South Lake Tahoe Foreclosures

I just had a little inspiration from one of my clients  to check out the latest statistics for foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe. I had a client that emailed me four bank owned listings that he wanted to see today.  While setting up appointments to view these listings I had learned that one of the properties had just gone into escrow, and the other three already had offers on them! Does my client have great taste or what? I thought that I would look into the latest market activity to see the latest foreclosure trends here in Tahoe. 

There are 479 residential listings on the South Tahoe MLS (both single family homes and condos).  Out of the 479 listings, 62 are bank owned foreclosures. That means that foreclosures account for only 13% of the total current inventory of single family homes listed on the MLS.

Currently 93 of the 479 single family listings are in escrow. Of the 93 properties that are in escrow, 28 are bank owned foreclosures. Although foreclosures only account for 13% of our inventory, they account for 30% of the properties that are in escrow.

In February 2010 there were 103 single family homes that were in escrow on the South Tahoe MLS. Of the 103 properties that were in escrow, 22 were bank owned foreclosures. Foreclosures accounted for only 21% of the properties that were in escrow.  Since last year, the number percentage of foreclosure to non foreclosure escrows has increased by 8%.

The banks are  pricing foreclosures lower than the other properties that are on the market which is why there is so much interest in foreclosure properties.  The average price per square foot of the foreclosures that are listed is $175, the non-foreclosure inventory is at an average of $251 per square foot. The median price of the foreclosures is $214,950 and the median price of the non foreclosures is $315,000.

Although the banks are pricing the foreclosures to sell quickly, most of the properties need some work. Some of the foreclosures are missing appliances, light fixtures, and other hardware. Many of the properties also have damage to the walls, flooring, cabinets, and doors. Some of the banks are now painting, replacing flooring, and replacing missing appliances and light fixtures to make the properties more presentable.

The bottom line is that if you are looking for a good deal on a property in South Lake Tahoe and you are willing to do a bit of work, foreclosures are worth looking into. With all of the recent activity on the foreclosures, you will also need to act quickly when you find a property that you like. The chances are that there will be other buyers interested in the foreclosure as well!