October South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

October was another great month for single family home sales in South Lake Tahoe. There were 46 homes sold in October which tied the month September for the most single family houses sold in 2009. Home buyers did a great job taking advantage of the low home prices and the great fall weather here in South Lake Tahoe. Many of the home buyers were first time home buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit before it expires. There has been talk about the possibility of the first time home buyer tax credit being extended. According to The National Association of Realtors, Key lawmakers in the Senate have tentatively agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first time home buyers. If the tax credit is extended, it should benefit the housing market across the country.

Here are the statistics for the single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in October:

• There were 46 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in October
• 16 of the sold homes were bank owned foreclosures
• There were 4 short sales in South Lake Tahoe sold
• The average sales price for the sold homes was $440,393 (up from $371,058 in September)
• The median sales price was $323,500 (up from $292,500 in September)
• The average selling price per square foot was $239 (up from $215,000 in September)
• The median days on the market was 123

There were only 4 short sales that closed escrow in October, this is down from 7 sold in September. The short sales that sold had a very long median days on the market of 227. The average price per square foot for the short sales was $231, and the median sales price was $564,500. It still seems like most banks are more willing to spend time and money on foreclosing on homes than they are willing to work with the sellers and real estate agents to get short sales closed!

There were 16 bank owned foreclosures that were sold in October. The average price per square foot for the sold foreclosures was $184, down from $196 in  September. The average price per square foot for the non-distress sales that sold in October was $274, $90 per square foot more than the foreclosures. South Lake Tahoe real estate buyers continued to target bank owned foreclosure listings and continued to pay close to or above list price for them. The foreclosures that sold in the first 30 days of being listed (3 homes) sold for 98% of list price. The foreclosures that sold from 31-60 days of being listed (2homes) sold for 130% of list price. The foreclosures that sold from 61-90 days of being listed (4 homes) sold for 94% of list price. The foreclosures that sold after over 91 days of being listed (7 homes) sold for 101% of the listing price.

• The average sales price for the foreclosures sold in October was $308,838
• The median sales price for the sold foreclosures was $282,500
• The median days on the market was 79
• The average sales price per square foot was $184

There is still a great selection of houses available in South Lake Tahoe. There are currently 346 houses for sale on the South Lake Tahoe mls and 95 houses that are in escrow. There has also been some decent foreclosures coming onto the market each week. Make sure to keep visiting my current list of foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe or sign up for my new listing notification to be notified of new listings that meet your criteria.