A couple of you have written me off-blog asking to be informed of the final sales price on my pending Montreux listing. [That’s the “Towering Pines” listing on our listings widget to the top-right of the page.] I’m pleased to report that after a lengthy escrow my listing on 5610 Coeur Ct. closed last week for $2.31M. The property was listed at $2,499,900. We received an offer in only 35 days, and closed a few weeks later.
Montreux is a market to its own. In Reno-Sparks few residential properties sell over the $2M price point. In 2006 seventeen $2M+ homes sold and in 2007 fifteen sold. Of the 15 Solds in 2007, over half were in Montreux.
I’m happy to have put one on the books for ’08. If you’re interested in buying or selling in Montreux, give me a call (775) 722-4011.
10 comments
Yes Montreux is a market of its own. According to some conversations I have had with people who should know, only about 40% of its residents are Reno working stiffs. The remainder are some combination of tax expatriates, Tahoe emigrants, or California emigrants, many of whom are independently wealthy. Clearly such a group of owners does not make for normal market dynamics, especially during a credit or equity crunch.
Cal Boomer your point is well taken. We have had that coversation here before. But no doubt somebody is going to post that the fact that one house sold in Montreux for $2.3 million is irrefutable evidence that the Reno market has hit bottom and that prices in all market segments are going up as we speak. Just wait.
I would like to see when januarys sales come out next month the average sale price with this sale and without just to see how much the average can be affected by 1 sale.
Sean,
Send me a reminder email next month and I’ll do just that. It’ll be interesting.
Of course, as you know I report medians rather than averages just for that very reason.
Thanks Guy -
Now that your listing has closed and is public, I have some questions that may help some of us understand who really sells/purchases Montreux real estate.
1. Who were the buyer(s) [I don’t care about their names - just their demographics], and where did they come from?
2. Do the buyers intend to make the home their principle residence? If not, what do they intend to do with it?
3. Was part of the purchase price financed and if so, what percentage?
4. Is the home new, or was it previously owned?
5. If previously owned, what did the seller[s] purchase it for and when?
6. Why do you say “after a lengthy escrow” given you “closed [only] a few weeks” after receiving an offer? Seems incredibly UNlenghty to me.
7. Since the Assessor recently reappraised this property for ad valorem tax purposes, what is its 2008-09 assessed valuation - the valuation the new owner[s] are going to have to pay ad valorem taxes on?
8. I find it pretty incredible, especially in this market, that this property closed escrow only two months after it was initially listed for sale - especially at about 92% of the asking price. In your opinion, what was so special or incredible about the home, given its healthy sales price?
For those looking to purchase a [mid-2005] $2.5M Montreux home for $1.5M or even less, this sale certainly doesn’t bode well. In your opinion is it a trend or an anomaly?
Thanks Guy.
Smarten - I think it’s an anomaly. Based on the virtual tour this is one of the nicest homes and lots that has come up for sale in a while in Montreux, and I have been watching closely for over a year. Guy can likely testify to the quality of this home and its location. It also sold for fairly low price per sq. foot compared to other Montreux sales at $372 per sq foot for 6200 sq feet. That is a huge house. The lot is also very large at 1.22 acres, and based on the Zillow birds eye view, it’s located in a very private setting on a cul de sac with no close neighbors, which is unusual for Montreux where they tend to pack the Mc. Mansions fairly close together.
http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=7329861
I think this is a fair deal for the size, location and quality of the house and a much better deal than anything currently for sale in Montreux. On another note, I was told that there are several lawsuits pending against the builder of the Renaissance over priced tract homes in Montreux due to shoddy construction. Roofs flying off, stucco peeling etc. Does anyone have further info on this? I toured several of these homes in May and told the agent that the largest and best plan would be selling for less than a mil. by the end of the year. They were asking 1,350 to 1,500 at the time. Just recently one sold for less than the asking price of 1,050. I don’ know how much less but should soon. The seller had paid 1,300 little more than a year earlier. The high-end is taking the longest time to feel the effects of the bursting bubble but it will happen. Tiffany’s sales are in the tank, and so are Nordstrom’s and other high end retailers. The rich have been insulated, and thus so have high end homes for sometime now, but that’s about to change with the coming recession, continuing wall-street woes, and credit crunch. No one wants to buy a depreciating asset, rich or poor or in between. That’s not how the rich get richer.
Smarten,
In answer to our questions…
1. The buyers came from within Montreux. They were upsizing. They wanted a larger home.
2. Yes, this will be their principle residence.
3. Cash purchase.
4. The home was built in 1998.
5. Don’t know off the top of my head. Green NV can probably tell us.
6. “lengthy” in terms that it was about twice as long as the typical 30-day close.
7. According to the Washoe County Assessor’s site it looks like the latest annual taxes total 17,255.79.
8. There are many components to this answer. The home was priced to sell. Relative to other $2M+ properties in Montreux and elsewhere in Reno, the $/sq.ft. price was low. In fact, I believe our list price (on a $/sq.ft. basis) made this property one of the lowest, if not THE lowest, priced properties in the over $2M price range. That got people’s attention. In fact we had multiple showings in the first two weeks. Again, very good for that price point.
Thanks Guy -
Since you state “the buyers came from within Montreux. They were upsizing,” that raises the next question. What are the buyers doing with their vacated Montreux home? Is it for sale and if so, what size; location; and, at what price?
Sorry Guy, another question.
You state that “according to the Washoe County Assessor’s site it looks like the latest annual taxes total $17,255.79.”
But that wasn’t my question.
Rather, I asked that “since the Assessor recently reappraised this property for ad valorem tax purposes, what is its 2008-09 assessed valuation - the valuation the new owner[s] are going to have to pay ad valorem taxes on?”
The reason I asked the question is because although the previous owner[s] taxes may have been capped to more than a 3% annual increase, that WON’T be the case insofar as these buyers are concerned. Rather, taxes will increase to current full bore. So as a perspective buyer, I’m interested in learning how much of a bump in real estate taxes I’m going to be hit with if I buy this [or a comparable property] compared to the $17,255.79 the seller was currently paying.
Make sense? Thanks again in advance.
smarten,
This is directly from the Washoe County Assessor’s site:
INSTALL DUE DATE AMOUNT DATE PAID
1 08/20/2007 $4,316.79 08/23/2007
2 10/01/2007 $4,313.00 09/27/2007
3 01/07/2008 $4,313.00 01/09/2008
4 03/03/2008 $4,313.00
In terms of assessed value, it appears the Total (land and building) Taxable Value went from $1,625,699 (2007) to $1,741,132 (2008).
You can find this and much more at: http://www.washoecounty.us/assessor/cama/quickinfoassessment.php~AccountNumber=135106&ParcelID=148-061-14&FactorDistrict=179R&Closed=0