Home sales are up but prices down in second quarter

Home sales are up, but prices are down, says a report by Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors. It covers second quarter and June home sales in the Washoe County resale home market.

Washoe County had 996 sales of existing single-family homes, an increase of 41 percent from the first quarter, but down 1 percent from the second quarter of 2007.

Reno had 513 sales of existing single family homes, a 39 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 9 percent decrease from 2007's second quarter.

Sparks had 306 sales of existing single-family homes, an increase of 45 percent from 2008's first quarter and an increase of 11 percent from last year's second quarter.

During June, the report showed Washoe County had 363 sales of existing single-family homes, an increase of 12 percent from June 2007 and a 14 percent increase from the previous month.

Reno had 192 sales of single-family homes, an increase of 18 percent from May 2008 and down 4 percent from a year ago.

Sparks had 104 sales of single-family homes, an increase of 21 percent from June 2007 and a 6 percent increase from the previous month.

Washoe County listings showed a decrease of 8 percent in the sales of single-family homes from a year ago.

Reno and Sparks also experienced a decrease in the number of active listings by 11 and 13 percent respectively.

The report showed median sales price for an existing single-family home in Washoe County was $269,000, down 14 percent from the second quarter of 2007.

In Reno, the median sales price for a single-family home was $318,000, down 15 percent from the 2007 second quarter.

Sparks' median sales price for an existing single-family home was $248,856, down 13 percent from a year ago.

For June, the median sales price for an existing single-family home in Washoe County was $263,000, down 18 percent from June 2007.

In Reno, the median sales price for a single- family home was $319,950, down 18 percent from a year ago.

In Sparks, the $240,000 median sales price for a single-family home in June 2008 was down 13 percent from June 2007.

"Decreasing prices, uptrending sales and decreasing inventory indicates that buyers are recognizing the increasing affordability of homes," said Wayne Capurro broker and owner of Capurro & Reid Real Estate and

President of Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors.

The existing median sales price for condominiums and townhouses in Washoe County the second quarter was $151,250, down 33 percent from the second quarter 2007.

In Reno, the sales price was $165,000, a decrease of 8 percent from 2007's second quarter.

In Sparks, the sales price was $140,000, a 23 percent drop from last year.

In June, condo sales price in Washoe County was $171,000, down 17

percent from June 2007.

In Reno, the sales price was $194,750, down 6 percent from last year, and in Sparks it was $138,000, down 31 percent from June 2007.

The Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors obtains its information from the Multiple Listing Service and includesboth short sales and sales of bank owned properties.

NNBW staff