Welcome to the ArrowCreek monthly property value update for a High Desert, Semi-Rural community that happens to contain a PRIVATE Golf Course. Participation in the private golf club is purely optional for all interested parties. The financial diversity within the ArrowCreek community was put in place by the designer of the community and the county in 1997. It consists of 506 semi-custom homes, typically for middle and upper middle-income individuals, and 578 custom home sites, typically for upper middle and high net worth individuals, of which 435 custom homes have or are being built. As an observer can see, we are a very financially diverse community. This report contains the data that was available on 26 April from the Washoe County Assessor’s Records.

The vagaries of the housing market have caught up with the ArrowCreek community. Four (4) properties changed owners during this reporting period. This is a slight decrease from the previous months. Custom homes not on the Golf Course (Non-Residential area) now exhibit a 15% premium to custom homes on the course. In the meantime, Semi-Custom homes not on the course are virtually identical, price wise, to those abutting the course. In addition, ArrowCreek semi-custom homes are 11.6% more expensive than those in Reno. This, of course, leads to the question of ‘What are the value propositions for ArrowCreek properties?’ Key ‘take-aways’ of these ‘facts’ are that the views, security and outstanding schools available to ArrowCreek residents and ArrowCreek owners have the option to join ‘The Club at ArrowCreek’ or not to join – an individual choice of freedom versus other gated communities adds to the value of our homes.

ArrowCreek Home Owner Association (ACHOA) initiatives are underway to enhance sales and values (a most positive step). The initiatives include a Landscape Committee, which is looking into improving the water quality around our parkway to enhance the ‘greening’ of plantings, and a 2020 update to the ACHOA Strategic Plan. These initiatives are intended to enhance and maintain ArrowCreek as a premier people and family-oriented community collocated with a private golf club, identified as a Non-Residential area in the governing documents.

Since April of 2019 and over the past twelve (12) months:

1. ArrowCreek properties have stayed in the premium class within Washoe and Douglas Counties. As you read this report, you will see that home prices reached an inflection point last November and December (2019) with homes not abutting the golf course becoming more valuable than homes on the golf course. This also began a trend where ArrowCreek homes established a ‘floor’ of $290 per square-foot to grow from. With only four homes changing hands this past month, there isn’t a ‘hottest’ neighborhood.

On with THE FACTS:

a.) Four (4) properties were recorded sold in ArrowCreek between 18 March and 9 April (per the Washoe County Assessor, who appears to be current in closed sales). This brings the total number of properties transferred over the past rolling year to 69 or 6.4% turnover rate for our community. This remains a low rate, in the single digits, that may be attributed to a general satisfaction with living in our gated community and/or a positive perspective on our amenities and an emphasis on the secure stable environment offered within ArrowCreek. Additionally, we may be faced with a slowing economy as the spring buying season commences with shelter in place governmental restrictions mandated due to the threat posed by the Covid-19 virus.

b.) One (1) property on the golf course (where the property boundaries actually touch the golf course, not just have a ‘view’ of it) was closed during this reporting period. The rolling average selling price for homes on the golf course now stands at $303.13 per square foot. Based upon the statistical rolling average calculation the price per square foot increased by $6.90. The 12-month rolling average sales price increased to $1,330,030.00, again based upon statistical methods. The rolling average selling price for undeveloped property on the golf course still stands at $270,076.19 per acre.

c.) Three (3) properties were sold that are not connected to the golf course. The rolling average selling price for off-course homes increased to $309.93 per square foot, which is up by $3.79 per square foot. The twelve-month rolling average sales price for non-golf course homes increased to $1,241,499.00. The rolling 12-month average selling price for vacant land, not on the golf course, stands 2.5% below vacant golf course property at $263,415.35 per acre.

d.) The figure below shows the value trends over the past twelve months with the vertical scale being the cost per-square-foot.

2. Spring is here and the housing market is showing signs of life. For those desiring a secure, safe environment to raise a family, ArrowCreek should not be over-looked.

Do keep in mind that everyone’s selling price is based upon his or her own set of circumstances and the above picture is hindsight, not necessarily foresight. From the sheer volume of property transfers during this reporting period it is clear that the demand for a secure property environment is strong. A balanced marketing approach focused on our amenities should go a long way toward creating a better environment for all homeowners and buyers.

Continuing with the commentary from previous months: the author received queries about Semi-Custom and Custom homes both on and off the golf course and their relative selling priceswith respect to those found in Reno and Sparks. The following chart portrays the trend lines for Custom and Semi-Custom homes within this broader community. In the chart it can be observed that the home sales outside of ArrowCreek definitely tended down in price over this past month, while those in ArrowCreek held a more positive position. It can also be observed that semi-custom homes in ArrowCreek have virtually the same value regardless of whether they are on the golf course or not. Meanwhile the value of custom homes not on the golf course, in ArrowCreek, continue to improve in value versus a constant value line for those on the golf course.

For the past month the ArrowCreek averages are:
Semi-Custom On-Course: $268.10 per Square Foot
Semi-Custom Off-Course: $267.81 per Square Foot
Custom On-Course: $315.87 per Square Foot
Custom Off-Course: $363.13 per Square Foot

• We also received a request from one of our readers for a comparison of the ArrowCreek values with those in D’Andrea (Sparks market) and Somersett (Reno market). Having obtained the appropriate reports from the real estate community, here is what was learned. (Data extracted from altosresearch.com Chase International)




• Reno market ‘in general’ – Custom homes in Reno are selling, on average, for $291.98 per-square-foot (Median price $1,231,000) with an average of 186 days on the market. As noted above, you can see our ArrowCreek comparable Custom homes are selling at$24 to $71 per-square-foot higher.. Data for separate ArrowCreek average time on market was not available. Reno homes comparable to ArrowCreek Semi-Custom homes are selling for $239.99 per square-foot (Median price $677,000) with a time-on-market of 76 days. Again, ArrowCreek Semi-Custom home averages are around $28 higher per-square-foot. Median prices rose across the Reno market by 9.5% during the comparable past year while ArrowCreek combined average prices were 3.5% higher.




• Sparks market ‘in general’ – The top quartile in the Sparks market actually compares with the Semi-Custom homes in ArrowCreek. The median price for these Sparks homes is $200.74 per-square-foot (Median price $600,000) with an average of 60 days on the market. ArrowCreek Semi-Custom home averages are around $67 higher per-square-foot. Median prices rose across this market by 4.4% during the comparable past year. For the ArrowCreek community, the Semi-Custom homes declined by -.05%.

Commentary: ArrowCreek homes continue to be in the top two quartiles of Reno and the Semi-Custom homes are in the top quartile of Sparks. It is very apparent from the data that smaller homes are selling better than larger homes. Also apparent from the data is that the ‘private’ golf course (a.k.a. The Non-Residential area of ArrowCreek) has little effect on prices because ArrowCreek homes are selling at roughly comparable non-gated community homes in the Truckee Meadows based upon real estate advertising.

Some owners of ArrowCreek believe they reside in a ‘golf community.’ Those words appear to emanate from those who have chosen to belong to the ‘private’ golf club. In their minds, it may be true; however, in fact, the truth is only a third of the homes are on the golf course and less than 50% of owners are actually members of ‘the club.’ Yes, we have a private golf club within our gated community, but we also enjoy the freedom to belong or not. The ‘value proposition’ for our unique community should continue to focus on attracting professionals who value security, good schools and recreational opportunities. More people will come to the ArrowCreek ‘experience’ as Nevada businesses gather top talent with competitive salaries.

By Ron Duncan
April 30, 2020

For previous postings of the ArrowCreek property value updates: click here.