January 2025 Market Update
Happy New Year!
Let’s address the big question everyone’s asking us this week; How is Donald J. Trump taking office going to affect the real estate market? Spoiler Alert: I don’t know.
But first, let’s dive into some stats from December 2024!
Our Median Sales Price for the 348 closed single family homes in Reno/Sparks in December was $604,814. This number shows an 8% Y-O-Y increase in value for homeowners and almost a 4% rise from November. You know I want to see that Y-O-Y number in the 4% range for sustainability; however, with interest rates where they are at, I’m glad to see the market stay in the green.
Homes sat on the market for a little longer last month. It took around 51 days on market to get an offer accepted. Not a lot of homeowners wanted to sell in December (holidays and interest rates made that an easy decision for a lot of ‘would-be’ sellers) so we only saw 226 new homes hit the market. This left us with a measly 2.2 months of inventory, telling us we are still sitting in a strong seller’s market (even though it may not feel like it for a lot of sellers).
Buyers:
Because of the low inventory, when a clean home comes on the market at a fair price, we are seeing some multiple offer situations again. Hopefully buyers can be a little more selective in the Spring when we start to see the spring/summer listing surge. Until then, if you need to buy this winter, make sure you get all the necessary inspections and negotiate a fair price.
Sellers:
DON’T GET GREEDY! Is your home priced right? Take a deep look in the mirror. Buyers are going after homes that are 100% turn-key and priced correctly (maybe even priced enticingly).
Now back to the Oval Office. To be honest, nobody is agreeing on what the real estate market is going to do with Trump in office. On one hand, experts think the proposed tariffs on building materials will make building wildly expensive which will ultimately further constrict inventory.
ON THE OTHER HAND:
Trump seems to understand the supply shortage is the root cause of the unaffordability issues. Loosening regulations could make it easier, cheaper, and faster for developers to build. This means closing that housing shortage gap and ultimately making homeownership more feasible for many more Americans.
Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait to see what happens. I do understand both arguments, but there are a lot of other factors we need to look at here such as interest rates and how his policies will change how much money will cost this year. It’s going to be a wild 2025!
