April, May, and June of 2008 have been relatively good months for Reno’s housing market – I say “relatively” because the last two years of declining sales and tumbling home values have had far-reaching effects on the economy and people’s psyche.

After a 23 percent increase in Washoe County’s monthly sales of new and existing homes in April and a flat May, June 2008 managed to post a solid 8.5 percent increase in sales. This is really good news, folks. What’s more, median sales prices of single family homes were up 2.2 percent from May to just over $306,000. Can we sustain this pace? If so, we just might find ourselves climbing out of this hole we’ve landed in.

Condo sales were down 47 percent in June compared to May, which was a particularly strong month for condo sales. Still, 39 of the 61 condo sales in June were for new construction (and 37 of those were located in the city of Reno) – and they carried a median sales price of $219,000. That’s a heady 13 percent increase from May’s median.

Looking at the County’s cumulative sales data for the first 6 months of the year is a bit sobering, though. We may have been having few good months lately, but overall the market is still a long way down from where it was last year. There have been 52 percent fewer sales of single family homes during the first half of the year, and the median sales price is 10 percent below the first six months of 2007. Condos don’t look much better, either: 11 percent fewer sales, 7.5 percent lower median sales price.

Let’s just enjoy this little break from the fallout of the housing market and hope that there’s enough traction in the market for us to start seeing some signs of stability. I’m encouraged by the latest numbers and hope that it’s the beginning of a rebound.

For more information on the local housing market, visit our website at www.nvdata.org and look for the “data and downloads” section. The Center for Regional Studies is an economic development partnership between the Nevada Small Business Development Center and the University of Nevada, Reno.