March 2019 Market Report

** Data in this report reflect market activity from Feb 2019 compared to Jan 2019 and Feb 2019 compared to Feb 2018. Information is gathered from the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors® (RSAR) for the Greater Reno-Sparks region via Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service (www.nnrmls.com). Data accounts for single-family resale residences only, and excludes townhouses/condos and new construction.

HIGHLIGHTS:

February 2019 Median Sales Price for single-family re-sale properties (excluding condominiums/townhouses) is up 2.8% from compared to January 2019. The Median Sales Price appear stable from the same time last year.
Unit Sales in February 2019 were significantly lower than the same month last year. The number of single family homes sold at 344 homes dropped 22.5 % compared to February 2018.
# of Days to Contract in Feb 2019 has dropped about 7% from the previous month, so homes are going under contract to sell more quickly than we’ve been experiencing lately. However, it is taking nearly twice as long as it did in Feb 2018, on the average.
Active Inventory has improved since Feb 2018, increasing 35.5% to 932 active listings in Feb 2019. However, even though Months Supply of Inventory has increased 75% from last year to 2.7 MSI this year, we are still technically in a Seller’s Market. “Months Supply of Inventory” is defined as the time it would take for the current inventory to be completely sold out if sales remained at their current state. A “balanced inventory market” is about 6 MSI.
# of New Listings from last year to this year are down 27%, and down 8.7% from the previous month.

CONCLUSIONS:

Longer days to contract… why? Have you been outside lately? This has been one of the most consistently wet and snowy winters in recent history. Weather has slow or eliminated travel for buyers, many of whom are traveling from California.
Increase in median sales price… why? We are personally starting to see that when houses are priced close to market value, multiple offers are happening again. This may have played a role in the medial sales price increasing from Jan to Feb 2019.
Drop in unit sales from last year to this year… why? Perhaps weather played a part in this as well.
Mortgage interest rates have recovered since being raised 4 times last year. They are back down to a 12 month low. This should help with affordability to a degree.
Consumer confidence is up, despite domestic and global political distractions. Buyers appear to be getting off the fence and moving toward real estate investment in Northern Nevada.
What else is affecting the resale market? Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors does not currently include new construction in the market statistics (having pulled data from Northern Nevada Regional MLS). Currently, there are several large scale developments in the Great Reno-Sparks Region. Our theory is that these projects absorbing many of the buyers who are purchasing in Reno-Sparks who would have otherwise purchase an existing home. The new construction activity could very likely be playing a part in the decline of the rate and volume of sales of re-sale properties in our region.
All this being said… A slowing of the real estate market during the last year may very well me a blessing, as affordability for the future of Reno-Sparks is a concern.
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