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Highland Woods

The Highland Woods area is a small and desirable neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe. There are not a lot of homes that come up for sale in the Highland Woods area, so the sales can often be quick, especially if the homes are priced well.

One of the best features of Highland woods is the under ground utilities. Other than the Tahoe Keys, Highland woods is one of the the only areas that does not have power lines obstructing the views. The curbs and gutters are another feature that add to the aesthetics of the area. There are also many newer homes with landscaped yards that make this neighborhood a pleasure to be in.

The Highland woods area is centrally located in South Lake Tahoe with easy access to highway 50. The casinos, Heavenly Valley Ski Resort, and Lake Tahoe’s famous sandy beaches are only a short drive away.

The Upper Truckee River, Truckee Marsh, and Trout Creek boarder three sides of the area, giving Highland Woods a very peaceful setting. Some of the homes on Springwood street back the meadow and even have lake views. On the south side of Highland Woods near highway 50 are some duplexes and multi-family units, so the more desirable areas for single family homes are near the middle and around the perimeters of the meadows.
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Homes in Highland Woods average in price from the Upper $200,000’s to the $600,000’s.

If you are looking at houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe and like clean desirable neighborhoods, make sure to check out Highland Woods. There are only 4 homes that are available on the South Lake Tahoe mls, so make sure to sign up for my new listing notification to have any new mls listings e-mailed to you as soon as they hit the market!

Vacant lots in South Lake Tahoe

With only one vacant lot sold so far this year, and no lots currently in escrow, it is not looking good for the value of vacant properties in South Lake Tahoe. So far this year, the only lot that has sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls was 3708 Verdon Street. 3708 Verdon is a vacant lot with no allocation near Heavenly Valley Ski Resort that sold for $90,000.

The speculators, developers, and investors that were buying the lots in South Lake Tahoe and earning massive returns on their investments have just stopped buying land. The days of six figure returns on spec houses are over for now, so the inflated lot values have taken a huge hit. Buyers used to be able to purchase a vacant lot, get in line for an allocation with the city or county, and then sell the lot for almost double what they paid for it after the allocation had been received. Now lots with allocations are not selling for much more than the lots without allocations.

The price of homes in South Lake Tahoe has also affected the lot market. Buyers can now purchase a small house or a fixer upper for close to what lots were once selling for. Currently the average price of the foreclosures for sale in South Lake Tahoe is $332,344, well less than what it would cost to buy a lot and build a home.

Here are the statistics for the sales of lots from the South Lake Tahoe mls for the last 6 years

Sold 2008 lots with allocations

21 lots sold
Median list price $175,000
Median sales price $165,000
Median days on market was 79
Lots with allocations sold for an average of $15,000 more than lots without allocations.

Sold 2008 lots without allocations

15 lots sold
Median list price $150,000
Median sales price $150,000
Median days on market was 147

Sold 2007 lots with allocations

24 lots sold
Median list price $222,000
Median sales price $205,000
Median days on market was 96
Lots with allocations sold for an average of $55,000 more than lots without allocations.

Sold 2007 lots without allocations

32 lots sold
Median list price $172,500
Median sales price $150,000
Median days on market was 131

Sold 2006 lots with allocations

14 lots sold
Median list price $319,500
Median sales price $293,250
Median days on market was 108 days
Lots with allocations sold for an average of $93,750 more than lots without allocations

Sold 2006 lots without allocations

46 lots sold
Median list price $215,000
Median sales price $199,500
Median days on market was 81 days

Sold 2005 lots with allocations

23 lots sold
Median list price $274,900
Median sales price $260,000
Median days on market was 103 days
Lots with allocations sold for an average of $110,000 more than lots without allocations

Sold 2005 lots without allocations

102 lots sold
Median list price $154,250
Median sales price $150,000
Medain days on market was 92 days

Sold 2004 lots with allocations

23 lots sold
Median list price $195,000
Median sales price $175,000
Median days on market was 99 days
Lots with allocations sold for an average of $82,000 more than lots without allocations

Sold 2004 lots without allocations

145 lots sold
Median list price $95,000
Median sales price $93,000
Median days on market was 93 days

Sold 2003 lots with allocations

17 lots sold
Median list price $139,000
Median sales price $125,000
Median days on market was 92 days
Lots with allocations sold for an average of $50,000 more than lots without allocations.

Sold 2003 lots with allocations

126 lots sold
Median list price $79,000
Median sales price $75,000
Median days on market was 87 days

Looking at the statistics, it is easy to see how quickly lots in South Lake Tahoe appreciated in the last 6 years. It is also clear that the volume of lot sales has quickly decreased. I expect to see a major reduction in the median sales price of lots this year. There have already been some big price reductions on both lots with and without allocations.

Although I do expect lot prices to continue downward, I still think that it is a great time to by if you can find a motivated seller and pay less than market value. There are some great city and county lots for sale under $100,000, which we have not seen since 2003/2004. The time it takes to get an allocation is also much quicker now, especially in the county.

If you are planning to build a home there has never been a better time as long as you are planning to hold onto it. Lumber prices are down to their lowest prices in years, and there are a lot of contractors out there looking for work.

For more information about South Lake Tahoe properties, the South Lake Tahoe mls, or South Lake Tahoe real estate, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson. This South Lake Tahoe real estate blog post was written by Brent Johnson.

Heavenly Valley

When it comes to vacation homes in South Lake Tahoe, the Heavenly Valley area is hard to beat. Throughout the winter months, skiers and snowboarders flock to Heavenly Valley Ski Resort and look for homes to rent close by. Any local vacation rental agency will tell you that vacation rental homes in the Heavenly Valley area do very well compared to most other areas.

Homes in the Heavenly Valley area range from a small ski cabin in the $300,000’s to multi-million dollar lake view houses. Buildable vacant land and coverage is getting scarce in this area, so remodels are becoming more common than new construction. There have been some recent sales of newer and remodeled homes that have really upped the median and average home prices in the area. The home values in the Heavenly Valley area are higher than most other areas in South Lake Tahoe due to the demand, great rental income potential, and location.

The Heavenly Valley area is located to the south east of Pioneer Trail and extents to the base of Heavenly Valley Ski Resort. The casinos are only a few minutes away adding to the desirability of the area for vacation rentals. Some of the homes up higher on the mountain have spectacular views of Lake Tahoe, the surrounding mountains, and Heavenly Resort.

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe may be Reduced by the Obama Administration

Will the amount of new foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe be reduced by the Obama administrations plan to aid home owners?

A recent article from REALTOR® Magazine Online explains the Obama administrations long-awaited plan to stem foreclosures. It’s organized into three categories:

1.) Help for home owners making their payments but at risk of default and foreclosure.

Home owners with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan would be eligible to refinance as long as their mortgage doesn’t exceed 105 percent of the home’s current market value. Currently owners need to have at least 20 percent equity. Potential impact: 4-5 million households.

2.) Help for home owners already in default and in need of loan modification.

For lenders that voluntarily agree to lower a borrower’s payment so that it makes up no more than 38 percent of the borrower’s income, the government would share the cost of lowering the mortgage burden to 31 percent of income. Incentives to lenders to participate include a $1,000 payment.

Borrowers can receive up to $1,000 as an incentive to stay current on their new mortgage. Still in the works is a proposed provision that would allow bankruptcy judges to require loan modification (known as a cramdown) as part of a household’s restructuring. That provision requires legislation by Congress. Estimated potential impact: 3-4 million households.

3.) Doubled resources to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

To encourage investors to buy the secondary market companies’ mortgage-backed securities, the government explicitly backstops them to up to $400 billion, twice the current amount.

The plan does not provide help to investors or to home owners who are in trouble with a second home, nor does it apply to homeowners whose mortgage is part of a private-label mortgage security that is not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

“The administration’s proposed plan, combined with provisions like the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit in the just-enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will help minimize foreclosures, shrink housing inventory, stabilize home values, and move the country closer to an economic recovery,” says NAR President Charles McMillan.

Source: REALTOR® Magazine Online

I think that the plan will have a minimal effect in reducing the number of new South Lake Tahoe foreclosures because the plan does not help second home owners or investors. There are some homes in South Lake Tahoe that are owned as primary residences, but the majority of our market are second homes and vacation homes. A lot of the homes that are being foreclosed on here in Lake Tahoe are the vacation homes and investment homes.

There were a lot of fixer upper homes purchased by investors and speculators when the real estate market was booming. The investors then spent money fixing the properties up, or had planned on fixing them up and then selling them until the market started going down. When equity lines of credit were cut off, a lot of investors and speculators lost the money they were using to complete their projects and to pay for the holding costs. The market went down, and many home owners could not afford to sell them for less than what they owed.

The plan also will only help home owners who have loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The plan should assist between 7 and 9 million home owners, but unless backed by Fannie or Freddie this plan will not help.

Hopefuly the Obama administration’s plan will help some of the local home owners in trouble, but I believe that the effect on the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market will be minimal.

This Lake Tahoe Real Estate blog post was written by Brent Johnson. If you would like to talk about the South Lake Tahoe real estate market, homes for sale in South lake Tahoe, or South Lake Tahoe foreclosures, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosures, 952 Tahoe Island Drive

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still on the on the top of the list for most serious home buyers. Currently there are 31 foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls and 14 of them are in escrow. Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still selling rather quickly and have an average of 66 days on the market.

One of the reasons that foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are selling so quickly is that most of them are priced to sell. The average list price for the current foreclosures is $314,139. The average price per square foot for the current foreclosures is $206 compared to $334 for all of the non foreclosures on the market.

The most recent foreclosure listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls is 952 Tahoe Island Drive.

952 Tahoe Island Drive $275,000

In Town Chalet which is close to the elementary school and Tahoe Keys Blvd. Insert Wood Fireplace. 2 Bedrooms and 1 Bath upstairs and 2 Bedroom and 1 Bath Downstairs. To be sold in “AS IS” condition.

4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 car garage
1650 square feet
7514 square foot lot
Chalet style
In town location
For more information contact Brent and Jill Johnson!

If you would like to know more about foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe, or South Lake Tahoe real estate, please call Brent and Jill Johnson today!

This Lake Tahoe real estate blog post was written by South Lake Tahoe real estate agent Brent Johnson.

Gardner Mountain

If you are looking for a neighborhood with low to mid-priced homes in South Lake Tahoe, the Gardner Mountain area is a great place to buy. The majority of homes in the Gardner Mountain area are smaller homes and cabins priced in the $300,000 range. There are some houses available in the mid $200’s, and range all the way to new houses can be found up in the $800’s.

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Gardner Mountain has a quiet mountain like setting and is still with-in the City limits of South Lake Tahoe. As the name implies, the area is located on a small and forested mountain. Gardner Mountain has easy access from HWY 89, and is less than a mile from HWY 50 and the Y. Gardner Mountain is one of the closest areas to Camp Richardson, Fallen Leaf Lake, and South Shores best beaches. There is a great bike trail that leads to Pope beach , Baldwin beach, Kiva beach, and all the way to Ski beach from the bottom of Gardner Mountain.

National Forest land boarders the west side of the Gardner Mountain area, and to the south is the South Tahoe High School. Gardner street, on the west side, is one of the best streets in the area to be located on because it boarders the National Forest land and offers both privacy and views.

Most of the lots in the Gardner Mountain area are 5,000 to 10,000 square feet in size. The 10,000 square foot lots are usually 50′ wide by 200′ deep, so many homes in the area have very large back yards. There are also a few big lots near the bottom of Gardner Mountain that are an entire acre in size.