Rural Living Making a Comeback in Vegas Area
Rural towns are making a comeback in the Las Vegas area. A local developer, Ted Price, was looking to buy a failed subdivision in Logandale called Valley Heights. When he was there he began to notice a few things. There was no litter or graffiti, and the people that were living there seemed to really be involved in their community. In addition, Valley Heights was close to an elementary school. Why wouldn’t you develop a community?
Thinking Differently Working for Price
Others were not thinking along those same lines, however. Price is the only one that is building a subdivision in this area. He bought the majority of the 56 acres for $1 million, which is just a fraction of what the previous owners paid years ago before the recession and he has sold a few of the homes. He plans to finish the subdivision in the next three to four years and his goal is to sell two homes per month.
Rural towns like Logandale and other Southern Nevada towns went through the same boom and bust over the last decade. Although home construction has picked up in Las Vegas, it hasn’t followed suit quite as quickly in the rural areas. Price says he is not worried about being the only tract builder in Logandale. In fact, he calls it a “competitive advantage.”
Valley Heights was planned for 97 houses, but only 17 are complete so far. Of these, 6 were built by price. The options range from a one-story 2,135 square-foot house at a starting price of $259,990 to a two-story 5,787 square-foot house at a starting price of $624,990. The sites are an average half-acre each. This is much more space than buyers can get in Las Vegas and buyers may be eligible for a government backed home loan from the USDA, because the homes are in a rural area.
The Lure of Rural Towns
Logandale is about an hour away from Las Vegas and has only a few stores. Commercial farming is very common in the area and the local high school and college have agriculture classes and 4-H clubs that focus on swine and livestock raising for competitions and market.
The home construction market has come back slightly from the recession in Logandale, but it is nowhere near the level it was at. The Water District has tried to help spur growth by slashing their water-meter purchase fees and letting buyers make a down payment and pay the balance off over a two-year period.
Other development companies are also showing interest in Logandale and other rural towns around Las Vegas. It seems like rural may be the way to go for many homeowners to get away from some of the hustle and bustle of the city.