Canadians like Pulte's attributes

Brian and Jenifer McNeill live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, however they spend a lot of time in Las Vegas. They soon will be spending even more time here, thanks to Pulte Homes.

The couple purchased their third Pulte home in Gresham Park, a Summerlin neighborhood that opened in May. The couple's other two Pulte homes are located in Stallion Mountain, which they use as rental properties.

Their new home, a 1,998 two-story plan, features three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, an island kitchen that opens into a great room, and a covered patio at its entry. A computer loft offers a niche for home office space, and a catwalk-style hallway provides entry to a front-facing balcony.

"We always buy Pulte homes because we feel the builder always does a lot of market research to see which areas of Las Vegas will appreciate the fastest," Jenifer McNeill said.

They said they are also impressed by the builder's energy-efficient designs.

"Coming from Canada, our main concern was what our energy bills were going to be like in the summer," she said. "At first I admit that we were skeptical, but so far Pulte has always been right on in predicting just how low our power bills would be."

The McNeills have four children, and after their youngest graduates from high school they plan to live for about half of the year in their Gresham Park home. Eventually, they plan to retire in the valley.

Four single- and two-story floor plans are available at the neighborhood, ranging from 1,359 to 2,000 square feet and priced from $204,990 to $255,990. Several homes are available for immediate move-in for buyers who are ready to do so.

They feature side-by-side refrigerators, cook tops, built-in ovens, microwaves, crown molding, under cabinet lighting, solid-surface kitchen counter tops, garage door openers, laundry room cabinetry, security systems with free monitoring for one year, and oak stair railings. Some designs offer porches and balconies.

The neighborhood is located in Summerlin Centre, which will feature shopping, restaurants, entertainment venues, walking trails and parks.

To visit, take Interstate 215 to Sahara Avenue, travel east to Town Center Drive and go north. Turn right on La Madre Mountain Drive and the neighborhood is on the left. The sales office is open from noon to 5 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Pulte Homes operates in more than 44 markets across the United States and has 10 active neighborhoods in the valley. Wyeth Ranch is in presales and Silverstone Ranch is planned to open soon in the northwestern valley.

Under its Del Webb brand, the company is a leading builder of age-qualified communities. Del Webb's current developments include Sun City Anthem and Anthem Country Club in Henderson, and Sun City Aliante, which recently opened for sales.

Pulte Mortgage Corp. is a nationwide lender.

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