Washoe County Housing: May 2008
Are we seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?
By Brian Kaiser, Center for Regional Studies
Month-to-month sales data for single family homes and condos in the Reno-Sparks area have not brought much good news in the past year, but these past couple of months have proven to be exceptions. Have we hit bottom? Are we finally digging out of this hole? Well, not exactly, but there are some very positive indicators in May’s data that give me hope that we might start clawing our way out of this mess by the end of summer.
In May 2008, sales of new and existing single family homes was essentially flat from April, which itself was up 23 percent over March. Single family home prices also remained steady in May. Looking at the mix of new-versus-existing homes in May, sales of existing homes were down slightly (4.2 percent) and sales of new homes were up slightly (4.7 percent). Sales within the City of Reno were particularly strong for the month, with a 29 percent increase in new home sales and a 6 percent increase in existing homes compared to April.
New condos also did well in May, with nearly twice as many sales (84) as in the previous month – and the median sales price of those units was up 3 percent at $193,000. 72 of those units were sold in the City of Reno, which is where the bulk of the new condo projects are located.
The year-over-year numbers are not nearly as impressive…in fact, the only positive numbers to be found in the data comparing May 2007 with May 2008 are in condo sales – there were 28 percent more condos sold in May 2008 as there were a year earlier. From here, it gets much less exciting: New single family home sales down 47 percent, existing single family home sales down 50 percent, median sales price of single family homes down 8 percent. I’ll spare you the rest.
So there’s still quite a difference in today’s market compared to last year’s market (and don’t even bother depressing yourself by looking at numbers from 2005 and 2006). What’s important here is that we’re finally seeing some gains – not insubstantial gains, and ones that could signal the turning point in this market if they continue making the kind of progress we’ve seen in the last few months.
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.
In May 2008, sales of new and existing single family homes was essentially flat from April, which itself was up 23 percent over March. Single family home prices also remained steady in May. Looking at the mix of new-versus-existing homes in May, sales of existing homes were down slightly (4.2 percent) and sales of new homes were up slightly (4.7 percent). Sales within the City of Reno were particularly strong for the month, with a 29 percent increase in new home sales and a 6 percent increase in existing homes compared to April.
New condos also did well in May, with nearly twice as many sales (84) as in the previous month – and the median sales price of those units was up 3 percent at $193,000. 72 of those units were sold in the City of Reno, which is where the bulk of the new condo projects are located.
The year-over-year numbers are not nearly as impressive…in fact, the only positive numbers to be found in the data comparing May 2007 with May 2008 are in condo sales – there were 28 percent more condos sold in May 2008 as there were a year earlier. From here, it gets much less exciting: New single family home sales down 47 percent, existing single family home sales down 50 percent, median sales price of single family homes down 8 percent. I’ll spare you the rest.
So there’s still quite a difference in today’s market compared to last year’s market (and don’t even bother depressing yourself by looking at numbers from 2005 and 2006). What’s important here is that we’re finally seeing some gains – not insubstantial gains, and ones that could signal the turning point in this market if they continue making the kind of progress we’ve seen in the last few months.
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.
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