RSAR Monthly Market Report – April 2013

Below please find April 2013’s market report, provided by the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS^®.

The report is quite detailed and breaks out many of the housing market metrics by type of sale (i.e. REO, short sale, no special conditions) as well as by MLS area. Check out all the numbers be clicking on the report below.

Commentary from the report:

• Sales in the category of no special conditions represented 59% of the sales in April 2013 compared to 40% of the market in April 2012. This is attributable to equity sellers entering the market and investors who purchased at or near the bottom of the market and are now returning that inventory back to the market.
• Median price has been trending up for the past fifteen months. Listing inventory has been trending up for the past four months and is up 16% over March. Low interest rates and affordable pricing continue to put demand on inventory, which is resulting in increased median price.
• For the fourth consecutive month, the sold to asking price ratio exceeded 100%. April sold to asking price ration was reported at 100.2%.
• Listings in the category of no special conditions were up 88% over April 2012; in the category of Short sales, listings were down 40% from April 2012, and in the category of bank owned, listings were down 73% from April 2012.
  With the increase in prices, some sellers may have moved into an equity seller position or in are less of an underwater position.
• For those homeowners, who still remain underwater in their property with little hope of a loan modification, now may be the time to consider a short sale. The extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act is scheduled to expire December 31, 2013. If Congress does not extend the Act a second time, homeowners who sell their property for less than the amount owed will incur a tax on the forgiven portion of the debt. Short sales in Fernley are taking 180 days to receive an approval and close escrow. Now may be the time to contact a REALTOR to start the process of marketing your property for sale to help ensure a close of escrow before year end and the expiration of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act.
• For buyers considering an FHA loan, the Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a change in its policies concerning the cancellation of the annual Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) and an increase to the annual MIP. The second phase policy changes become effective June 3, 2013 and relates to the length of time or the term that the Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium is applied. Currently the MIP is cancelled when the borrower has held the loan for 5 years or reaches a 78% loan to value. Effective June 3, the MIP will be applied for the entire life of the loan that the borrower has the FHA mortgage. This change will affect the long-term costs of the loan for FHA buyers.
• At the May 2013 NAR Mid-year Meetings in Washington, DC, Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist projected gains in Nevada median price at 4.13% – 8.75% over the next 12 months. He forecasted that there would be no recession and he anticipates the housing market will have improving home sales over the next 4 – 5 years.