South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for September

There were more single family houses in South Lake Tahoe sold in September than any other month this year. There were 46 homes that were reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls last month, up from 44 in August. First time home buyers are taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it goes away, and investors and second home buyers are getting deals on foreclosures, short sales, and motivated sellers.

Statistics for the Houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in September

• There were 46 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in September
• There were 13 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in September
• There were 7 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in September
• The average sales price was $371,058 (down from $461,951 in August)
• The median sales price was $292,500 (down from $325,250 in August)
• The average sales price per square foot was $215 (down from $259 in August)
• The median days on the market was 110

In August I was happy to see that there were 4 short sales that had closed escrow, so I am thrilled to see that there were 7 short sales that sold in September! The median days on the market for the short sales that closed escrow was quite high at 222 days. The short sales that sold had a great average price per square foot of 202 considering that some of the short sales were very nice.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe continued to sell for very close to list price, the average percentage of list price received was almost 98%. The foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls sold for an average of $196 per square foot. The median sales price for the bank owned foreclosures was $284,000 and the median days on the market was only 66 days including the escrow period.

The inventory of single family homes on the South Lake Tahoe mls is now much healthier with 21% of the inventory now in escrow. There are currently 497 houses listed in South Lake Tahoe, and 102 of them are in escrow. Of the 102 houses in escrow, 39 are short sales and 18 are bank owned foreclosures.

For more information about South Lake Tahoe real estate please call Brent and Jill Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Short Sales

Closing escrows on short sales in South Lake Tahoe is still proving to be a difficult task. Out of the 227 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that have sold so far this year, only 16 were short sales. It has also taken much longer to to get those short sale escrows closed. The median days on the market for the sold short sales was 174 days including the escrow period, and was only 93 days for the non short sales.

The difficulty of closing escrow on the short sales does not seem to be scaring buyers away from the short sale listings. Currently there are 103 single family houses in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and 34 of those homes are short sales. With 1/3 of our current escrows as short sales, it will be interesting to see how many of those escrows actually close. For buyers looking to purchase a short sale in South Lake Tahoe, there are still 51 active short sales currently available on the mls.

For the short sales that have sold so far this year, the average price per square foot was $225. The average price per square foot for the non-distress sales was $264, and the price per square foot for the sold foreclosures was only $193. 

If you are thinking about purchasing a home in South Lake Tahoe, I would definitely not rule out short sale listings, but I would recommend asking your real estate  agent about the pros and cons of short sales before writing an offer on one!

Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe for the Month of July

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market had another solid month of activity on the sale of single family homes. There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that closed escrow in the month of July, there were 38 homes that had sold in June. With three consecutive months of increasing home sales across the country, South Lake Tahoe seems to be following a similar story.

Statistics for the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in July

• There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in July
• There were 9 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe sold in July
• Only one short sale was sold in July
• The average sales price was $395,570 ( up 11% from $352,555 in June)
• The median sales price was $353,000 (  up 12% from $310,000 in June)
• The average price per square foot was $238 ( up 4% from $229 in June)

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe were still popular with home buyers in the month of July. Currently there are 38 foreclosures listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and 20 of them are in escrow. The foreclosures that sold in July had an average sales price per square foot of $204, a median sales price of $305,000, and an average sales price of $320,767. The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in the first 60 days sold for an average of 105.7% above the listing price. The multiple offer situations that the bank owned properties are having is causing the homes to sell for above asking price.

There are 472 single family homes that are available on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and there are 96 homes that are currently in escrow. Out of the 96 homes that are in escrow, 33 are short sales and 20 are foreclosures bringing the percentage of “distress sale” escrows to 55%.

August should be another strong month in terms of home sales with the number of current escrows at close to 100. There seems to be continuing good news about the economy, and it will be interesting to see if and how it will affect the South Lake Tahoe real estate market.

 Please give Brent and Jill Johnson a call for more information about real estate in South Lake Tahoe!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for June

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is continuing to attract buyers looking to purchase homes at values around 35% less than what they were in 2006! According to the South Lake Tahoe mls, there were 38 single family homes that sold in June with a median sales price was $310,000, 35% less than the median sales price was in June of 2006. The average price per square foot was also down 38% from $370 in 2006 to $229 in 2009.

The attractive home prices, low interest rates, and the $8,000 first time buyers tax credit contributed to an increase in sales from 26 homes sold in May to 38 homes sold in June. The number of bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in June dropped 2 units from 11 sales in May, to 9 sales in June. June also saw 5 short sale closings, no single family home short sales were reported in May on the South Lake Tahoe mls.

Statistics for the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in June

• There were 38 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in June
• 9 of the houses sold were bank owned foreclosures
• 5 of the houses sold were short sales
• The average sales price was $352,555 (down 2% from $360,169 in May)
• The median sales price was $310,000 (down 2% from $315,000 in May)
• The average price per square foot was $229 (up 3% from $222 in May)
• The average days on the market was 184

The bank owned foreclosures that sold in June were a major contributor to the decline in the median and average sales prices. The average sales price for the 9 foreclosures that sold in June was $288,456, compared to an average sales price of $416,350 for the non-foreclosures. The median sales price for the foreclosures sold was $289,000, compared to $376,000 for non-foreclosures. Average price per square foot was only $176 for the foreclosures, and was $253 for the non foreclosures. Most of the foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe are in need of at least some kind of work which contributes to the lower sales prices.

With 31 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that are currently in escrow, it was great to see that 5 short sales closed escrow in June considering that there were no short sales that closed escrow in May. The short sale listings that closed escrow in June had an average sales price of $283,200, a median sales price of $290,000, and an average sales price per square foot of $212.

South Lake Tahoe home buyers also put 44 single family houses in escrow during the month of June. The number of June escrows is down from 56 in May, but up from 43 in April. The number of distress sales that went into escrow in June decreased with only 3 foreclosures and 8 short sales that went into escrow.

Statistics for the Single Family Homes in South Lake Tahoe went into Escrow in June

• There were 44 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that went into escrow in June
• The average list price for the new escrows was $451,525
• The median list price was $304,500
• The average price per square foot was $277
• 8 of the homes are short sales
• 3 of the homes are bank owned foreclosures

Activity on lots in South Lake Tahoe picked up slightly in June with 5 lots sold, and 3 lots that went into escrow. 625 Tahoe Island Drive was a bank owned lot that had a list price of $74,900, received multiple offers and sold well above asking price at $125,000. There were also two lots in the Tahoe Keys on Venice Drive that sold with allocations.

Condos in South Lake Tahoe also improved with 8 new escrows and 3 sales. Two of the condos that went into escrow and one of the condos that sold were in the Tahoe Keys.

To find out more on how to take advantage of the low interest rates, the $8,000 first time home-buyer tax credit, and the low South Lake Tahoe real estate prices, call Brent and Jill Johnson at (530) 416-2625 today!

Newer Homes in South Lake Tahoe Selling now Selling at $226 Per Square Foot!

Newer homes in South Lake Tahoe are now selling for an average of $226 per square foot. That is just about the price that contractors were charging to build custom homes back in 2005 and 2006, not including the cost of land, permits, and plans!

The recent sale of two of my newer home listings prompted me to look further into newer home prices compared to previous years.

I just sold a custom home built in 2006 for $565,000. 840 Boulder Mountain was a 2671 square foot 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage home that sold for $211.53 a square foot. Located in the Angora Fire area of North Upper Truckee, this home has great views, but was a tough sale due to the fire damage to the surrounding landscape.

 

 

1140 Sioux is a listing that I was just able to get into escrow. Sioux is one of the nicest quality newer houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe. With 4 bedrooms, 3 full bath rooms, and a 2 car garage, this 2828 square foot home is gorgeous. There is a National Forest lot on each side and across the street, giving this home a very private setting. The only thing holding this home back was that it was located in the Meyers area where there is not a lot of newer homes. With a list price of $579,000, this house had a list price per square foot of only $205!

 

So far this year there have been 14 houses sold in South Lake Tahoe that that are less than 4 years old. According to the South Lake Tahoe mls, the average price per square foot for the sold newer homes was $226. The Median sales price was $575,000 and the median square footage was 2,646. It seems like when a new or newer large house was reduced to under $600,000, it would sell quickly.

When you look at the newer houses that sold in 2006, the numbers are quite different. In 2006 the average price per square foot for the sold newer homes was $328! The median sales price was $800,000 and the median square footage of the sold homes was 2,584. The average price per square foot has declined over 31% and the median sales price has declined 28% on newer homes since 2006.

As of today, there are 68 newer homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe that are less than 4 years old. The average list price per square foot is $299, and the median list price is $793,500. It is the newer homes that are priced less than the competition, or have had major price reductions are the homes that are now selling. Location has also been very important. Newer homes in more reputable areas, with views, or near open land are also selling much more quickly than the average locations.

Once the current inventory of newer houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe decreases, we may see a need for spec home builders to get back into the market. Right now, with the large selection of newer homes on the market, it is till too tough for builders to compete with the current prices.

Foreclosures have not really affected the new home market as much as they have other areas of the market. There has only been two newer bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that have been for sale on the mls. 1818 Jack Bell Ct. was a 4 bedroom, 2622 square foot foreclosure that was built in 2006 which sold for $500,000. 581 Gardner is a 4 bedroom, 4028 square foot bank owned foreclosure that is currently in escrow. The asking price for 581 Gardner was $629,900.

For a list of the new houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe, please call Brent and Jill Johnson today!

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