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CityCenter forms partnership with Sotheby's to sell luxury condominiums
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
In an effort to drive luxury condominium sales, CityCenter has announced a partnership with Sotheby's International Realty to market The Residences at Mandarin Oriental and Veer Towers.
The collaboration, which is led by Blueprint Global Marketing in partnership with Synergy Sotheby's International Realty in Las Vegas, is geared to international buyers.
"We are confident our residential sales outreach will benefit from the global presence of Sotheby's International Realty's worldwide network of affiliates," Tony Dennis, executive vice president of CityCenter Residential Division, said in a statement. "The result, we believe, will be a strong synergy and demand by new markets as we look to the future of CityCenter."
Dennis said the prices for CityCenter's condominiums will remain above the Las Vegas market average, however, the relationship with Sotheby's allows CityCenter "to be more aggressive" in its promotions and other selling incentives.
CityCenter is half-owned by MGM Resorts International and Dubai World. MGM Resorts manages the venture, whose centerpiece is the 4,004-room Aria hotel-casino.
When the project opened in December 2009, CityCenter had 2,400 condominiums for sale. However, the recession caused sales to plummet. During several quarters, MGM Resorts took hundreds of millions of dollars in noncash write-downs on the condominium supply.
Last year, CityCenter began a rental program for both unsold and owned condominiums. At the end of last year, sales efforts for the unsold condominiums in the 1,500-unit Vdara were halted and the building now operates as a nongaming hotel.
At the Mandarin Oriental, 162 of the original 225 condominiums on the upper half of the 47-story nongaming hotel are still available, including one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from approximately 1,110 square feet to 4,000 square feet. Pricing starts at $975,000.
The all-residential Veer Towers has 443 units of its original 670 residences -- 335 in each of the two towers -- on the market. Studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, and penthouses ranging from 500 to nearly 3,300 square feet are available with pricing starting at $350,000.
Sotheby's International Realty and Blueprint Global Marketing said an integrated marketing and sales approach would focus on Asia, South America and Canada.
Dennis said the focus on the international market is similar to the approach Miami took to revive sales in its luxury condominium market.
"The sequence of events are similar," Dennis said. "We're beginning to see signs of recovery in this market. The international buyers know our inventory comes in above the market average, but they also know about CityCenter."
According to Marc Ehrlich -- whose firm, HiRiseLiving.com, specializes in the sale of condos in buildings of more than 10 stories -- only 14 units were sold at CityCenter in 2011. MGM Resorts has opted to rent out many of the units and may be more aggressive in marketing at discounted prices, Ehrlich said.
Ehrlich said the price for high-rise condominiums in Las Vegas declined last year. Units are selling for less than $200 a square foot, compared with $350 to $400 a square foot at the height of the market.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal .com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
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They admit that U.S. buyers won't buy these grossly overpriced condos, but they thing they can get international buyer's to buy the grossly overpriced condos. Good luck with that marketing plan.
LOL - $975k for a 1000 sq foot closet? Good luck with that.
Hey MGM, you want to sell all these condos and get a good price for them? Easy, auction 24 units the first Saturday of each month, either online, or in one of your convention center halls, or both. After each auction concludes, randomly draw the next months 24 units from a hat. This gives buyers 1-month to look and decide, if they would like to participate as a bidder the next month.
Even before the crash, I thought this was a stupid idea and a non-existent market. I 'high-end' Vegas visitor can get free suites, limos, butlers, etc every time they visit so what would be the point of owning a $500K+ condo and having a bunch of cash tied up in it + condo fees + operating expense + taxes.
It's such a shame that when Las Vegas finally decided to build high rise condos, they unwisely only built high end properties. I have always thought there must be a huge demand for rental property on the strip as a convenient housing option for all the casino employees, many of whom do not own vehicles. Obviously these venues will never be an affordable option for the average renter/buyer, but I also am doubtful that they will be that easy to market to wealthy buyers either as they have so many other destination options available to them.
UTE... Your kidding right? The prices on these condos aren't even close to what the market dictates. As for the long term prospects, MGM has a much better chance of going bankrupt before any of these condos appreciates in value.
It's not a matter of if the market for condos on The Strip comes back - it's when. Small investors can't tolerate that long wait, but deep(er) pockets like MGM (and the Dubai partners) can. They'll (wisely) continue to market to an upscale clientele whom recognizes a good long-term deal when they see it.
Somehow selling the LV strip views akin to views of the ocean or views of the mountains has never really taken off....I hope they can sell these units and get them on the tax rolls, but, the demographic they are trying to reach has so many other options that it appears they will be spending top dollar on marketing for awhile....time share or short term rental would be the way to get these non-performing assets performing until demand REALLY comes back for these types of residences....
good luck with that...lol