Building a Custom Home in
Las Vegas from Washington
Kingdom & Co. builds custom homes in the Las Vegas valley for clients relocating from Washington. Five years ago, Washington was not in the top three source states we saw. It is now. The state’s enactment of a capital gains tax in 2022, combined with the political and cost trajectory of the Puget Sound, and the specific tax and lifestyle math that has been pulling tech wealth to Nevada, has produced a real shift. Rich Barton, the Zillow co-founder who publicly moved from Seattle to Las Vegas in June 2026, is only the most visible example. Our process is set up for the buyer who is 900 miles away, has been building a home vision remotely, and needs a design-build firm they can trust from a distance.
The Washington-to-Nevada Math
The tax math is why Puget Sound clients start the conversation. Three specific mechanics compound.
Capital Gains Tax
0% vs 9.9%
Nevada has no state capital gains tax. Washington enacted one in 2022 starting at 7% on gains above $250,000, raised to 9.9% for gains above $1 million in 2025. A $5M capital gains event faces roughly $475,000 in Washington versus $0 in Nevada.
Property Tax
0.55% vs 0.85%
Nevada’s effective property tax rate is roughly 0.55%. Washington’s statewide average is 0.85%. On a $4M custom home the annual delta is $10,000 to $12,000, compounding every year the home is held.
Housing Cost
$4M buys more
A $4M custom home budget in Nevada buys substantially more than in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond or Mercer Island. Larger lot sizes, less restrictive setbacks, wider spacing, and a construction industry that sources materials at scale.
Neither Washington nor Nevada has a state income tax. The capital gains delta and the housing-cost differential do most of the work for Puget Sound relocators.
Where Washington Clients Build in the Las Vegas Valley
Puget Sound clients tend to prioritize view lots (visual differentiation from the enclosed forested feel they left), architectural ambition (Seattle contemporary translated to the desert), and privacy. We walk lots with clients in person or by video before purchase.
The Santa Barbara Estate
Las Vegas Custom Home Neighborhoods Washington Buyers Choose
Trophy Tier
Established Luxury
Custom home construction in the Las Vegas valley starts at a base range of $400 to $600 per square foot at the luxury tier.
Award-Winning Custom Home Builder in the Las Vegas Valley
Trust at a distance is built on credentials. Kingdom & Co. carries the following:
2025 NARI Remodeler of the Year (regional, Entire House $500K-$750K)
2026 NARI Remodeler of the Year (regional, Residential Interior Over $500K)
Featured across eight episodes of HGTV Property Brothers
Architectural Digest AD Pro Directory, 2024 through 2026
Featured in Martha Stewart
Best of Las Vegas 2025 Gold, Custom Home Builder
SNHBA Best in Building 2025, Best Design Center / Showroom
Better Business Bureau A+ Rating
The custom home division is led by John McDonough, who brings 30 years of luxury custom home experience in the Las Vegas valley and joined Kingdom & Co. following the Canyon Creek Custom Homes merger. Kingdom & Co. was founded in 2017 and carries a collective 30 years of design and construction experience across the team.
How We Work With Washington Buyers Who Are Not Here Yet
Most of our Washington clients start the design conversation before they have relocated. The direct flight from Seattle to Las Vegas is about two hours, which makes site visits during construction more feasible than for clients from the East Coast, and most Washington clients travel to the site three to four times during the build. Between visits, the Kingdom & Co. process keeps the project moving.
- Lot walks in person during your Vegas trips, or remotely by video for lots you find between visits
- JobTread project dashboards with real-time schedule, budget, upcoming trades on site, current photos and open decisions requiring your input
- Weekly video walkthroughs from the site, filmed by your project manager and uploaded to your dashboard
- Shared design boards where material selections, finish samples and layout options live in one place, viewable from anywhere
- Video design consultations for the moments where the designer and the client need to be in the same conversation
- AI-assisted visual studies when you want to see a specific design direction applied to your home before committing
For a Seattle-area buyer, the technology is what makes the Nevada project workable from an office in South Lake Union or a home on Mercer Island.
Our Process
The Santa Barbara Estate
How Kingdom & Co. Handles HOA Review & Permitting on Your Behalf
The two things most Washington buyers worry about when building a custom home in Las Vegas from out of state are HOA architectural review and Nevada permitting. Bellevue and Medina have their own strong architectural review committees, so the ARC concept itself is not unfamiliar. What differs in Las Vegas is which committees have authority, what they prioritize, and how the permit path works across five different local jurisdictions. Kingdom & Co. handles all of it from start to finish.
For a Washington buyer relocating to the valley, the goal is to get to move-in without having become an expert on Nevada building code, HOA politics, desert construction realities, or jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction permit workflow. Our job is to make that happen.
We Build Across Every Jurisdiction in the Las Vegas Valley
Kingdom & Co. builds and remodels across Clark County, City of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City. Each has its own permit process, its own review timelines, and its own HOA architectural review requirements in the master-planned communities. We handle the permitting path in the same phase as the design work, not after, which is why our timelines actually hold. For an out-of-state client, this means you do not have to learn the jurisdictional differences yourself. You just have to know that we do.
Most Common Questions
For many Puget Sound households, yes, particularly those facing significant capital gains exposure. Washington and Nevada both have no state income tax, so the delta is entirely in capital gains and lifestyle cost. Washington enacted a state capital gains tax in 2022 starting at 7% on gains above $250,000, raised to 9.9% for gains above $1 million in 2025. Nevada has no state capital gains tax. For a household executing a $5 million capital gains event, the state tax delta is roughly $475,000. Property tax math tilts favorably too: Washington’s effective rate is 0.85% versus Nevada’s 0.55%. Beyond the tax structure, the Las Vegas valley offers larger buildable lot sizes than most Puget Sound markets at comparable price points, and a growing luxury custom home market across MacDonald Highlands, The Ridges, Ascaya and other master-planned communities. Zillow co-founder Rich Barton publicly relocated from Seattle in June 2026, a visible marker of the broader trend. Whether the move is worth it depends on your specific tax situation and lifestyle priorities. Kingdom & Co. builds for Washington buyers relocating for these reasons regularly.
No. Nevada has no state capital gains tax at any income level. Nevada also has no state income tax. Both facts drive the migration of Washington capital-gains-exposed households to Las Vegas. The federal capital gains tax still applies, but the state-level tax that Washington now imposes is eliminated by the move.
Custom home construction in the Las Vegas valley starts at a base range of $400 to $600 per square foot at the luxury tier. From there, price scales up based on lot complexity, structural elements (basements, cantilevered volumes, extensive site work, hillside foundation work common on MacDonald Highlands or Ascaya lots), material palette, and design scope. Trophy-tier hillside homes commonly move well above the base range. Price per square foot is not a total budget. The final cost of any custom home depends on the specific lot, the design scope, and the decisions made throughout the process. Kingdom & Co. develops informed pricing during the design phase, after lot conditions and scope are established.
The most common Kingdom & Co. custom home neighborhoods for Washington clients are MacDonald Highlands (Henderson), Ascaya (Henderson), The Ridges in Summerlin, Anthem Country Club and Southern Highlands. Seattle-area tech wealth tends to concentrate in MacDonald Highlands (Rich Barton’s landing spot when he publicly relocated in 2026) and Ascaya for the trophy tier. Bellevue and Medina buyers frequently choose The Ridges for its architectural review bar and community feel. Families with children often prefer Anthem or Southern Highlands. Every buyer is different and we walk lots with clients based on what they actually want.
The construction industries look similar on the surface, but the technical realities are different. HVAC in Las Vegas is cooling-dominant, not heating-dominant, which changes how homes are sized, insulated
and glazed. Water restrictions from the Southern Nevada Water Authority are significantly stricter than
what Puget Sound buyers are used to, so landscape, pool and turf design decisions have to account for
SNWA guidelines from the outset. Solar and net metering follow Nevada frameworks rather than
Washington ones. Building envelope decisions optimize for hot-arid conditions instead of cool-humid
conditions. We handle all of this as part of the design-build process, but it is worth knowing going in.
Every custom home is different, and we do not give a timeline before we understand the specific project. Timelines depend on lot conditions (grade, caliche, utilities), design complexity, structural elements (basements, cantilevered volumes, pool integration, hillside foundation work), material lead times, and how quickly design decisions get made. Once the design phase is complete and material selections are finalized, we build a clear project schedule and share it with you. From there, JobTread keeps you informed at every phase.
Yes. Most of our Washington clients start the design conversation before they have relocated. We walk lots with you in person during your Vegas trips, or remotely by video for lots you find between visits. The direct flight from Seattle to Las Vegas is about two hours, which makes site visits during the build easier to schedule than for clients coming from further east. Between visits, JobTread project dashboards, weekly video walkthroughs from the site, shared design boards and video design consultations keep the project moving. Many of our Washington clients are not in Las Vegas full-time until the home is finished.
Schedule a Consultation for Your Move from Washington
Whether you have already put your Puget Sound home on the market or you are still working through the capital gains math with your CPA, the first step is a conversation. We offer video consultations for Washington-based buyers before you travel out, and in-person consultations at our Cheyenne design studio for buyers who are already scheduling site visits. Bring what you have (lot address, design references, budget, questions) and we will walk through the specific project.
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See Our Other Relocation Guides
Don’t see your state? Don’t worry. We can build for you no matter where you are located. Call our office at (702) 779-3778 to set up a consultation and speak with our team or visit our General Relocation page!
