Data trends still the same, but month-to-month numbers not bad

Brian Kaiser, Center for Regional Studies, UNR
April 15, 2008

The local housing market is still searching for the bottom and continues its slide down from the mid-2005 peak. The last several months of data are virtual carbon copies of each other – gradual drops in the year-over-year median sales prices and drastically fewer single family home sales from the previous year.

In February, sales of new and existing single family homes were down 67% from a year earlier and the median sales price of those homes was 11% less – precipitous drops, indeed, but if you look at the month-to-month variation, it looks a bit more encouraging. From January to February of this year, single family sales and pricing was flat. While it’s not likely that we’ll see many positive numbers in the single family market this year, it wouldn’t be unrealistic to hope for several more “flat” months like this past one to help establish a floor for the market to start rebuilding upon. Condo sales were up 11% in February from a month earlier, which shows that there are some signs of life out there in spite of the dreadful single family market.

There were another 85 home foreclosures in February, which was 50% less than January’s foreclosures but 150% more than in February 2007. Tweny-five percent of all homes and condos sold in February 2008 were foreclosures and these units tend to sell for lower prices than “privately held” (read: not bank owned) units. So long as there are an unusually high number of foreclosure properties on the market, average sales prices are going to have a tough time digging out of this hole we’re in.

For more information on the local housing market, visit our website at www.nvdata.org and look for the “data and downloads” section. The Center for Regional Studies is an economic development partnership between the Nevada Small Business Development Center and the University of Nevada, Reno.