Louise Simpson
Greetings,
I was born in South Africa, and moved to Nevada over 30 years ago. I have resided in the Reno area for the past 25 years, living the past 20 years in Galena Forest Estates, much of it with my three lovely sons. I have been involved with the Montrêux Real Estate Group since its inception in the early 90's, and was previously the marketing director of the Montrêux Development Group the past eight years. Having known the area for so long, and believing I could help share the Montrêux area with others, I chose to begin selling homes with Dickson Realty, the broker of record at Montreux and one of the most professional real estate companies in the greater Reno, Nevada area.
I am happy were I am and would love to help you find a quality, yet affordable home or piece of real estate in Reno or the Montrêux area. Reno living, with its outdoor lifestyle, fresh air, proximity to Lake Tahoe and the Sierras, not to mention Nevada's tax friendly attitude to businesses, make the area one of the best-kept secrets in the United States. Additionally, Montrêux has spared nothing in its goal to make it the best place to live in town, since quality of life usually takes precedence over everything else.
Please feel free to contact me for a relaxed, no-pressure meeting if you are interested in buying or selling a home in the Reno, Nevada area. I look forward to meeting anyone interested in real estate opportunities, even if you're uncertain about buying a home. I will listen to your needs and work diligently to find you a home, or steer you in the right home-buying direction otherwise. Please call or email me if you have any questions - I really believe I can make a difference in your search for finding or selling a home.
Ms. Louise Natalie Simpson
P.S. If you'd like to see a video about Montreux, please see the following clips: YouTube
Listings of Louise Simpson
Rents Surge in Reno
Rents in the Reno-Sparks area have once again in the fifth quarter in a row increased. The average rent for an apartment reached $1,6o7 during the second quarter of this year, a record-breaking trend that has continued since the second quarter of 2020. Due to the strong demands of renters who are already struggling to find affordable homes in this market, this is bad news. The single family home in the Reno-Sparks area remain at a record high of $530,000 in September, according to the Reno/Sparks Association of realtors. I personally have seen some leveling out in the past couple of months but it still remains a sellers market if the home is not overpriced.
Most of the new renters, about 40% are coming from the California area. Mainly to get away from California and Reno being more affordable. Vacancies are below 1% in 3 areas in Reno. The Northeast, Southwest and West Reno.
“Just over 4,000 apartment unites are currently under construction in the Reno – sparks market, with over 5,900 unites in the planning stages,” the Johnson Perkins Griffin report said. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is likely that development of planned unites will be delayed in the short term, until the ultimate impact of the pandemic is know.”
The big question is to buy or not to buy? Where in the past if something came on the market it would virtually disappear right away and there would be multiple offers on the table. People where not doing inspections and willing to pay above appraisal value. However today inventory is slightly higher but not as intense as it used to be and not as many multiple offers on the table. It might be a good time now for buyers to once again start looking. Interest rates a still low, however there is talk that in the near future they will be going up. Inflation could become a concern as the costs of goods and gas continue to increase, the Feds might raise interest rates to counter act this.
I have seen homes in the luxury market sitting longer than usual on the market. I do believe this is due to the fact that many are over priced and due to the holidays sales will decline a little,however in the New Year will once again surge… what with Nevada being a tax friendly state and our incredible outdoor life we have here.
Reno Commercial Real Estate Comeback
During our recent downturn , the recession also affected the commercial real estate in Reno. Industrial, office, and retail were not immune to what is called today the worst recession in Nevada’s history. The good news is that with Northern Nevada seeing increased economic activity, including the arrival of some high-profile companies, commercial real estate in the region is seeing a rising tide effect, according to industry watchers.
Some of the companies that once existed are no longer around anymore, like Circuit City and Good Guys. Vacancy for retail in Reno-Sparks peaked at 17.3 percent in the first quarter of 2013, according to commercial real estate service firm CBRE Inc. Since then, the vacancy rate has gone down to 12 percent in the first quarter of this year. A vacancy rate of 7 percent to 8 percent is typically considered healthy for retail. Reno’s Central/Airport market, which includes the surrounding areas of Reno-Tahoe International Airport, continues to post the highest vacancy rates in the area at 24.2 percent.
Since last year we have already exceeded the retail market with a strong first quarter in 2016 with a net absorption or available space that has been filled, totaling 192,188 square feet, according to CBRE’s latest quarterly retail report. Retail also posted one of the biggest job gains for the state in March, helping lower the state’s jobless rate to 5.8 percent for the month, according to the Department of Training, Employment and Rehabilitation. Due to an overabundance of supply the construction of new commercial property is still stagnant, however there is a demand for improvement to existing centers such as the 19,500 square-foot expansion at the Outlets at Sparks, also known as the Legends at Sparks Marina.
It is the Industrial segment that has really boomed in Northern Nevada. What with Telsa Giga-factory and Switch’s Super NAP-the world’s largest data center once finished, as well as the news that Rackspace is looking at our area, has given our area a much needed boost on the technology side as well as some corporate cred. Dermody Properties, for example, has broken new ground on its LogistiCenter I-80 West speculative project at the Boomtown area just behind Cabela’s. The 800,000-square-foot project will feature four buildings and focus on tenants ranging from 30,000 to 200,000 square feet, said Eric Bennett, first vice president at CBRE. “This will be the first speculative project built in west Reno to take advantage of the mature labor market in northwest Reno and the close proximity to California,” Bennett said. Distribution accounted for 70 percent of all transactions in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Colliers International. “At the end of the day, it’s packers and pickers,” said Greg Shutt, a vice president with Colliers International. “It’s logistics.” Bennett also pointed to sizable expansions such as ITS Logistics’ 625,500-square-foot facility and pet item supplier Chewy.com’s 566,600-square-foot facility, with several more announcements expected during the second quarter.
Office space has been relatively flat in 2016. Rents have been rising for the last two years consistently and it will probably take another two and a half years for a healthy market to emerge. The three dominant markets for office in the area are downtown, Meadowood and South Meadows, each with their own niche tenants from related industries, said Tim Ruffin. ( Executive vice president at Colliers International)
Looking ahead, the trends look positive for the area, commercial real estate watchers agreed. Reno-Tahoe International Airport added several new flights and routes while also posting its first passenger growth in a decade in addition to record cargo hauls. Nevada also was the No. 2 most popular destination for movers in the West according to United Van Lines’ 2015 National Movers Study.
For Northern Nevada, a big part of it involves the national attention gained from big economic development wins such as the Gigafactory, Ruffin said.
“The whole perception of investing in Reno has changed,” Ruffin said. “The expectations from Tesla haven’t materialized yet but investors are coming in because of the perception.”
Reno Home Prices rise 20% in April
Industry analyst Brian Bonnenfant said he’s “definitely” seeing real recovery in the region’s long suffering housing sector. April home prices jumped more than 20 percent compared with last year in the Reno/Sparks market, according to a report. Once again we believe this is true due to the inventory of for-sale homes being so limited. As a result this has also affected New home sales. About 300 new homes were sold, a 150 percent increase, compared to the first quarter of 2012, said Bourdeau, who is a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty Group One.
As a result of what is happening to the market in the Reno/Sparks area, we have seen a drop in the unemployment to fall below 10%, down from 14% during the recession. Washoe County’s taxable sales have also increased for three consecutive months in Nevada. We also had the highest home appreciation in the nation at 24.5 percent.
In little more than 2 years, Washoe’s median sales price has risen more than 60 percent from its recession low of $135,000 in January 2012, but it is still well below the pre-recession high of $350,000 in the third quarter of 2005. Today the median sales price of a home is $222,000 in the Reno area. Washoe median sales price is $218,000 and Sparks is $195,000. Many buyers now have higher qualifications guidelines and we are seeing tons of cash where last time there were a lot of people who really should’t have been buying.
With low inventory of homes for sale and a growing buyers market we expect to continue this trend. This might be the right time for sellers to consider listing their homes. In Montreux we are seeing lots once again selling to buyers who cannot find a luxury home that suites them and are choosing to build their dream home. Our inventory is so low with only 15 homes on the market at present.
Reno housing market has fewer homes underwater.
For the first time the Reno’s housing market has joined the growing list across the country of metropolitan areas recovering from one of the worst housing crises in decades. It continued to show improvement in January. Reno has seen a 4.7 percent growth in building permits since its low in June 2009, a 12.3 percent increase in home prices since February 2012 and a 3.3 percent improvement in employment since February 2012. All good sign’s that we are once again moving towards a healthier market.
A limited sales inventory of existing homes – has increased the median sale price, according to the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors February report. In January 2012 the median home price was $135,000, today it has jumped to $182.500. It has also been noted that over 4,000 new Reno/Sparks homeowners no longer had “underwater” attached to their homes during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a report released Tuesday by analytic firm Corelogic. Negative equity, also known as being “underwater” or “upside down, means that the homeowner owes more than their home than it is worth.
Nevada’s state attorney general and the head of a Las Vegas nonprofit consumer counseling agency unveiled a program and an advertising campaign on Monday aimed at giving distressed homeowners facing foreclosure a free one-stop place to seek counseling, referrals and legal support. This program is to help those residents facing foreclosure or have lost their homes, as well as those seeking loan modifications or who are current but underwater on their home loans. It will also help people who are working toward home ownership. Money for the Home Again program comes from $57 million Nevada received from five of the nation’s largest banks as part of a national foreclosure settlement last February.
Real Estate in Northern Nevada Looks more Positive in 2013
Residential real estate is improving and builders’ forecast looks more positive. After 5 years of almost no construction more buildings are now going up in the Reno/Sparks area. With more demand for new homes expected in 2013 residential real estate experts are more hopeful that perhaps we have hit bottom and that we are turning around to a more positive future. With limited existing homes and a low inventory on the market, builders are seriously considering once again to start building more homes is our area.
The area saw a 65% increase in new home sales in 2012. Spanish Springs, south Reno and north west Reno showed the most construction activity in 2012 and that trend is expected to continue this year, with an estimated of 925 new homes sales and 950 permits. In Montreux alone we have approximately 7 new homes being built at present, with 23 home sales in 2012, up from 2011, and only 26 homes on the market at present, we are in a situation were inventory is low and demand is up.
Nevada had the second-highest home foreclosure rate in the nation last year, but in the longer term, the state’s is now showing improvement. For the first time in 5 years Nevada is not at the top in terms of foreclosure filings, taking second place behind Florida. This was reported in tracker RealtyTrac 2012 report. Additionally, Nevada’s rate reflects a 56.5% decline from 2011 and more than 70 percent drop from 2010.
The commercial real estate market is likely to see a slower recovery as no new construction is expected with the excess of inventory already in the Reno/Sparks market. They predict it will continue to be slow but steady.
Governor Brian Sandoval believes the table has turned and there is light at the end of the tunnel for Nevada. With unemployment lower than it has been in over three years and falling faster than almost every other state in the nation. With Education taking budget priority. $300 million, will be allotted to three areas – K-12 education, higher education and the Department of Health and Human Services. There is no doubt in my mind that Nevada is still a great place to live!
Arrowcreek, Galena, Montreux, Saddlehorn and Scotch Pines Real estate
I had the pleasure last weekend to take out 2 clients to show them property in the Arrowcreek, Galena Forest, Scotch Pine, Saddlehorn and Montreux areas. We saw at least 30 homes and about 6 lots.
ArrowCreek has some incredible buys with a few foreclosures and a number of Short Sales. Lots have great views of down town Reno. 29 Rabbit Brush Ct. is a FORECLOSURE, 5,288 sqft, $683,000 and lovely views of the mountains, a great deal…I loved 1055 Indian Summer Court, modern, simple and great views of down town as well as a great price, this home is a short sale. There are many more, so feel free to contact me and I will send you a list.
Saddlehorn is one of my most favorite places in Reno, family friendly with lots of hiking trails and one that connects to the Whites Creek trail as well. We saw at least 4 homes there ranging in price from $500 to $900 thousand. 4195 Wild Quail Court, $4,542 sq ft $850,000 was one of my favorites.
Moving up to the Montreux Golf and Country Club area, we saw numerous lots, good prices and a number of nice homes in Montreux. One cottage 6365 Wetzel Court, 2,259 sq ft is going up for auction at Montreux on January 25 at 10.30 am. Opening bid is $50,000
The one home in Galena Forest Estates on 145 Twinberry Circle is fantastic, must be a 2nd home as it looks brand new and is furnished so tastefully, I would include the furniture in what ever I offered for the home… 3,800 sq feet, asking price $799,000. Another beautiful home in Galena is 1670 Green Ash Rd, 7,166 sqft, $1,700,000 1.67 acres and a 4 car garage, single story and HOA fees are only$17 per month.
Scotch Pines has great lots forsale and the one home on 102 W Jeffrey Pine Road, which is a FORECLOSURE, is lovely however needs some work, quite modern inside, simple and views of down town. Then there is 208 N Big Sage Lane 4,505 on 1 acres for $1,250,000. This home feels like you are one with nature as the outside flows into the home with its large windows and forested setting. All in all it was a great weekend and I had a happy more educated client at the end of the 3 days.
If you or anyone you may know have real estate questions or inquiries in the Montreux, Galena Forest, ArrowCreek, Saddlehorn, St. James or Scotch Pines areas, please contact Louise Simpson by email at louise@montreuxgolf.com or by cell at (775) -750-1901.
