also makes controlling home from work, or anywhere else, possible. Tenants are actively looking for units with technology that allows them to control the heat or the air conditioning before they get home. They want video doorbells so they can monitor anyone around their unit when they’re not home. And, when they are home, they want high speed internet both for virtual meetings and to stream television as they cut the cable cord.

In both northern and southern Nevada, rents reflect apartment amenities and square footage, with most double class A units going for $2.15 or more per square foot, and some units leasing at $3 a foot. The pandemic affected the market, which was expected. What wasn’t expected was the way in which it did so.

“We started tracking in April,” explained Lee. The brokerage team didn’t just track which tenants were going to pay rent and which weren’t, they also tracked volume. “We saw almost double the amount of traffic we had, and that came from southern California.”

In July and August 2020, Northcap Commercial saw 50 to 60 percent of new renters coming out of southern California, where previously it had been 30 percent. At Tuscan Highlands, more than 60 percent of residents are from out of state.

“Sixty-two percent of our people come from out of state,” said Bob Schulman, chairman, Schulman Properties, developer of Tuscan Highlands. “About 80 percent of those are from southern California and 10 percent from northern California.”

Because density of California cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles drove residents to find less-dense places to live, the surprise was that, instead of being hurt by the pandemic the way the market was hurt by the Great Recession, in Class A multi-family product, volume increased. A large part of the change has to do with so many more people working remotely. This means, today, a great many people living in Nevada don’t necessarily work in the state. Class A multifamily properties benefitted from people leaving high density cities like Seattle and San Francisco for Nevada metro areas. And while some of the new rents, such as $3,000 for a 1,500-square-foot apartment, seems high to Nevadans, in San Francisco they’d be paying twice that rent for half that space.

The Pandemic Economy

Another pleasant surprise for landlords and property owners in 2020 was that renters in Nevada paid their rent. On the high-end properties side, tenants seemed to believe it was simply what was expected and went on paying through the economic uncertainty accompanying the pandemic. For tenants in affordable housing properties and those who lost their jobs or were relying on unemployment, brokers and property owners found that federal programs providing rental assistance money actually worked. For the most part, rents got paid.

Overall, there weren’t as many evictions as anticipated at the beginning of the pandemic, even before the eviction moratorium went into effect. But, as the moratorium ends April 1, 2021, there’s expected to be an impact on multi-family properties.

Especially with so many Americans unemployed during the pandemic, there’s nationwide demand for affordable housing. Nevada is no exception. The problem is developers can’t afford to build affordable housing – it doesn’t add up financially, said Lee.

Fore Property Group owns and manages several low-income housing, tax credit properties throughout the Valley. “We have a strong waiting list at each property, and definitely the demand outweighs the supply,” said Fore.

Looking Ahead

In southern Nevada, Lee expects once the casinos are fully open there will be both a housing and a labor crunch. And, with rents going up relatively quickly, he believes there’s enough demand to support a high-rise construction project. In northern Nevada, density continues to be the watchword, as Reno’s largest infill project grows upward.

On both ends of the state, there aren’t enough multi-family properties to serve the expanding population, and it’s likely to remain the case well into 2022. While new residents continue to migrate to Nevada, density and vertical seem likely to remain the answer to multi-family properties.

Filed Under: Building Nevada Tagged With: Bob Schulman, CCIM, Certified Commercial Investment Member, Devin Lee, Dickson Commercial Group, Fore Property Group, Jade Las Vegas luxury apartments, Jonathan Fore, Las Vegas real estate, Multi-Family Commercial Real Estate, Nevada real estate, Northcap Commercial, RED Development, Reno real estate, Schulman Properties, Southern Highlands, Sparks commercial real estate, Trevor Richardson, Tuscan Highlands

Paul Krakovitz: Intermountain Healthcare

Edward Vance: EV&A Architects

Scott Arkills: Silver State Schools Credit Union

Tonya Ruby: Cox Media Las Vegas

Online Advertorials

Online Advertorials

Roseman’s College of MedicineAddressing the Physician Workforce Shortage while Being a Positive Economic Driver

Groundbreaking LawRequires Businesses Replace Decorative Grass

The Southern NevadaEvaporative Cooling Issue

New Law Targets Turf in Southern NevadaWill Save 10 Percent of Water Supply

Advertise With Us

Advertise With Us. more details ►

Primary Sidebar

Get important updates from Nevada Business Magazine, directly to your inbox.
Subscribe

Keep WatchFinancing in Nevada

Industry FocusProperty Management

Transportation in NevadaChallenges and Opportunities

Nevada Business Awards2022

Nevada News & PR Wire

  • Southwest Medical Adds Two New Health Care Providers

  • Polish Consulate To Host Slask, A World Renown Polish Dance Ensemble At CSN For A Free Performance

  • Reno Fly Shop Becomes Reno’s First Orvis Endorsed Outfitter

  • Greater Nevada Credit Union Awards $60K in Higher Education Scholarships

  • G8 Strategies Wins Silver Communicator Award for Print Distinction

  • Siena Italian Now Offering Private Dining And Banquet Room For Graduation Parties

  • Elite Body Sculpture Opens New Location in Henderson

  • Reset IV Expanding Again in 2022

  • Nevada Affordable Housing Assistance Corporation Announces Additional Available Funding for Homeowners in Need

  • Henderson Chamber of Commerce to Host Networking Breakfast Highlighting Equity &Amp; Inclusion in Business

  • Special Olympics Nevada Receives $5K Donation From Health and Wellness Solutions Company, GOLO

  • Three Southwest Medical Specialties Newly Recognized as Nevada’s Only Patient-Centered Specialty Practices by the National Committee for Quality Assurance

  • Clark County School District Expanding Career & Technical Education (CTE) Program With $100,000 From Google

  • Optum Care Anesthesia Adds a New Health Care Provider

  • Ninth Grader’s Dinosaur Design Chosen for New Move 4 Less Truck Wrap — Surprise Reveal Made at Student’s School, Prizes Awarded —

  • People Over Profit Foundation & Silver State Schools Credit Union Announces 2022 Scholarship Program Recipients

  • CSN Awards More Than 4,200 Degree at 50th Annual Commencement Ceremony

  • Bank of Nevada, First Independent Bank, Green Our Planet and Nevada Department of Education Make Financial Literacy Curriculum Available to Every Nevada Student

  • Fort 137 Designed by Daniel Joseph Chenin, Ltd. Recognized as Finalist in International 2022 A+Awards for Architecture and Interior Design

  • De Castroverde Law Group Expands Service With Henderson Location

  • CALV Attracts Record Interest in Spring Mixer

  • Owner of Emerald Island and Rainbow Club Casinos Receives Prestigious Accolade by The Silver State Awards

  • Charlie Palmer’s Pigs & Pinot Returns to the Grand Sierra Resort June 11

  • The Nevada Dairy Farmers Culinary Scholarship Deadline Extended

  • Trosper Public Relations in Nevada Promotes From Within

  • Nathan Adelson Hospice’s Annual “A Flair for Care” Fashion Show & Luncheon Raised More than $500,000 for the Hospice’s Uncompensated Care Program

  • Optum Care to Hold On-Site Hiring Event May 17

  • The Discovery Introduces New Exhibition: Energy/Energía

  • Grand Sierra Resort and Casino Makes Major Contribution to the Children’s Cabinet

  • What’s New for the 2022 Reno Rodeo

  • CALVPresident Angelina Scarcelli Honored by GlobeSt.com Women of Influence

  • Henderson Professional Fire Fighters, Henderson Hospital and City of Henderson Kick off “Safe Pools Rule!” Campaign

  • Applied Analysis Announces Management Promotions and Returning Team Member

  • May 26 NAIOP Southern Nevada Breakfast Presents “Nevada Elections and Politics: Midterm Update”

  • Henderson Chamber of Commerce Promotes Events Manager

  • Tee Off for a Great Cause at United Way of Southern Nevada’s 65TH Anniversary Golf United Tournament

  • Attorney General Ford Cautions Nevadans to Be on the Lookout for Credit Union, Bank Imposter Scams

  • Cox Donates Laptops to Intermountain Healthcare’s Medical Assistant Training Program

  • Nathan Adelson Hospice Announces Staff Promotions

  • Las Vegas-Based Social Issues Theatre Hosts Fundraiser to Support Mental Wellness and Community Unity

  • State Child and Family Services Issues Discount Cards in Honor of Foster Care Month

  • CSN Celebrates Its 50th Commencement Ceremony

  • More Prizes Added to Golden Ticket Raffle for Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada — Six Fabulous Packages, May 31 Drawing —

  • Local Businesses Partner with Project 150 to Launch After School Program, ‘A Fighting Chance,’ for Homeless, Displaced and Disadvantaged High School Students

  • Helix Electric of Nevada to Host Charity Spring Golf Tournament

  • Camp Rhino Trainers And Members To Transport Heavy Equipment Manually To New Location

  • LP Insurance Names Marsh HR Director

  • Crovetti Orthopaedics Welcomes Board Certified Jennifer D’Andrea, APRN to Medical Team

  • Nevada Donor Network &Latin Chamber of Commerce of Nevada Launch ‘Corazon de Esperanza’ Latino Donor Outreach Campaign

  • Local Diver to Appear on the Problem Solver Show to Discuss the Search for Human Remains in Lake Mead

  • Calv Presents June 2 Class on Land Sales

  • Ira Gostin to Lead Creative Innovation Workshop at PRSA Counselors Academy in Scottsdale, Ariz.

  • Touchstone Living Breaks Ground On Independence Offering Attainable Homes For First-Time Homebuyers

  • aha! On Course to Complete 1,500 Flights

  • FirstMed Health and Wellness Center Partners with Transit Centers to Combat Human Trafficking in Southern Nevada

  • Rudy Ruettiger to Speak at Northern Nevada Italian Association Annual Fundraising Dinner May 19

  • Southwest Medical Adds Two New Health Care Providers

  • Optum Care Cancer Care Adds a New Provider

  • Elko REALTOR® Greg Martin Appointed to Key 2023 Position With National Association Of REALTORS®

  • Local Dentists Provide Free Care to Uninsured Children at Give Kids a Smile Event

  • Laine Blackmon Joins Blackmon Home Loans and NV Capital Corporation as Loan Officer

  • Cross Creek, a 197-Home Community at the Historic Lompa Ranch, Opens in Carson City

  • Dr. Catherine Prato Introduces NuseMuse a New Web-Based Study Platform Is Built for Nursing Students by Nurses!

  • UNLV Engineering Students Showcased Inventions With Commercial Potential at Senior Design Competition on May 5

  • Tom Clark Solutions Chosen as Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce Lobbyist of Record

  • Southern Nevada Home Prices Keep Climbing While Sales Start to Slide

  • Lipson Neilson Partner Jessica A. Green Appointed Interim Hearing Master for the Las Vegas Municipal Court

  • The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges To Hold 85th Annual Conference in Northern Nevada

  • United Way of Southern Nevada Welcomes New Director of Fund Development and Donor Relationships

  • Henderson Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Wins U.S. Small Business Administration Award Recognition

  • Taurean Consulting Group Promotes Brianda Barrett to Technical Recruiter

  • Sunset Montessori Community Announces 2022 Summer Camps

  • OurFamilyWizard Joins National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges With Corporate Sponsorship

  • Natalie Gulbis Golf Classic to Benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada — Foursome and Sponsor Opportunities Still Available for May 16 Event —

  • Celebrate Mother’s Day at Emerald Island and Rainbow Club Casinos

  • aha! Announces New Non-stop Service Between Reno and Santa Rosa

  • Henderson Chamber of Commerce Announces Two-Year Rate Lock for Association Health Plans During 2022 Open Enrollment

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame & SilverSummit Healthplan Focus on Student Mental Health & Suicide Prevention at ‘Strong Youth Strong Communities’ Youth Summits

  • Siena Italian Now Taking Reservations For Mother’s Day Brunch and Dinner

  • Mariposa Cocina And Cocktails Launches Cinco De Mayo Celebration!

  • Is Your Business Prepared for Cyber Attacks? iTernal Networks’ Free Upcoming Webinar “Why Your Company Needs a Cyber Security Risk Assessment” – May 12th 1 pm PDT

  • Cox and Manheim Nevada Help Launch Cox “34 by 2034” Social Initiative

  • Southern Nevada Senior Law Program Spreads Awareness of Older Americans Month

  • Asset Tracking Maker, SeeID Wins $200,000 Investment From AngelNV

  • Broadbent & Associates, Inc. Awarded 2022 Nevada Wastewater Circuit Rider Contract

  • CAMCO Promotes Tabitha Gerken to Division Director of Its Southern Nevada Portfolio Division

  • LVGEA President & CEO Tina Quigley Joins the Workforce Connections Board

  • Six Nevada-Based Startups to Vie for $200,000 AngelNV Investment This Saturday Afternoon at Las Vegas City Hall

  • Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas’ Sandy Ridge Campus Ranked in the Top 5 of Best High Schools in Nevada by U.S. News & World Report

  • Nevada State Bank Branches Collecting Feminine Hygiene Products and Gently Used Purses for Local Nonprofit

  • Celebrate Older Americans Month ‘The Reno Way’ Throughout May

  • Pro Football Hall of Famers & SilverSummit Healthplan Visit Metro Police Officers

  • Nevada Donor Network and Clark County Commission: Welcome to Las Vegas Sign Turns Blue and Green to Celebrate National Donate Life Month ‘Blue and Green Day’

  • Tonopah High School Students in J4NG Discover Career Paths at Kinross Nevada

  • Chicanos Por La Causa Celebrates Grand Opening of New Las Vegas Office and Minority Business Development Agency Center with Local Leaders

  • SafeNest Spring Soiree Will Celebrate Kentucky Derby Day, Raise Funds for Critical Survivor Services and Programs

  • Dunkin’® Debuts Vibrant Flavors, Delicious New Ingredients & the Return of Fan Favorites to Make the Most of Sunnier Days Ahead

  • Thrive Wellness Expands Specialized Mental Health Treatment Centers

  • Kara Harris Joins Business Banking Team at First Independent Bank

  • SR Construction Named Design-Build General Contractor For The Hyde Park Commercial Redevelopment Project



 
Submit Your News & PR | Subscribe
Submit Your News & PR

Business Connection

Business Connection Portal

Log In Sign Up

Business Connection Portal

Log In Sign Up

Nevada Business Calendar

  • Golden Ticket Raffle
    May 31, 2022 12:00 am

    More details...
  • Nevada Workforce: Training, Hiring and Managing Employees
    June 2, 2022 7:30 am

    Location: 6635 West Badura Ave, 180, Las Vegas, NV 89118

    More details...
View Full Calendar ►

Nevada Business Directory

Featured Businesses
Find a Nevada-Based Business Submit Your Business Subscribe to the Nevada News & PR Wire

Nevada Industries

Architects & Engineers
Arts & Culture
Banking
Commercial Real Estate
Construction
Credit Unions
Economic Development
Education
Financial Management
Healthcare
Human Resources
Insurance
Law
Manufacturing
Marketing
Media
Mining
Philanthropy
Residential Real Estate
Rural Nevada
Sports
Tax Planning and Accounting
Technology
Telecom
Tourism
Transportation
Utilities

Footer

Subscriptions

  • Print Subscription
  • Mobile App
  • E-mail Subscription

Editorial

  • Features
  • Departments
  • Events

Advertising

  • Advertise
  • Submission Requirements

Connect

  • Contact
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022, Business Link LLC dba Nevada Business Magazine and Nevada Business Journal. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions
Nevada Web Design services by Nevada Central Media using Genesis Framework by StudioPress

    *Your Name

    *Your Email

    Phone Number

    Company

    *Subject

    *Your Message

      *Your Name

      *Your Email

      Phone Number

      Company

      *Subject

      *Your Message

        *Your Name

        *Your Email

        Phone Number

        Company

        *Subject

        *Your Message

          *Your Name

          *Your Email

          Phone Number

          Company

          *Subject

          *Your Message

            *Your Name

            *Your Email

            Phone Number

            Company

            *Subject

            *Your Message

              *Your Name

              *Your Email

              Phone Number

              Company

              *Subject

              *Your Message

                *Your Name

                *Your Email

                Phone Number

                Company

                *Subject

                *Your Message

                  *Your Name

                  *Your Email

                  Phone Number

                  Company

                  *Subject

                  *Your Message

                    *Your Name

                    *Your Email

                    Phone Number

                    Company

                    *Subject

                    *Your Message