The busy summer selling season is here. We anticipate strong demand for new to market listings to continue despite mortgage rate increases, but it is also likely to be tempered when compared to the recent past. Sellers should have a realistic pricing strategy in mind when going to market with their homes. Here is the latest info on the single-family home market in the Reno/Sparks area.

As of July 1st, 2022, there were 1,151 homes available for purchase, which is an increase of 54% from last month. Although this represents an increase of about 285% in standing inventory for the region compared to this time last year, it is important to remember that we were in an inventory crisis during 2021. So, an increase in inventory is welcomed by buyers and by real estate professionals. Buyers have more choices and more time to make informed decisions before submitting offers.

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Months or Days of Inventory is the amount of time it would take to sell all existing homes for sale if no additional homes entered the market. For homes priced under $400,000, we have 22 days of standing inventory in Reno/Sparks. For homes in the range of $400,000 to $700,000, inventory is about 2 months, or 85% more than that of last month.

For inventory of homes priced in the mid to upper price ranges, we have:

  • 3.1 months of inventory in the $700,000 to $1,000,000 price range
  • 3.4 months of inventory in the $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 price range
  • 5.1 months of inventory for homes priced over $1,500,000

Sellers typically have a greater negotiation advantage when the supply of inventory is low. A five to six month supply of homes historically represents a balanced market, where neither buyers nor sellers have an advantage.

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As of June 30th, our region has had 2,749 home sales so far this year. That is 8.8% less than the 3,015 sales we had at the end of June 2021. A small decrease in sales coincides with increases in mortgage rates. Stock market and global geo-political uncertainty is also contributing to a decrease in sales, but it’s not believed to be a long-term problem. Breaking down the home sales through the first six months of this year, we see that:

  • 69.2% of sales were under $700,000
  • 19.1% of sales were between 700,000 and $1,000,000, and
  • 11.7% of sales were over $1,000,000

Mortgage rates have been increasing for some time now, so be sure that you have recently been pre-qualified by a lender to understand how much house you can afford. A professional real estate agent with negotiation and market expertise is as important now as it has ever been, whether buying or selling.

If you have any questions about this report or the state of the real estate market, please reach out. It would be a pleasure to assist you.