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New South Lake Tahoe MLS Listing on 1796 Arrowhead!

Just Listed by South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Agents Brent and Jill Johnson

1796 Arrowhead Offered at $249,950!

Here it is, a 3 bedroom home with a garage that is move-in ready that is NOT a short sale or a foreclosure! This cute Meyers home sits on a sunny and fully landscaped 7,550 square foot lot. Recent upgrades include a new gas freestanding fireplace, laminate flooring, and a comp roof. Give South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Agents Brent and Jill Johnson a call to see this house today!

3 Bedroom, 1 bath, 1 car garage
Newer Gas Stove
Fully landscaped front and back yard
Fully fenced back yard
1040 square feet
Very clean and well kept home!

November Real Estate Review for South Lake Tahoe

Although there was a slight decline in the number of single family homes sold in South Lake Tahoe, November still yielded 41 home sales. The single family home closings were only down 5 units from October when 46 houses were sold. October and November had tied for the most single family home sales so far in 2009 with 46.

The number of distress sales in November was also down from October. There were 13 bank owned foreclosures that sold in November, down from 16 in October. There were 2 short sales that closed escrow in November, down from 4 in October. Distress sales accounted for 37% of the single family home closings in November compared to 43% in October.

November Statistics for South Lake Tahoe Single Family Home Sales

There were 41 Single Family Homes sold in November
The average sales price for the homes sold was $386,217 (Down from $440,393 in October)
The median sales price for the homes sold was $$320,000 (Down from $323,500 in October)
The average price per square foot for the homes sold was $222 (Down from $239 in October)
The average days on the market was 158
The median days on the market was 122
There were 13 bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in November
There were 2 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that sold in November

Real Estate agents in South Lake Tahoe are still struggeling with getting short sales closed. According to the South Lake Tahoe mls, there are now 40 short sales currently in escrow, and only 2 short sales actually closed escrow last month. There has been a total of 32 short sale closings so far this year on the South lake Tahoe mls compared to 124 bank owned foreclosures that have closed escrow.

The bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still selling quickly and for close to asking price. The foreclosures that sold within 31 to 60 days of being listed sold for 101.86% of the list price. That percentage dropped to 90.27% of the list price for the 5 foreclosures that were on the market for longer than 120 days.

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure Statistics for November

There were 13 bank owned foreclosures sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls in November
The average selling price for the foreclosures was $263,838 (Down from $308,838 in October)
The median selling price for the foreclosures was $189,900 (Down from $282,500 in October)
The average price per square foot was $197 (Up from $184 in October)
The 2 foreclosures that sold with in 30 days of being listed sold for 96.46% of the list price (including the escrow period)
The 3 foreclosures that sold from 31 to 60 days of being listed sold for an average of 101.86% of the list price.
The 3 foreclosures that sold from 61 to 90 days of being listed sold for an average of 100.5% of the list price.
The 5 foreclosures that sold from 120+ days on the market sold for an average of 90.27% of the list price.

Currently on the South Lake Tahoe MLS there are 398 single family houses listed and 96 of them are currently in escrow. There are 75 short sale listings and 40 of the short sales are in escrow. Foreclosures account for 42 of the single family homes on the market and 20 of the foreclosures are currently in escrow.

With the extension of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit until April 30, 2010 and the addition of the $6500 current homeowner tax credit, it will be interesting to see what happens to the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market during the rest of 2009 and beyond!

New Lot Listing In South Lake Tahoe

737 Stanford Ave.

Offered at $79,000

Do not miss out on this level lot in Al Tahoe only one block from the meadow! A two story house will take advantage of filtered meadow views and great sunshine. This 5973 square foot lot has 30% coverage and an IPES score of 893. Al Tahoe is centrally located in South Lake Tahoe close to the beaches, Heavenly Valley, and the Casinos. The City of South Lake Tahoe also has a limited number of allocations available with no waiting time. For more information on this great lot or other lots in South Lake Tahoe, please give Brent Johnson a call today!

Recent Lake Tahoe Home Buyer Testimonials

Purchasing a bank owned property can be a bit overwhelming. When dealing with foreclosures there can be multiple offers, scary bank addendum’s, issues with having utilities turned on for inspections, out of town title and escrow companies and tight time periods. When I am representing a buyer on a bank owned foreclosure purchase, I try to go the extra mile to insure that the transaction will go as smoothly as possible.

Last week I closed escrow on two bank owned properties and here is what my two wonderful clients had to say about my performance:

To whom it may concern:

We were in the Tahoe area visiting our son and drove by a house with a REO sign. We made a few phone calls to local Realtors then spoke to Brent Johnson who seemed to be very knowledgeable. Brent was immediately available to help us with options and educate us on a Real estate ownedproperty. Brent was very knowledgeable and patient and won our confidence – later that afternoon we found ourselves back in his office discussing the process and submitted an offer. Throughout the process, which included a second round of negotiations, Brent was there as an advisor for us. Soon thereafter we received a call that the bank accepted our offer – Brent helped us to interface with the other realtor and the bank to make a few concessions and repairs on the home before close of escrow. Brent’s expertise and knowledge in the field made this transaction successful.

Thanks again Brent
Bill and Mona Pecsi
Southern CA

Brent, we wanted to thank you for all of your assistance with the purchase of our house at Tahoe. Your advice in establishing an offering price was extremely useful. And your help as the house progressed through escrow was invaluable. We didn’t fully understand the challenges with purchasing a foreclosure. Living in the Bay Area we never would have been able to obtain all of the historical documentation from the city or be able to follow-up on the required “fixes” to the house. Having you acting on our behalf was invaluable.

We are very pleased with the purchase and expect that our family will have many enjoyable years at the house.

Thanks again,

Stan and Sherry

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure Statistics

So far this year almost one in three houses sold in South Lake Tahoe was a bank owned foreclosure. There have been 353 single family homes reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, 109 of them were foreclosures. With a steady incoming inventory of foreclosure listings coming onto the market, buyers looking for deals still have a good selection to choose from. Although there is still a steady incoming inventory of foreclosure listings, there are more buyers in the real estate market competing for the deals.

The competition over the foreclosure listings has caused many multiple offer situations and has caused many homes to sell over the list price. The average list to sales price for the 30 foreclosure listings that sold from 31 to 60 days of being on the market was 103.47% of list price. The non foreclosures only sold for 96.8% of list price with the same days on the market.

Below is a graph showing the average list price to sales price for the foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe that have sold so far this year.

The bank owned foreclosures are also selling for a much lower price per square foot than the non-foreclosure listings. The 109 foreclosures have sold for an average price per square foot of $191 and the non-foreclosures have sold for an average price per square foot of $252. One thing to keep in mind is that most of the bank owned foreclosures needed some work. Weather it was carpet, paint, appliances, or a total remodel needed, there was usually some kind of work necessary for the foreclosure homes.

The average days on the market was much lower for the foreclosures also. The average days on the market for the foreclosures was 87 days. The average days on the market for the non foreclosures was 185 days.

Here are some more interesting comparisons between the foreclosures and non-foreclosures sold this year.

The median price per square foot for the foreclosure listings was 1,520 and the median square footage for the non-foreclosures was 1,611.
The median sales price for the sold foreclosures was $280,000 and the median sales price for the non-foreclosures was $352,000.
The median days on the market for the sold foreclosures was 75 days and the median days on the market for the non-foreclosures was 147.

If you are interested in purchasing a foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe, here are some tips. Make sure that you sign up for new listing notification on my website so that new foreclosure listings are e-mailed to you as they come onto the market. Be sure to look at my current list of foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe for an updated list of what foreclosures are available and which foreclosures are in escrow. The most important thing to do is to get pre-approved from a mortgage broker. Many banks will not even look at an offer unless a pre-approval letter is included with the offer. When you find a foreclosure that you are interested in, be ready to act quickly. With multiple offer situations very common with foreclosure listings, time is of the essence!

If you have any further questions regarding foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, please call Brent Johnson today!

The $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit is Extended and Improved

There is more good news for the South Lake Tahoe real estate market. On Friday November 6Th, President Obama signed a bill extending and expanding the first-time home buyers tax credit.

The first-time homebuyer tax credit that was scheduled expire on December 1st has now been extended through the end of June, 2010. In order to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit, home buyers must enter into contract prior to April 30 and close escrow by June 30.

More home buyers will now qualify for the rebate because the income limits have also been raised. The income limit for single home buyers is $125,000, and married couples can now earn $225,000 and still get the full credit. The previous income limits to claim the tax credit were $75,000 for single home buyers, and $150,000 for married home buyers. To be considered a first time home buyer you must not have had an interest in a principal residence for 3 years prior to the home purchase.

The first-time home buyer tax credit did a great job stimulating the low end properties on the market, but a new addition to the bill will hopefully stimulate the higher end properties as well. Homeowners who have owned and occupied a residence for at least five years out of the last eight can now claim a $6500 tax credit as well. This new tax credit was designed to help the higher end housing market and homebuyers looking to trade-up in homes.

The extension of the first time home buyer tax credit is great news for those buyers that thought that they missed out on the rebate. For additional information about the tax credit or questions regarding the South Lake Tahoe real estate market, please give California and Nevada real estate agent Brent Johnson a call today!