A leading national homebuilder known for its entry-level and workforce housing has chosen the Las Vegas Valley to go upscale.

KB Home plans to open its first luxury community in the country Saturday with the unveiling of La Vita at Seven Hills in Henderson. The Los Angeles-based builder, whose other Las Vegas area homes are priced from below $200,000 to more than $600,000, will sell 33 semicustom homes with prices ranging from $1.4 million to more than $2 million.

For KB, like the Jeffersons, that's really moving on up to the East Side.

The exclusive 20-acre gated community in the Black Mountain foothills overlooking the Rio Secco Golf Club is touting its views of the Strip and the amenities of its homes, which range from 4,500 to 8,500 square feet on lots measuring one-quarter acre to one-half acre.

Some of the homes have as many as three fireplaces and three open-air courtyards. There are optional high-tech home theaters, libraries, personal gyms and saunas, master bedrooms with separate bath suites and built-in coffee bars. And that's just the start.

There are pools and oversized spa tubs, loggia, grand staircases, elevators, cabanas and attached casitas for privacy. The homes even come with a 10-year warranty.

"It's a total departure from what KB does," said Kenneth Lowman, the broker-owner of Luxury Homes of Las Vegas, which specializes in the sales of high-end homes. "It's a function of some of the prices that builders have to pay for land. They have to build higher-dollar homes to make their land-purchase prices pencil out. I saw that happen in Southern California five years ago."

The demand for luxury single-family homes has been growing in Las Vegas even as the demand for other homes remained soft because of affordability.

A La Vita luxury model home in Henderson’s Seven Hills neighborhood is staged with custom furniture. Photo by Richard Brian

SalesTraq, which monitors the housing market, reported there were 425 new home closings in 2006 of homes selling for $1 million or more, that's up 35 percent over 2005. There were 730 resale closings of $1 million-plus homes in 2006, up from 719 in 2005, said SalesTraq President Larry Murphy.

KB tapped Las Vegas to introduce its luxury homes given the influx of wealthier people who want not only fine dining and entertainment but a high-end home for their lifestyle, said Shelly Stewart, KB's vice president of the Las Vegas division. KB already sells homes to a variety of buyers at many price levels, and it was only natural to add the last market segment that gives buyers another option because buyers prefer to stick with a builder for life, she said.

"Las Vegas had to grow up, and we are growing up with it," Stewart said.

The success of La Vita could serve as a steppingstone for KB to offer it elsewhere around the country, Stewart said.

Local housing analyst Dennis Smith, the president of HomeBuilders Research, said builders like KB are known for their volume, but this says a lot about the shortage of land in the valley. If they can make money at this, they will look for other similar projects. Builders want to diversify but the key to high-end projects getting built is their location, especially ones that offer views, Smith said.

KB's decision to choose Las Vegas for its high-end introduction shows confidence in the market, Las Vegas housing analyst Bottfeld said. He called La Vita an experiment to see whether KB can tap into the high-end market but it also serves as branding for any homes built in satellite communities given the limited supply of land in the Las Vegas Valley.

Interest in La Vita has been high with more than 600 people signed up on a list, Stewart said. KB is targeting corporate executives, doctors, real estate agents, attorneys and retirees, and potential buyers have already taken private tours, she said.

The prices are set but if more than one buyer wants a particular lot when the sales begin on Saturday, they'll be asked to submit offers, Stewart said.

Higher-end homes are playing well in other Las Vegas area communities, Stewart said. Most of the interest from buyers in the recently opened Inspirada master plan in Henderson was for homes exceeding $600,000, she said.

Despite all the focus on Project CityCenter and Las Vegas Boulevard, not everyone with the money to afford one wants a multimillion-dollar penthouse on the Strip, Lowman said.

"Some people would rather have a garage and a backyard and a pool and spa and not share these with other people," Lowman said. "They would rather have privacy."

Purchasing such expensive homes was looked at as a status symbol 20 years ago, but today people look at it as something they have earned, said Las Vegas housing analyst Steve Bottfeld.

Lowman, who expects La Vita sales to go well, said KB has a slight image problem to deal with because they are thought of as an "entry-level, working-class builder." But he added that can be overcome because of its name recognition and by building good products on a site with great views.

KB built two models on the site but has six floor plans for buyers to choose from, Stewart said. The buyers will work with an interior designer and choose architectural design and fixtures. There are thousands of options at the luxury studio from tile, lighting, carpeting and appliance options.

When it comes to the high-end market, many wealthy buyers purchase a lot and work with an architect to design the home they want. But in the case of KB, its research shows there are many buyers who don't have the time or money to hire architects and go through the lengthy process to build their own home. This saves them 9 to 12 months, and any regrets they would have of doing it on their own, Stewart said.

"There are so many people who have built their own homes who wished they would have done this or that," Stewart said.

Construction is expected to start within three months and will take about a year to complete, Stewart said.

KB isn't using the same subcontractors that it uses for its 40 other projects in Las Vegas. Instead the builder has sought out partners with a reputation for high-end custom-home building.

The sales office opens to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday and is open on Monday from noon until 6 p.m. and Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. More information about the development near Eastern Avenue and Grand Hills Drive is available at www.lavita.com.

KB Home acquired the property in September 2006 from Washington-based Old Standard Life Insurance Company for $17.5 million.