Reno Real Estate Blog - Reno Real Estate

Reno Housing inventory down to 2.3 months

As of the end of April the Reno Sparks area had an inventory of 2.3 months.  This means that at the current pace of housing sales we would sell all of the inventory in 2.3 months. Compare that with November of 2008, when we had about 13 months of inventory on the market. A typical buyers market is defined as 8 months of inventory on the market. You do the math. Some people say banks are holding back on releasing foreclosures. If that is true there could be a flood of houses hitting the market. All I know is we have been very busy putting buyers in homes.

Interest rates are unbelievably low.  Remember...your home is your home, that is where you hang your hat. Nothing more nothing less.

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Downtown Reno Heading in a New Direction

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…

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Love it or Hate it, the Stimulus Bill Definitely has Some Positives for Home Buyers

The following article was written by Stephanie Hanna, Platinum 1st Mortgage  It doesn’t really matter what side of the political fence you sit on, there’s no denying that the new stimulus bill offers good news for potential home buyers.  The way I see it, there are two specific portions of this bill that impact buyers most directly: -  Increased tax credit benefit for first-time homebuyers.  Let me first define a first-time homebuyer because the government’s definition is probably different than what you’re thinking.  If you have not owned a principal residence in the past three years, you are considered a first-time homebuyer.

If you fit that bill and you purchase a home between January 1, 2009 (yes, it is retroactive) and December 31, 2009,…

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Reno Sparks Land Values Down by 40%

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…

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Treasury pushing for 4.5% interest rates

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…

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Government announces Mortgage relief effort

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…

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48% Of Nevada Homeowners Are Under Water

That’s right! They owe more that their homes are worth. A good chunk of that is attributed to Las Vegas and their declining values, but in spite of that it is a very troubling statistic. The average “Joe the homeowner” is teetering on the edge, if they get transferred or lose their job what are the choices if they do not have the money to pay the difference in what they owe and what they could sell for. Nationwide the statistic is 20% of all homeowners owe more than their homes are worth.

There is some good news!  The number of trustee sales and notice of defaults are down from August to September this year, which hopefully will mean the steady flow of foreclosures coming on the market is starting to decline.

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