Summerlin's No. 1

Based on its new-home sales last year, Summerlin is again the best selling master-planned community in the nation.

In 2001, Summerlin's new-home sales totaled 2,976 -- more than 30 percent or 902 sales ahead of its nearest competitor, The Villages in Orlando, Fla. Irvine Ranch in Orange County, Calif., ranked third.

Last year's sales marked the ninth time in 10 years and the fifth consecutive year that Summerlin has claimed the top spot, according to Gadi Kaufmann, an executive with Robert Charles Lesser & Co., which compiled the survey.

"The ability to stay on top over a sustained period of time is testament to the community's insightful master plan that continues to maintain its appeal and value more than a decade after the community began developing. Summerlin is truly in a league of its own," Kaufmann said.

Dan Van Epp, president of The Howard Hughes Corp., which oversees Summerlin development, said the rate of sales is impressive in light of a reduced inventory of new homes and a slowing economy.

"For the 10th consecutive year since its inception, Summerlin turned in another year of strong sales," Van Epp said. "Living in a beautiful, well-planned and well-maintained community where quality of life is a top priority continues to resonate with home buyers."

Van Epp also cited a survey of residents conducted last year within the community. The results showed Summerlin has a 97 percent approval rating among its residents, and that its recreational and community activities and amenities garnered an approval rating of 93 percent.

Kaufman pointed out that total new-home sales among the Top 20 master-planned communities totaled 23,862 last year, and that Summerlin accounted for more than 12 percent of those sales.

"Summerlin sells in one year what many communities sell during their entire existence," she said.

Summerlin is being developed on a 36-square-mile parcel aligning the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley. The land was acquired in the 1950s by the late Howard R. Hughes Jr.

There are more than 60,000 residents, but at buildout in 2015 Summerlin will have 160,000 residents living in nearly 64,000 houses, condominiums and apartments in 30 villages. Each village is planned to include a major park or golf course, as well as recreational, educational and retail amenities. Planned around a central town center, the villages are linked by a trail system that will extend more than 150 miles when complete, according to Stew Gibbons, executive vice president of Hughes Corp.

"Each village has its own personality. And yet, residents of all the villages enjoy access to the wide spectrum of amenities the Summerlin community provides," Gibbons said.

More than 14,000 people are employed in the community's business parks; retail and medical centers; and schools of which there are 16, both public and private.

More than 100 neighborhood and village parks have been completed to date, as have eight golf courses, including two Tournament Players Club facilities and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Bear's Best Las Vegas.

Single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums are priced from the mid-$100,000s to more than $700,000. Custom lots from one-quarter acre to three-quarters of an acre are priced from mid-$100,000s to more than $1 million, while predesigned custom homes are priced from about $1 million. Apartment homes feature monthly rents from the $700s.

More than one-third of the community's total acreage is dedicated to open space.

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