Southern Nevada investors picked up nearly 360 acres of low-priced government land at auction today but left a lot on the table.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said it sold 357.6 acres for $19.2 million, or about $53,700 per acre, as part of a 597.6-acre offering.
The portfolio was offered at no less than $29.7 million total, or $49,700 per acre. The auction was held at North Las Vegas City Hall.
The land was scattered around the valley, including north of Blue Diamond Road in southwest Las Vegas and east of the Lake Mead Parkway-Boulder Highway intersection in Henderson. Parcels ranged from 1.25 to 247.6 acres.
BLM auctions are a source of raw land for Las Vegas homebuilders, whose business is picking up steam this year after falling hard in 2014.
Buyers at today's sell-off included builders KB Home, American West and D.R. Horton, the BLM said.
It's unclear why a large portion of the portfolio didn't sell. BLM spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon said the agency did not hear any reasons for that.
She said every parcel up for sale is nominated by investors who want to buy it or by municipal officials who want it developed.
"There's always a level of interest," she said.
Prices were far below market average. In the first quarter this year, investors bought 899 acres valleywide for $170.6 million, or $189,766 per acre, according to data from brokerage firm Colliers International.
One buyer today, identified by the BLM as Sao Tome LLC, bought the 247.6-acre parcel for $1.85 million, or just $7,472 per acre. It could not immediately be learned who is behind the company.
Overall, builders sold 1,378 new homes in Southern Nevada in the three months ended March 31, up 8 percent from the same period last year, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research.
The median sales price of March’s closings was $312,204, up 9 percent year-over-year. Builders also pulled 1,849 new-home permits in the first quarter, up 34 percent from the same time last year.
Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research, said last month the housing industry “is improving from its ‘OK’ performance” most of last year, when sales volume plunged 18 percent from 2013, prices were volatile and construction plans tapered off.
The uptick in sales this year is “not a huge change,” given Las Vegas’ usual volatility, but it’s “still a positive, upward movement,” Smith said.