Confident about northern Nevada, Wyoming mortgage firm buys Reno office

Even though home sales in Reno and Sparks in May sagged 14 percent from last year, one western states mortgage company feels the time is right to expand into the market.

Wallick and Volk Mortgage Bankers of Cheyenne, Wyo., last week acquired the six-person office of Prostar Home Loans, which was located at 985 Damonte Ranch Parkway. The Prostar team will move to Wallick and

Volk's offices at 10389 Double R Blvd., says David Heuermann, senior vice president of production for

Wallick and Volk.

"We have seen a lot of declining market values and a lot of foreclosures, and at some point you will start to see some cyclical bounce," Heuermann says. "We are starting to see some improvement in buyer activity and sellers willing to price their houses properly to get them to move. This made it possible for us to grow our market share and add some key people to the mix."

Heuermann says Wallick and Volk, which has 76 years in the business, brings stability to a shaky market with its long history.

"Generally the West has really suffered from the credit crunch and declining market values, and we think if we are not at the bottom we are nearing the bottom of the cycle," he says. "We want to be prepared as we come back out of this cycle, and the people we added will help us become a premier mortgage lender in the area."