Fall Greetings,
Lake Tahoe is undeniably in an advanced fall pattern, with leaves turning into beautiful shades of yellow and orange. Seeing as we also had an early spring, this timing seems about right. The temperature this morning was 23 degrees, and we have already seen our first two snowfalls. Boreal began making snow in the evenings. Fall festivals are underway, and ski resorts are gearing up for opening days in November. I suspect it will warm up in nicely in October making for fabulous last minute rounds of golf, boating, and hiking-to mention a few-so come up and take advantage of discounted hotel rates, half-price dining, and…even some real estate. To get you excited, here is a calendar of area events you can plan around.
Real estate sales seem to have taken a similar trend, with an earlier than normal pattern of fall sales that transpired in August versus the more typical September. In August 2012, we saw 157 sales at a median price of $375,000. This August, we saw 160 sales at a median of $499,500, clearly indicating that our lower levels of inventory have driven prices up a bit but not to the magnitude seen in Bay Area markets.
A few highlights observed so far this September… 5 Lakefronts closed for a total of $22M in under a month. 9922 Lake Street, the original Hillsbrother’s Estate, closed at $4.7 and was marketed by our company, TMR. Another Brockway area lakefront sold at 8770 Brockway Vista for $1.850. 3 additional lakefront properties sold on the North and West shores for between $5M and 5.3M. There are seven pending lakefront sales at the moment, and given the showing activity recently seen on lake properties, I bet we see an impressive November/December report of lakefront sales with 32 fantastic properties currently available.
Further validating the demand for quality properties at the Lake were 3 sales in Dollar Point that sold at asking or over. A remodeled 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with 1,800 sq. ft. sold for $865,000 cash, with an asking of $775,000 ($110,000 over asking)! Dollar Point Homeowner’s Association offers sought after beach, pier, and buoy access, along with pool and tennis making it one of the most desirable rental areas at the lake. There is very little inventory in North and West Lake Tahoe at the moment so new, attractive listings will continue to go quickly.
In Northstar Village, a 2 bedroom, 2 bath residence in Catamount closed at $820,000 qualifying this as the highest price 2 bedroom sale in years. In Big Springs a bidding war on 1875 Grouse Ridge was won at $1,880,275, with an asking of $1,875,000. Don’t be mistaken, we are seeing some price reductions and motivated sellers despite the aforementioned sales.
Tahoe Donner reported 23 closed sales since Sept 1, with a median sales price of $530,000 and a median asking price of $532,000. Tahoe Donner remains our steady indicator with 99% average of asking achieved across the board.
Old Greenwood saw an impressive sale on Lookout Loop. This 4 bedroom masterpiece with views of Northstar and the golf course sold for $2.350 has set the bar for what Old Greenwood properties are consistently selling at. There are a few nice values at the moment, here is what is available in Old Greenwood.
Another exciting highlight for Tahoe in general is Tahoe’s first inaugural Ironman held on September 23rd. Athletes had the pleasure of swimming 2.5 miles in Lake Tahoe at 6am with snow-capped scenery in the background on September 23. Following the chilly swim, athletes rode 112 miles on bike with a 26 mile marathon directly after. It was an amazing day, and Truckee’s own Kara Lapoint finished the race in 11 hours, taking first for women’s amateurs, and 75th overall with 2,700 athletes registered from around the world. Watching her cross the finish line and collapse into the arms of a volunteer really impresses upon you that these athletes give it 120% until the last second. About 10 minutes after Kara crossed the finish line an off-leash Australian shepherd made his way into the finishing stretch and trotted through (not a registered racer), and the announcer pronounced “you are an IronDog!” Only in Tahoe! See race highlights here.
I’ll look forward to reporting more statistics and tidbits on Truckee homesites and the communities of Martis Camp, Lahontan, Grays Crossing and Mountainside in the next few weeks. There is a lot going on here. Enjoy the fall and hope to see you in Tahoe enjoying our “Secret Season.”
