Market Report Commentary

Absorption Months Supply of Inventory (Unsold Inventory ÷ Sales per Month)
– As of April 30th, there was 7.8 months of unsold inventory based on the April sales rate.
– Historical Months Supply of Inventory show that April MSI is up 1.4 months from March and up one month from
April 2010.
– In the past twelve months, there have been four months which have fallen into what is defined as a balanced
market. In the past 24 months, the market has remained as primarily a buyer’s market.
– The National Association of REALTORS® describes a balanced market as between 5 and 7 months supply.
– Unsold inventory includes Active Pendings. This method of reporting months supply of inventory follows the
industry standard of including all pending sales remaining in active status in the active inventory

Conclusion
– We continue to compare this April, with the market performing on its own, to last April’s Median Sales Price which
was influenced by the First Time Homebuyer tax credit. Looking at the period mid-2005 through March 2009, it’s
encouraging that we have not seen the rapid decline in pricing, but from that period forward there continues to be
some settling in pricing.
– April 2011 median home price of $155,000 is the lowest the Reno area has seen since 2000.
– April 2011 unit sales, although down from the prior month and the prior year, is still performing at near record
levels.
– Year-to-date 2011 sales are 13 sales ahead of 2010.
– In April, the “Bank-owned” sales category held the dominant share of the market with 40% of the closings.
– The affordability door is open to a wider range of buyers. This means that a two-income, household earning
approximately $10 per hour each, can now afford the median priced home in the Reno/Sparks area.
– Closed sales numbers in April set a near record as being fifth best April for single family sales number in history.
– Mortgage rates are at historic lows. Rates are predicted to move up before year end. For those with stable jobs
and who expect to stay in their home long-term, it’s an excellent time to buy.
– Inflation is hitting consumer pocket books in the form of increased gas and food prices. Fuel costs may have a
greater impact on the rural areas surrounding the Reno/Sparks market, including the Fernley market, as
consumers consider the cost to commute.
– The number #1 Job for Nevada is jobs!
– The Detailed Report is made available to members as a member benefit.

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Prepared by:
CITY OF RENO
Community Development Department

INTRODUCTION

Plan Organization

The Mill Street Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Corridor Plan is divided into two sections: Corridor Plan and Station Area Plans. The Corridor Plan describes the boundary, time frame, relationship to other plans and identifies policies for development within this TOD. The development concept, circulation, land use, and zoning that apply to the parcels are included in the plan for each station area. Development standards and processing provisions are included in the Reno Municipal Code.

Boundary

The Mill Street TOD Corridor area is shown below. In conformance with the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, the Mill Street TOD Corridor is generally located ¼ mile on each side of the route beginning at the Washoe Medical Regional Center. From that point the corridor travels east on Mill Street to Terminal Way and then south on Terminal Way to the Reno-Tahoe International Airport Regional Center. The adjacent regional center plans include all station areas in the TOD corridor except one. The Station not included in one of the adjacent regional centers is River Landing at Mill Street.

West and north of the plan area lays the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. This area has
established land uses and proposed land development under the Colony’s jurisdiction,
hence residential adjacency standards are included to provide appropriate transition
between uses. This will maintain separation between the lower density housing on the
Colony and the high density housing proposed by the plan.

Time Frame

The planning horizon for development and redevelopment of this area is twenty years.

Relationship to Other Plans

This plan is an element of the City of Reno Master Plan prepared in accordance with
Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS 278.150 through 278.170).
Policies of the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan are applicable region wide. The Reno
Master Plan has three different levels of applicability: Citywide, Center and Corridor,
and Neighborhood. Citywide plans include the Land Use Plan and other plans that
apply to the entire City and its sphere of influence. Center and Corridor plans are for
the nine centers and five transit oriented development corridors in the City and its’
sphere of influence. Neighborhood plans cover other areas, not in centers or corridors,
which have been designated as appropriate for more detailed planning. Policies in
center, corridor and neighborhood plans elaborate, with greater detail, upon general
policies contained in the citywide and regional plans. Center, corridor and
neighborhood plans must conform with and not be in conflict with policy direction of the
citywide plans and the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan. Similarly, appropriate
municipal code provisions (e.g., zoning, development standards and processing
requirements) must be consistent with these plans.
Outside of centers, corridors are comprised of a series of station areas, or activity
station areas, and the links between them. Each transit corridor plan is comprised of a
series of station area plans. Transit corridors contain land use, circulation, density, and
general design standards. As new station area plans are prepared, they are added to
the appropriate transit corridor plan.

Continued Tuesday 5/3/2011

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/f3c66d0c6457c1e1862570af000cb13b/2e9f4eff6a46d88486257864004c4811?OpenDocument

An improving economy has helped more home owners stay current on their mortgages and banks’ willingness to do more loan modifications have all helped to slightly drop the number of distressed homes, says Sam Khater, CoreLogic senior economist.

The U.S. had 1.8 million distressed homes in January that had yet to be listed for sale — that’s down slightly from 2 million homes in January 2010, market researcher CoreLogic reports.

Experts predict that number will continue to drop as the economy improves.

This “shadow” inventory includes homes that are more than 90 days delinquent on the mortgage, are in the foreclosure process, or are already bank owned, according to CoreLogic.

The states with the highest shadow inventory are New Jersey, Illinois, and Maryland, where it’s estimated it will take 21 months (nearly 2 years) to sell the homes that are 90 days or more delinquent, CoreLogic reports.

Source: “Number of Unlisted ‘Shadow’ Homes Dip,” USA Today (March 31, 2011)

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

The 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated Japan last week sent a ripple through the U.S. mortgage markets causing interest rates to lower this week.

“With the crisis in Japan, investors rushed to buy the security of U.S. Treasury bonds, which lowered its yields and other interest rates as well,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This allowed fixed mortgage rates to drift lower this week.”

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped below 4 percent this week, reaching its lowest level since December 2010. The 15-year mortgage rate averaged 3.97 percent this week, compared to last week’s 4.15 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate survey.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage also dropped this week, averaging 4.76 percent compared to last week’s 4.88 percent. Last year at this time, 30-year mortgages averaged 4.96 percent.

The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage also inched downward, averaging 3.57 percent compared to last week’s 3.73 percent.

Source: “30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Drops Amid Japan Crisis,” Freddie Mac (March 17, 2011)

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Nearly 70 percent of buyers and sellers say they believe the housing market and property values will recover in the next year or two, according to a new survey by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services Inc.

What’s more, 86 percent of the more than 1,000 buyers and sellers surveyed believe real estate is still a good investment despite the souring market conditions in many areas the past few years.

Those surveyed said they also are ready to buy: Six in 10 respondents say they are more interested in buying real estate and 59 percent say they are optimistic about buying now with recent momentum from the economic recovery. They also believe they can get a better deal now because of lower prices.

But many survey respondents said that buying a home relies on them being able to sell their existing home. About 67 percent respondent said they are concerned about getting a fair price for their existing home.

“This survey clearly demonstrates that Americans continue to be optimistic about the real estate market and believe that home prices will rise,” says James Mallozzi, chief executive officer of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services. “A key take away from the survey is although consumers recognize that it is a good time to buy, they are concerned about their ability to sell their homes. This is one of the reasons the market is still struggling to recover.”

Source: “Americans Confident in Recovery of Real Estate Market,” RISMedia (March 14, 2011)

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates (price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Summary:
– “The year has started on the right foot with a continued lateral trend in year-over-year median sales price,” said Sherrie Cartinella,
2011 president of Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS and a REALTOR with Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate. “With a less
volatile price movement, both buyers and sellers can anticipate and plan appropriately with a sense of stabilization in the market.
We experienced the second highest number of unit sales for the month of January in the past decade. Although it was a drop in
sales month over month, we can attribute the drop in numbers to the fact that many buyers rushed to purchase a home in
December for the tax implications. It is fairly normal to see month-over-month decrease in unit sales from December to January.”

Median Sales Price
– January 2011 median price was down 3.1% to $159,950 compared to $165,000 in December 2010.
– The median sales price has remained relatively stable for the past twenty months.
– Median price is defined as the mid-point, half of the sales for the time frame are below and half are above.

Number of Units Sold
– This January’s unit sales are the second highest January in the past decade.
– January ended the month with 350 sold transactions, down 26.5% from the prior month.
– Sales were up 1.2% over the same period last year.
– We have continued to see an increase in January year-over-year sales for the fourth consecutive January.

Average Days on Market
– The average days on market are 151 days, up 4.8% from December 2010.

Sold-to-asking-price Ratio
– January reported sales received an average of 96.6% of the seller’s final asking price.

Conclusion
– Mortgage rates, although inching up, remain at historic low rates. Recent rate increases from 4.5% on a 30 year fixed to 5.0%
should be an incentive to move buyers from just thinking about buying in today’s market to getting off the fence and doing it. The
impact of an increase in interest rates is about $60 per month on a $200,000 mortgage. Current predictions are for rates to inch up
this year.
– Median home prices ended the year at a new low – down $7,050 from last January and at 2000 – 2001 prices.
– The size of the active inventory in January, net of any pending sales, remained virtually the same as December with 1,966 single
family homes available for sale in the greater Reno/Sparks area.
– Closed sales numbers in January set records as being the second highest January sales number in the past decade.
– The mix of closed sales in January has shifted again with a 9 percentage point increase in the number of Short Sales over
December to 39% at the expense of the No Special Conditions and Bank Owned categories.
– The fact that so much of our inventory consists of homes for sale by distressed sellers is a short version summary of our market.
The employment picture is the key to shutting off the supply of new distressed listings entering our market each month.

reprinted with permission by the Reno/Sparks Association of REALTORS®.”

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2011/01/phs_continue

Image via Wikipedia

Pending home sales improved further in December, marking the fifth gain in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, increased 2.0 percent to 93.7 based on contracts signed in December from a downwardly revised 91.9 in November. The index is 4.2 percent below the 97.8 mark in December 2009. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, credits good affordability conditions and economic improvement. “Modest gains in the labor market and the improving economy are creating a more favorable backdrop for buyers, allowing them to take advantage of excellent housing affordability conditions. Mortgage rates should rise only modestly in the months ahead, so we’ll continue to see a favorable environment for buyers with good credit,” he said “In the past two years, home buyers have been very successful, with super-low loan default rates, partly because of stable home prices during that time. That trend is likely to continue in 2011 as long as there is sufficient demand to absorb inventory,” Yun said. “The latest pending sales gain suggests activity is very close to a sustainable, healthy volume of a mid-5 million total annual home sales. However, sales above 6 million, as occurred during the bubble years, is highly unlikely this year.”

The PHSI in the Northeast increased 1.8 percent to 73.9 in December but is 5.3 percent below December 2009. In the Midwest the index rose 8.0 percent in December to 84.6 but is 5.1 percent below a year ago. Pending home sales in the South jumped 11.5 percent to an index of 101.9 and are 1.7 percent above December 2009. In the West the index fell 13.2 percent to 105.8 and is 10.7 percent below a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

# # #

*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales; it coincides with a level that is historically healthy.

NOTE: Existing-home sales for January will be reported February 23 along with revisions for the past three years, and the next Pending Home Sales Index will be released February 28. Fourth quarter metro area home prices and state home sales will be published February 10; release times are 10:00 a.m. EST.

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my blog titled  “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Sheila Bair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp chair, called for a new commission that would compensate home owners who have lost their homes to foreclosure because of mistakes lenders made.

She suggested the claim’s commission be modeled after ones created to compensate victims of the BP oil spill and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Her plea for a commission is to address accusations in recent months that banks have taken illegal shortcuts in foreclosure proceedings and “robo-signing” hundreds of unread foreclosure documents a day.

“Every time servicers have delayed needed changes to minimize their short-term costs, they have seen a deepening of the crisis that has cost them — and the rest of us — even more,” Bair said at a Mortgage Bankers Association event.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney. For a free copy of my blog titled  “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures.

Source: “FDIC’s Blair Calls for Foreclosure Claims Commission,” Reuters News (Jan. 19, 2011)

Existing-home sales rose sharply in December, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of REALTORS^®.

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 12.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December from an upwardly revised 4.70 million in November, but remain 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said sales are on an uptrend. “December was a good finish to 2010, when sales fluctuate more than normal. The pattern over the past six months is clearly showing a recovery,” he said. “The December pace is near the volume we’re expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level. The recovery will likely continue as job growth gains momentum and rising rents encourage more renters into ownership while exceptional affordability conditions remain.”

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $168,800 in December, which is 1.0 percent below December 2009. Distressed homes rose to a 36 percent market share in December from 33 percent in November, and 32 percent in December 2009.

“The modest rise in distressed sales, which typically are discounted 10 to 15 percent relative to traditional homes, dampened the median price in December, but the flat price trend continues,” Yun explained.

Inventory Levels
Total housing inventory at the end of December fell 4.2 percent to 3.56 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 9.5-month supply in November.

NAR President Ron Phipps said buyers are responding to very good affordability conditions despite tight mortgage credit. “Historically low mortgage interest rates, stable home prices, and pent-up demand are drawing home buyers into the market,” Phipps said. “Recent home buyers have been successful with very low default rates, given the outstanding performance for loans originated in 2009 and 2010.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.71 percent in December from 4.30 percent in November; the rate was 4.93 percent in December 2009.

Transaction Types
A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 33 percent of homes in December, up from 32 percent in November, but are below a 43 percent share in December 2009.

Investors accounted for 20 percent of transactions in December, up from 19 percent in November and 15 percent in December 2009; the balance of sales were to repeat buyers. All-cash sales were at 29 percent in December, compared with 31 percent in November, but up from 22 percent a year ago. “All-cash sales have been consistently high at about 30 percent of the market over the past six months,” Yun said.

Single-family home sales jumped 11.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.64 million in December from 4.15 million in November, but are 2.5 percent below the 4.76 million level in December 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $169,300 in December, down 0.2 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales surged 16.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000 in December from 550,000 in November, but remain 5.2 percent below the 675,000-unit pace one year ago. The median existing condo price was $165,000 in December, which is 7.4 percent below December 2009.

Performance by Region
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 13.0 percent to an annual pace of 870,000 in December but are 5.4 percent below December 2009. The median price in the Northeast was $237,300, which is 1.4 percent below a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 11.0 percent in December to a level of 1.11 million but are 4.3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $139,700, up 3.3 percent from December 2009.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 10.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.97 million in December but are 2.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the South was $148,400, unchanged from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West surged 16.7 percent to an annual level of 1.33 million in December but remain 1.5 percent below December 2009. The median price in the West was $204,000, down 5.6 percent from a year ago.

NAR

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011012001?OpenDocument

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney. For a free copy of my blog titled  “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures.

http://rismedia.com/lowes/8355/12117

RISMEDIA, January 13, 2011—As leisure travel continues to rebound, owners of vacation rentals are expressing optimism about their bookings in 2011.

In fact, HomeAway, a leading online vacation rental marketplace, finds in its latest “HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Report” that eight of 10 vacation rental owners anticipate their rental business this year will be stronger or about the same as it was in 2010.

The year is already off to a good start for some owners. According to HomeAway’s seventh quarterly report, about 60 percent of vacation rental owners say their bookings for the first quarter of the year (January through March) are about the same or higher than the same time period last year.

The HomeAway report also found that a majority (59 percent) of vacation rental owners will keep their 2010 rental rates in place this year – good news for travelers looking to stretch their travel dollar in 2011. About 10 percent will decrease their rental rates from last year, and approximately 31 percent expect to increase their rates.

While rates look to be consistent in 2011, vacation rental inventory continues to grow. For the sixth consecutive quarter, Austin makes the list of the top 10 fastest-growing cities for vacation rental listings. Last year’s list, comprised of three markets in California (Carnelian Bay, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills), three ski towns (Estes, Colo.; Truckee and Carnelian Bay, Calif.) and two lake destinations (Canyon Lake, Texas; Lake Norman, Illinois) is a change from this year’s list that featured beaches and less traditional vacation rental destinations.

In addition to a greater selection of vacation rentals, travelers also will benefit from owners’ efforts to improve their properties and the experience that travelers have while staying in them. The report found that 59 percent of vacation rental owners are planning an upgrade to their homes in 2011.

Of those owners who say they’ll embark on an improvement project:
• 41 percent plan to paint the interior of their vacation home
• 29 percent will add new bedding
• 23 percent will update the home’s exterior (landscaping, roofing, painting, etc.)
• 21 percent will add new electronics
• 17 percent will add new furniture
• 11 percent will upgrade the appliances
• 9 percent will make their vacation rental more energy efficient

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com or  http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney. For a free copy of my blog titled  “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page