One year after this photo was taken,  this native desert site was covered with businesses and new homes in The Vistas Village of Summerlin.  The Vistas are close to the mountains of the Red Rock National Recreation Area and much cooler than other parts of the Las Vegas Valley.

The Real Las Vegas Dirt

Here's the low-down on vacant land and small lots in Las Vegas.   

About 90% of the state of Nevada is owned by the federal government.  When you gaze around Las Vegas and see seemingly endless miles of vacant land, what you're looking at is land owned by one federal agency or the other.  The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the largest landholder here and their holdings virtually encircle the Las Vegas Valley. The Air Force, however, owns a big chunk of property at and surrounding Nellis Air Force Base in the northeastern and northern part of the Valley.  And the National Park Service owns another huge swath of land.

Land that is privately held and available for development into home sites and commercial areas is actually limited and has been at a premium.  The BLM began to auction of land in the Valley in November 2002.  At that time the average price per acre was about $160,000.  In June 2003, the average price per acre was over $230,000.  And at each subsequent auction prices continued to rise--until the collapse of the real estate market in Las Vegas in 2008.

Since the real available land for development has historically been scarce, builders have traditionally divided up their communities into quite small lots.  A third-acre or half-acre lot is considered "large" in Las Vegas.  Most lots are smaller.  And if you're having to landscape and maintain a third or a half acre here with rocky desert soil and summertime desert heat, you'll realize that "smaller is better" -- if only because it reduces the water bill.  And who wants to mow a half-acre of grass when the temperature is 105 degrees! 

Visit these villages in Summerlin: