Washoe County resales skyrocketed in June breaking the 800 unit mark for the first time.  June’s 819 recorded resales was a 26% increase over May’s 648 resales.  No doubt the First-time Homebuyers Tax Credit was a major driver behind this increase.

New home sales June saw an even greater increase.  June’s 94 new home sales was a 68% increase over May’s new home sales.

Re-fis continue to slide; falling another 8% in June.

Click on the chart below to see June’s numbers.

Thank you to our friends at Ticor Title for providing this data.

Today’s RGJ reports that, because of declining property values, 90 percent of property owners will see a reduction in their properties’ assessed values – with an average reduction of 11 to 12 percent.

The Washoe County Assessor reminded property owners that a reduced assessment does not automatically lead to a reduced tax bill.  For example, in 2009-10, 40 percent of property owners had a higher tax bill despite falling values.

See the story here: Most Washoe homeowners to have smaller tax bill

Below find First Centennial Title’s Market Condition Report for the month of June.  With phrases like: “No significant change…”; “Little change…”; “A slight increase…”; “Holding constant…”; “No significant movement…” used to describe June’s key metrics, I wonder is this telling of a bottom, or the calm before the storm?

Click on the picture below to access the full report (two pages).

To compliment the mid-year market stats published by Chase International last week, please find the mid-year price banding charts below. These price banding charts are for residential sales from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010. The markets of Incline Village, East Shore, Truckee, Tahoe City, Sparks, Reno, South Lake Tahoe, and Carson Valley are contained in the .PDF below.

  
Click to enlarge.

 We even blew through 100 today up here in Verdi.  It’s a bad day to be a big black dog!  Here are a couple items for your consideration:

-  Trustee’s Deeds look like they are trending down.  129 have been recorded so far in July, versus 169 by mid June and 294 total in June.  NOS’s also look down, with 259 so far in July, versus 330 by mid June and 600 total in June.  NODs look like they are holding steady or maybe trending up slightly, with 344 so far in July, against 321 by mid June and 639 total in June.  NODs have been trending down since March, so this is a bit of a surprise.

-   Reno looks like they are going to approve a new 4800 SF grocery store with a liquor license at 330 Evans Street.  The location is across from the new RTC transit station, up the block from the ballpark, and a block and a half from the Reno Gospel Mission and the Homeless Services Canter (not to mention tent city).  It is just outside the redevelopment districts and the downtown area with a liquor license moratorium.  The Gospel Mission IS NOT objecting to the new store, but other neighbors are in a tizzy.  The building owner is Dr. John Iliescu, a major player  downtown properties, including the Truckee River Lane building and the old Montage marketing office (some of the properties are double listed due to trust holdings).

-  Jeez, the chest beating about the status of Hot August Nights has been furious this week, and Bruce Walter, the executive director was coerced into a command performance in front of the city council yesterday  after Dave Aiazzi threatened to withhold permits for this year’s event (and had an extortion law suit filed against him for his actions).  My take?  HAN is probably out of here in a few years, which may be a good thing.  It was originally a local show and charity event that has grown into a juggernaut that is no longer about its mission.  I call BS on the claims it generates 800,O00 visitors and contributes $350,000,000 to the local economy.  HAN keeps growing and expanding into Sparks and the county, requiring coordination of 3 separate police departments.  Sometimes smaller is better.  If you feel like sounding off about HAN, positive or negative, the Reno August Nights web site just went live.  Be the first to leave your comments.

-  Jim and Dawn seem to have forgotten the first rule and superstition about  real estate - it’s not sold until it is recorded.  They are talking about their Kinney Lane home finally selling (for "not enough" according to quotes attributed to the Jimster).  The last listing price was $895,000.  In a weird public filing related to the divorce, the Gibbons’ filed a Deed with a Declaration of Value listed at $775,000 on 6/17/2010.  Preview to final sales price?  We will know in a couple days.  Icky red love pit sofa!

-  Siena’s rocky road continues.  First property tax liens, then room tax lapses with RSCVA, $800,000 owed to NV energy, a slew of supplier liens, and messing with the state gaming commission.  Now it turns out that Siena let the health insurance for their employees lapse while still  collecting the employees’ contributions.  Hey, I hope the Siena survive, but what has been going on there are criminal actions.  Are they going to get a gimme or are our watchdog agencies and employees (finally) going to sue them into East  Jesus?

-  Hey, anyone else notice that one of our most watched Somersett properties has disappeared from the MLS?   Is there maybe a "Short Sale - Yes" post pending?  Hope so.

And not ot go out on a negative note, expect one and maybe two major anouncements about Reno downtown hotel casinos in the next few weeks.

Update:  A new case study has been posted at REreno. What do you think?

-  Grand Sierra is moving a lot of REO units in the $12,000 range, or about  $25 psf.

-  Belvedere just had it’s first REO unit sell.  The 597 sf unit sold for $28,750 or about $50 psf.  It originally sold for $243,500 back in the day.  Must have been an all cash deal, due to the low occupancy rate.

-  Riverwalk - The last REO unit that sold was at $55 psf.

-  Montage - Units continue to close at around $125 psf.  One Truckee investor now owns 7 of them.  Again, all cash due to low occupancy.  RPR Properties is either a genius our our next David G. Myers  (if you have stayed with me for the last 4 years, one of my original Sinners who is now defaulting on 15 or so properties - more later). 

-  Palladio - The developer has just cleared 3 units at $213, $262, and 263 psf.  They have lasted this long, so it is safe to say these were dog units.  #601 just sold for $600,000 or $400 psf (bought originally for $641,500 -a  great outcome in my opinion).

Is Palladio worth 3X Montage because financing is available?   Is Montage worth 2.5X over Belvedere?

Below are the mid-year statistics for the Reno/Sparks and Lake Tahoe (Incline Village, East Shore, South Shore and Tahoe City) markets, published by my broker, Chase International.

From the report…
Reno/Sparks 1st-half 2010 compared to 1st-half 2009

• Units sold: 16% increase
• $ Volume: 6% increase
• Median price: 8% decrease

Click on the reports below to enlarge…

Whew!  The title companies must have been working overtime in June.  559 homes were sold for the month.  We haven’t seen a number that high since last October (the month preceding the *first* deadline for the First-time Home Buyers Tax Credit – before congress extended the deadline to June 30, 2010.)  June’s 559 sales number was a 25 percent increase over the number of sales in May!

As expected though, all those first-time homebuyer purchases didn’t boost the median sales price.  In fact, June’s median fell 1.9 percent to $172,000 from May’s $175,307.  YOY, June’s median sold price is off 4.7 percent from June 2009.

June’s median sold price per square foot, $102.02, also showed a slight decrease from May’s $102.19.  YOY, June’s median sold price per square foot is down two percent.

Active listings are up 9.9 percent this month.  Pendings are down 9.9 percent.

June’s sales break out as follows:

• Bank-owned properties – 23.3%  - down from May’s 28.0%
• Short sales – 43.3% - up substantially from May’s 34.6%
• Equity sales – 31.7% - down from May’s 36.5%

For those readers who prefer the median sold price for houses and condos combined, June’s 647 sold houses and condos exhibited a combined median sold price of $160,000 – unchanged from May’s combined median of $160,000.

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 - July 2010.  Note: This information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

Click image to see the "before" picture full size.  Will the Siena make it through Hot August Nights?  Probably, but cooler September nights seem problematic.  There are too many DBAs, LLCs and LLPs involved to be 100% certain of the facts, so it isn’t RRB material.  But REreno has a time line and some financials posted, and it doesn’t look good.  In fact, horrid, and the constant updates from the RGJ aren’t helping matters at all (either is this post!). 

Short story,Barney bought and renovated the old Holiday Hotel with financing from his Dad Walter.  The $20M construction tab went to to $50M to cover all expenses to open and operate a casino, and Barney started started stiffing Dad in December 2008.

Personally, I’ve got mixed feeling on this one. 

Washoe County insured recordings fell 8 percent in May compared to April’s numbers. New home sales saw the largest decline – nearly 36 percent; followed by re-fi’s – down 10 percent.

Click on the chart below to see the May’s numbers.

Thank you to our friends at Ticor Title for providing this data.