The Reno real estate market remains tight. Home sales typically slow down at the end of the year. This last year was no exception. According to the December 2016 Reno-Sparks Market Report, December posted 5% less sales than November. The median sale price fell 3% lower than the previous month as well to just under $300K. If you were looking to purchase something in a lower price range, my suggestion would be to consider a condo or looking outside the City of Reno.
December 2016 Reno-Sparks Market Report
According to the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS®, the median sale price for a Reno/Sparks home sold in December 2016 was $299,950. This was 3.6% higher than December 2015. January reported the lowest median price for the year ($279,000). It peaked at $318,000 in July.
December 2016 Reno-Sparks Home Sales
A total of 518 units were sold in the Reno-Sparks real estate market in December 2016. That marked a 3.2% increase from the previous December. February saw the lowest monthly sales (368). Meanwhile, peak sales hit in June (660). Even so, the average for the year came out to 546 sales per month. Historically, we experience between 500 and 550 units sold each month in the Reno-Sparks real estate market. So, this was a typical year, albeit at the upper end of the scale.
New listings entering the Reno-Sparks market plunged 26.5% from November to their lowest point of the year (316). That was 13.4% lower than the 365 new listings in December 2015. It reached a high of 900 in April. This is part of the reason prices are so high.
December 2016 Reno-Sparks Inventory
Inventory levels are another reason prices have increased so much in the last few years. In December, inventory hit their lowest levels all year (1546). That was a 2.2% decrease from the same time last year. It was also 21.3% lower than the previous month. They hit their peak in August (2480). Currently, there are three months of inventory available. While this is the lowest level all year, it is only slightly lower than December 2015's 3.1 months of inventory. On the other hand, it's substantially lower than the 4.7 months available in February 2016.
2017 Reno-Sparks Real Estate Market Expectations
The Federal Reserve raised the prime interest rate in December. As a result, interest rates increased to 4.5%. That could be higher if you don't have perfect credit. A new administration partnered with a stock market approaching the 20,000 mark could spur the Fed to increase rates even more. In fact, some experts expect at least three increases by the end of 2017. If you have been on the fence about purchasing a new Reno-Sparks home, I strongly encourage you to act now before the cost to buy and borrow goes up further.
Charlene Hamilton, Your Reno Real Estate Specialist
Originally posted on my Reno real estate blog here: http://www.relocationtoreno.com/2017/01/16/december-2016-reno-sparks-market-report/.
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