Home prices decline 2.5 percent

The median price of Carson City homes decreased 2.5 percent in October, according to a real estate report released Friday.

Forty-one single-family homes sold in October with a median cost of $302,000, down from $310,000 in September, which had just as many home sales, according to the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service. The report tracks only Realtor sales.

Carson City's housing boom hit a high in 2005 when the median price of a single-family home jumped 34 percent over a year to $348,500. The market has inched down in the last year. Officials have noted that fewer California buyers are coming into the Nevada market and are instead traveling farther east.

One broker said ultra high-priced properties are selling faster than low- and upper-middle priced homes.

"It seems middle-range housing has had a modest reduction," said Sherry Negrete, mortgage broker with Sierra Coast Mortgage. "The lower price range properties have dropped significantly. High-end properties are selling - the $1 million properties - are holding value quite well."

Neighborhood "price pockets" have endured. She said that means those homes in the best locations have kept value while "less desirable" sections of the capital city have suffered greatly.

"Location, location, location is always important," she said.

The majority of mortgage loans in Carson City, nearly 100 percent, were conventional, but Negrete anticipates more government-assisted loans.

New construction by Syncon off Curry Street and the Centex townhouses on Roop bring hope to agents.

"There's a lot of new construction going on, which is a sign the market is picking up," said Jim Shirk, a Realtor with Realty Executives.