Average mortgage amount increases

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Guy Johnson

In a report released yesterday by Capital Economics analysts reported that the average loan amount lenders issued to borrowers in the past three months grew by $20,000, suggesting an early sign that buyer confidence is improving across the country. See Average mortgage amount increases by $20,000

Also in the report, a reported 20% drop in visible home inventory over the past 18 months. Locally, readers of this blog are well aware of the market’s shortage of inventory. [Looking back at the numbers for Reno-Sparks, I see that our inventory is down over sixty percent over the past 18 months.]

But what about loan amounts locally? Are borrower’s borrowing more? To get an idea I looked at sales since January 1st – specifically those sales that have been financed. Here’s what I found for the last three months for financed (conventional, FHA and VA) home purchases…

Month # of Sales Average Sales Price Median Sales Price
Jan 2012 292 $171,746 $150,000
Feb 2012 326 $182,148 $153,950
Mar 2012 366 $187,425 $159,900

As can be seen in the data above; number of sales, average sold price and median sold price have all increased since January 1st. If we make the assumption that down payment percentages have remained consistent, then it follows that loan amounts have been increasing as well.

Posted in Agent Insights, Lending | 1 Comment

Understanding your FICO score

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Guy Johnson

Thank you to Lisa Fleck of Summit Funding for providing this informative piece explaining the components of one’s credit score and the impact of various activities on the FICO score.

Click on the graphic to enlarge

Posted in Lending | Tagged | Leave a comment

First quarter home sales report released by Chase International

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Guy Johnson

IMedia Contact: Katie Shaffer
Switchback PR + Marketing, Inc. 530-550-2252
katie@switchbackpr.com

For Immediate Release

Reno, Sparks and Carson Valley
First Quarter Home Sales Report Released

~Single Family Unit Sales Show Measurable Increase~

RENO, Nev. (April 9, 2012) – The Reno, Sparks and Carson Valley real estate sales numbers for the first quarter of 2012 show signs that the local market activity is moving in an upward direction according to a quarterly report released by real estate company Chase International.

The first quarter Chase International report for 2012 shows an impressive 12 percent increase in units sold for the Reno-Sparks area with very little inventory in the lower market (under $250,000). For the Carson Valley, a total of 143 units sold during the first quarter of 2012, up from 140 from last year at this time, which denotes a two percent increase.

“The lower segment of the market has evaporated and we are experiencing multiple offers on most listings in this segment. Most listings under $250,000 are receiving multiple offers,” said Susan Lowe, corporate vice president for Chase International. “The uptick in activity will really be evident in the next quarter stats.”

The number of volume sold in the Reno and Sparks markets dropped two percent, to $249,664,211, and the Carson Valley showed a 15 percent decrease in volume, to $33,000,649.

Regional median and average prices have continued to drop as well. The median price of a home in Reno-Sparks is $145,000 (down nine percent) and the average price is $176,565 (down 13 percent). The median price of a home in Carson Valley is $180,000 (down nine percent) and the average is $230,773 (down 17 percent).

“What’s notable about the Reno, Sparks and Carson Valley markets is that the number of units sold is up significantly, indicating increased activity which can be translated as a positive sign that the market is gaining in strength,” said Lowe.

When it comes to condominium sales, 225 condos sold in 2012 to date over 222 in 2011, a one percent increase. The median price of a condo in Reno-Sparks was $56,000, down three percent over last year. The average price of a condo was $69,786, down 12 percent over the first quarter prices from one year ago.

The sales and figures of the Chase International first quarter report are compared to first quarter statistics of 2011 and include all sales in Reno, Sparks and the Carson Valley from January 1 through March 31 of this year.

Headquartered in Lake Tahoe, Nevada since 1986, with eight offices in the region (Zephyr Cove, Glenbrook, Incline Village, Tahoe City, Squaw Valley, Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and Reno) and one in London, England, Chase International and its exclusive affiliations handles a large share of the country’s property. A recognized leader in the world of real estate, Chase International continues to grow. With 240 professional Realtors® boasting an array of industry certifications and the highest volume per sales agent in the area, Chase International successfully represents homes at all price levels. For more information about Chase International, visit www.chaseinternational.com.

###

Posted in Market Trends | Tagged , | 8 Comments

March median sold price, units, DOM, $/sq.ft.

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Guy Johnson

March’s median sold price increased to $150,000 – a 3.4 percent over February’s median of $145,000. Year-over-year, March’s median sold price is down 6.3 percent.

March’s median sold price per square foot (ppsf) also increased – rising an impressive 3.5 percent over February’s number to $84.96/sf. Sold PPSF is down 7.2 percent year-over-year.

The number of houses sold in March set another month-specific record coming in at 516 units sold for the month.

The increase sales activity, in conjunction with less properties entering the market, has wreaked havoc with inventory levels. At the moment there are only 809 houses listed as Active on the MLS – currently equivalent to 1.6-month supply of inventory. Long-time agents I’ve talked with tell me that they have never seen an inventory level this low.

March sales by type break out as follows:

  • REO sale: 32% – down from February’s 42%
  • Short sales: 34% – up from February’s 28%
  • Equity sales: 33% – up from February’s 29%

As fewer REOs enter the market (because of AB 284) we’re seeing fewer sales of REO properties.

March sales by price band break out as follows in the table below. Note that 21% of the houses sold in March sold for less than $100,000; 70% sold for less than $200,000; and 87% sold for less than $300,000. We are beginning to see increased sales in the higher price bands.

sales price ($000′s) units sold
0 – 99 110
100 – 199 246
200 – 299 93
300 – 399 35
400 – 499 14
500 – 599 8
600 – 699 4
700 – 799 0
800 – 899 1
900 – 999 3
1M+ 2
total 516

For those readers who prefer the median sold price for houses and condos combined,
March’s 603 sold houses, condos and town homes exhibited a combined median sold price of $140,400 – UP 7.6 percent from February’s combined median of $130,500 for 532 combined sales.

Historical data follows:

Month Year # Sold Sold Price Sold Price per Sq Ft Avg/Med DOM # of Actives # of Pendings
Mar 2012 516 $150,000 $84.96 145 / 107 809 1,889
Feb 2012 463 $145,000 $82.12 131 / 99 980 1,788
Jan 2012 447 $135,000 $81.07 145 / 123 1,170 1,643
Dec 2011 536 $155,000 $85.66 148 / 123 1,403 1,481
Nov 2011 497 $149,012 $85.02 146 / 115 1,545 1,635
Oct 2011 496 $148,250 $84.22 145 / 106 1,682 1,646
Sep 2011 575 $149,000 $83.73 133 / 106 2,044 1,967
Aug 2011 554 $154,000 $91.34 125 / 98 1,947 1,694
July 2011 512 $149,950 $87.65 128 / 96 2,028 1,667
June 2011 538 $154,000 $90.12 123 / 89 1,990 1,689
May 2011 510 $150,000 $88.66 133 / 104 1,968 1,682
Apr 2011 436 $156,125 $89.78 137 / 104 1,914 1,593
Mar 2011 511 $160,000 $91.59 132 /113 1,906 1,497
Feb 2011 387 $161,000 $93.35 142 / 115 1,882 1,416
Jan 2011 365 $157,000 $92.35 152 / 129 1,970 1,329
Dec 2010 485 $165,000 $94.31 143 2,021 1,148
Nov 2010 398 $170,000 $96.43 139 2,060 1,376
Oct 2010 418 $174,950 $98.57 135 2,146 1,371
Sep 2010 467 $168,000 $97.52 132 2,186 1,473
Aug 2010 450 $180,000 $97.54 127 2,222 1,513
Jul 2010 415 $180,000 $101.84 128 2,158 1,580
Jun 2010 602 $170,000 $100.52 145 1,966 1,625
May 2010 450 $175,807 $102.37 138
Apr 2010 510 $179,995 $103.13 128
Mar 2010 477 $175,000 $99.14 141
Feb 2010 338 $170,000 $101.68 138
Jan 2010 346 $167,000 $97.06 134
Dec 2009 424 $178,000 $101.28 126
Nov 2009 461 $175,000 $103.61 112
Oct 2009 561 $180,000 $103.52 123
Sep 2009 520 $185,948 $103.31 128
Aug 2009 482 $179,900 $102.64 116
Jul 2009 515 $180,000 $103.45 126
Jun 2009 536 $180,317 $104.09 136
May 2009 426 $175,000 $102.29 139
Apr 2009 429 $190,000 $105.71 133
Mar 2009 369 $200,000 $105.85 133
Feb 2009 293 $205,000 $111.52 132
Jan 2009 233 $200,000 $113.04 117
Dec 2008 294 $218,950 $121.74 145
Nov 2008 269 $220,000 $122.24 152
Oct 2008 354 $230,000 $131.43 144
Sep 2008 358 $239,250 $136.72 145
Aug 2008 321 $250,000 $142.14 140
Jul 2008 397 $251,000 $145.48 139
Jun 2008 369 $262,500 $148.05 142
May 2008 314 $260,215 $152.30 134
Apr 2008 314 $275,000 $154.05 172
Mar 2008 238 $274,000 $150.93 166
Feb 2008 195 $289,000 $156.48 149
Jan 2008 165 $285,000 $170.23 146
Dec2007 228 $283,950 $167.22 143
Nov2007 204 $299,750 $172.24 126
Oct2007 241 $296,000 $173.55 116
Sep2007 230 $299,945 $179.46 114
Aug2007 311 $305,000 $182.49 118
Jul2007 300 $315,000 $189.78 113
Jun2007 329 $320,000 $196.78 104
May2007 364 $313,200 $190.81 107
Apr2007 320 $309,500 $193.93 121
Mar2007 324 $315,000 $189.61 121
Feb 2007 269 $315,000 $191.18 126
Jan 2007 245 $312,900 $199.79 133
Dec2006 291 $309,000 $193.51 114
Nov2006 281 $318,000 $197.32 111
Oct 2006 363 $312,400 $201.44 105
Sep2006 344 $314,950 $198.08 98
Aug2006 349 $325,000 $210.92 94
Jul2006 373 $335,000 $210.62 93
Jun2006 424 $339,000 $214.54 91
May2006 374 $339,950 $219.05 99
Apr2006 368 $334,600 $212.08 88
Mar2006 387 $340,000 $215.54 99
Feb 2006 283 $335,000 $217.29 101
Jan 2006 274 $365,000 $216.38 98
Dec2005 333 $355,000 $217.31 89
Nov2005 385 $349,000 $220.00 81
Oct2005 484 $359,450 $223.06 77
Sep2005 531 $354,500 $219.26 77
Aug2005 582 $360,500 $220.52 73
Jul2005 608 $353,000 $218.99 71
Jun2005 679 $350,000 $215.69 69
May2005 644 $333,250 $209.95 68
Apr2005 558 $326,750 $207.57 77
Mar2005 584 $325,000 $200.17 81
Feb 2005 342 $318,500 $197.54 88
Jan 2005 341 $310,000 $195.19 85
Dec2004 450 $312,500 $190.72 77
Nov2004 448 $309,950 $191.62 63
Oct2004 512 $299,250 $188.72 53
Sep2004 496 $292,750 $185.78 61
Aug2004 505 $285,000 $182.95 56
Jul2004 544 $304,300 $179.28 61
Jun2004 533 $285,000 $172.16 65
May2004 476 $278,750 $169.64 65
Apr2004 526 $259,950 $158.08 67
Mar2004 508 $245,000 $142.56 71
Feb 2004 365 $237,000 unavailable 81
Jan 2004 380 $228,500 unavailable 78
Dec2003 441 $240,000 unavailable 82
Nov2003 444 $220,750 unavailable 78
Oct2003 430 $219,880 unavailable 76
Sep2003 587 $223,000 unavailable 71
Aug2003 512 $220,000 unavailable 75
Jul2003 533 $210,000 unavailable 77
Jun2003 475 $207,000 unavailable 77
May2003 450 $198,950 unavailable 85
Apr2003 478 $197,750 unavailable 82
Mar 2003 428 $192,000 unavailable 77
Feb 2003 321 $186,895 unavailable 79
Jan 2003 316 $186,000 unavailable 96
Dec 2002 379 $193,500 unavailable 93
Nov 2002 423 $190,000 unavailable 82
Oct 2002 483 $189,900 unavailable 83
Sep 2002 410 $174,000 unavailable 85
Aug 2002 459 $180,000 unavailable 74
Jul 2002 469 $176,000 unavailable 83
Jun 2002 445 $185,000 unavailable 80
May 2002 470 $178,450 unavailable 77
Apr 2002 360 $169,500 unavailable 93
Mar 2002 377 $169,000 unavailable 84
Feb 2002 323 $170,900 unavailable 89
Jan 2002 269 $172,475 unavailable 99
Dec 2001 287 $182,000 unavailable 86
Nov 2001 323 $161,500 unavailable 85
Oct 2001 357 $166,500 unavailable 79
Sep 2001 355 $168,000 unavailable 81
Aug 2001 448 $160,350 unavailable 84
Jul 2001 433 $169,900 unavailable 90
Jun 2001 426 $166,225 unavailable 96
May 2001 404 $162,050 unavailable 97
Apr 2001 370 $158,750 unavailable 94
Mar 2001 385 $159,900 unavailable 97
Feb 2001 297 $159,950 unavailable 104
Jan 2001 264 $165,000 unavailable 102
Dec 2000 272 $156,500 unavailable 100
Nov 2000 355 $154,500 unavailable 93
Oct 2000 348 $153,000 unavailable 98
Sep 2000 356 $160,000 unavailable 104
Aug 2000 412 $163,375 unavailable 94
Jul 2000 368 $155,000 unavailable 110
Jun 2000 466 $165,845 unavailable 104
May 2000 363 $158,000 unavailable 105
Apr 2000 312 $155,000 unavailable 113
Mar 2000 339 $162,700 unavailable 102
Feb 2000 248 $148,000 unavailable 108
Jan 2000 223 $156,000 unavailable 113
Dec 1999 264 $155,000 unavailable 118
Nov 1999 293 $149,900 unavailable 98
Oct 1999 289 $147,895 unavailable 108
Sep 1999 311 $157,000 unavailable 106
Aug 1999 360 $148,500 unavailable 112
Jul 1999 375 $147,800 unavailable 105
Jun 1999 372 $150,000 unavailable 103
May 1999 307 $145,500 unavailable 106
Apr 1999 324 $151,700 unavailable 111
Mar 1999 308 $151,000 unavailable 121
Feb 1999 249 $148,900 unavailable 120
Jan 1999 210 $143,000 unavailable 115
Dec 1998 265 $140,000 unavailable 118
Nov 1998 280 $152,800 unavailable 126
Oct 1998 286 $142,825 unavailable 115
Sep 1998 279 $144,500 unavailable 102
Aug 1998 331 $145,000 unavailable 113
Jul 1998 335 $150,000 unavailable 108
Jun 1998 351 $148,500 unavailable 103
May 1998 302 $145,500 unavailable 99
Apr 1998 237 $148,000 unavailable 110
Mar 1998 271 $141,990 unavailable 115
Feb 1998 204 $139,000 unavailable 125
Jan 1998 167 $147,000 unavailable 129

Note: The medians table above is updated on a monthly basis. The median home price data reported covers the cities of Reno, Nevada and Sparks, Nevada [NNRMLS Area #100]. Residential data includes Site/Stick Built properties only. Data excludes Condo/Townhouse, Manufactured/Modular and Shared Ownership properties. Data courtesy of the Northern Nevada Regional MLS – April 2012. Note: This information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

Related post: February median sold price, units, DOM, $/sq.ft.

Posted in Agent Insights, Market Trends | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Washoe County foreclosure-related recordings – March 2012

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Guy Johnson

Below are Washoe County’s Foreclosure Statistics through the month of March. (click on the graphic to enlarge). These statistics are provided to us by our friends at Ticor Title.

It is no news that the number of Notices of Default fell off a cliff after October 1st of last year. That has now resulted in a significant reduction in the Notices of Sale (NOS). March NOSs are down 16 percent from February’s number; and are down 36 percent from January’s number.

Commentary accompanying the report…

Notice of Default (NOD) filings increased slightly from February and of course the numbers are still affected by the New Law (AB284) that was effective October 1, 2011.  There were some Bank Notices of Default filings but most of the Notice of Defaults were again private beneficiary and local banks/credit unions.  As predicted, the slow of Notice of Defaults are also affecting the Notice of Sales (NOS) which decreased in March by 43 and may continue to decrease even more in months ahead.  Trustee Deeds decreased by 92 from February and the decrease could be contributed AB284 and the Banks working with homeowners in regards to short sales.  Based on the NOD & NOS filings, Trustee Deeds will continue to dwindle in future months. The new single family residential REO (Bank Owned) listings increased slightly from February but it is evident when you look at the past Trustees Deed numbers that there is a shadow inventory (Bank Owned Properties not yet listed) lurking.  As mentioned before, inventory in Nevada is down considerably and the real estate community is very concerned about the lack of inventory available in future months for the potential buyer.  We hope that the Banks will release more inventory and the seller’s who are on the fence, take this opportunity and put their homes on the market.

Related post: Washoe County foreclosure-related recordings – February 2012

Posted in Foreclosures, Market Trends | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Reno Aces 2012 game schedule

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Guy Johnson

For the baseball fans, below is the Reno Aces current season schedule. Click on the graphic below to access a printable .pdf.

Posted in Downtown Reno, General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Waiting list to purchase a new home?!

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Guy Johnson

Yesterday I spent some time searching for and looking at homes (resales) with clients. When only three properties fitting their criteria were returned from our search of the MLS – and after viewing those properties and finding them not suitable to my clients – we decided to visit the new home builders in the area.

The story we got from the salespersons was same wherever we went: they been placing many properties into contract in the last couple weeks; they have little to no inventory; and waiting lists exist for future releases. Yes, waiting lists!

When was the last time this market has heard that term? One builder required prospective purchasers to first get pre-qualified through its preferred lender prior to being placed on the waiting list. My clients went through the process and were placed in 8th position on a waiting list for a forthcoming release of three new lots and homes.

They’re crossing their fingers that majority of the buyers in positions 1 through 7 decide not to purchase.

Posted in Agent Insights, Builders | 44 Comments

Sparks, Nevada…there’s an app for that

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Guy Johnson

Did you know that Sparks, Nevada has its own app? Well, it does…and the app just made a top-five list from Mashable. This free app, called Sparks, NV, is currently available for the iPhone and Android operating systems (an iPad version will be available next month).

With visitors, tourism and special events a priority for the city, the Sparks mobile app offers users a ton of information – both current and historical – about Sparks, Nevada. Check out this features list:

  • Visiting Information: Restaurants and dining, shopping, places, family friendly venues, events, nightlife/bars, hotels/casinos
  • Information on upcoming special events
  • Around Me – Augmented reality using geo-tracking points of interest based on your current location and using the camera feature of your phone
  • Sparks softball standings and tournament information
  • Area map and weather
  • Sparks news feed
  • Citizen Requests to request city services or connect to your city government
  • Facebook check-in and status posts, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube
  • Contact the City of Sparks

Thank you to RKPR Inc., the city’s marketing agency and the idea behind the app, for providing the information above.

Posted in News, Sparks, Tech Tools | Leave a comment