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April home sales in Washoe County saw double-digit gains over the previous year, according to a report released today by the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors.
Sales of existing single-family homes rose 17 percent from April 2011, with 509 sold last month in Washoe County, but decreased 5 percent from March. Sales in March were the second highest for the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service, according to RSAR officials.
Meanwhile, the median sales price was $152,500, up 2 percent from March but down 2 percent for the same period a year ago.
“Sales of existing homes have been quite strong during the first part of 2012, fueled by a high volume of bank-owned and short-sale transactions,” said Brian Kaiser, housing and real estate analyst for the Center for Regional Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.
“In the wake of (Assembly Bill) 284, which went into effect last October, the supply of actual ‘bank-owned’ homes is diminishing, but there has been a corresponding spike in short-sale listings since then, indicating a shift at least in the short term in how banks deal with this distressed inventory,” he said.
The amount of distressed properties in the market is not unhealthy for homeowners looking to sell, Kaiser said.
In Reno, 337 homes were sold in April, Tuesday’s report showed, marking a 24 percent jump from last year and 4 percent decrease from March. April’s median price also rose 5 percent from March but dropped the same percentage in year-over-year numbers.
Sparks, including Spanish Springs, recorded a 7 percent year-over-year unit sales increase to 165 in April. The median price of $149,000 was a 2 percent decrease from March, but it rose 6 percent from April 2011.
“Median sales prices have been relatively stable over the past few months, although the up/down pattern from month to month is expected to continue for quite some time as the market searches for the bottom of the pricing trough,” Kaiser said.
The median price increased for the third straight month, according to the report.
Condominium/townhome median sale prices, which are listed separately, were mixed in April. Washoe recorded a 20 percent increase from a year ago to $62,000. Reno was up 32 percent to $68,000, and Sparks saw a decrease of 8 percent to $46,000.
“April 2012 sales are the fourth highest in the history of MLS and were only exceeded by the boom years in 2004 and 2005, as well as April 2010, which was influenced by the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit,” Kevin Sigstad, RSAR president and Re/Max Premier Properties broker, said in a news release.