It is what it is.  That is a saying that I find myself saying numerous times everyday.  The market is what the market is.  My goal is to bring my clients the facts and help them make the best decisions possible given the market facts we are facing. 

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.