May South Tahoe Real Estate Stats

May was a much better month for the South Lake Tahoe real estate market than it was for the stock market! There were 42 single family homes that closed escrow in South Tahoe during the month in May 2010. This is a significant increase from the 27 homes that closed escrow in May 2009. The stock market did not fair nearly as well!

Distress sales were once again on the decline. Distress sales only accounted for 38% (16) of the sales in May, down from 48% in April, and down from 58% in March. Foreclosures accounted for only 9 of the closed sold homes, short sales accounted for the other 7.

May South Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

• There were 42 single family homes reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls in the month of May. This is up from 27 in May 2009 and down from 46 in April 2010.
• The average price of the homes sold was $462,367 (The average drops to$387,669 if I take out the lakefront Keys sale for $3,525,000) The average sales price was $386,177 in April and $355,633 in May 2009.
• The median sales price of the homes sold in May was $322,000. This is down from $329,163 in April and up from $315,000 in May 2009.
• The average price per square foot was $216. The average price per square foot was $211 in April and $222 in May 2009.
• The average days on the market was 145, down from 158 in April and down from 147 in May 2009.
• The median days on the market was 99, down from 112 in April and down from 137 in May 2009.

The distress sales that sold in May had a very low price per square foot compared to the non-distress sales. The foreclosures that sold had an average price per square foot of $165 and the short sales had an average price per square foot of $170. The price per square foot for the non-distress sales was $245.

Here are some other interesting statistics for the distress sales sold in May:

• Including the escrow period, the foreclosures had an average days on the market of 66. The sold short sales averaged 286 days!
• The foreclosures had a median days on the market of 76 days including the escrow period. The sold short sales had a median days on the market of 204!
• The average sales price of the foreclosures was $257,156. The average sales price was $479,857 for the short sales.
• The median price of the sold foreclosures was $229,900. The median sales price was $525,000 for the short sales.

There were only two lots in South Lake Tahoe that sold in May. Both lots that sold were in the North Upper Truckee area. One was a lot in the burn area that sold for $145,000 and one was a 10,511 square foot lot that sold for $95,000.

There was one condo that sold in May. This was a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath unit in the Tahoe Keys that sold for $290,000.

There was also only one multi family unit that sold in May. This was a property that had 2 houses on one lot in the Tahoe Island Drive area. These homes sold for $240,500.

 The most active area of the South Lake Tahoe real estate market continues to be the single family homes. It is great to see that the percentage of short sale and foreclosure sales has continued to decline for the third consecutive month. The percentage of distress sale closings has gone down to 38% from 65% in February. This is another sign of stabilization in the housing market. I hope that it continues!

Lots in South Lake Tahoe

Here is the definition of a vacant lot from wikipedia:

In real estate, a lot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in other countries. Possible owner(s) of a lot can be one or more person(s) or another legal entity, such as a company/corporation, organization, government, or trust. A common form of ownership of a lot is called fee simple in some countries.

Sometimes, some may refer to a lot as a rather small area of land that is empty except for pavement or similar improvement. An example would be a parking lot. This article covers lots as parcels of land meant to be owned as units by an owner(s).

A lot has defined boundaries (or borders) which are documented somewhere, but the boundaries need not be shown on the land itself. Most lots are small enough to be mapped as if they are flat, in spite of the curvature of the earth. A characteristic of the size of a lot is its area. The area is typically determined as if the land is flat and level, although the terrain of the lot may not be flat, i. e, the lot may be hilly. The contour surface area of the land is changeable and may be too complicated for determining a lot’s area.

Something which is meant to improve the value or usefulness of a lot can be called an appurtenance to the lot. Structures such as buildings, driveways, sidewalks, patios or other pavement, wells, septic systems, signs, and similar improvements which are considered permanently attached to the land in the lot are considered as real property, usually part of the lot but often parts of a building, such as condominiums, are owned separately. Such structures owned by the lot owner(s), as well as easements which help the lot owners or users, can be considered appurtenances to the lot. A lot without such structures can be called a vacant lot, an empty lot, or an unimproved or undeveloped lot.

Lots can come in various sizes and shapes. To be considered a single lot, the land described as the “lot” must be contiguous. Two separate parcels are considered two lots not one. Often a lot is sized for a single house or other building. Many lots are rectangular in shape, although other shapes are possible as long as the boundaries are well-defined. Methods of determining or documenting the boundaries of lots include metes and bounds, quadrant method, and use of a plat diagram. Use of the metes and bounds method may be compared to drawing a polygon. Metes are points which are like the vertices (corners) of a polygon. Bounds are line segments between two adjacent metes. Bounds are usually straight lines, but can be curved as long as they are clearly defined.

Many times, developers divide a large tract of land into lots to make a subdivision out of it. Certain areas of the land are dedicated (given to local government for permanent upkeep) as streets and sometimes alleys for transportation and access to lots. Areas between the streets are divided up into lots to be sold to future owners. The layout of the lots is mapped on a plat diagram, which is recorded with the government, typically the county recorder’s office. The blocks between streets and the individual lots in each block are given an identifier, usually a number or letter.

Land originally granted by the government was commonly done by documents called patents. Lots of land can be sold/bought by the owners or conveyed in other ways. Such conveyances are made by documents called deeds which should be recorded by the government, typically the county recorder’s office. Deeds specify the lot by including a description such as one determined by the “metes and bounds” or quadrant methods, or referring to a lot number and block number in a recorded plat diagram. Deeds often mention that appurtenances to the lot are included in order to convey any structures and other improvements also.

When the boundaries of a lot are not indicated on the lot, a survey of the lot can be made to determine where the boundaries are according to the lot descriptions or plat diagrams. Formal surveys are done by qualified surveyors, who can make a diagram or map of the lot showing boundaries, dimensions, locations of any structures such as buildings, etc. Such surveys are also used to determine if there are any encroachments to the lot. Surveyors can sometimes place posts at the metes of a lot.

The part of the boundary of the lot next to a street or road is the frontage. Developers try to provide at least one side of frontage for every lot, so owners can have transportation access to their lots. As the name implies, street frontage determines which side of the lot is the front, with the opposite side being the back. Sometimes minor, usually unnamed driveways called alleys, usually publicly owned, also provide access to the back of a lot. When alleys are present, garages are often located in back of a lot with access from the alley. Also when there are alleys, garbage collection may take place from the alley. Lots at the corners of a block have two sides of frontage and are called corner lots. Corner lots may have the advantage that a garage can be built with street access from the side, but have the disadvantage that there is more parkway lawn to mow and more sidewalk to shovel snow from.

In front of many lots in urban areas, there are sidewalks, usually publicly owned. Beyond the sidewalk, there may sometimes be a strip of land called a parkway, and then the drivable part of the street.

Local governments often pass zoning laws which control what buildings can be built on a lot and what they can be used for. For example, certain areas are zoned for residential buildings such as houses. Other areas can be commercially, agriculturally, or industrially zoned. Sometimes zoning laws establish other restrictions such as a minimum lot area and/or frontage length for building a house or other building, maximum building size, or minimum setbacks from a lot boundary for building a structure. This is in addition to building codes which must be met. Also minimum lot sizes and separations must be met when wells and septic systems are used. In urban areas, sewers and water lines often provide service to households. There may also be restrictions based on covenants established by private parties such as the developer. There may be easements for utilities to run water, sewage, electric power, or telephone lines through a lot.

Like most other types of real estate, lots owned by private parties are subject to a periodic real estate tax payable by the owners to local governments such as a county or municipality. Real estate taxes are assessed based on the value of the real property. Sometimes there are also taxes when a lot is sold based on the sale price. Other fees by government are possible for improvements such as curbs and sidewalks or an impact fee for building a house on a vacant lot.