COMMUNITY SHOWCASE: Seeing Summerlin

Thousands of visitors peruse model homes during two-day open house event

Photos by Paul Bieschke Jr./VIEWTop, Hadassah Jamison and her father, Gquart, examine a table inside a home during the America?s Biggest Open House event in Summerlin. The Jamison family moved to Las Vegas four weeks ago. Below, from left, Natelee Aguirre, her father, Jason, sister Madison and mother, Kristy, look around inside a kitchen during the event. Paul Bieschke Jr./VIEWA sign for the America?s Biggest Open House event hangs near homes in the Palmilla development, at the corner of West Bradford Commons Drive and South Surry Downs Lane. Paul Bieschke Jr./VIEWJonas and Jackie Acres look across a room from the second floor inside a house in the Palmilla development. The structure was one of more than 75 model homes that were on display in Summerlin during its America?s Biggest Open House event, March 15 and 16. Photos by Paul Bieschke Jr./VIEWTop, Hadassah Jamison and her father, Gquart, examine a table inside a home during the America?s Biggest Open House event in Summerlin. The Jamison family moved to Las Vegas four weeks ago. Below, from left, Natelee Aguirre, her father, Jason, sister Madison and mother, Kristy, look around inside a kitchen during the event. Advertisement

America's Biggest Open House was held in Summerlin on March 15 and 16 and saw a high turnout, despite cloudy, sometimes blustery, weekend weather.

Barbara Stone, sales associate for Cypress and Palmilla at Allerton Park, said that normally 30 to 40 people view the model homes on regular weekends.

"We had 100 people just on Saturday," she said. "One woman drove in all the way from L.A. because she saw the advertisement on TV."

This was the third year that Summerlin held the open house event. Last year's drew 1,000 visitors to the Summerlin model homes, according to the public relations company for The Howard Hughes Corp. This year, the total was 3,000.

The event showcased more than 75 model homes in nearly two dozen Summerlin neighborhoods. Participating neighborhoods were located in five actively selling areas -- The Mesa, The Paseos, Summerlin Centre, The Vistas and The Ridges.

Flapping flags, signs and helium balloons spotlighted locations. Sales prices ranged from the low $200,000s to more than $1 million, with square footage ranging between 937 and 5,904.

Those who were touring the models included serious shoppers and those who were just seeing what was out there.

Gquart Jamison, who works in finance, was in the serious shopper category. He and his wife, Dana, came directly from church with their young children. The family relocated to Las Vegas four weeks ago from the Midwest and has been visiting model homes all over town since then, trying to determine where to live.

"It's a little more crowded than the other times we've looked," Gquart Jamison said.

Paul and Lynn Detrolio wanted to upsize. Paul works in construction, a job that keeps him busy.

"The open house, it pushed me to get out of the house ... and stop watching TV," he said.

The couple said they were impressed by the quality of the homes and the community amenities that came with living in Summerlin.

"I'm from New Jersey," Paul Detrolio said. "There's nothing like these homes back there."

Another couple touring the models was Susan and James Boyer, who have three children.

Susan works in sales, while James is a chef. They already are Summerlin residents, living in The Vistas.

"We're really just looking for ideas to finish off one of our rooms," Susan Boyer said.

The one room was their front room, which Susan said would never get used as a sitting area. From ideas they gleaned from the house tour, the couple said they were considering adding a wet bar to theirs.

The open house came at a time when the mortgage crisis was causing people to lose their homes.

Nationwide, bank repossessions totaled 45,327 for January, up 90 percent for year over year, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of foreclosure statistics, with a database of more than 1 million properties.

It noted that Nevada continues to lead the nation in the highest number of foreclosure rates. Foreclosures were reported on 6,087 homes statewide for January, a 45 percent decrease from December 2007 and an increase of 95 percent from January 2007, RealtyTrac reported.

The numbers didn't bother one young couple, Jonas and Jackie Acres, who were at the open house to see what was available. Jonas Acres, a chef, said that the flood of homes on the market was "good for us, but so overwhelming."

They estimated that they'd visited two dozen model homes by late Sunday afternoon.

Of all the visitors, Doreena Justus, a public administrator, probably had the loftiest goal -- she said she wanted to tour all 75 models.

"I wonder if my feet will keep up," she joked.

She was a serious shopper and had been looking at two-story models.

"I see these homes and I either like the top half or I like the bottom half," she said. "So far, I haven't seen a whole house that appeals to me."