Changes to Reno's economy over the past year are having an interesting effect on our local real estate market.
For Face the State this week I spoke with the president of the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors to find out how our dropping unemployment rates and increasing population are affecting the market.
As of December, the Reno-Sparks area had a historically low number of homes for sale or for rent which naturally is driving prices up. That means it's a great market right now for sellers, but buyers looking for a deal may be out of luck. "Don't try to lowball. People try to go under, and think that they're going to make a bargain, make a deal on a house. You can't do that anymore,” says Dave Hansen.
Hansen says that's because there's so much competition for available properties. Right now they're selling about 500 homes a month but are only getting between 300 and 400 new listings every month.
The solution is clearly to build more homes but our construction industry was gutted after the recession and many of those builders haven't come back. So, Hansen says new building is slow but it's steadily picking up.
I asked him if this lack of inventory has the potential to artificially drive up home prices and possibly create another bubble. He says he doesn't think so. "They're not building an excess of houses. They're building what they can, and those houses are selling."
To see the full interview, tune in or set your DVR for Face the State this weekend. It's airing on Sunday at 2:30 and 6:30 am and also at 4 pm.
