Community earns No. 4 spot

Despite the severe economic impact of COVID-19 on Las Vegas that has put Southern Nevada near the top nationally of regions most affected by the virus, the master-planned community of Summerlin, a development of The Howard Hughes Corp., marked the first half of 2020 with strong new home sales, earning the No. 4 spot nationally on a list of country’s best-selling communities, according to a recent report released by national real estate consultant RCLCO.

With 642 new home sales for 2020 as of June 30, Summerlin is the highest-ranked master plan in Nevada and the only Nevada community on the national top 10 list.

New home sales in Summerlin were down only 5 percent, which was only 33 homes for the first half of 2020, as compared to the same period last year, a remarkable achievement given the area’s significant business and economic loss that virtually shut down the Las Vegas Strip — the region’s primary economic driver — for weeks, according to Kevin T. Orrock, president, Las Vegas Region for The Howard Hughes Corp.

“Summerlin’s performance is consistent with national trends that support the fact that master-planned communities have historically performed better than other new residential communities in times of economic hardship,” said Orrock, citing the RCLCO report.

According to RCLCO, which has been tracking home sales at master-planned communities since 1994, there is a “flight to quality” and perhaps a “flight to safety”