Washoe October home sales down, prices up

A tight existing-home market continues to push prices upward across Washoe County, a report by the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors shows.

The RSAR report for October showed total sales of existing single-family dwellings countywide rose 4 percent from the same month in 2016 but fell 12 percent from September.

At the same time, the countywide median sales price for an existing home in October was $348,450, a 12 percent rise over the year and a 4 percent increase from September.

All RSAR data is based on information from the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service.

“The median price has leveled the past three months after a high for the year in July,” John Graham, 2017 RSAR president, said in a statement accompanying the report.

Within Washoe County, the trends were similar:

Reno: October home sales, including the North Valleys, increased 12 percent over the year but declined 11 percent from September. But the median price reached $363,250, up 15 percent over the year and up 4 percent from September.

Sparks: The city, which includes Spanish Springs, saw total home sales in October fall 11 percent over the year and fall 15 percent from September.

But the median sales price in Sparks continued to rise, reaching $320,000, up 6 percent from October 2016 and up 2 percent from September, the RSAR report showed.

The monthly report also covers the Fernley market in Lyon County 30 miles east of Sparks. There, October existing home sales fell 17 percent from a year earlier and fell 28 percent from September, according to the RSAR report.

As with the other markets, the median sales price for an existing home in Fernley continued to rise, reaching $241,500 in October. That was a 27 percent increase from October 2016 and a 9 percent improvement over September.