When real estate was selling at bargain prices more than a decade ago, investors were snapping up dozens of high-rise condo units at a time in Las Vegas.
Now, a different kind of bulk offering is up for grabs: a collection of hotel-condo units.
Frank Napoli, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties, recently announced that he was hired to sell a portfolio of 75 hotel-condo units in America’s casino capital.
Almost all of them — 73 — are in The Signature at MGM Grand, with the remaining two units in Palms Place.
In an interview, Napoli put the asking price at about $27 million.
As he explained, a buyer can generate revenue through hotel bookings or Airbnb rentals and ultimately sell the units.
He also noted that The Signature, on Harmon Avenue near Koval Lane, just east of the Strip, is near the Athletics’ $2.1 billion under-construction baseball stadium.
Napoli said that an investor in Iowa assembled the portfolio over time for around $24 million combined. He confirmed that the owner died last year at age 81 and that he is working with the family to sell the units.
The Signature comprises three towers next to MGM Grand, while the Palms Place tower, on Flamingo Road about 1.5 miles west of the Strip, is adjacent to the Palms hotel-casino.
Napoli said that neither of the hotel-condo properties has a casino. But they are both close to resorts that have gambling, nightclubs, restaurants, live entertainment and the like.
Las Vegas has seen other bulk condo sales over the years, although some of the most notable deals involved regular residential high-rises, not hybrid hotel-condo towers.
Plus, investors inked those deals after Las Vegas’ once-roaring real estate market had crashed, and property values plunged.
As outlined in prior news reports:
— In 2012, two investment firms partnered to buy 427 condos in Veer Towers, on the Strip, for $119 million.
— In 2013, a trio of firms teamed up to acquire nearly 1,300 units in five Las Vegas condo projects for $237 million.
— And, in 2015, an investment firm picked up 64 units in Sky Las Vegas, on the north end of the Strip, for about $18 million.
The buyer in that deal paid about $190 per square foot, whereas some other buyers paid $600 to $700 per square foot for condos in the same building before the market tanked, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
Napoli said buyers scooped up bulk condo deals in Las Vegas at a time when the market had been destroyed.
He also said that he has seen other bulk offerings come on the market since then, but they included no more than 15 or 20 units.
As he described it, the portfolio he’s shopping around is the biggest to hit the market that he’s seen in years.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
