Over the winter season holiday periods I typically meet many new and returning visitors in Tahoe. With Tahoe Mountain Realty’s four office locations and beautiful sales galleries, I often have the pleasure of visiting with lots of families from northern California. However, this year has been a little different. During Christmas, New Year’s, and MLK Weekend I saw the same volume of individuals walking into our showrooms, but there was a significant change in where these families were visiting from.
First of all, there were a lot of first-time visitors to Tahoe. It was abundantly clear that the marketing Vail Resorts and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel are doing is reaching far beyond just the Bay Area. I have been meeting families from all over the country and world. For example, I met three families from Australia, one from Brazil, and two from China. I also spoke with people from Chicago, Florida and New York. Many of these skiers mentioned that they historically go to places like Park City, Deer Valley and Beaver Creek. When I asked what brought them here to Tahoe, they said they had to see what all the buzz is about. Almost every single family I spoke with said they enjoyed their experience at Northstar and will be back. What really struck me was how many commented on how much easier it is to get to Tahoe than to places that require a shuttle drive from the airport over a major mountain pass. They were all aware of new flights being added to Reno International Airport, including the new direct flight from London to Reno.
The other Tahoe area highlight that these future return visitors shared with me was the easy access to a multitude of activities and places to visit. Visitors named reasons such as gambling at State Line, dining at great restaurants, and having easy access to Napa and San Francisco as why they would return to Tahoe and consider owning here. The other fascinating observation I made over the winter holidays this year was the interest from the Chinese market to invest in real estate in California. Not only is it a “status symbol” for them to own a vacation home in a ski resort, but they unanimously felt that it was a “smart place to put their money.”
Not only was it fun to meet so may new faces and see them enjoying what I take for granted living here year-round, but it was also exciting to observe the continued expansion of our Tahoe market. I look forward to seeing this trend continue.
Breck Overall
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