Beautiful home in the Traditions development of the Caughlin Ranch community.  Enjoy the video of this 5 bed 4 bath home with over 3100 square feet not including the 1620 square foot finished basement. Granite counter tops, fireplace, mountain views, and wet bar make this a must see.

For more information… watch the video below or call Renown Real Estate Services at (775) 313-9600.

For more information contact Renown Real Estate Services at (775) 313-9600.

Now what we need is Fannie Mae to put their deficiency waivers in writing like Freddie Mac has.

To find out if your loan is a Fannie or Freddie visit these sites.

FNMA Loan Look Up     Freddie Mac Loan Look Up

For more information on buying a home or short sales in Reno contact Ricky at (775) 750-1437 or Ricky@Resnv.com

Panoramic city, and Mount Rose views from almost every room in the house. This brand new home built by quality local builder, TMB Builders LLC, is fully upgraded and move in ready. This home features a massive kitchen with over sized island and granite slab counter tops. Luxurious master suite with huge walk in shower and large soaking tub.

The walk out basement is almost 1400 sq ft with a large junior master suite and a huge game room. Also the basement is plumbed for wet bar and has a finished out storage area meant to be converted into a wine cellar. The lot is one of the biggest in the project at sits at the back end of a cul-de-sac.

This home recently appraised for $465,000 and is priced below appraised value for quick sale.

For more information contact Ryan Flynn at (775) 691-9338 or TMB Builders.

The table below shows the sale price to list price ratio for all sold single family homes in Reno and Sparks for March of 2012. The ratio is the sale price divided by the list price at time of acceptance. A sale price of $90,000 for a home listed at $100,000 has a SP/LP ratio of 90%.

The stats take into account properties in all kinds of condition. Some that need many repairs may go for less than list price with the more desirable going for at or above list price.

What does this mean for home buyers in Reno and Sparks?

Have your agent run a CMA on the property to see if it’s priced correctly. If the comps say it’s priced right but you don’t agree then offer whatever you feel the value is. Just don’t be surprised if other buyers offer more than you.

For more information on buying a home in Reno or Sparks contact Ricky at Ricky@Resnv.com or (775) 750-1437.

The lack of inventory is continuing to create stiff competition among buyers as sale prices are trending upward for the short-term.

What does this mean for Reno and Sparks home buyers?

Multiple offers and a feeding frenzy for homes priced well and in tolerable condition. Time to put your game face on when putting in an offer and watch out for those all cash investors.

To view homes that may be as cheap as renting click on the map below.

For more information on buying a home or what the market is doing contact Ricky at Ricky@Resnv.com or (775) 750-1437.

Steven Miller from the Nevada Policy Research Institute recently wrote an article about the effects of Nevada’s non judicial foreclosures in light of AB 149 and AB 284 with a comparison to Arizona’s non judicial foreclosures. It’s a little long but has plenty of graphs and tables for the visual learner and definitely worth the read.

*Thanks to Daryl the engineer for sending me the article.*

According to Miller, Phoenix home prices have been trending upward since September of 2011 while Las Vegas prices continue to fall. (I understand that Reno/Sparks weren’t hit as badly as Las Vegas but we’re covering a state assembly bill not city or county.) Miller believes the biggest reason for Phoenix’s appreciating is lack of government regulation.

Prior to 2009, Nevada’s non-judicial foreclosure proceedings ran similar to Arizona’s. In 2009, AB 149 was passed requiring all lenders to participate in a court-structured mediation…. Adding time to the foreclosure process. October of 2011 brought AB 284 which requires lenders to provide numerous documents showing viable ownership and makes it a category C felony if they file improperly…. Adding time to the foreclosure process.

So we understand that the process is going to take longer for the foreseeable future but what does it mean for the future of the Reno Real Estate market?

Below is a table of estimated levels of shadow inventory state by state in fall of 2011, prior to the passing of AB 284. Nevada had an estimated shadow inventory (excluding current short sale defaults and HAMP mods) of 8 months. Hopefully, we will get another report at the end of Q1 2012 to see how much inventory has built up. We can add 45 days to this for pre-foreclosure marketing, cash for keys, and trash outs prior to re-selling. Then we can add another 3 months (high estimate in this market) for the property to be sold to another buyer. By my calculations the inventory should be down to a manageable amount or at least not overwhelming in 12.5 months.

In February of 2012, we had an average of 5.4 months of inventory in Reno/Sparks (see table below).  Add that to the estimated level of shadow inventory, including pre-foreclosure marketing and re-sale, and we end up with 17.9 months. On the calendar that puts us into October of 2013.

AB 284 has already added six months (maybe more in the future) to market correction since October of 2011. Add those six months to the projection without AB 284 and we’re  pushing into April of 2014. Making Nevada look more like the judicial foreclosure states of Florida and New York.

Though the banks are starting to push through the assembly bills we see continued foreclosure problems in the coming months. Maybe my math is too simplistic but it doesn’t look like AB 284 or AB 149 have done anything but hurt the market.

I understand that the bills were created to protect home owners but is someone really going to get out of not making their payments by forcing the bank to wait 6-12 more months to foreclose?

I’d rather have it be over with as quickly as possible and on the road to recovery instead of dragging out until my 2 year old graduates from college.

What do you think?

*The preceding article was for informational purposes.  Renown Real Estate Services and broker Ricky Beach are not attorneys and do not provide legal counsel. All parties are advised to seek competent legal or financial counsel.*

Click To View The Report

The Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors released their February 2012 market reports. The full report can be viewed by clicking on the picture to the right.

Here are a few snippets for those that don’t have any time to read it.

• The median sales price rose from $135,000 in January of 2012 to $145,000 in February of 2012.

• As of February 29th, there were 5.4 months of inventory. Inching closer to a seller’s market as a whole.
• Properties under $200,000 have less than 5 months of inventory. Making that price range a seller’s market.
• 453 properties sold in February with 339 being under $200,000.
• Of those sales 29% had no special condition of sale (regular sale), 42% were REO, 28% were short sales, and 1% were court approvals or “other” sales.

For more information on the Reno/Sparks real estate market feel free to contact Ricky at (775) 750-1437 or Ricky@Resnv.com.

You already own a blender and vaccum so why not add home ownership to your wedding registry?

FHA allows for wedding registry gifts of cash, checks, and wire transfers from guests and those unable to attend to be used toward the down payment of a new home.

In order to make the funds available for the down payment you must create a bank account or cash wedding registry like MyRegistry.com , HoneyFund.com, or DownPaymentDreams.com. If guests are unable to deposit online you can deposit the cash or checks after the wedding. Make sure to perform your due diligence as many of those sites have transaction fees for each deposit or transaction.

The funds do have to be “seasoned” for two months prior to use so don’t plan on moving in right after the honeymoon.

For more information on using a wedding registry as a down payment or buying a home in Reno or Sparks contact me at (775) 750-1437 or Ricky@Resnv.com

HUD is revisiting their idea, from 2010, of reducing the allowable closing cost concessions for FHA loans. HUD Document Here  Currently, the cap is 6% which generally covers all costs associated with a home purchase minus the down payment which must be paid for by the buyer or gifted from a family member or employer. HUD’s new strategy is to drop that cap to 3% or $6,000, whichever is greater.

Why should you care?

Typical closing costs, in Reno and Sparks, for a home under $200,000 being purchased with an FHA loan can run between 3-4% but generally end up around 3.5%. As part of negotiations, a buyer can get the seller to pay for these as a concession or credit at the closing table. At $200,000, closing costs of 3.5% equal to $7,000. This cap would mean a $200,000 FHA home buyer would need to bring their down payment of $7,000 plus an additional $1,000 for the closing costs that weren’t paid for.

This new cap will push many home buyer’s out of the market who could easily manage the monthly payments but don’t have enough in savings to cover all their closing costs and down payment. Less buyers in the market leads to more homes sitting on the market (many vacant) and increased depreciation. This not only hurts home buyers but home owners who are desperately seeking a stabilization of home values.

Want to help?

Let HUD know that you want this market to turn around and believe home value stabilization in integral to our overall recovery as a country by contacting HUD through the following link. Keep Concessions at 6%. Commenting ends on March 26th so please act quickly.

For more information on FHA closing costs or purchasing a home in Reno or Sparks contact me at (775) 750-1437 or Ricky@Resnv.com.