Vacant land sells for a record $9 million in Summerlin

A custom home lot in The Ridges recently sold for a record price for Summerlin -- $9 million.

The March 13 deal was for a cul de sac parcel of 3.4 acres. It overlooks Bear's Best Las Vegas, a Jack Nicklaus-designed course that helps define The Ridges community. It borders Red Rock National Conservation Area -- land that is federally protected, helping ensure that the view will never be impeded.

"A sales price like this speaks volumes not only for that individual lot, but the entire Ridges community," said Kevin Orrock, top division executive of The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties and developer of Summerlin.

The Ridges is situated on a hillside, so many of the homes have a view of not just the golf course, but of the valley.

The $9 million price tag means the raw land sold for about $61 per square foot - the highest price ever paid in The Ridges for a custom lot. Last summer, a completed and furnished custom home in Promontory at The Ridges sold for $7.85 million. That translates to $1,047 per square foot, setting the record for sales per square foot in the Las Vegas Valley, Orrock said.

"That home sale, coupled with this most recent lot sale, puts The Ridges in a league of its own," he said.

To date, more than 250 custom lots have been sold in The Ridges at Summerlin, named in 2004 by Forbes.com as the country's third most exclusive gated community. The custom neighborhoods of Arrowhead, Promontory, Rimrock, Redhawk and The Pointe are sold out, while Falcon Ridge has a few remaining lots available for sale, and Azure is actively selling.

Custom lots in The Ridges normally cost between $500,000 and just over $1 million. Parcels usually range from one-quarter of an acre to about an acre.

The community offers only a limited number of building lots that are larger than 1 acre.