North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region Market Report

2013 Weekly Real Estate Market Report

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

Residential Properties – Single Family Homes and Condominiums

Week of: February 25^th to March 3^rd

Active Inventory Summary:

Active Listings: The current inventory of residential properties went up slightly for the first time since early 2012 to 510 residential properties for sale; 328 single family homes and 182 condominiums for sale. The current inventory level is at record lows for the past seven years. Coldwell Banker has almost 12% of the active listings in the market and continues to be the market leader for listings.

REO-Short Sale Active Listings: Of the active listings, there are only 6 properties listed as short sales, (1.2%) and 8 properties listed as REO sales, (1.6%).

Months of Inventory: Based on the current active inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has a little over 6-months of inventory available.

Sales Summary: Year-To-Date

Total Sales 2013 Vs. 2012:

Total Sales: For 2013, there have been 160 residential properties sold in the market which is identical to the 160 properties sold in 2012 for the same period. Of the total sales in the market this year, 118 have been single family homes, while 42 or 26% of the sales are condominiums. In 2012 for the same period, condominiums represented a little over 18% of the sales.

REO & Short Sales: Distressed property sales thus far for the year are 12 REO sales, (7.5%), and 26 Short Sales, (16.3%) which results in almost 24% of the properties sold being distressed properties. In 2012 for the same period, there were 37 REO sales and 38 short sales or 47% of the total sales.

Sales by Price Range: For the year, there have been 102 residential properties sold priced below $500,000, 37 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 21 properties sold over $1,000,000.

Median and Average Sales Prices:The median sales price for properties sold year to date is $378,750 while the average sales price is $716,321. For the same period in 2012, the median sales price was $350,000 and the average sales price was $508,971 which is an increase of 8% in median sales price and an increase of 40% in average sales price.

Last Week’s Sales: For the week of February 25^th a total of 26 properties sold which was up dramatically from the prior week’s sales of 15 properties. Of the properties sold last week, three (3) properties sold at a price above $1,000,000.

Pending Sales: Currently there are 242 pending residential sales in the market which is up nicely from the previous week. Of the pending properties, 32% are distressed properties with 63 being short sales and 14 being REO’s.

Market Activity Summary:

The 2013 year through the first two months has mirrored 2012 in terms of total sales as there have been 160 residential properties sold year to date which is identical for the same period last year.

The month of February had 67 properties sold as compared to 75 in 2012 for the same period which is an (11%) decline. Interesting enough, the month of January saw total sales for 2013 of 83 properties as compared to 72 properties for the same period in 2012 which is a 15% increase.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage as was the case in 2012 continues to be #1 in the entire market in terms of both unit sides sold, (67 sales) and sales volume sold, ($29 million) on a year to date basis.

The median sales price for residential properties reached 378,750 which is up 8.2% from the median sales price of $350,000 in 2012. Similarly the average sales price has gone up a whopping 40% to $716,321 as compared to last year’s average sales price of $508,971 due in large part to the higher number of luxury sales in the market since the beginning of the new year.

The segment of the market with the highest level of activity continues to be homes priced under $500,000 as over 64% of the sales or 102 properties have sold in this price range which is similar on a percentage basis to 2012 where over 67% of sales or 108 properties sold in this price range.

Luxury home sales, homes priced above $1,000,000, are up 90% from 2012 with 21 luxury properties selling since the beginning of the year as compared to only 11 luxury properties sold for the same period in 2012. Luxury properties sold represents over 13% of sales thus far this year. The median sales price for luxury properties in 2013 is $1,637,500 as compared to a median price of $1,250,000 in 2012 which is up 31%. As dramatically, the average sales price of luxury homes in 2013 is $2,783,327 as compared to $2,172,727 in 2012 which is a 28% increase.

The mid-range market sales, $500,000 to $1,000,000 are almost identical to last year with 37 properties sold in this segment or 23% of sales as compared to 41 properties sold or 26% of sale in this range in 2012.

Distressed properties, (REO’s and Short Sales), have really lagged 2012 thus far. For 2013, short sale properties closed have gone down 32% with 26 closed short sales in 2013 as compared to 38 closed short sales in 2012. Similarly, REO properties closed in 2013 have gone down (67%) with 12 properties closed in 2013 as compared to 37 properties closed in 2012. Overall, distressed property sales, (REO and Short Sales) represent 23% of the sales in 2013 which is less than the 46% in 2012.

The active inventory on a year over year basis is down roughly 39%. However, this past week we had a slight increase in inventory for the first time since early 2012. There are a total of 510 residential properties on the market with 328 single family homes and 182 condominiums listed for sale in the market. As is the case in many California markets, low inventory levels are the norm and the Tahoe-Truckee market is experiencing similar trends.

 IT’S NOT TOO LATE! While inventory levels are at a market low, there are still many quality properties to choose from throughout the north Lake Tahoe and Truckee area. When you compound the inventory available with homes still priced at 10-year lows and some of the lowest interest rates in history, savvy real estate investors are taking advantage of this market and acquiring homes in many of the Lake Tahoe and Truckee resort communities.