Las Vegas High Rise Latest Trend - The Celebrity Resident

One of the more interesting aspects of high rise condo ownership in Las Vegas is the possibility that your next-door unit owner may just be a celebrity. Like everything else in Las Vegas, the condo building craze adds an extra sparkle of glitz and developers are using movie stars and sports figures to make their projects stand out from the rest. Panorama Towers unit holders include Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. Jessica Simpson and Eminem have reserved Palms Place units. And ICON adds baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson as one of its purchasers.

Since Las Vegas is running out of affordable and developable land, the demand for condominiums in Las Vegas hasn't slowed as most buyers are looking to lock up positions with the expectation they can resell their units at a profit, many believing the unique nature of the Las Vegas market will insulate them from any possible steep real estate market downturns seen in other markets. With so many high rise options, it's easy to overlook a particular project - that's where the use of celebrity marketing is coming into play. And it's not really "in your face" marketing either, it's more subtle, such as placing tidbits in gossip columns and interview pieces prominently displaying the celebrity in the development's sales offices and such.

Celebrities make a building "cool", and when one buys into a project, it makes it that much easier to sell the hip lifestyle when you have the potential of running into a star when you go to check your mailbox.

The main idea from a marketing point of view is that people want to live near the stars. Or do they? The smart money says the unit holder next to Eminem's place probably won't sleep too well at night. But then again, he's probably snagged a penthouse unit or something similar so maybe noise probably won't be an issue. Besides, many of the Las Vegas high rise condo purchasers (with some estimates as high as 40%) never intend to live in the units they're purchasing anyway and even fewer are eager to call the Strip their permanent home.

Typically, high-rise condo buyers are empty nesters who no longer want to maintain a large home. The 80 million baby boomers add to an already large market including urban professionals without children who want to live in luxury. In addition, Las Vegas constantly sees an influx of people moving into town which translates into a steady stream of buyers, which is what investors count on. WIth 38 million visitors annually, Las Vegas will always remain a top vacation destination and maintain its attraction for second home buyers - whether they're celebrities or not.