Short sales accounted for 39% of November sales.  The median sales price for short sales was $159,900 and the average days on market was 180. 

Bank owned proeprties accounted for 35.1% of November sales.  The median sales price for bank owned sales was $128,000 and they averaged 95 days on market. 

Traditional (equity position) sales accounted for 25.7% of November sales.  The median for these sales was $192,000 and they averaged 82 days on the market. 

Buyers used FHA financing for 42.9% of these purchases.  Conventional financing accounted for 28.9%, 19.5% were purchased with cash and 7.8% using VA financing.

The total number of sales for the Sparks area  (MLS area 108) dropped slightly from 2009 to 2010, down about 6.1%.  In addition, the median price also fell from $170,000 in 3rd Q 2009 to $160,700 in 3rd Q 2010, a drop of 5.5%. 

There are currently (as of 10-22-2010) 568 active listings available to buyers in the Sparks area market.  Of these 48.6% are short sales, 34.4% are traditional sales and 16.9% are bank owned.  Key here for buyers is to make sure you have a buyer’s agent working for you that knows the ins and outs of short sales – doing your homework before making an offer on a short sale is key.

Bank owned properties continued to earn the highest list to sale price ratio.  In 3rd Q 2010 bank owned lisitngs got an average of 99.6% of the asking price, short sales 98.9% and traditional sales 97.4%.  Fewer foreclosed properties at low prices, continued mis-understanding of short sales and over-priced traditional listings drive these numbers.

As expected short sales have the highest average number of days on market.  For 3rd Q 2010 short sales averaged 184 days on market, bank owned 79 and traditional sales 77.   As a note the average number of days to close a short sale is relatively the same between 2009 and 2010.  We keep being told by the banks that they are improving their processes.  Hopefully this will reflect soon in our average days to close a short sale.

According to a Yahoo.com report on 10-20-2010 more than 55% of the active mortgages in the Reno-Sparks area are upside down.  I think we will continue to see more and more short sales as homeowners become more educated about short sales as an option to foreclosure.  The key is making sure that you select an agent that is highly skilled in the short sale areana and get legal and tax advice as well.

Active Listings  – There are currently 411 active listings.  The median list price for these listings is $194,900.  The average days on market is 105 days.  Of these active lisitngs,  57 are bank/corporate owned (13.86%), 194 are short sales (47.20%) and the balance are traditional sales. 

Pending Listings – There are currently 607 pending listings.  The median list price for these listings is $165,000.  Average days on market for pending sales is 131 days.  Of the pending sales 63 are bank owned (10.37%) and 449 are short sales (73.97%) and the balance are traditional sales.

Sold listings – So far in the second quarter of 2010 there have been 203 sales.  The median list price for sold listings was $165,000 and the actual median sold price was $168,000.  The average days on the market for sold listings was 138 days.  Of the sold listings 60 were bank owned (29.55%) and 70 were short sales (34.48%) with the balance (35.96%) were traditional sales. 

Looking at these statistics, we have a relatively low inventory.  Of the available inventory almost 50% is short sales.  Buyers have to be prepared to deal with long waits if considering this half of the market.  The amount of pending inventory is very high, and with 73.47% of the pending sales being short sales we could see some time before these sales close.  Many buyers that are waiting on these sales are hoping to close by June 30th for the tax credit and it will be interesting to see how many can actually close by that date given the track record banks have closing these.

Short sales are out pacing the bank owned sales so far in the second quarter.  One would think this indicates an improvement in the short sale process, but I think it stems from lower bank owned inventory and over priced traditional sales.  Again, it will be interesting to see how the quarter finishes out at the end of June with buyers rushing to close for the tax credit.

Now the not so good news.  The median sold price for May 2009 was $166,500.  This is down significantly from May 2008 when the median sold price was $245,000.  As we often hear, “real estate is regional” and the Sparks-Spanish Springs area is no exception.  So here is the figures by area.

Sparks (MLS Area 180) – Median sales price $108,000 with an average days on market of 121 days.  61.11% were bank owned, 27.77% were traditional sellers, and 11.11% were short sales.  66.66% of buyers purchased using FHA financing, 16.66% used conventional financing and 16.66% used cash.

East Sparks (MLS Area 181) – Median sales price $154,000 with an average days on market of 119 days.  69.56% were bank owned, 21.73% were traditional sellers, and 8.69% were short sales.  34.78% of buyers purchased using FHA financing, 16.66% used conventional financing,34.78% used cash and 13.04% used VA financing.

Sparks Suburban (MLS Area 182) – Median sales price $209,000 with an average days on market of 129 days.  48% were bank owned, 40% were traditional sellers, and 12% were short sales.  32% of buyers purchased using FHA financing, 56% used conventional financing, 8% used cash and 4% used VA financing.

South Spanish Springs/Wingfield(MLS Area 183) – Median sales price $210,500 with an average days on market of 158 days.  53.33% were bank owned, 20% were traditional sellers, and 23.33% were short sales.  43.33% of buyers purchased using FHA financing, 33.33% used conventional financing, 20% used cash and 3.33% used VA financing.

West Spanish Springs (MLS Area 184) – Median sales price $165,7500 with an average days on market of 97 days.  57.14% were bank owned, 28.57% were traditional sellers, and 14.28% were short sales.  71.42% of buyers purchased using FHA financing, 21.42% used conventional financing,  and 7.14% used cash.

East Spanish Springs (MLS Area 185) – Median sales price $307,500 with an average days on market of 108 days.  80% were bank owned and 20% were short sales.  20% of buyers purchased using FHA financing, 20% used conventional financing,  and 60% used cash.

Sparks Foothills (MLS Area 188) – Median sales price $215,000 with an average days on market of 130 days.  50% were bank owned, 33.33% were traditional sellers, and 16.66% were short sales.  33.33% of buyers purchased using FHA financing, 16.66% used conventional financing,  and 50% used cash.

If you would like specific valuation for your home, please contact me.

There were 103 stick built, single family homes sold in Feburary.  The median list price was $199,900 and the median sold price was $192,000.  Sellers received on average 97.07% of their asking price.  Bank owned properties accounted for 63.11% of February sales, and short sales accounted for 13.59%.  Seller’s with no condition of sale made up 21.36% and sales requiring court approval were the balance at 1.94%. 

Here are how the sales break out by area – Palamino Valley 1, Spanish Springs East 1, Spanish Springs South 36, Spanish Springs West 12, Sparks 15, East Sparks 19, and Sparks Suburban 19.  No homes were sold in the Sparks Foothills in February.

Look for March sales data in the next week or so.

Here is what January 2009 looks like for single family home sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs market.

In January 2009, the sales of bank owned and short sale single family homes in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area was nearly 90%.  66.2% were bank owned foreclosures and 22.5% were short sales.  The median sales price for this area was $202,500 which is down 20.6% from January 2008 when the median was $255,000.  This clearly shows the most motivated sellers, typically the banks and homeowners selling short to avoid foreclosure, are leading the market.  Traditional sellers only accounted for 10% of the month’s sales which shows that many who don’t need to sell aren’t.

On the upside we sold 35% more homes this January than last January, which can most definitely be attributed to lower prices and great interest rates which have significantly boosted affordability.

There are currently 956 active or active-pending listings of single family homes in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area.  Of these 282 are bank owned or HUD foreclosures.  340 of these listings are short sales. 

Let’s break the January sales down by area….

Sparks (Downtown Sparks area)- Median sales price in January was $143,625.  The list to sales price ratio for homes sold was 90%.  This area accounted for 17.5% of the sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area in January.

East Sparks (Wabash Circle/Mendive area) – Median sales price in January was $158,500.  The list to sales price ratio for homes sold was 96.9%.  This area accounted for 15% of the sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area in January.

Sparks Suburban (The Vistas) – Median sales price in January was $237,450.  The list to sales price ratio for homes sold was 97.8%.  This area accounted for 22.5% of the sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area in January.

South Spanish Springs (Wingfield & Cimmaron) – Median sales price in January was $235,900.  The list to sales price ratio for homes sold was 92.6%.  This area accounted for 18.7% of the sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area in January.

West Spanish Springs (Eagle Canyon) – Median sales price in January was $199,900.  The list to sales price ratio for homes sold was 98.5%.  This area accounted for 16.2% of the sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area in January.

East Spanish Springs (Bridle Path) – Median sales price in January was $389,950.  The list to sales price ratio for homes sold was 92.6%.  This area accounted for 2.5% of the sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area in January.

Sparks Foothills (D’Andrea) – Median sales price in January was $207,500.  The list to sales price ratio for homes sold was 99.6%.  This area accounted for 7.5% of the sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs area in January.

Looking on the bright side – sales are up and affordibility is up.

In November 2008 50% of the homes sold in the Sparks-Spanish Springs are were bank owned foreclosures and an additional 18.4% were short sales (pre-foreclosures.) That is over 2/3rds of the homes sold.

As of today there are currently 762 active listings in the Northern Nevada Regional MLS for the Sparks-Spanish Springs area.  Of these active listings 27.9% are bank owned foreclosures and 24% are short sales.  That is over half the market.

In addition, there are 228 pending sales in the Sparks-Spanish Springs market. Of those 40.7% are bank owned foreclosures and another 46.4% are short sales. Buyers are flocking to these properties as they present some very good deals in our market.

Where does the traditional seller fit into all this. Well over half of the active listings are traditional sellers, but only about 13% of the pending sales are traditional listings. Why aren’t buyers purchasing the homes of these traditional sellers?  In a word, PRICE. Traditional sellers aren’t typically as motivated as banks or pre-foreclosure sellers.

So, yes home sales are up. Great news. Prices are more affordable for buyers – even better news.  With interest rates currently in the 5.5% range NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO PURCHASE.

Let’s take a look at how each area is doing…

Spanish Springs East (Bridle Path etc.) accounted for 6.9% of the area’s sales.  Sold prices ranged from $365,000 to $650,000 with a median price of $413,950.  Homes in this area were on the market an average of 172 days.

Spanish Springs South (Wingfield Springs & Cimmaron) accounted for 12.7% of the area’s sales.  Sold prices ranged from $215,000 to $415,000 with a median price of $300,000.  Homes in this area were on the market an average of 132 days.

Spanish Springs West accounted for 13.9% of the area’s sales.  Sold prices ranged from $157,000 to $540,000 with a median price of $229,000.  Homes in this area were on the market an average of 133 days.

Sparks accounted for 13.9% of the area’s sales.  Sold prices ranged from $118,900 to $199,900 with a median price of $161,000.  Homes in this area were on the market an average of 91 days.

East Sparks accounted for 27.9% of the area’s sales.  Sold prices ranged from $145,000 to $540,000 with a median price of $208,500.  Homes in this area were on the market an average of 147 days.

Sparks Foothills (D’Andrea) accounted for 9.3% of the area’s sales.  Sold prices ranged from $197,000 to $390,000 with a median price of $231,500.  Homes in this area were on the market an average of 127 days.

Sparks Suburban (The Vistas & Kiley Ranch) accounted for 16.2% of the area’s sales.  Sold prices ranged from $215,000 to $333,000 with a median price of $280,500.  Homes in this area were on the market an average of 131 days.

The East Sparks area and the Spanish Springs West area had the highest number of short sale and bank owned closings in August.  East Sparks accounted for 29.7% of the short sale and bank owned sales, and Spanish Springs West accounted for 23.4% of the short sale and bankowned sales.

Data taken from the NNRMLS as of 9/2/08.

Why are sellers getting their asking price or above? Competitive pricing. 60% of the sellers that got their asking price or above were bank owned properties.  This is due to the fact that most banks are having several appraisals or broker price opinions done prior to listing the property and then pricing them competitively.  In many cases these properties are getting multiple offers if they are very competitively priced.  So if you are considering submitting a “low ball” offer on a competitively priced home you should be prepared to possibly loose out to another buyer.  Ask your agent to do a competitive market analysis of the property you are considering so that you can make a strong offer based on the market value.

So what are homes in Sparks/Spanish Springs selling for?Here are how the prices break down for homes sold this month:

• Under $200,000 – 26%
• $200,000 – $250,000 – 26%
• $250,000 – $300,000 – 13%
• $300,000 – $350,000 – 13%
• $350,000 – $400,000 – 16%
• $400,000 – $450,000 – 0
• $450,000 – $500,000 – 3%
• Over $500,000 – 3%

So far this month 54.8% of the sales were bank owned and 16.1% were short sales.  The average sold price per square foot was $135/sqft. with an average 116 days on the market.

The Sparks Suburban area which consists of The Vistas, Kiley Ranch, and Mesa Meadows continues to have the strongest rate of sales.  The number of bank owned and short sales overall in the Sparks/Spanish Springs area remains high at about 51.6% of the sales so far this month.  The majority of those are bank owned with only about 6.4% of the sales closing being short sales.

Prices seem to be leveling off and the list-to-sales ratios in most areas (except Wingfield Springs) are above 97%.  We are still seeing average days on market over 100 days for most areas.

We are continuing to see a very good buyers market in the Sparks and Spanish Springs area.  Sellers looking to sell right now in these areas must be priced to compete with the bank owned listings in their neighborhoods.