Many comments have been posted in the thread following the Market Condition Report – February 2010 concerning how the Reno Sparks housing market actually consists of two markets, or strata. The general consensus among the commenters seems to be that Reno-Sparks is comprised of a under-$200,000 market and a mid-to-upper market that has been defined many ways, but for the purpose of this post, let’s say greater than $300,000.
Concerning the over-$300,000 strata, debates have ensued on: whether this market has bottomed; is it dead?; are prices rising?; is value within increasing?; etc. In an effort to shed a little more light on this subject I have pulled the following sales data from the last twelve months for sales over $300,000.
Would love to hear your analysis of these numbers.
| month year | # of sales | median sold $/sq.ft. | median square footage | median sold price | average DOM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2009 | 52 | $149.04 | 2,987 | $380,500 | 179 |
| Mar 2009 | 69 | $144.92 | 3,028 | $375,000 | 148 |
| Apr 2009 | 79 | $144.37 | 3,020 | $395,950 | 180 |
| May 2009 | 72 | $147.89 | 3,160 | $409,500 | 185 |
| Jun 2009 | 95 | $141.59 | 2,895 | $401,807 | 166 |
| Jul 2009 | 89 | $136.32 | 2,861 | $375,000 | 177 |
| Aug 2009 | 88 | $136.35 | 3,023 | $402,000 | 184 |
| Sep 2009 | 87 | $144.14 | 3,060 | $425,000 | 183 |
| Oct 2009 | 85 | $140.70 | 3,128 | $400,000 | 171 |
| Nov 2009 | 59 | $136.73 | 3,168 | $405,000 | 178 |
| Dec 2009 | 70 | $130.49 | 3,111 | $382,500 | 164 |
| Jan 2010 | 57 | $135.62 | 3,153 | $390,000 | 171 |
| Feb 2010 | 62 | $134.37 | 3,138 | $400,000 | 247 |
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 – March 2010. Note: This information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
billddrummer
To DonC, Norton and SmartMoney–
I read an article today that made a compelling case about stock returns–the entry price was the single most consistent determinant for figuring out your yield. In other words, the lower price you buy into, the greater the relative returns.
Tomorrow I’ll post the link (I have it at work, not here). But it makes sense.
LikeBigBottoms
This, without doubt, is the bottom:
http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/bank-of-america-to-increase-foreclosure-rate-by-600-in-2010/?source=patrick.net
“The west coast manager of real estate owned, Senior Vice President Ken Gaitan, stated that Bank of America, which currently forecloses on 7,500 homes a month nationally, will increase that number to 45,000 homes per month by December of 2010.”
SmartMoney
Hi MikeZ,
The greater the volatility of an investment, the greater the expected return. Small-cap stocks, for example, have more volatility than large-cap stocks. Because of this increased volatility, you would expect a greater return (volatility is risk). So when you increase risk, your returns should be higher. And generally, history has shown that to be the case. The small-cap index russell 2000 is more volatile than the large cap index S&P 500, and consequently has had greater returns.
billddrummer
This is the link for looking at stock market returns. It’s taken from an investment newsletter published by John Mauldin, a professional investor and world-renowned blogger.
http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/john_mauldins_outside_the_box/archive/2010/03/29/us-stock-market-returns-what-is-in-store.aspx