Carson home sales and median prices up in June

The Carson City home market saw some positive trends as spring gave way to summer.

According to data released by Sierra Nevada Realtors, Carson City had 54 sales of existing single-family homes in June. That’s up 28.6 percent from the previous month, which saw 42 sales, though still 11.5 percent lower than the same month last year. The median sales price for a single-family home also went up in June, both year over year and month over month. The median price was $491,471, an increase of .3 percent from the previous year and a jump of 3 percent from the previous month.

The median sales price for an existing condo/townhome in Carson was $285,000 in June, a decrease of 1.1 percent from last year.

“It continues to be a good market,” SNR Co-President Christie Fernquest told the Appeal.

Fernquest pointed out home inventory in the area is down. June saw an active inventory of 80 homes in Carson City, down 12.1 percent from the prior month and 40.3 percent from the prior year. Likewise, there were 59 new listings in Carson for the month — a decrease of 11.9 percent from May and 43.3 percent from the same month last year.

Fernquest did note new residential construction occurring in Carson and Lyon County, which will eventually add to inventory.

“We are still short of inventory, but the buyer demand is healthy,” she said.

Fernquest said it’s possible mortgage interest rates could come down “a little” with lower inflation heading toward the end of the year.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows current mortgage rates in Nevada ranging from 6.5 percent to 8.125 percent. Inflation did fall last month. On July 12, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index rose 3 percent the last 12 months ending in June, before seasonal adjustment. That’s down from a rate of 4 percent in May and a rate of 9.1 percent in June of last year.

Fernquest said buyers are seeing options to save money, through government programs, sellers covering closing costs and lenders offering mortgage points upfront to buy down loan rates.

“Even though interest rates haven’t come way down, lenders are being creative to make it affordable to buyers, so buyers should keep looking,” Fernquest said.

A SNR press release offered June data for other counties:

• Excluding Incline Village, Washoe County saw 557 new listings and 438 closed sales. The median sales price for an existing single-family residence in Washoe County was $575,000, an increase of 3.6 percent from the previous month and down 4.2 percent from last year. The median sales price of an existing condo/townhome in Washoe County in June was $341,500, an increase of .4 percent from last year.

• Lyon County had 98 sales of existing single-family homes, an increase of 8.9 percent from the previous month and an increase of 11.4 percent from last year. The median sales price for an existing single-family residence was $413,495, an increase of 6.1 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 4.9 percent from last year.

• Churchill County had 21 sales of existing single-family homes, a decrease of 32.3 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 34.4 percent from last year. The median sales price for an existing single-family residence was $385,500, an increase of 7.1 percent from the previous month and an increase of 9.1 percent from last year.

• Storey County had seven sales of existing single-family homes, an increase of 75 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 41.7 percent from last year. The median sales price for an existing single-family residence was $510,000, a decrease of 19.6 percent from the previous year and a decrease of 17.5 percent from last month.

• Douglas County had 69 sales of existing single-family homes, an increase of 6.2 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 6.8 percent from last year. The median sales price for an existing single-family residence was $616,000, an increase of 17.3 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 6.8 percent from last year.

In the release, Fernquest pointed to the strong home market in Lyon County.

“As someone who works and lives in Lyon County, you can really feel the growth of the housing market in the community,” she said. “Closed sales are up from last June, which can’t be said for any other region in the Sierra Nevada.”

“During the summer months, we see home prices begin to temporarily tick up as buyers tend to move more and sellers show off their homes,” added Sara Sharkey, co-president of SNR. “However, we are still a far cry from the peak of the housing market in the summer, with home prices currently down in Reno-Sparks compared to this time last year.”

For information, visit https://snr.realtor.