If you are a skilled professional – Reno wants you!

Considering relocating? Need a good job market for your professional skills? The Greater Reno-Tahoe region may be just the place for you.

With all of the woes of the country and especially the housing market, it’s a great time to be living in Northern Nevada.  Our economic forecast for 2008 is strong with many businesses moving into the area and building continuing.  We are experiencing a resurgence of our downtown with the completion of the train trench project and now businesses as well as residents are beginning to experience downtown living/working.  The expansion of one of our hospitals and a major casino also reinforce the confidence we have in our city.  With a strong economy, low unemployment rate, moderate traffic and great weather, it’s no wonder people continue to play and live here.

 

When companies are looking to expand or relocate, one of the factors that they consider is the job pool of skilled professionals in the area. Many of our companies want to expand, several companies want to relocate to the region but they need you.

 

Why relocate to the Greater Reno-Tahoe area?

1. Our job market needs skilled professionals.
2. Our Cost of Living is less expensive than many other metro areas.
3. Our housing market is priced exactly where it should be. Median Sales Price $255,000.
4. Commuting in Reno is easy, with less commute time.
5. Reno has a wonderful moderate four season climate offering world famous outdoor recreational opportunities.
6. Reno is on many Best Cities lists because of the quality lifestyle it offers.

The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, also known as EDAWN, along with a collation of companies have begun a recruitment campaign to attract young professionals to the Greater Reno-Tahoe Area.

 

Currently, EDAWN is targeting the San Francisco area emphasizing the many advantages of living and working in the Reno-Tahoe area. The Bay area was chosen as the first target area because of its nearby location and the many advantages the Reno region offers to those of the Bay area.

 

You do not have to be a Bay Area or California resident to enjoy the benefits of living in the Reno area (my family and I relocated from Chicago). I can tell you from personal experience that moving to Reno for professional and quality living was the best choice for our family and is one that we have never regretted.

 

For all of your Reno relocation answers visit Your Reno Relocation Headquarters. If you can’t find the answer you are looking for here, please contact me. As a Reno Relocation Specialist, I am here to help.

Just Right

A few short years ago (2006), the Reno area was considered one of the most over-valued in the nation. In 2004, homes were considered fairly valued but by March 2005 homes were over valued by 29.4%. In 2006, this figure jumped to 40.6%.  Price corrections began in 2007 when the 40% figure dropped to 25.3%.

 

Today, a new report by Global Insight/National City House Value Report has ranked the Reno area as being fairly valued. Actually, the report says that Reno is under-valued by 0.2%. This means our median home price of $251,500 is JUST RIGHT.

 

The report studied 330 metro areas, evaluating population density, income levels and interest rates as well as historically observed market discounts. Comparing these factors to the actual selling price of homes determines the over-valued/under-valued rating. Only 8 metro areas are still rated as over-valued in comparison to 53 areas in 2006.

 

Prices have declined in Reno because of an over inflated market, as well as the spike in foreclosures and short sales.

 

Everyone loves when home values are on the rise, even buyers. Homeowners/Seller’s love the wind-fall equity; buyers feel they are investing wisely and will see a quick return on their dollar. But prices can only go so high before buyers are priced out of the market.

 

When buyers can no longer buy, prices will decline until the market corrects itself. At the same time Reno began to experience a correcting market, the poor lending practices that were quite popular during the inflation years came to “roost” causing a wave of foreclosures and short sales, which in turn caused the market to decline quite rapidly.

 

Currently foreclosure properties account for only 40% of the homes for sale in Reno; but 75% of the homes sold and in escrow are foreclosure properties. Due to this fact and the current standing inventory, we may still see some decline in values.

 

Considering that the Reno area is no longer over-valued and that interest rates have risen slightly (they are expected to continue to do so), waiting for further price reductions may not be the best answer.

 

Now that you have heard the good news: Property prices are just right. And you have heard the bad news: prices may still decline slightly and interest rates are going up. Consider this, Reno was considered a “best place to live when the market was over-valued and continues to be on several “Best Places” to live lists today. Now with home prices “just right”, Reno has just become better than ever.

List	Ranking	Compared to	Report by:
Top 100 Best Places to Raise a Family	#31	257 cities	Best Life
Best Places For Relocating Families	#39	50 Best small-sized cities	Worldwide ERC And Primary Relocation
Best Place to Live and Launch a Business	#54	100 Best	Fortune
Best Place for Business and Careers	#137	200 Metro Areas	Forbes
Best Walking Cities	#1 in Nevada #69	500 Best	Prevention Magazine American Podiatric Medical Association
Best Places to Live in the West	Rank in top 20	20 Best	American Cowboy Magazine

An Arm And A Leg

Just a few weeks ago, while traveling up North Virginia Street , I saw a sign at the gas station:
$3.86 – Unleaded
Premium – An Arm
Diesel – A Leg

I had to laugh at the honesty of that sign. Now that gas has broken the $4 mark, I am wondering if the gas station owner will be changing that sign to include other body parts.

The reason I am talking about gas prices is not to complain about them, even though I don’t like them any more than you do. I am mentioning them because short commute times and miles can result in saving a lot of money these days.

If you are driving longer than 10 miles to work or if your driving time exceeds 15 minutes, moving to the Greater Reno-Tahoe area might be something you want to consider. The average drive from home to work in Reno, Nevada is 10 miles and the average commute time is 15 minutes!

According to CityTownInfo.com Reno gets a “trophy” for being in the top 5% for commute times when compared to cities of similar size. CNN Money.com finds Reno is one of the best places to live for the same reason.

If you live in the Reno and Sparks area, you can be very thankful you are not living in Chicago, Los Angeles or other major metro areas where commute times are an hour or longer.

If you are not fortunate enough to live in our area, I would suggest giving it some thought.

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Real Estate – Here and There

Real estate markets are changing throughout the nation. The worst in the housing crisis seems to be coming to an end. Sales are up in Washoe County as well as many other parts of the country. Even the hardest hit areas, such as California and Michigan, have seen a marked increase in the number of homes sold.

Here, in the Greater Reno-Tahoe area, home sales are still down compared to 2007; but for the past three months sales volumes have increased over the month prior. According to the most recent report by the University of Nevada, overall home sales rose in April by 23% for single family homes and almost 9% for condominiums compared to home sales in March 2008.

Market data shows that buyers are seeing existing homes as the better value at this time. Existing home sales increased by over 39% in the month of April while new home sales decreased. Sparks experienced the largest increase, with sales up by a 124%!

Prices are still trending down in many areas of Washoe County but with the number of increased sales this trend could be nearing its end. Supply and demand is the biggest factor in the downward trend; currently there is still a 12 month supply of inventory on hand.  The median sales price in Washoe County in the month of April was $299,000, the same as March 2008 but down about 9% from a year ago.

With the current trend of increasing sales, it is only a matter of time before the supply and demand issue will be balanced and prices will stabilize. I am not saying that we have reached the bottom of the market, but with the recent national and local figures, which have recently been reported, it does appear that the end of the declining market here in Washoe County and the nation may be in sight.