Buyer Tips | Carson Valley Real Estate, Gardnerville Homes, Carson City real estate

Carson Valley NV Real Estate Market Hitting Bottom? All Signs Say YES!

May 1, 2009

Could it be true? Could the Carson Valley Nevada Real Estate market be nearing the bottom and stabilizing? I say, YES, and here’s why I think so.

As I have said in previous posts, I like to follow the numbers, because to me, the numbers donâ€™t lie. I have pulled data from the Multiple Listing Service and here’s what I see:

Carson Valley NV Real Estate Average Prices

The graph starts in June 2007 and shows an average sales price for each month. If you look closely, you’ll see that January 2009 appears to be a low spot.

The most important thing to see is the very end on the right hand side. Do you see it? Not only is it not flat, it’s creeping up ever so slightly. Over the last 3 months, the average selling price has stayed within $10,000 of the previous month’s number. So basically, the average selling price held steady. I believe this indicator is predicting the bottom of the market.

Here is my chart that I update every month with these statistics:

If you look at the average sales price for February, March, and April, you’ll see what I’m saying. You’ll also see that the per square foot price seems to be hanging in right around $140-145 as well.

Of course, only time will tell if my prognostication is right. One thing you CAN count on is I will share this information with you again next month and we’ll see if the glass really is half full and it’s time to be optimistic!

(Data provided courtesy of the Northern Nevada Multiple Listing Service and covered Area 300 which is all of Gardnerville, Minden, Genoa and outlying Carson Valley areas.)

Sparks, Nevada Market at it’s Bottom? A Compelling Argument

April 3, 2009

Could it be true? Could the Sparks market be nearing the bottom and stabilizing? I say, YES, and I’d like to present what I feel are compelling reasons why the housing market in Sparks seems to be at the bottom.

I like to follow the numbers, because to me, the numbers don’t lie. Pundits can spin information right and left so fast I get dizzy, so I decided to go to the source – the Multiple Listing Service. Remember when you took Trigonometry in High School? (I know, it was a long time ago for me, too.) Remember when you did your graphs? Well, I decided to put together a graphical representation of the list and sales prices of homes in Sparks over the last 4 years. What I theorized I would find would be a steep decline as the market went down, with it leveling out toward the bottom. We’re looking for a U shape here, with the right hand side of the U being the return of the market values. Now I don’t expect it to look exactly like a U, and I suspect that the right hand side of it will be pretty wide – it’s going to look more like a check mark, but the important thing is where the bottom is.

Here’s what the chart looks like with Sparks Home sales from April 2005 through March 2009:

sparks-home-sales-april-2005-to-present1

So there’s a couple things I see from the data. First of all, you can see when the peak in the market was because I went back far enough. It was January 2006. And while the fall seemed steep to everyone who bought in 2005, it really took three years to get where it is today. The Sparks market declined from an all time high average sales price of $346, 567 in January 2006 to $194,119 in March 2009.

Now, there’s a few things that are very important to keep in mind when reviewing a graph like this. It is not a true picture! It’s likely that these numbers are skewed because only those sellers who NEED to sell have been selling over the past couple of years. The number of foreclosures and short sales also push down the average selling price, and since the market is thus skewed, the data is skewed.

The most important thing to see is the very end on the right hand side. Do you see it? It’s FLAT! For the last two months, the average selling price held steady. For February 2009 it was $194,070 and for March 2009 it was $194,119. I believe this indicator is predicting the bottom of the market. Whie the rest of the U wasn’t as steep as I pictured it in my mind, my instinct was right saying the market is levelling out.

The other fascinating thing I looked at was sales volume. In April, May and June 2005, 200 homes a month were selling in Sparks. It tapered downward until it hit a low point in February 2008 when only 50 homes sold. That was the lowest point during the entire 4 year period.Â In March 2009, 122 homes sold. Logic would follow that first the number of home sales every month would increase before prices would gain traction and make any sort of gain…With the exception of November 2008 and January 2009, Sparks has seen over 100 homes sell each month. This is another reason why I believe we are seeing the first signs of a blossoming recovery in the Sparks market.

Data provided courtesy of the Northern Nevada Multiple Listing Service and covered Area 108 which is all of Sparks.

Affordable Homes in the Carson Valley Under $250,000!

April 2, 2009

What makes a home affordable? One opinion could be simply whether a prospective buyer can afford to purchase the home based on his or her individual finances.

Before the market went crazy in 2003, there was a formula to determine whether or not a person could afford a home. Lenders strayed from this formula (for reasons I will not endeavor to explain here) but the good news is, the basic formula and idea of how to determine a person’s affordability index is back!

What is affordable? The tried-and-true rule involves just a couple of ratios. The first is your debt-to-income ratio which should be no more than 36%. When figuring your housing payment-to-income ratio, it should be between 28% and 33%.

Using the calculator above, you can determine what your payment would be, and then determine whether it falls within your housing payment-to-income ratio. Don’t forget that you’ll need to include property taxes and insurance in your payment amount when figuring your ratio.

Just in case you thought there weren’t very many affordable homes in the Carson Valley, we’ve included links to homes under $250,000 with 3+ bedrooms.

Affordable Homes in Gardnerville under $250,000 with 3+ bedrooms

Affordable Homes in Minden under $250,000 with 3+ bedrooms

To conduct a search of your own, simply click the Search MLS Listings below. Interest rates are low, and prices are the lowest they have been in the better part of a decade.

The market is changing and buyers are coming from surrounding states and out of town to take a closer look at the Carson Valley. Isn’t it time you should, too?

Secluded Mountain Retreat: 2500 Leviathan Mine Road, $949,000

February 6, 2009

Enjoy a luxury, Tahoe-inspired mountain retreat home on 19.28 acres in picturesque Double Springs Valley, minute south of Gardnerville in the Carson Valley. This home is completely upgraded throughout and features breathtaking appointments, including knotty alder trim and doors, granite countertops, stainless steel commercial grade appliances and a lovely, open architectural style. There are stunning floor-to-vaulted-ceiling windows on the south side of the house, overlooking serene Double Springs Valley.

2500 Leviathan Mine Road, Gardnerville, Carson Valley Real Estate

2500 Leviathan Mine, Gardnerville, Carson Valley Real Estate

When does lowballing turn predatory? Itâ€™s a fine line.

February 2, 2009

At the dizzying height of the Carson Valleyâ€™s real estate boom, homeowners commonly put their homes on the market, then watched as the flood of offers â€” often at or above the asking price â€” streamed in. Buyers, meanwhile, waited anxiously for the seller’s verdict, preparing to heap tens of thousands of dollars on top of the original offer.

Now, the opposite is true. Potential buyers are now putting very low offers â€” often 20 to 40 percent less than the asking price â€” sometimes on multiple properties at the same time, a strategy that began a few months ago in metropolitan areas and is sweeping into our neck of the woods. Sellers, increasingly desperate to unload their property, are countering offers they once would have considered insulting. And as lowball offers become the norm, this back-and-forth seems to be accelerating the downward slide in prices.

The strategy of simultaneous lowball offers is a trend to prepare for, if you are a listing agent, or a seller. It used to be the reverse â€” one seller had multiple offers for one home. Now, one buyer has offers on several homes.

These buyers are no longer just looking for a good deal. They are predatory buyers. And with only 18 homes selling in the Carson Valley last month, they have good reason to behave this way.

At the heart of this behavior is the fear that prices will continue to drop. It almost scares the buyer to know they can get it for such a low price. They think, â€˜If I can get the seller to come down to this price, what does that mean? Maybe I should wait.â€™

Lowballing or not, buyers’ stubborn refusal to pay listing prices â€“ and the general lack of buyers actually purchasing â€“ is have a definite impact on the market. Perhaps in recognition of this fact, more and more agents are encouraging sellers to consider offers at percentages that would previously have been considered ludicrously low.

It may seem insulting to consider such a low offer, but at the same time, it’s all about creating a dialogue. Any time you have someone who’s interested, you do the best you can to play nice and negotiate the deal.

7 Reasons to Own Your Hown Home

January 29, 2009

With all the bad news about the nation’s housing crisis, homes being foreclosed upon, many people may be wondering: Why should I own my own home? Isn’t it just better to rent? Whether the real estate market is good or not so great, there are 7 main reasons to own your own home that are valid regardless of market conditions.

1. Tax breaks. The U.S. Tax Code lets you deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage, property taxes you pay, and some of the costs involved in buying your home.

2. Gains. According to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORSÂ® , the national median home price in 1990 was $92,000. In 2008 – in the midst of the nation’s housing crisis, the national median home sales price was $198,000. If you owned your home during this period of time, and didn’t refinance it to draw out equity, it would be likely that your home would have gained value. The key point is – it’s okay to refinance your home to obtain a more favorable interest rate, a shorter repayment term, or a lower payment. Homeowners should not refinance their homes to draw out equity to pay off credit cards or other debts. If they do, they need to realize that the valuation of their home starts all over from the date they refinance. It’s as if they are buying their home all over again at the refinanced price.

3. Equity. Money paid for rent is money that you’ll never see again, but mortgage payments let you build equity ownership interest in your home. Provided you don’t refinance your home to draw upon your equity, and you own your home for 10 or more years, the equity value is likely to increase and the home will be worth more than you paid for it.

4. Savings. Building equity in your home is a ready-made savings plan. And when you sell – many years from when you bought, you can generally take up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) as gain without owing any federal income tax.

5. Predictability. Unlike rent, your mortgage payments don’t go up over the years so your housing costs may actually decline as you own the home longer. However, keep in mind that property taxes and insurance costs will rise (and this also depends on the type of mortgage loan you obtain.)

6. Freedom. The home is yours. You can make design changes to update it or decorate it any way you want and be able to benefit from your investment for as long as you own the home. This goes hand in hand with enjoyment – you will enjoy your home more when you can personalize it to your tastes with paint, carpet and drapes that you want. Often, a landlord won’t let you make these changes, or else they may require to change them back when you decide to move, which can be very costly.

7. Stability. Remaining in one neighborhood for several years gives you a chance to participate in community activities, lets you and your family establish lasting friendships, and offers your children the benefit of an educational community.

Home Buyers Say They’re Still Waiting

October 9, 2008

Market uncertainty is scaring away people who donâ€™t own a home, particularly those who are in the 18-34 age group previously most likely to buy, says online real estate service Trulia. More than 70 percent of non-homeowners surveyed say they have no plans to purchase a home in the next year. But the good news is 12 percent of non-homeowners say they expect to buy a home in the next 12 months.

Other key information from the survey includes:

44 percent of those 18-34 year do not own a home right now is because they believe home ownership is too expensive.

41 percent of 35- to 44-year-old respondents polled says they donâ€™t think they can qualify a home loan.

92 percent of homeowners say they donâ€™t plan to move in the next 12 months.

49 percent of homeowners still believe that their home is a great long-term investment.

Only 4 percent of non-homeowners said that â€œWaiting for the new Housing Recovery Act to take effectâ€ was keeping them from home ownership.

More than half of all non-homeowners said they still believe home ownership is an important piece of achieving â€œthe American Dreamâ€.

Women aged 35-44 in the survey agreed on this sentiment more than men aged 35-44 (66 percent versus 47 percent).

Non-homeowners with an annual household income of $50,000 to $75,000 agreed more strongly (78 percent) on a home being central to achieving their personal American Dream than those with an annual household income of under $49,000 or over $75,000 (51 percent and 53 percent, respectively).

Ten Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

October 8, 2008

Over the years, we’ve sold a lot of real estate. We’ve represented all different types of clients – from savvy investors and experienced buyers and sellers, to first time home buyers. As we worked with buyers in particular, we noticed they often had the same series of questions relating to buying and selling real estate, regardless of how many times they may have bought real estate. About a year ago, we sat down and put together a 36-page guide covering everything relating to a real estate purchase. This guide, entitled Finding Your New Home…Made Easy with our ‘Just for Buyers’ Guide, is available free – all you have to do is email or call and let us know you want one. We’re happy to provide it to you – with no obligation. Today’s blog article is an excerpt from the guide covering ten tips for first-time home buyers.

1. Be picky, but don’t be unrealistic. Many first-time home buyers make the mistake that if they search long enough, they’ll find a home that contains 100% of their needs and wants. There is no perfect house – unless, of course, you built it custom, and that’s typically too expensive for a first-time buyer.

2. Do your homework before you start looking. Decide specifically what features you want in a home and which are most important to you. Prioritize them and list what you need first, and then what you would like.

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