General Market Trend in Washoe County

For the month of January the fed has dropped the rate by a total 1.25 basis points. There are a lot of buyers out there right now, as soon as we get a break in the weather we are going to see a surge in home sales. They have had enough of the holidays, the bad weather and especially the bad news from the media. There are some very good deals out there for buyers who want to brave the weather, I was showing homes today in Arrowcreek and some of the homes had three feet of snow on the walkways. Some sectors of the Reno Market are hitting the bottom in the 250,000 range, the Northwest Suburban and Double Diamond are very good examples of that with buyers getting some good values on the same homes that were selling for 350,000 three years ago and will be there again in  a few years. These are two areas that make sense for investors looking for a single family rental property. The schools, shopping and proximity to some of our larger employers make these two areas prime spots for tenants. Visit my Reno MLS link and see what Im talking about.

Lakeridge master plan disputed

Lakeridge homeowners are appealing a Reno master plan change for the proposed 577 unit Positano project. The home owners are saying it could be built without a change allowing for much higher residential densities. They are also saying that improper procedures occurred at the Reno planning Commission meeting when some commissioners change their minds just before the vote. The big question is whether a property should be granted much greater densities than the surrounding neighborhoods rather than continue sprawl. The massive size of the project is not compatible with homes in the 900 acre Lakeridge area say the home owners. With the Lakeridge golf course, the Lakeridge Tennis club and Lakeridge apartments as immediate neighbors, the commission said the project is isolated from single family homes and is an ideal spot for a high density project. Positano is the first major controversial case heard by the commission  since August.

City of Reno gives developers a way out

The city of Reno is allowing developers to abandon their unfinished subdivisions and avoid the high cost of continuing projects that are not selling in the current slow housing market. Under the new policy approved by the council, developers must secure the vacant lots and prevent erosion, dust and other code violations on the properties, but they can walk away from finishing streets, sidewalk and other costly public improvements until the economy improves and they decide to proceed with their projects. Centex, West Haven and SilverStar Communities asked if the could stop making payments on construction surety bonds, which cover the cost of multimillion dollar public improvements.

They don�t want to finish until the market is better the city said.

When a developer wants to subdivide a tract of land, he files a map that is approved by the planning commission, before a final map is approved and construction begins, the developer must acquire water rights, pay surveyors, engineers and planners, water and sewer hook up fees, road impact fees and park construction taxes. But before construction begins the developer must post with the city a construction surety bond, the annual payments on the bonds are 1 to 1.5 percent of the cost of the improvements. Developers can avoid those annual bond payments under the new policy and their property reverts to its past acreage, bringing a much lower tax bill.

Reno has 9310 lots among its recorded subdivisions; up from 8030 in February 2006, throughout the Truckee Meadows, 15,036 unsold home lots are recorded on final maps up from 11,111 at the end of 2004.

With new home sales expected to hit 2000 this year, the inventory of recorded, unsold subdivisions lots represents about a seven year supply a normal supply is 2 to 2.5 years. As of September, 62,584 lots have been approved on final or tentative subdivision maps in the Truckee Meadows, that�s up from 45,964 in 2000 before a building boom began.

The glut of residential lots is the result of a sharp increase in building permit applications in Washoe

County that accompanied skyrocketing housing prices. Building permits for 4300 units were issued in Washoe county in1999 but by 2005, 6,458 were issued, a 50 percent increase. Through October of this year, permits for 1936 units were issued. The county said the policy could help builders who paid cash for their land and public companies that start work and now want to suspend work until the market turns around.

The policy won�t help small private builders who are financed by banks that require them to maintain their land approvals. There will be a number of builders to be foreclosed on next year and their lenders will take back entire subdivisions. We expect these subdivisions would be sold at a lower price, providing another blow to the housing market. Another hit will come when more existing homes are dumped on the market at discounted prices next year, 36 percent of existing homes on the MLS are vacant and owners and speculators can�t hold onto them forever. As a result projected home prices will drop another 5 to 10 percent next year.

There is also a prediction that when the market starts to rebound in 2009 that there will be a temporary housing shortage because the builders have maintained a relatively small inventory of homes already built. At the height of the market there were about 45 builders in this area selling homes, by the end of 2008 there will be about half that. The builders who will still be in business will have very little inventory and if the demand does increase there very well could be a shortage of homes in the spring of 2009.

For the greater Reno Sparks area about 895 subdivision homes, including models were up for sale at the end of September including 518 in Reno, according to the Center for Regional Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. The actual number of finished new homes for sale in the Reno Sparks area is probably closer to 500 units. With 110 subdivisions under construction each one averaging about five homes ready to move into, this is a low number of unsold, finished homes.

The major price cutting on new homes in Reno occurred in 2005 and prices haven�t change much since, while national home builders can discount prices most local builders can�t do that because they owe money to the bank. There is a lot of concern in the market place right now builders need the market to stabilize and give some comfort that we have reached a bottom. They are in recovery mode and a lot of buyers are sitting on the sidelines.

Senate passes FHA overhaul to help with mortgage worries

Image by robertodevido via Flickr

The senate passed legislation overhauling the Federal Housing administration on Friday to combat rising foreclosures and a broader housing crisis. Legislation would increase the size of loans the FHA is allowed to insure for first time and low income homeowners. There level would be set at the size of mortgages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowed to purchase, currently at $417,000 and referred to as the conforming loan limit. Additionally, the bill would require homeowners to make a cash investment of a least 1.5% in the value of a home, that is half what the FHA currently requires. The bill would loosen underwriting standards at the Federal Housing administration so that the program can help 200,000 trouble borrowers save their homes. The final vote was 93 in favor and 1 opposed.

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The Good News and the Bad News about the Reno Tahoe experience

It’s bad news is that the day is over, meaning that your skiing is coming to an end or your golf game is wrapping up, but the good news is that the evening is just beginning and so are your restaurant options, entertainment options, the shows, the gaming opportunities are all in front of you for the rest of the night. This is the focus of the RSCVA and their new ad campaign that will be launched in Sunset, Via, Westways, Ski, skiing and powder magazines. The Reno Renaissance is on it’s way which includes a $400 million project at the Peppermill Hotel Casino and its new Tuscany Tower. There is also the project at the Atlantis Hotel Casino that will connect that property with the Reno Sparks Convention Center with a new overhead enclosed walkway. There has been $90 million in improvements and new restaurants at the Grand Sierra Resort, and Renovations by the Silver Legacy and the new configuration in downtown at  Virginia Street that make that area more friendly to pedestrians. The feedback has been tremendous, to the opening of Cabelas near Verdi, the rebirth of downtown Reno, the plans for a triple A baseball stadium and the plans to cover parts of the ReTrac train trench and expand the area for more friendly retail development.  In Sparks there is the $475 million Sparks Marina project that will include an 800 room hotel, casino, indoor arena plus the 248,000 square foot Scheels sporting goods megastore and the themed restaurants and retail that will surround it. People who have not been in Reno Tahoe  more recently than the last five years really don’t know what is going on and with what is going to happen in the next year or two, it is gong to add that much more excitement for the Reno Tahoe marketplace.

Reno is going to come back stronger than Las Vegas

Eugenio Aleman, senior economist at Wells Fargo Bank said at the annual economic outlook sponsored by the Northern Nevada development authority, Carson Valley chamber of commerce and business council of Douglas County. People are still moving to Nevada he said, and that will continue to feed potential home buyers into the Reno and Las Vegas regions. That should support a strong recovery in the housing market Aleman told his audience of about 130 people, adding that while Reno could recover by the end of 2008, California will take longer.

Reno City Council approves truck stop ban

The Reno city council approved an ordinance banning truck stop from all but industrial areas in the city. The reason this is important is Flying J has been trying to build a truck stop on 48 acres at interstate 80 and Robb Drive in Northwest Reno, the residents in the McQueen area and Somersett have been fighting the Flying J proposed truck stop for months.  You can visit the website www.notruckstop.com for more information on this volatile issue. According to the attorneys for the Flying J they are being forced into litigation to try and get a special permit to build the truck stop. Under the new ordinance, truck stops would only be allowed in industrial districts and require a special use permit. Boomtown is asking the City to be grandfathered or exempted from the new ordinance. Stay tuned as I�m sure this will not be the end of this matter.

STOP THE TRUCKSTOP! Concerned residents of Somersett take heed!

The possibility of a truck stop near our neighborhood is REAL!  Five years ago, Flying J Truck Stops purchased a 48 acre parcel of land on the south side of the Robb Drive I-80 exit/entrance ramp.  That area is zoned LLR1 - Large Lot RESIDENTIAL 1 Acre.  It was so zoned when they purchased it.  They will need a change in zoning OR a variance to go ahead with their project.  Of note, they felt confident enough to purchase the parcel believing that an ordinance change or variance would be readily obtainable.  And, they have reportedly paid the NVDOT $1,000,000 for access rights to the I-80 exit.

The blights that tend to accompany truck stops are well known: drug dealing, prostitution, fuel spills and air pollution just to mention a few. Flying J has a history of fuel spills – the Truckee River is too valuable a resource, and too close to this site to risk going ahead with this project! Add to that the danger of accidents that trucks will create for residents of NW Reno who use this exit on a daily basis for business commutes and shopping trips to other parts of Reno.

Recent history has seen big business overcome the overwhelming desires of NW Reno residents AND the Reno City Council:  Wal-Mart and K-Mart both obtained court rulings that allowed them to build in our community.  THE DIFFERENCE?  Both Wal-Mart and K-mart sites were already zoned for commercial use.  The Robb Drive parcel in question is zoned RESIDENTIAL.  At the November 28 City Council meeting, a Flying J representative made a not-so-veiled threat of legal action against the council to attain their goal. Zoning changes and variances are a way of business in the commercial real estate world, but the fact that their property was and is zoned RESIDENTIAL should make their case that much weaker. 

Current city ordinances do not include a definition of “truck stop”, with explanation of physical plant requirements and boundary setbacks. Thus a proposed ordinance definition of “truck stop” was introduced by city planning staff, which the City Council unanimously approved in its first reading at their public meeting on November 28.  That definition requires a minimum buffer of 1/4-mile between the boundary of a truck stop and a residential neighborhood.  This 1/4-mile buffer requirement would essentially negate the possibility of a truck stop at Robb Drive.  A procedural second reading and vote is on the City Council meeting agenda for December 12.  In the meantime, it is safe to assume that Flying J representatives are doing whatever they can do to ultimately get their truck stop approved.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

�         Log onto www.notruckstop.com and check out the links and resources to information on this issue.  This site was built and is maintained by a concerned resident of NW Reno.  It is full of pertinent information and useful links. Tell your neighbors about it!

�         Write to the city council NOW. Tell them you are: In favor of the proposed ordinance definition of a truck stop (with 1/4 mile buffer zones as cited above); and against a truck stop at Robb Drive & I-80. The above website has a link to their addresses.

�         Attend the next Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB) meeting, Thursday January 17th at 6:00 pm, at the Fire Station on Mae Anne and Sharlands. Flying J will review their truck stop proposal. 

�         Check out the City of Reno website, www.cityofreno.com, for links to detailed information, such as city ordinances, City Council meetings and agendas � and meet your city council members. 

If you have any questions, I can try to answer them.  Email bypollard@aol.com, or call at 473-2872.

Bill Pollard – Somersett Resident