Las Vegas High-Rise Condos Set a Price Record in 2026 on the Fewest Sales in Years

As of August 3, 2026, a lender writing a Fannie Mae-backed loan on a unit in an established condo tower can no longer use the shorter Limited Review process. The building now has to pass a Full Review, or fit one of the waiver paths. The same lender letter widened the waiver to new and established projects with ten or fewer units. So before an appraiser looks at the unit, the lender has to decide whether the whole tower qualifies.

Six weeks later, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that high-rise condos were on pace for a record average sale price in 2026. The two stories fit together. In 2026, fewer high-rise units are selling, the ones that do sell are larger and more expensive, and how financeable the building is matters more to a buyer's outcome than the record figure.

A record average built on fewer sales

Applied Analysis counted 263 high-rise resales in the first half of 2026. The first half of 2025 had 293, and the totals for the same six months going back were 339 in 2024, 405 in 2023 and 638 in 2022. That puts first-half 2026 volume about 59 percent below first-half 2022.

Over the same period, the first-half 2026 average sale price reached $793,194. The highest full-year average before this was $746,676, set in 2025. The top sale of the year so far was an $11.8 million Waldorf Astoria residence of nearly 4,000 square feet on the 37th floor.

In a market with this little volume, one sale can move the average. Here is the arithmetic using the reported figures:

Without the Waldorf Astoria closing, the other 262 sales average almost exactly what the 2025 record was. Price per square foot, which accounts for unit size, rose $3. The implied average unit sold grew by roughly 80 square feet. So most of the record comes from which units sold. The value of a given square foot barely changed.

This comparison has limits. It sets one half-year against a full year, and the published figures include no median and no per-tower table for 2026, so they can't show how prices moved inside any one building. The math does show that the record average says little about what a typical unit in a typical tower is worth today.

The towers that supply the volume are mostly condo-hotels

The most recent tower-by-tower breakdown in the local press covers the first quarter of 2025, so treat it as history and not a current count. That quarter, Applied Analysis recorded 148 closings. MGM Signature led with 27 sales. Palms Place and Trump Las Vegas tied for second with 13 each, and the Review-Journal reported that condo-hotels dominated the quarter. Those three towers made up 53 of the 148 sales, more than a third. Vdara at CityCenter had two sales, at $1,343 per square foot, the highest of the quarter.

The rest of that quarter, in order of sales count:

• Panorama Towers: 12 sales, average $512,083, $431 per sq ft
• Turnberry Towers: 11 sales, average $727,818, $546 per sq ft
• Turnberry Place: 10 sales, average $1.21 million, $483 per sq ft
• Veer Towers: 10 sales, average $786,564, $775 per sq ft
• One Las Vegas: 8 sales
• The Ogden: 7 sales
• Allure: 6 sales
• Waldorf Astoria: 5 sales, average $1.49 million, $1,148 per sq ft
• Sky Las Vegas: 5 sales
• One Queensridge Place: 3 sales, average $2.74 million, $724 per sq ft

Price per square foot in that list ran from $431 to $1,343. That range is wider than any change in the citywide average. Within this market, the building drives the price per square foot. The building also affects whether a buyer can finance the purchase, which is the next issue.

How loan rules screen out condo-hotels

Freddie Mac's Seller/Servicer Guide lists condominium hotels and similar transient housing as ineligible projects. Its warning signs include:

1. A project or HOA registered or licensed to operate as a hotel
2. Mandatory rental pools, or blackout dates and caps on how much an owner can use the unit
3. Revenue-sharing agreements between owners and the rental operator
4. An HOA that runs or pays for a registration desk, or charges a fee when a unit is rented short-term
5. Project documents that require owners to use a particular rental agency
6. HOA or management limits on interior decorating

The guide also names daily cleaning, porter service, room service, central phone systems and central key systems as common red flags. It adds that a project with short-term rentals or hotel-style services can still be eligible if the lender analyzes the full set of project characteristics and documents and concludes the project is not a condo-hotel.

This article makes no claim about whether any named tower qualifies. Eligibility is decided project by project, under each lender's review, using the HOA's current documents. The structural point stands. The buildings that have supplied much of the Strip's high-rise sales are the ones agency loan rules look at most closely. When those buyers can't use agency financing, the buyer pool narrows to cash buyers and lenders with other loan programs. That narrower pool helps explain how volume can fall while price per square foot holds steady.

The August 2026 changes and what follows in January

Fannie Mae's Lender Letter LL-2026-03 changed the rules for every condo tower, hotel-style or not.

• Limited Review is retired. For applications dated on or after August 3, 2026, established projects need a Full Review or a qualifying waiver.
• The investor-concentration cap is gone for established projects under Full Review. Fannie no longer applies the 50 percent limit on investor-owned units. New projects still have to meet the presale test of at least 50 percent of units sold to owner-occupants or second-home buyers.
• Reserve studies count only at the highest recommended funding level. When a lender relies on a reserve study, the HOA budget has to include the highest recommended reserve amount, and the baseline funding method no longer qualifies.
• Minimum reserves rise from 10 to 15 percent of budgeted assessment income for Full Review loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027.

Fannie Mae's project-standards FAQ adds two rules that matter in older towers. Lenders are expected to check HOA minutes, financial statements and engineering reports for critical repairs and special assessments. A special assessment can't take the place of the reserve line in the budget, and any assessment tied to safety, structural integrity or habitability means the work has to be finished before the project is eligible. If a lender can't determine eligibility, the loan can't be sold to Fannie Mae.

Dropping the investor cap could help towers with many investor owners. The stricter reserve rules work against towers with thin budgets or deferred work. For a buyer whose loan application will be dated on or after January 4, 2027, a tower budget funding reserves at 12 percent today may not meet the new 15 percent minimum.

Where the wider condo market sits

The broader resale condo and townhome market is a separate, larger category, but it supports the same reading. In August 2026, Las Vegas Realtors reported a median resale condo/townhome price of $299,900, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier. Sales were down 7.4 percent, 2,714 units were listed without offers, up 6 percent, and 68.9 percent of sales closed within 60 days. Cash buyers accounted for 21.9 percent of all local property sales that month. That figure covers the whole metro and is not specific to high-rises.

Both markets show nearly flat prices on fewer transactions. High-rise inventory has been tight for a while. In early 2025 the Review-Journal reported that only about 10 of the Waldorf Astoria's 225 units were available. It linked lower turnover to fewer owners listing and to buyers holding units as long-term investments, second homes or residences. A few months later, a luxury agent quoted by the same paper said owners with loans near 3 percent were reluctant to sell and then buy at around 7 percent.

Questions buyers ask about the 2026 high-rise record

Are Strip high-rise condos appreciating in 2026?

By price per square foot, only slightly. The figure moved from $543 for 2025 to $546 for the first half of 2026. Most of the gain in the average sale price comes from larger units selling and one $11.8 million closing.

Can I get a conventional loan on a condo-hotel unit?

Agency guidelines classify projects with hotel registration, mandatory rental pools or revenue sharing as ineligible condo-hotels. A lender can still find a project with short-term rentals eligible after a full analysis. Ask your lender to review the specific tower before you make an offer.

Which HOA documents should I request early?

Request the current budget with its reserve allocation, the most recent reserve study, recent board minutes, financial statements and any engineering reports. Fannie Mae's guidance tells lenders to look for critical repairs and special assessments in exactly these documents.

Do new towers like Four Seasons Private Residences follow the same rules?

New projects follow Fannie Mae's new-project standards, including the presale test, which remains in place. Four Seasons Private Residences in Henderson was reported on track for completion by September 1, 2027, with 145 of 171 residences under hard contract.

Comparing towers on the Strip comes down to how each building is classified, how its HOA funds reserves, and whether a lender will approve it before the January 4, 2027 reserve change takes effect. Jen DeBough helps buyers gather tower documents and get lender sign-off on the project before writing an offer. Schedule Your Complimentary Consultation to review the building you are considering.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.