Vegas high-rise developer launches podcast

A team of Las Vegas real estate specialists announces the launch of a new real estate podcast focused on condominiums and lessons learned from selling real estate in Las Vegas. The team is led by Uri Vaknin, a partner at KRE Capital LLC, who is well-known as a turnaround specialist and has overseen a portfolio of more than 1,300 condos in Las Vegas since 2013,

Called “Condo Artists — The Other Side of Real Estate,” the podcast pulls back the curtain on condo living and selling, picking up where other real estate podcasts leave off and illuminating the unique challenges, strategies and tactics of buying and selling condos.

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify at AppleTheOtherSideofRealEstate or SpotifytheOtherSideofRealEstate. Or search “Condo Artist: The Other Side of Real Estate” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Upon its soft launch, Condo Artists has received only five-star ratings and received questions from as far away as Australia.

According to Vaknin, condos are often misunderstood by real estate agents, buyers, architects, lenders and even developers.

“Relative to single-family homes, condos are highly unique and present both opportunities and challenges,” he said. “This podcast will break it all down for everyone involved in condo development, sales, lending, buying and living.”

Vaknin started his career decades ago as a gallerist and art dealer in Atlanta, Georgia. Bringing an artistic perspective to all his endeavors, Vaknin believes the arts are foundational to community building.

In the podcast, Vaknin combines his artistic background with his experience selling condos all over the country and perfecting the art of selling real estate at the height of the Great Recession.

“From Atlanta to Florida to Las Vegas, my experience selling condos nationwide creates good fodder for lots of interesting and lively conversations on the art of the condo,” he said.

Vaknin is joined on the podcast by his colleagues, Shahn Douglas, director of marketing for DK Las Vegas, and Mark Bunton, director of operations for DK Las Vegas. Together, the trio boasts a combined 53 years of experience and lessons learned in the world of condos.

The DK Las Vegas portfolio now includes Juhl in downtown Las Vegas and One Las Vegas on Las Vegas Boulevard South. The original condo portfolio of 1,300 condos included Spanish Palms and the Ogden, which are now sold out, along with Loft 5, which was sold in 2016.

The first podcast, called “The Pivot,” focuses on how Vaknin and his team pivoted at the beginning of the pandemic to create and deliver contactless options for viewing and buying real estate, meeting virtually with prospective buyers, bolstering social infrastructure amongst existing residents with virtual events, and focusing on important features like balconies (the new condo backyard), home offices and larger floor plans to accommodate work and distance learning.

According to Vaknin, there are two times in people’s lives when they truly alter their daily habits: when they move or have a baby.

“Changing daily habits doesn’t come easy,” he said. “Yet the pandemic literally changed all our habits almost overnight. This unprecedented event has changed forever how we sell, buy and even think about real estate.”

Vaknin, who serves on the board of the Neon Museum and is the vice chair of the Downtown Vegas Alliance, oversees a robust Artist in Residence program at Juhl. For more information on the podcast, email to condoartist@gmail.com.