Real Estate Forecast, Anyone? (Reno: for sale, 2013, foreclosures)

[tenortodd]

So my wife and I have the choice of trying to move to Reno this summer or next summer...

We're both school teachers in a high-need area, so we don't think we'll have a problem securing jobs up front.

Waiting until summer 2013 would give us a lot more time to prepare for the move, save up more for a downpayment on a home, and give us time to visit Reno twice, instead of once.

The thing is: we can afford a NICE house in Reno right now, because of the market (we're looking in the $150-200k range). We've seen a lot that we really like...

If anyone is in real estate, or knows much about it, do you think that the market will be worse next summer, the same, or better?

We'd really like to move now, but it looks like waiting another year will be better for us...

Thanks!

[onebigdummy]

Prices seem to be still going down.

[Plarboon]

We were just out there about a month ago to find ourselves a house. There are probably a couple things you should keep in mind. On those online websites like realtor.com, when you are looking for a house, make sure the status says only "Active" or "New". If they say "Active/Pending" just forget about that house. When we first were making our list of houses to see, I wasn't paying attention to the status and just figured if they didn't say sold then they were still for sale.... but "Active/Pending" (short sale or loan) means it's sold unless it falls through somehow, annoying that they keep them posted up there. Just thought I'd mention that because it knocked our list of about 50+ homes down to about 6 when I realized that. There is actually a bit of inventory problem right now so prices will probably not drop so much, they actually seem to be going up a bit. Seems like a great majority of homes for sale right now are short sales (at least in our price range it was $100-150), so keep that in mind. Short sales will take at least 3 months till you can move in, possibly longer, so if you plan on moving in the summer of 2013 you probably should think about looking for your house in winter/spring of 2013 if you want maximum selection. Although the timeline is so iffy for short sales, maybe you will want to stay away from them since you are teachers and I'm guessing -must- move during summer... That will most likely shrink your choices if you have to stick to regular sales. I think all of the ones on our list of 6 were short sales.... and they don't always tell you that on the websites, if it doesn't say if it's a regular or short sale, It's more likely a short sale because they like to boast about it if it's a regular sale. It's also a buyers market still so the good homes go fast. Over all I predict the market to be about the same or a little worse next year.

[tenortodd]

Thanks everyone. We've been looking on Trulia. Our plan, if we come in 2013, is to secure jobs in the spring, then come out EARLY summer to look and hopefully buy a house. Then we could move anytime during the summer months.

[mamacatnv]

I am in the process of selling my house.
I do not think the market has hit bottom yet and here is why.

The state has made it difficult for lenders to file notices of default which is the first step towards foreclosure,
The state has mandated some sort of original document requirement that is slowing things down. The result is that even though the unemployment numbers continue to get worse, more and more people are exhausting their unemployment benefits and more and more are not making their house payments the lack of foreclosures is not an indicator that the market is getting better.

Right now, due to the lack of foreclosures there is a shortage of homes in the under $150K range but its a false sense of shortage.

Due to the extensive hoops the state is requiring the lenders are not filing as many foreclosures.

When the lenders get this sorted out and figure out how to jump through the new hoops, I believe we will once again see a market get inundated with foreclosures and the housing prices will continue to plummet.

[onebigdummy]

^^^ definitely agree with this. that recent AB bill is going to be a killer