Valley will add 5,000 new apartment units in 2016

The Las Vegas Valley is slated to add more than 5,000 new apartment units in 2016.

Brian Gordon, a principal at research firm Applied Analysis, said the rental projects are either under construction or in the planning stages.

"Land values have been escalating as of late, and that has required the majority of apartment developers to focus on premium-priced product," he said. "As the demographics of the community continue to evolve along with the performance of the for-sale housing market, it will be important to watch the performance of new entrants to the apartment market."

In addition to new developments in the Las Vegas rental market, rent is expected to rise by 6½ percent, according to Jeremy Aguero, also a principal at Applied Analysis.

"Last year we anticipated a 4½ percent increase, and it was slightly higher than that so we were a little conservative," he said.

According to Gordon, during the economic downturn, there weren't a lot of new projects popping up across the valley.

"Only recently has the pace of supply been expanding, and the majority of inventory has slanted toward the higher end," he said. "The underlying fundamentals are stronger and there is less slack in the housing market, which is putting upward pressure on rents."

The average rent per unit was $793 in Las Vegas in the third quarter of 2014, compared with $850 during the same time in 2015, according to an Applied Analysis Las Vegas apartment market report.

The report also revealed that the area that experienced the greatest growth in occupancy rate, which only increased .5 percent from the third quarter of 2014 to the same period in 2015, was on the north side of town.

Emily McCann, vice president of marketing and education for WestCorp Management Group, said the company is focused on adding additional services and amenities to its properties in 2016.

She said she has seen a trend in offering greater amenities and packages that include services such as fitness instructors, coffee service, concierge services, package delivery and on-site dry cleaning delivery.

"We're seeing services that are more high-end as an amenity," she said. "People expect a higher level of service at the luxury price point."

In the future, McCann anticipates seeing an uptick in the amount and variety of high-level services being added to rental properties.

"We'll continue to see new services coming to the communities such as a locker system and electric vehicle charging stations," she said. "I think it will be about adding a lot of services to the amenities package."

This year is a big year for Las Vegas-based Ovation Property Management as the company will be adding its first market-rate products to Southern Nevada since 2009, according to Vice President Erica Arthur.

Pre-leasing has begun at Aspire, which features more than 270 one- and two-bedroom units at West Tropicana Avenue and the 215 Beltway in Las Vegas, and Elevate, which boasts more than 160 one-, two- and three-bedroom units at the 215 Beltway and North Gibson Road in Henderson.

Ovation is also in phase two of construction for two senior tax credit apartment communities.

Tempo, at 5625 S. Hollywood Blvd., boasts 100 one- and two-bedroom units, and Ensemble on West Agate Avenue has nearly 200 one- and two-bedroom units.

According to Arthur, both communities offer an array of amenities including a pool, spa, hair salon, medical room, laundry facility, gym and a resident coordinator who assists residents with transportation, services and activities.

"We have another three to four more market-rate communities in various stages of development in addition to these communities," Arthur said. "We are definitely building again."

Contact reporter Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.