Bidding to start at $1 million for Mount Charleston resort property

Once appraised at $6.5 million, a resort property on Mount Charleston is going to auction Friday with a minimum bid of $1 million for two luxury homes and four lots.

The single-family homes were built in 2006 with individual suites that the original developer had planned to use as vacation rentals, but a Clark County zoning ordinance put a stop to that, broker Bob Barnhart of Luxurious Estates said Wednesday.

The ordinance prohibits nightly cabin and home rentals. Only the Resort on Mount Charleston offers nightly rentals, he said. Private cabin rentals must be for a minimum 30 days.

Luxurious Estates, in conjunction with Premiere Estates Auction Co., will hold the auction at noon Friday at 262 Forest Valley Court.

The 1.42-acre gated compound includes two tri-level homes, each about 6,000 square feet with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. The homes have log-siding exteriors and open floor plans with a large kitchen, granite countertops, stainless-steel appliances and wood-laminate flooring.

Each home has a fully finished basement and attached garages.

The property has been on the market for two years and started off at $4.5 million, said Barnhart, formerly owner of Red Rock Realty. The most recent list price was $2.7 million.

"They had great offers on it two years ago and didn't take it. We've heard those stories before," the broker said. "I think when you look at real estate, you've always got a seller who starts off too high and real estate agents who have a tendency to list too high and you become stale on the market. You chase the market."

Barnhart said he could see someone buying this property, keeping one of the homes and selling off the other. The buyer could "flip" the vacant lots, or hold them for development when the market recovers.

The property is directly in front of Cathedral Rock and backs up to the Toiyabe National Forest so there won't be any development around it, Barnhart said.

Luxury Realtor Tom Love said he's sold million-dollar homes at auction in the past, but typically, that's not the way to go.

"The person who gets the most pressure is the seller," he said. "The money's on the table and the auctioneer puts pressure on them to take the bid. I think it's a great marketing tool, but do I think the success rate on an auction is high or does it bring in a good price? I don't. I think it's a gimmick. Are they going to take $1 million? I don't know."

If the property is marketed at the right price, it'll have multiple offers, Love said.

He's seen luxury home auctions that offer a new Mercedes-Benz or Rolex with the purchase, but it's usually $100,000 over market value.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.