Reno Real Estate News

Downtown Reno Heading in a New Direction

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 1:16pm. 66 Views, 0 Comments.

The recession has hit downtown Reno in a crazy way and the trend is not exactly what Reno officials were looking for. They were working for a mix of housing, shops and restaurants to help the faultering casino industry. The reason for the downturn in casino gaming is the Indian casinos in California which are just about three hours away.

The problem is the elephant in the room, which was Nevada's real estate crash. Reno's downtown condo market has floundered.  The biggest project downtown is the Montage which has 377 units and sits nearly empty and has been put on the auction block. There are some other condo projects downtown that are still selling units, like the Palladio. They think the idea of all the condo projects downtown was a great idea but just…

Reno First time home buyer tax credit extended

Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 5:01pm. 80 Views, 0 Comments.

The tax credit that was scheduled to end at the end of November has been extended until June 30, 2010. You must have a signed purchase contract in place by April 30, 2010. It is for first time home buyers, meaning you have not owned a home in the last 3 years and it is up to a maximum of $8000.

They have also made it to include existing homeowners who have owned a home for the last 5 consecutive out of the last 8 years and it is to a maximum of $6500.

If you are a fist time home buyer and do not take advantage of this you are throwing away valuable dollars that can be used against your tax liability.

 For more information go to Federal housing tax credit to answer all of your questions.

Reno Aces Sell out in 30 minutes

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 12:03pm. 247 Views, 0 Comments.

April 4 single game tickets went on sale and they sold out the first game in 30 minutes. There are still some great half and full season packages available. The Reno Aces who is the farm team for the Arizona Diamond backs will open their season on April 17 against the "Salt Lake City Bees". Our Aces are in the Pacific Coast Triple A baseball league and will be facing other opponents such as the Albuquerque Isotopes and the Sacramento River Cats.

I don't know if a lot of people know we have had baseball here since back in the the late 1940's. Link Piazzo, founder of the Sportsmen Sporting good store, did the broadcasting for the " Reno Silver Sox". Back then they played in Moana Stadium which was built in 1946 by Lou Berrum on the old rodeo grounds at Moana…

Reno Sparks Land Values Down by 40%

Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 11:24am. 588 Views, 0 Comments.

The Washoe County Assessor is coming out with a report saying values of raw land are down from 30-40% since the height of the market. The shocking fact is that most homeowners will be hit with a 3-5% tax increase this year because of a report that came out stating the replacement values of actual homes and buildings are up. Nevada  property tax caps were put in place in 2004 which states that excess property values were not taxed in prior years and can be pulled from abatement to increase taxes by the full 3% to be able to help schools and local governments. Land values in Northwest Reno, Stead, Spanish Springs and other communities north of the river are down by 30%. Large custom homes in the SW Suburban neighborhood are up by the full measure the county…

Treasury pushing for 4.5% interest rates

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 at 4:48pm. 359 Views, 0 Comments.

The treasury department has presented a plan to loan banks money at 3% so they could in turn loan it to new home buyers at 4.5% and actually make a 1.5% profit. It is currently in the developmental stage and may not take effect until Obama is in office. "This will definitely stimulate sales and get buyers who are on the fence to make a move". What it does not do is address the foreclosure issue, well I guess in a way it does. In this current market, most of the foreclosures in the Reno Real estate market are in the lower price ranges so it would start to chip away at the vast inventory of homes on the market. Right now we have a 13 month inventory of homes on the market, meaning at the current pace it would take that long to sell all the homes on the…

10 Fun Things To Do In and Around the Reno Area

Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 11:19am. 388 Views, 0 Comments.

(This is the 1st in a series of blogs about the many fun things to do in Reno and the surrounding areas)

Take a drive to Virginia City (about 23 miles outside Reno) and plan to stay for a few hours.  It’s about a 30 – 45 minute drive up a curvy road and well worth it.  Park your car and walk up the old wooden walkways to all the stores, saloons, museums and more.  Take a train ride through the historic mining areas, it takes about 35 minutes.  Take the kids through the fudge factory and watch them make all sorts of sweets and of course taste them all.  You can even take a tour of an old mine.  One of the many historic buildings include Pipers Opera House.  Built in 1885 and still being used.  Mark Twain, Buffalo Bill and President Grant were among the…

Government announces Mortgage relief effort

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 10:49am. 338 Views, 0 Comments.

It does not come without some resistance.  It is focused on loans either owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is for homeowners who are at least 3 months behind on their mortgage and owe 90% or more than the house is worth. They will either reduce total housing expense to 38% of your gross income or extend your mortgage from 30 to 40 years or defer some of the principal and make it interest only so distressed home owners can stay in their homes.

There are a lot of homeowners out there who are making their payments that are saying, "This is not fair". Consider this, real estate values are going down faster now than in the 1930’s and if these troubled homeowners do not get help they will lose their homes and now you face another foreclosure…