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The Hot Topic of Real Estate

The Palladio - downtown condos

Palladio Condos

Reno Community Projects and Developments

Pyramid Lake - end of trail

The Hot Topic of Real Estate

Is it possible these days to turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper without reading about the doom and gloom occurring in the Real Estate Market? For example, in the first week of October, the National Association of Realtors reported another month of decreased pending sales of previously owned homes.

The Reno/Sparks home market has seen some downturns over the last year as well. However, if you know where to look, there are some real opportunities out there.

So what's going on in the Reno/Sparks area

New Home Sales: There’s no question that builders are cutting prices. There has been a 15.8% decrease in the median price between 2nd quarter 2006 and 2nd quarter 2007, with the most significant savings in the new Northwest Reno, North Urban Reno, new Southeast Reno, Spanish Springs, and Sparks.

Existing Home Sales: Compared to 1st quarter of 2007, we had a promising 2nd quarter of 2007, with a 16% increase in the amount of homes sold. And where was the most activity of homes being sold? In the new Southwest area of Reno.

Prices are down from this time last year by 10.8% overall. It’s a great time to buy in the Reno/Sparks area.

New Condos: Builders are cutting prices, but not as significantly as in the new homes area. In 2nd quarter of 2007, we saw a 6.8% decrease in prices compared to this time last year. Interestingly, we saw an increase in median price by 7.4% between 1st quarter and 2nd quarter 2007, indicating that buyers were willing to pay a little more this last quarter for their new condo.

Existing Condos: From 1st quarter to 2nd quarter 2007, the existing condo market saw the most significant percentage jump in condos sold than any other category; a shocking 47.8% with a median price increase of 9.9%, with double digit percentage increases in the old Soutwest and new Southwest areas.

Being armed with the information is a valuable resource, and as these numbers prove, there are some real opportunities out there. Now is a great time to buy for the first time buyers, investors, and for the home owner that wants to “move up” to something bigger. For more information about the real estate market, feel free to contact me anytime.

Reno Community Projects and Developments

Enjoy shopping? Lucky for you the future of vacant land between Meadowood Mall and the Mt. Rose Highway is retail with a variety of shops to choose from. Anything from auto dealers, car part outlets to lodging and retail.

One of the main draws to developing in this area is that this part of town is considered one of the most desirable areas to live, and the growth in this area has increased so much over the past few years.

One store front that is planned to break ground in September is a BMW/Porsche/Volvo dealership in front of Bishop Manogue high school. The location should be extremely convenient for anyone, especially since the location is directly off the freeway.

The local developer Ribeiro Corp. is currently building a 3.5 acre development that will consist of a Human Bean coffee franchise, Great Basin Bicycles and more companies along Virginia Street, yet to be determined. This development is south of the new Butcher Boy that recently opened its second location in Reno. Butcher Boy is a local meat and gourmet food company that originally opened in Sparks.

All-in-all each development and new business will help bring Virginia Street a better synergy. Any change within this area is only creating a positive user and shopping friendly experience for Truckee Meadows residents.

With all of the development in the South end of town, there are many exciting developments happening in the center of Reno. The downtown transition has taken off and done so in an “active” way. The Truckee River was turned into a 1.5 million dollar white water park that flows right through the heart of downtown Reno. Reno may no longer be known as a gaming town but transition to an adventure center. And let’s not forget that 45 minutes away is beautiful Lake Tahoe and over 23,000 skiable acres, and over 583 miles of biking/hiking/sight seeing trails.

The Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway is another recreational masterpiece in our area. The vision is to be able to travel the Truckee River by foot or bike all the way to Pyramid Lake. This breath taking adventure will travel over 116 miles and will include both dirt and paved trails. The first section of this trail has already been opened. The Mogul-Verdi link opened on May 5, 2005 and bicyclists are using it daily. Look forward to more progression on this exciting project.

A proposed recreational trail is the Reno to Rim Trail. This outdoor development will cover fourteen to eighteen miles that eventually will connect northwest Reno to the very famous Tahoe Rim Trail.

There are so many exciting projects in our community which just make the Truckee Meadows an even nicer place to live, visit, and conduct business.

Sparks - Just the Facts

It seems that every where you go people are discussing the state of the real estate market. We feel it’s important that buyers and sellers have factual information about what is going on in their area.

One fact that is important to remember is actual statistical data, “the facts”. Here are some facts from the Sparks area during the second quarter of sales from the MLS. The median list price for homes was $359,900 with an actual sold price of $340,486. The low list price was $160,000 with a sold price of $146,000. The average days on market in the Sparks area was 100 days.

According to a local title company’s economic report, 48% of second quarter sales were in New Construction, and 52% existing homes. It's estimated that 5% of these sales were in foreclosures/relocation and another 2-3% were corporate relocation which leaves 44% of the sales in the re-sale market. The title company reported 441 sales. They placed homes with a median square feet of 1830, a median price of $173 per square foot. The median sale price is -7.2% from the first quarter in 2007 with a median price change of -0.5%.

According to First Centennial’s economic report dated August of 2007, there is a 10.7 month supply of inventory. The last 60 days shows that 19% of the homes inventory has been sold. They list the median list price at $325,000, the average ask price at $295,000 and the average sales price at $289,000.

Sparks has a lot to offer including a tremendous amount of new construction, and a new shopping center being built at Eagle Canyon and Pyramid highway. A new casino is being proposed to be built on Pyramid highway and is currently before the Sparks city council. Kiley Ranch, a new homes subdivision in the Spanish Springs area, is in the midst of building out their projects. They are currently leasing the new multi-family housing project along Sparks Boulevard just before the Pyramid highway intersection.

The rise in commercial space in Sparks is part of an effort to build complete communities with limited needs for long drive times to other areas. Residents can live in an area, bicycle to work, and the grocery store is just around the corner. They can live, work, and play without having to commute.

®2007 Claudia Byrne, REALTOR(R), GRI. (775)351-6004

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