Golf course frontage – Not a sure thing.
Many prospective homeowners look for golf course frontage. This provides the ambiance of all the greenery as well as, in many cases, great views as there are no homes directly in back to restrict those views. The premiums for these homes will run an average of around 20% more that like homes not on the golf course.
How secure is that frontage? This is a question that is asked more recently with the closing of two local golf courses, Badlands and the course at Silverstone Ranch. Silverstone was recently purchased and the entity that purchased it immediately close it down. Subsequently court issued injunctions forced the buyer to at least temporarily maintain it. Silverstone has some preexisting restrictions that will make the commercial development of this more difficult. Badlands, I have heard, has no such restrictions. What if either or both is no longer commercially viable as a golf course?
There are no absolute protections here. There are only degrees of protection. Some communities such as Sun City Summerlin own their golf courses. It is my understanding the courses there lose money every year, but there are around 1,200 homes with golf course frontage. Homes around public courses also look well protected. The greatest risk would be to homes built around privately owned golf courses. Examples of this risk would be homes built around the Sun City Anthem and Red Rock Country Club golf courses.
In this area we already have had some experience with golf course closings. Two courses closed at Stallion Mt. a few years ago and the land these courses were on was subsequently developed by Pulte. Two courses more recently closed at Lake Las Vegas with one re-opening and the other laying fallow.
The entity that bought Silverstone Ranch bought it, I would think, with it’s eye on commercial development of some kind. Irrespective of what it bought the land for, there will be a lot of opposition from homeowners in the area. Suits have already been filed in the case of Silverstone. Which brings me to the big, “what if”. What if a privately owned golf course is no longer commercially viable?. Long term what will that mean? This is something a prudent home buyer should take a good hard look at.
