Firm certifies Mountain’s Edge, Providence ranks top 5 in national sales

Like many cities across the country, Las Vegas experienced a challenging year in 2009, with the region seeing significant downturns in all its major industry sectors, including real estate, hospitality and construction.  Despite this difficult environment, the Mountain's Edge and Providence master plans were able to remain in the top five rankings of the best selling master plans in the nation, as certified by Robert Charles Lesser & Co., an independent real estate advisory firm.

"Two of Focus Property Group's master plans continue to hold on to market share, even as the overall industry continues to seek stabilization," said John A. Ritter, chairman and CEO of Focus Property Group, master planner of Providence and Mountain's Edge.  "We're also very encouraged by the sales numbers for Mountain's Edge and Providence for the first quarter of 2010, with the two communities reporting a combined total of 391 net sales well ahead of last year at this time."

Mountain's Edge, a 3,500-acre master-planned community in southwestern Las Vegas, was certified by RCLCO as the No. 3 selling master-planned community in the United States in 2009. Providence, a 1,200-acre master plan in northwestern Las Vegas ranked No. 5.

Mountain's Edge and Providence are the only master-planned communities from the Las Vegas market to make the 2009 top-selling master plan list. Both master plans have consistently ranked in the top five since the communities first submitted rankings. Mountain's Edge has consistently ranked in the top five for the past five years, and Providence has ranked in the top five for the past three years, since first debuting on the list.

"With market conditions strongly in their favor, homebuyers in Southern Nevada are looking for well-priced new homes in successful master-planned communities that they believe will provide their families long-term value," Ritter said. "We're pleased that homebuyers have recognized this value in Mountain's Edge and Providence, making the communities the two fastest-selling master plans in the state.  The national rankings of our master plans also show that, despite the current challenging market conditions, Las Vegas remains a very attractive city to homebuyers."

RCLCO has been releasing its top-selling master-planned community rankings since 1994, when it first undertook this effort to gain greater insight into the development industry.

Master-planned communities are large-scale developments featuring a range of housing prices and styles, amenities and multiple non-residential land uses (such as commercial, hotels and educational facilities). Some communities provide lifestyle options for multiple market segments, while others target a specific buyer type such as age-qualified.

Builders within in the two master plans include: Amstar Homes, Beazer Homes, Camden Homes, Discovery Homes, Harmony Homes, KB Home, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Pardee Homes, Phillips Homes, Pulte Homes, Richmond American Homes, R/S Development, Ryland Homes, Storybook Homes and Warmington Residential Nevada.

Those looking to learn more about Mountain's Edge are invited to visit the Home Search Café, located at the community's entrance on Buffalo Drive and Blue Diamond Road, or visit mountainsedge.com. The Café is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and can be reached at 898-5777.

To learn more about Providence, visit the community's information center. It is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 433-5084 or visit providencelv.com.

To learn more about Focus Property Group, visit focuspropertygroup.com.