The number of short sales closed in the Reno-Sparks area was just nine short of equaling the number of bank owned listings sold in the first quarter of 2010. According to data from the Northern Nevada Regional MLS, there were 449 short sales closed in the first quarter of 2010. There were 458 bank owned listings sold, 345 fair market sales and 141 categorized as “other” (typically Freddie Mac owned or HUD owned properties). If you combine the bank owned, short sales, and other categories you get a good picture of the distress market sales in our area, which during the first quarter of 2010 made up 75.2% of the market.
Buyers looking for a home in today’s market are forced to consider short sales as they account for 57.9% of the active listings. What is not surprising is the number of buyers waiting for short sale approval. There are currently 1,591 pending sales that are classified as short sales in the Reno-Sparks area, while only 764 are other sale types. So, in the pending category the number of short sales is 67.5% of pending sales.
Short sales still remain a long and sometimes frustrating process for both buyers and sellers. Many loan servicers are overwhelmed by the volume of offers they are processing which leads to long wait times for approvals or even for a response. Be sure that your agent is knowledgeable about the short sale process.
