South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for January

Bank owned foreclosures and short sales dominated the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market in January 2010. Distress sales accounted for 59% of the single family home sales reported on the South Lake Tahoe MLS.  There were 32 homes sold in January, 11 were bank owned foreclosures and 8 were short sales. This is the first time that the sale of foreclosures and short sales have out numbered regular sales since I have been keeping track of real estate statistics in South Lake Tahoe.

Although the number of homes sold was down from 48 in December to 32 in January, this is a big improvement from January 2009 when only 18 homes were sold. The number of short sales in South Lake Tahoe that are closing escrow also continues to improve. There were 8 short sales that closed escrow in January, up from 6 in December, and and 2 in November. That is good news for the 40 other short sales that are currently in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe MLS.

January South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

• There were 32 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in January, up from 18 in January 2009, and down from 48 in December 2009.
• The average sales price for the South Tahoe homes was $348,328, up from $345,350 in January 2009, and down from $472,453 in December 2009.
• The median sales price for the South Tahoe homes was $317,250, up from $310,000 in January 2009, and down from $346,500 in December 2009.
• The average price per square foot was $209, down from $261 in January 2009, and down from $220 in December 2009.
• The average days on the market was 162, up from 123 in January 2009, and up from 155 in December 2009.
• The median days on the market was 127, up from 94 in January 2009, and up from 110 in December 2009.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in January sold for an average price per square foot of $195, non-foreclosures had an average price per square foot of $228. The foreclosures that closed escrow also sold quickly, the average days on the market was 65, and the median days on the market was 60. The average sales price for the foreclosures was $269,818 and the median sales price was $215,000.

Short sales in South Lake Tahoe were on a much slower pace than the foreclosures. The average days on the market for the short sales that closed escrow was 239 and the median days on the market was 229. The average sales price for the short sales was $399,438 and the median sales price was $375,750. The average price per square foot for the short sales was $198.

Currently there are 384 active homes on the South Lake Tahoe MLS and 80 of them are in escrow. Short sales account for 40 of the current escrows and foreclosures account for 19. With 59 of 80 of the current escrows being distress sales, February should yield similar statistics to what we saw in January.

December South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market finished out the year with another strong month of single family home sales. December had the most single family home , sales of 2009 with 48, topping the months of October and November in which 46 single family homes were sold. This was a big improvement from December 2008 when 26 single family homes sold in South Lake Tahoe. Although the number of homes sold in 2009 was up 20 units, the median sales price was down 16% from December 2008.

Distress sales accounted for 42% of the single family homes sold in December. There were 14 bank owned properties and 6 short sales that were reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls. The six short sale closings is an improvement from November when only 2 short sales sold. The short sales that closed escrow in December had an average days on the market of 295,  much higher than the foreclosures that sold which only had an average days on the market of 60. As of January 6ththere are still 38 short sales that are still in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe mls.

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Statistics for December

• There were 48 single family homes sold in December 2009, up from 41 in November 2009, and up from 26 in December 2008.
• The average sales price was $472,453, up from $386,217 in November, and down from $523,490 in December 2008.
• The median sales price was $346,500, up from $320,000 in November, and down from $412,450 in December 2008.
• The average price per square foot was $220, down from $222 in November, and down from $249 in December 2008.
• The average days on the market was 155, down from 158 in November, and down from 204 in December 2008.
• The median days on the market was 110, down from 122 in November, and down from 136 in December 2008.

There were 4 newer foreclosures sold that were built in 2003 or later, but the other 10 were older homes that needed work. The 14 foreclosures that sold in December had an average sales price of $294,660 and a median sales price of $269,400. The average price per square foot for the sold foreclosures was $176.

Currently on the South Lake Tahoe MLS there are 369 single family homes listed and 80 of them are in escrow. Short sales account for 73 of those listings, and 37 of the short sales are in escrow. There are 42 bank owned foreclosures, and 22 of the foreclosures are currently in escrow.

 South Lake Tahoe home buyers took advantage of 22% total decrease in the median home sales price in 2009. There was a 22% increase in homes sold in South Lake Tahoe from 364 units in 2008, to 445 units in 2009. There was also a 3% increase in total volume from $178,081,602 in 2008 to $183,711,317 in 2009. It is clear that home prices are down, and buyer activity is up in South Lake Tahoe.

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!

Why Selling as a Short Sale is Better Than Foreclosure

There has been a lot of questions about how short sales and foreclosure will affect homeowners in the future. Credit Financial Planning Inc., www.creditfixed.com provided some great information for homeowners that are deciding weather to short sale their homes or let them go to foreclosure.

Here are some of the advantages of selling your home as a short sale instead of letting your home be foreclosed on.

1. Fannie Mae Guidelines for Primary Residence Loans- If you short sale your home, you will be eligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after 2 years with no restrictions. With a foreclosure eligibility would be after 5 years with restrictions, and after 7 years with no restrictions.
2. Fannie Mae Guidelines for Non Primary Residence Loans- An investor who has done a short sale is eligible for  a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after 2 years. An investor who has had a property foreclosed on cannot get a Fannie Mae backed loan for 7 years
3. Credit Score- With a short sale, late payments will show up as short as 12 to 18 months after the completion of the short sale. Credit scores can be affected negatively 50 to 100 points depending on how the lender reports it. With a foreclosure, the credit score is typically affected for at least 3 years. Credit scores will be negatively affected between 200 and 300 points.
4. Credit Application Questions (Form 1003)- There are no questions on the credit application regarding a short sale. If you have had a foreclosure you will need to answer “Yes” to question C, section VIII: Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof in the last 7 years?
5. Credit History- Short sales may or may not be reported on a credit history depending on how the lender reports it. A foreclosure will remain as a public record for 10 years or more.
6. Security Clearance- A short sale does not usually raise red flags regarding security clearance. With a foreclosure, security clearance will usually be revoked.
7. Deficiency Judgement-On a short sale, this is a negotiable issue between the seller and the lending institution. With a foreclosure there are no negotiations between the homeowner and the lending institution. It is up to the lender whether to file a deficiency judgement.
8. Deficiency Judgement- If there is a deficiency judgment on a short sale, the amount is usually lower. The foreclosure process usually will cost the lender more, hence resulting in a larger deficiency judgment if the judgment is filed.

Selling your home as a short sale can be a good option for homeowners who have a financial hardship instead of foreclosure. If you are considering selling your home as a short sale, the first step is to contact your CPA and attorney to make sure that it is the best option for you. The next step is to call Brent and Jill Johnson for more information on how to short sale your home!

Please contact us for more information regarding short sales in South Lake Tahoe. You can also view a current list of bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe for sale.

Next Page »