January median sold price, units, DOM, and $/sq.ft.

January’s numbers dropped significantly compare to December’s.  350 houses were sold in January – down a considerable 26 percent from December’s robust 476 units sold, however on par with January 2010’s 346 houses sold.

But the big story this month is the dramatic drop in the median sales price. January’s median sold price came in at $159,950.  This number was so surprising to me that I re-ran the query to make sure it was correct.

January’s median sold price of $159,950 marks another new low for the area’s median sold price.  It represents a 3.1 percent drop from December’s median of $165,000 and a 4.2 percent decline from January 2010’s median of $167,000.

Interestingly, January’s median sold price has rolled back a full decade now; check out February 2001’s identical median sold price in the historical data below.

We also saw a new low in January’s median sold price per square foot.  Coming in at $91.76, January’s number is a 2.7 percent drop from December’s median sold price per square foot, and a 5.5 percent drop year-over-year.

January sales by type break out as follows:

  • Bank-owned properties: 37% – down from December’s 39%
  • Short sales: 40% – up considerably from December’s 30%
  • Equity sales: 22% – down considerably from December’s 30%

Equity sales slid in January, comprising only 22 percent of total sales.  Distressed properties (bank-owned and short sales) made up a whopping 77 percent of January sales.

January sales by price band break out as follows:

sales price ($000’s) units sold
0 – 99 60
100 – 199 159
200 – 299 70
300 – 399 35
400 – 499 7
500 – 599 6
600 – 699 5
700 – 799 2
800 – 899 0
900 – 999 0
1M+ 6
total 350

For those readers who prefer the median sold price for houses and condos combined, January’s 405 sold houses, condos and town homes exhibited a combined median sold price of $147,600 – down from December’s combined median of $153,800, and 555 units.

 

Historical data follows.

Month Year # Sold Sold Price Sold Price per Sq Ft Average DOM # of Listings # of Pendings
Jan 2011 350 $159,950 $91.76 151 1,970 1,329
Dec 2010 476 $165,000 $94.31 144 2,021 1,148
Nov 2010 399 $170,000 $96.14 139 2,060 1,376
Oct 2010 418 $174,950 $98.57 135 2,146 1,371
Sep 2010 466 $168,000 $97.52 133 2,186 1,473
Aug 2010 449 $180,000 $97.53 127 2,222 1,513
Jul 2010 414 $180,000 $101.74 129 2,158 1,580
Jun 2010 602 $170,000 $100.52 145 1,966 1,625
May 2010 450 $175,807 $102.37 138 1,789 1,804
Apr 2010 510 $179,995 $103.13 128    
Mar 2010 477 $175,000 $99.14 142    
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 244 $149,620 unavailable 110    
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 235 $149,000 unavailable 111    
Mar 1998 267 $142,500 unavailable 114    
Feb 1998 201 $139,900 unavailable 126    
Jan 1998 167 $149,490 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 – February 2011.  Note: This information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

11 comments

  1. lurker

    I thought I was negative. Then I saw this post. No way to paint this positively. How low will it go?

    C’mon permabulls. We hardly knew ye’!

    Seems like Smarten has all but admitted he’s wrong through his silence (perhaps the only way he knows how?). How’s the value of that Chalet holding up for you? Maybe he shoulda just rented a PUD.

    MikeZ seems much more conciliatory and balanced these days. A reflection of the “new civility”?

    Gone is the bravado and showmanship of those long gone glory days of the tax credit. OBTW, how did a measly $8k entice so many people to buy overpriced properties? I guess people will do anything get back money from Uncle Sam.

    BB took a hell of a beating some time back. Who knows, maybe he still lurks out there occasionally? One thing is true, though, few nailed the trend more correctly than him. (No offense RI, and IJJ, you guys are usually spot on as well).

    So, how low will it go? I think if Guy put out his survey for Dec 2011’s median today, the guesses would be much lower.

  2. MikeZ

    We also saw a new low in January’s median sold price per square foot. Coming in at $91.76, January’s number is a 2.7 percent drop from December’s median sold price per square foot, and a 5.5 percent drop year-over-year.

    Wow.

  3. Steve Herschbach

    Every month I get an email from Zillow about the property I purchased in Reno last spring dropping in value again. From an investment standpoint there is no doubt Reno was not the best place to buy. In my case it was not an investment decision but there is no doubt I am losing money on the purchase on paper and it is hard to get excited by that. I can’t say in retrospect I would do different if given the chance though. My wife is bubbling with plans for the house this summer and if she is happy I am happy. Hard to put a price on that.

    Hard to say what the future will bring but I told my wife this morning it might be ten years before the place is worth again what we paid for it. And measured against inflation that would still be a loss.

  4. bob_c

    Green NV’s reading of the spreadsheet was correct again. The low number of sales is scary. And the stock market (wealth effect) is up….what if that tailwind changes?

  5. Gadfly

    That price per square foot number is just ugly. Unless February is quite a rally (which I doubt it will be), we seem to have our answer as to whether the 18 months of relative stability was the bottom or just a flat spot.

  6. Grand Wazoo

    Remember that signficant layoffs from UNR, Washoe County, City of Reno, Washoe County Schools, and state employees are most certainly coming with the new state budget biennium starting July 1, 2011. The shortfall is massive, the cuts will be significant, and the Reno real estate market is really going to feel this over time.

  7. SmartMoney

    An 11% drop since just August. What a disaster for those long real-estate.

  8. bob_c

    And 30 year bond (and thus mortage rates) sharply higher (since QE2).

  9. Zen

    I’ll try to put a little lipstick on this pig. If you look at year-over-year results from January 2010 to January 2011, their is only a 4.2% drop in the median and a 5.5% drop in price per square foot. I say only, because that is better than the percentage drop over the last few months. This is also a great improvement compared to the year-over-year results from January 2009 to January 2010, which showed a 16.5% drop in the median and a 14.2% drop in price per square foot. I guess time will tell if we are looking at a cute fuzzy pink pig, or a mean old boar with big tusks.

  10. Steve Herschbach

    I noticed a lot of cash activity in Reno and it is happening in the most hammered areas. What is interesting is the Chinese buying. Reminds me of back in the 80s when we were doomed and the Japanese were riding high buying our assets. But then their bubble popped. I wonder if the Chinese are next?

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704570104576124502975117950.html

  11. Reno Muse

    Since government is one of our biggest employers in this high desert getaway we live in, we are really going to see more foreclosures once those public employee layoffs hit. We are all just socialists in the big scheme of things, feeding off of each other.

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