May South Tahoe Real Estate Stats

May was a much better month for the South Lake Tahoe real estate market than it was for the stock market! There were 42 single family homes that closed escrow in South Tahoe during the month in May 2010. This is a significant increase from the 27 homes that closed escrow in May 2009. The stock market did not fair nearly as well!

Distress sales were once again on the decline. Distress sales only accounted for 38% (16) of the sales in May, down from 48% in April, and down from 58% in March. Foreclosures accounted for only 9 of the closed sold homes, short sales accounted for the other 7.

May South Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

• There were 42 single family homes reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls in the month of May. This is up from 27 in May 2009 and down from 46 in April 2010.
• The average price of the homes sold was $462,367 (The average drops to$387,669 if I take out the lakefront Keys sale for $3,525,000) The average sales price was $386,177 in April and $355,633 in May 2009.
• The median sales price of the homes sold in May was $322,000. This is down from $329,163 in April and up from $315,000 in May 2009.
• The average price per square foot was $216. The average price per square foot was $211 in April and $222 in May 2009.
• The average days on the market was 145, down from 158 in April and down from 147 in May 2009.
• The median days on the market was 99, down from 112 in April and down from 137 in May 2009.

The distress sales that sold in May had a very low price per square foot compared to the non-distress sales. The foreclosures that sold had an average price per square foot of $165 and the short sales had an average price per square foot of $170. The price per square foot for the non-distress sales was $245.

Here are some other interesting statistics for the distress sales sold in May:

• Including the escrow period, the foreclosures had an average days on the market of 66. The sold short sales averaged 286 days!
• The foreclosures had a median days on the market of 76 days including the escrow period. The sold short sales had a median days on the market of 204!
• The average sales price of the foreclosures was $257,156. The average sales price was $479,857 for the short sales.
• The median price of the sold foreclosures was $229,900. The median sales price was $525,000 for the short sales.

There were only two lots in South Lake Tahoe that sold in May. Both lots that sold were in the North Upper Truckee area. One was a lot in the burn area that sold for $145,000 and one was a 10,511 square foot lot that sold for $95,000.

There was one condo that sold in May. This was a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath unit in the Tahoe Keys that sold for $290,000.

There was also only one multi family unit that sold in May. This was a property that had 2 houses on one lot in the Tahoe Island Drive area. These homes sold for $240,500.

 The most active area of the South Lake Tahoe real estate market continues to be the single family homes. It is great to see that the percentage of short sale and foreclosure sales has continued to decline for the third consecutive month. The percentage of distress sale closings has gone down to 38% from 65% in February. This is another sign of stabilization in the housing market. I hope that it continues!