March South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

Single family home sales in South Lake Tahoe jumped from 23 sales in February to 40 home sales in March. Distress sales accounted for 23 of the 40 homes sold. There were 16 bank owned foreclosures and 7 short sales that closed escrow in March. The total inventory of homes on the South Lake Tahoe MLS remained stable with 412 single family listings. 302 of the listings are active and 110 are active pending. At the end of February there were 401 listings and 103 were in escrow. In the current inventory there are 110 short sale listings and 42 bank owned foreclosures. 87 of 110 short sales are in escrow and 21 of the 42 foreclosures are in escrow.

South Lake Tahoe MLS Statistics for March

• 40 Single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in March, up from 23 in February 2010, and up from 28 in March 2010.
• The average sales price for the homes in South Lake Tahoe that sold was $404,053, down from $405,461 in February, and down from $445,679 in March 2009.
• The median sales price of the homes sold was $350,500, up from $312,500 in February, and down from $366,250 in March 2009.
• The average sales price per square foot was $221, up from $213 in February, and down from $222 in March 2009
• The average days on the market was 141, down from 176 in February.
• The median days on the market was 111, down from 119 in February.
• There were 16 bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold, up from 11 in February, and up from 9 in March 2009.
• There were 7 short sales that closed escrow, up from 4 in February, and up from 4 in March 2009.

Distress sales accounted for 58% of the single family houses sold in March. This is down from 65% in February. In March 2009 the percentage of distress sales was 46%.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in March sold for a very low price per square foot of $190. This is much lower than the non-distress sale price per square foot which was $249. The median days on the market for the foreclosures was 88.

Although home prices in South Lake Tahoe have not started to increase, buyer activity has. Home buyers are finding great prices on homes throughout South Lake Tahoe. For more information regarding South Lake Tahoe real estate please call Brent Johnson today!

Tax Credits Are Set to Expire!

The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit is set to expire soon. Home buyers must have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30 and close by June 30 to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit.

The income limit for claiming the full tax credit for single tax payers is $125,00 and $225,000 for married tax payers filing a joint return.

Homes purchased for up to $800,000 are eligible for the credit. A first-time buyer is defined as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. The tax credit does not require repayment if you live in this residence for three or more years.

The Existing Homeowner Tax Credit is also set to expire. If you already own a home, but you want to move up, you may qualify for the $6,500 tax credit. To be eligible for this credit, you must have lived in your current home for five consecutive years out of the last eight and must purchase a new or existing home by April 30 and close escrow by July 1. You do not need to sell your current home to qualify for this credit.

To claim the tax credit use the IRS Form 5405. You will also need to supply the IRS with a copy of your HUD-1 settlement statement to verify your purchase.

If you are interested in purchasing a home in South Lake Tahoe and taking advantage of the tax credits, give South Lake Tahoe real estate agent Brent Johnson a call before it is too late!

Recent Client Testimonial

I recently had the pleasure of working with Bob and Kathy to help them sell their lot in South Lake Tahoe. Lot sales have been tough lately in Tahoe and prices have taken a big hit. We knew going into this process that we needed to price the lot attractively to stand out from other lots on the market.

It took 3 offers from different buyers, but we were finaly able to find a buyer willing to make a reasonable offer. The lot has closed escrow and this is what Bob and Kathy had to say about my service:

“Brent: Great job getting this accomplished: on budget, under schedule, with minimum of hassle.  We will certainly recommend you to anyone we know who is looking for something in your area.  All the best, Bob”

Thanks for the kind words Bob and Kathy!

Tahoe Keys Real Estate

The inventory of homes for sale in the Tahoe Keys area of South Lake Tahoe has gone down a bit since last year, but there are still some great houses to choose from. Currently there are 51 houses in the Tahoe Keys listed on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. There are 42 active Keys listings and 9 active pending listings. In September 2009 the inventory was up to 70 total listings with 13 houses in escrow.

The majority of Tahoe Keys homes for sale are currently priced under $1,000,000. 27 out of the 42 active Keys houses are priced under $1,000,000.  8 out of the 9 houses that are in escrow are also priced under $1,000,000.

Distress sales account for 6 out of the 9 houses that are in escrow in the Tahoe Keys. There are 5 short sales and 1 foreclosure currently in escrow. The ratio of distress sales to regular sales in the Tahoe Keys is almost the same as it is in the rest of South Lake Tahoe. There are 105 houses in escrow in South Lake Tahoe and 68% of them are either short sales or foreclosures (67% distress sales in the Tahoe Keys).

So far in 2010 there have been 5 houses in the Tahoe Keys that have been sold on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. The average sales price was $798,000 and the median sales price was $750,000. The average price per square foot was $366. Only one of the houses sold was a foreclosure, and no short sales have closed escrow in the Keys so far this year.

My listing on 2213 Texas is a great example of one of the great houses to choose from in the Tahoe Keys. 2213 Texas is a recently remodeled 1440 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home offered at $482,000. This is a great opportunity to own a waterfront home for under $500,000! For more information about this house or other homes for sale in the Tahoe Keys, please call Brent Johnson.

February Real Estate In South Lake Tahoe Review

The inventory of active single family homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe remained relatively low in February. There are now 401 houses listed on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, 298 of the homes are active and 103 of the homes are in escrow. Distress sales are still the most active part of the real estate market in South Lake Tahoe. Out of the 103 houses in escrow, 51 are short sales and 22 are bank owned foreclosures.

There were 23 single family homes that closed escrow in February, down from 29 in February 2009, and also down from 32 in January. The difficulty with getting short sales closed is one of the reasons that the number of houses sold was down in February. There are currently 51 short sales that are in escrow, and only 4 short sales closed escrow last month! Each monthmore short sales go into escrow, and only a few end up closing. In January there were 40 short sales in escrow, and in December 2009 there were 38. With 51 short sales tied up in escrow, the number of closings is going to be negatively affected. As soon as some of the short sales that are in escrow start closing, the number of sold houses should get back on track.

February Statistics for the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Market

• There were 23 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that sold in February, down from 32 in January, and down from 29 in February 2009.
• The average sales price of the homes sold was $405,461, up from $348,328 in January, and down from $411,156 in February 2009.
• The Median sales price of the homes sold was $312,500, down from $317,250 in January, and down from $319,000 in February 2009.
• The average price per square foot was $213, up from $209 in January, and down from $231 in February 2009.
• The average days on the market was 176, up from 162 in January, and up from 167 in February 2009.
• The median days on the market was 119, up from 127 in January, and down from 125 in February 2009.
• There were 11 bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold, there were also 11 foreclosures sold in January, and there were 12 foreclosures that sold in February 2009.
• There were 4 short sales that closed escrow in February, down from 8 sold short sales in January, and up from 1 sold in February 2009.

The percentage of distress sale closings has also continued to increase. In February 65% of the houses sold in South Lake Tahoe were either foreclosures or short sales. This percentage is up from 59% in January.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in February had a very low average price per square foot of $171. The average sales price for the 11 foreclosures sold was $334,100 and the median sales price was $258,000. The foreclosures had an average days on the market of 79 including the escrow period.

When looking to purchase a foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe, the best advise that I have for home buyers is to act quickly. Most of the foreclosures go into escrow very quickly and have multiple offers in on them. There are many investors and home buyers that are currently in the market looking for deals. There are also many buyers looking to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit  that expires on April 30th. If you see a foreclosure on the South Lake Tahoe MLS that  you are interested in, make sure to call me before it is too late!

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