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.
Adeiu
Did you all see the story in today’s RGJ about downtown Reno? One casino exec says it has become skid row (become?) another person says it is a hellhole. Another says the hooker count is way up and the bums are getting aggressive in their panhandling (getting?. Some El Dorado exec says their customer surveys are showing that vistors think downtown is scary.
The Pres. of the Palladio Condo owners assoc. is complaining about the noise outside his condo. Says he can’t sleep at night. Are you kidding me? The guy buys a place in the middle of the jungle and then complains about the animals and wants the police to do something about it.
What a great publicity piece for downtown Reno. and owning a condo in the hood.
Martin
Actually the amount of automatic weapons fire outside the Montage on 2d Street is down somewhat. There has not been a homicide there for several weeks. Doesn’t that count for something?
Chandler Realtor
Great post! This is a hot topic in Arizona too!
bob_c
peppermill, atlantis, gsr and nugget have all the gaming reno needs and the safety of not being downtown
what is the future of the downtown? demolition?
legitmate, thoughtful answers requested
Walter
There are many parcels in downtown Reno occupied with decaying eyesores that would be far far better off if they were demolished. Nobody is willing to pay for the demolition though. So they sit there year after year decade after decade decaying away. No doubt the Kings Inn is No. 1 on the decaying eyesore hit parade. But then, if they did demolish it, what would the northwest corner of the Montage have to look at?
longerwalk
To have a vibrant city core, a number of items have to exist . . . starting with a variety of things people want to come to see/do–restaurants, nightclubs for evening, business & retail by day. It works even better if there are law-abiding residents, and the associated shops for them to get their groceries, etc. Toss in a street festival from time to time, decent policing, and there’s a good shot at maintaining a downtown that ‘works.’ Reno doesn’t have many of the needed items.
Open lots in a downtown are better than rotten structures, but not much. Community gardens would be better, but one needs a strong community organization to make that happen.
Zen
I live close enough to walk downtown and on occasion, I do. I can tell you this, when I bought my house almost 10 years ago, one of the first things I did was to take a stroll downtown. Buildings were boarded up; graffiti everywhere, nowhere to eat except casino’s. All in all it was a pit. Since then there has been (I believe) a great revival of downtown, which is still underway. A few things that have come to downtown since my relocation includes, a movie theatre, an event plaza/ice rink, the white water park, multiple condominium units replacing dying casino’s, an Art Museum, AAA baseball park, many new restaurants & shops, an events center, a new homeless shelter, a new bus station is under construction, the train was put underground and now it has a cover over it! There are art festivals, wine walks, concerts, and many other events for all ages.
Look I know there is a lot of work to be done, but please try and remember what it was like just ten years ago. I am amazed at the difference in a relatively short amount of time. Of course when you make it more attractive and locals start coming back as they have, you also invite some problems in. I am glad these problems are being recognized and hopefully will be dealt with sooner rather than later. I am also worried about its future due to the economic realities of today, but I can’t even imagine what it would be like if the investments over the last 10 years had not been made. I for one will continue to take my strolls downtown for now and enjoy the great things it has to offer.
Carleton
Yes downtown is slowly getting better. The operative word is ‘slowly’. Most of the improvements described by Zen take up about 3 or 4 blocks. It’s the other 25 blocks that are the problem. But give credit to what good changes have come. If it takes 10 years to accomplish what Zen describes, most of us reading this blog will be very old before the other 25 blocks are fixed up.
As far as the downtown condos owners complaining about the noise, Adeiu has it exactly right. If you want silence and quiet at night, buy a place in a quiet neighborhood away from the downtown scene. Don’t by a condo that is a 5 minute walk away from 15 different bars and then piss and moan about the noise.
Zen
Carleton,
Wow, talk about the glass is half full view. Did you look at the list of completed projects I mentioned? You say they only take up 3 or 4 blocks, let’s be realistic. These are only the projects off the top of my head. There are many others not mentioned. More are in the works. Projects like these take years to plan, design and develop, never mind finding public and private money to complete them. I have had the opportunity to visit many redevelopment efforts in some of the largest cities all over the country. These are markets with far more money available than ours. Trust me, what has been done over a ten-year period in a market the size of Reno is quite amazing.
HighlyTrainedRealEstateAnalyst
Regarding: Wow, talk about the glass is half full view.
I didn’t take it that way at all. I thought Carleton’s comments were right on target. Credit was given were credit was due, but the reality of the situation is that Reno has many hurdles to overcome.
I took my family downtown over the 4th of July weekend, and I have no desire to return for a long time.
Zen
HTREA,
I thought some of Carleton’s comments were fine too, but to say that the improvements over the last 10 years only encompass 3 or 4 blocks was more than a little understated. I also take exception to commenting that it has happened at a very slow rate. I think the list of improvements that have taken place over the last 10 years would be difficult to achieve much faster unless you had very deep pockets and could commit to a massive overhaul. That kind of money and scale of redevelopment is done in some markets, but they are usually larger markets with larger tax bases and bigger investors. I also agree that I have seen things downtown that I don’t care for. I have also seen the same things in pretty much every downtown I have ever visited unless it was very small; it is the nature of the beast. I hope things are done to improve it, but you will never fully get rid of it. In the meantime, my family and I will continue to visit many of the amenities downtown has to offer; unfortunately it looks like I won’t be bumping into you. Maybe I’ll catch you at the Sparks Marina or Tahoe.
HighlyTrainedRealEstateAnalyst
Your points are well taken Zen.
I have only lived here for three years or so and I have not followed the conditions downtown real close. I certainly hope for the best for not only downtown Reno, but the entire area. I have enjoyed events such as “Blues and Brews” and the RiverFest, I enjoy the Truckee river, and I sincerely hope there will be a time when downtown Reno prospers.
I’d be willing to give it a second chance, especially if you agree to buy me a beer if I run into you!
Zen
HTREA,
Done.
GrandWazoo
Is Zen the Downtown Makeover Dude with his cloaking device activated?
billddrummer
To HTREA,
I’ve lived here 30 years.
I remember seeing BB King in Harrah’s cabaret (now closed).
I recall the view from the top of the Mapes Hotel (demolished).
I remember shopping downtown for things other than souvenirs and T-shirts.
Downtown is better than it was 10 years ago, and the improvements are to be applauded. But it will probably never be the way it was a generation ago. And that’s just sad.
Zen
Wazoo,
Just Zen, I’m not sure who the Downtown Makeover Dude is. I love Reno and probably am too much of a cheerleader for it.
Bill,
I too think it is sad that Reno will probably not be what it once was, but it may become something equally as great but different. 30 years ago Reno was still one of the few places you could go and gamble. Las Vegas was big, but it was just starting to build its mega resorts. Now Vegas and so many other places offer what we once had a monopoly on. The entertainers came because that niche brought people here. People can get that type of entertainment in so many other places now. I don’t think Reno can rely solely on that anymore. This doesn’t mean it can’t be great in another way. I think right now, Reno is in the midst of reinventing it’s self, and as they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. When you think about it, the Biggest Little City in the World didn’t become what it once was overnight either. Give it some time.
Sully
Zen, you are quite right.
It’s not by size that you win or you fail — be the best of whatever you are! (from a poem)
However it does take some vision, which seems to be lacking in this area. The county and cities are more concerned with raising money, the planning commission simply isn’t one. Leaving the vision to developers gets you with what you have now. Getting local (rising) stars together to formulate a coherent plan for this area is almost impossible.
Silicon Valley has been through similar tough times and came out bigger and better than before, however a lot of that was because of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (now leadership group).
If the locals continue to leave the direction of this area in the hands of politicians and developers, then I think they will be sorely disappointed in the results.
Reno Ignoramus
Whatever downtown Reno’s revitalized future is based upon, it won’t be casino gambling. And it won’t be a bunch of cheap bars catering to the nightime animal scene. And until it figures out what that will be, it will continue to wallow and look the way it does. I relish the day when Virginia Street from the river north to Sixth Street doesn’t look like the carnival just left town and didn’t bother to clean up after itself.
“Give it time”.
Well, fair enough. Recall, however, that the Kings Inn has been shuttered up and decaying for 35 YEARS!
Tom
The said truth is that there really isn’t anything economically useful to be done with these old downtown core areas, and that isn’t limited to Reno. They generally just end up sitting there, and in our city, some of the old buildings get filled with tele-communications equipment, some are used as document archives, some become low-rent housing, and others sit empty. Los Angeles has had this same problem, and you can’t force people to live or work in the old Spring Street/Los Angeles Street downtown core, no matter how many lofts, condos and trendy shops you try to subsidize. It seems to me it has been a losing battle, and likely will be in Reno also. Better to focus attention and regional marketing upon your south suburban Reno and southwestern suburban areas. Those are nice, for new small businesses and for residences.
Tom
sad not said, typo