Old Southwest

The Old Southwest is Reno’s signature historic district, a grid of tree-lined streets just south of the Truckee River where brick Tudors, Craftsman bungalows, and cottages from the 1920s through the 1940s still hold the block. Lots are classic city-sized, most streets carry no HOA at all, and the walk to Midtown and the river path is part of the deal.

Character comes with homework. Homes here can carry original plumbing, older electrical, and additions from several eras, so the inspection and the appraisal both deserve extra room in the timeline. When a house needs real work, an FHA 203(k) renovation loan can fold the project into one closing instead of a cash scramble after keys.

Practical texture: Washoe County records here reach back a century, so title work occasionally surfaces old easements and lot-line quirks worth an early look. Street parking, mature trees over sewer laterals, and detached garages converted decades ago are all part of the normal Old Southwest conversation, and none of them scare a lender who knows the district.

Pricing runs wide with condition: smaller cottages awaiting updates through the fully restored estate blocks near Newlands, roughly the mid 500,000s into the millions as of mid-2026 per local MLS reporting. Ask Art for a current snapshot before you write.

Reno’s money first put down roots here. In the early 1900s, Senator Francis Newlands · author of the 1902 Reclamation Act that rebuilt Nevada agriculture · made his home on the bluff above the Truckee, and the blocks that followed filled with brick Tudors, Craftsman bungalows, and cottages through the 1940s. Much of the district now carries historic designations, which changes how a purchase gets built: renovation lending, careful appraisals, and title work that can reach back a century all earn their keep on these streets.