April Market Update

Here in Reno-Sparks, our real estate market is hot, hot, HOT and summer hasn't even started yet. We’re seeing a continuation of market conditions like bidding wars and properties going for over asking price - I will be honest, this market is not for the faint of heart. But fear not - seller’s, you’re sitting in a great position, and to all the buyer’s, have patience and you will find the perfect home.

 Let's do the numbers, starting with the average home price. Month over month, average home price has rose 7.8% from $450,000 to $485,000. According to the National Association of Realtors®, Reno’s median home price sits well above the median home price nationally (national average is around $311,000).

While this type of appreciation may not be considered “typical” (most people are used to seeing 3-5% appreciation - national average being 3.9%), this is a result of our incredibly short inventory, growing popularity and external factors like the pandemic giving people the opportunity to work from home.

Reno-Sparks is an interesting place - because of our proximity to California, enviable tax structure, the boom in our industry with companies setting up shop here like Amazon, Tesla, Switch and others - it has become more and more popular, both as a place to visit and a place to live. This increase in traffic to our area, even prior to 2020, has kept a strain on our inventory and has kept prices in the area rising steadily for a while.

 If we take a look at our inventory, active inventory (aka what’s currently available on the market) has dropped 20.4% month over month, but the number of new listings is on the rise being 29.5% above where we were last month. This is pretty typical for our market as we move into summer - new listings tend to rise in spring and summer - the kids are out of school for the year, the weather is better (I mean really, who wants to schlep a fridge across town in the winter anyways?) and most properties tend to show best when everything is in bloom.  

The short inventory supply has led to a drop in days to contract of 21.5% month over month - what was 24 days in March is now down to 18 days. To all buyers, be ready to move FAST & sellers, start packing before you list!

Whether you're thinking about buying or selling, it's important to be educated on market conditions. Have questions about whether it might be the right time to sell or buy? Let's chat!