PAST PAGES – May 28, 2012

Residential realty: Tight inventories help boost prices
A dwindling supply of residential resale properties is pushing up prices and should lead to a new wave of residential construction, Reno-Sparks residential brokers say — but they expect the upturn in residential development will be different from the frenzied days of the mid-2000s.
The Reno-Sparks area had a 4.6-month supply of inventory in April, says Amy Lessinger, broker/owner of RE/MAX Realty Affiliates. The National Association of Realtors regards a balanced market as having a six- month supply.
“We are trending into a seller’s market,” Lessinger says.
This isn’t the same story as 2005, though, Lessinger cautions. First, the sub-prime lending that led to unqualified buyers purchasing homes with mortgages bigger than their budgets has ended. Today’s buyers are better qualified, and due to the correction they are purchasing more affordable homes. Secondly, the wave of investors purchasing homes to flip for quick profit has largely evaporated. Lessinger estimates that about 20 percent of today’s buyers are investors.

— Page 1, by Rob Sabo

Economists question why potential workers leave labor force
A declining number of Nevada residents are interested in working even as new jobs are created, and state researchers want to know more.
Some of the decline may be a result of the recession, they say, because people who struggled to find work simply gave up and dropped out the labor force.
But economists think that other, deeper changes also may developing in the economy of Nevada and other states across the nation.
The phenomenon is getting increased attention partly because a permanent decline in the size of the workforce could carry big implications for employers who will be recruiting workers as the economy recovers.
Over the short-term, the question raises questions about the course of unemployment rates. If the economy continues to recover enough that discouraged workers return from the side- lines, unemployment rates might actually rise for a while even as the economy improves.

— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer

 

 

Online retailer looks to harness consumer loyalty to nonprofits 
It’s My Community Store LLC doesn’t have much of a brand identity of its own yet.
Instead the young company headquartered in Sparks relies on the strong feelings that consumers have for their favorite charities, nonprofits and schools to help build the online retailer of technology, school and office supplies.
Jenifer Rose, a veteran of two decades in the technology and office-supplies business in northern Nevada, put together the business.
On the face, It’s My Community Store looks simple.
When consumers and business managers place an order on its Web site, itsmycommuni- tystore.com, they are asked to choose a participating charitable organization that will receive an amount equal to as much 10 percent of the purchase amount.
By last week, about a dozen nonprofits in
northern Nevada had signed up. The amount donated by It’s My Community Store ranges from a low of 5 percent of the purchase price to the top of 10 percent.
Shoppers eager to help their favorite charitable cause or school are likely to spread the word about It’s My Community Store to friends and family across the country.
The toughest part of developing the business, Rose says, came in selection of inventory.
Items need to appeal to a broad cross-section of people who are involved in nonprofits — everyone from school children to executives of industry associations — at the same time that the merchandise carries sufficient margins to allow It’s My Community Store to peel off 5 or 10 percent of the revenues.

— Page 1, by John Seelmeyer

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, we feature snippets of stories that published a decade ago to provide readers a 10-year perspective of business news in the region. This week’s stories first published in the May 28, 2012, edition of the NNBW.