Homes in South Lake Tahoe

Thank You To My Wonderful Clients!

I wanted to take the time to thank all of the wonderful clients that I have worked with this summer. Although I spent a lot more time at the office than I did at the beach, I had a great summer making many lasting relationships. This has been the busiest year that I have had since I have been a Real Estate Agent in South Lake Tahoe. Out of the 8 offices and 200+ agents here at Chase International, I was able to sell more homes last quarter than anyone else. Great clients and hard work goes a long way.

I hope that all of you who purchased homes in South Lake Tahoe are able to enjoy this amazing place as much as I do! Thanks Again!

Has California’s Housing Market Hit the Bottom?

Has California’s housing market hit the bottom? According to an article in the Wall Street journal by Jim Carlton, “California’s inventory of unsold, previously owned homes shrank to a five-year low in December, in another sign that the state may be coming out of its worst housing slump in decades.”

The supply of unsold single-family homes dropped to 3.8 months from 5.6 months a year ago and 16.6 months in January 2008, when inventories were at a peak, according to estimates by the California Association of Realtors. The inventory levels are now at their lowest levels since 2005, resulting in frenzied sales with multiple offers in some cities.

The current inventory rate is running well under California’s historical average since the 1980s of about an eight month supply of existing homes on the market. That’s partly because a once huge supply of foreclosures in the state has dwindled. In November, foreclosed properties accounted for 40% of all single family sales, new and used, in California, compared with 58% in January, according to the most recent estimates by Zillow.com a market tracker.

The current inventory of houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe is also down to its lowest level in January since 2007. There are currently 389 active listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls, 83 of the listings are in escrow and 306 of the listings are available. In January 2009 there were 403 active listings and only 36 were in escrow leaving 367 available homes. In January 2008 there were 399 active listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls and only 33 were in escrow leaving 366 available homes. In 2007 there were fewer active homes on the market (368), but still only 37 were in escrow making the inventory of available homes 331, more than the current inventory of 306.

Jim Carlton also points out that prices are also stabilizing. “Although most home prices remain well below their pre-bust highs of three years ago, California’s overall housing markets has shown stabilizing since early last year. The median price of an existing, single family home rose 8.4% from a year ago to $306,820, marking the second consecutive year-over-month jump, according to estimates by the state Realtors‘ association.

The median price of single family homes in South Lake Tahoe was much different than state of California’s median price. The median price of homes in South Lake Tahoe fell 22% in 2009 from 2008. The median sales price dropped from $407,000 to $318,000. This drop in the median sales price of single family homes can be interpreted in many ways. I do not think that the 22% decrease from 2008 means that property values fell 22%. There were 137 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in 2009, almost double the amount of foreclosures that sold in 2008 (69 sold foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe were sold in 2008). Most of the foreclosures sold in South Lake Tahoe were in need of some kind of work or repairs. Although the increase in foreclosure sales did help bring down the median sales price in South Lake Tahoe, property values did also decline. The amount that property values declined is debatable.

Weather California’s housing market has hit the bottom or not, property values and interest rates are enticingly low. Adding the first time home buyer incentives and the existing home owner incentives from the government there may not be a better time to buy real estate in South Lake Tahoe!

November Real Estate Review for South Lake Tahoe

Although there was a slight decline in the number of single family homes sold in South Lake Tahoe, November still yielded 41 home sales. The single family home closings were only down 5 units from October when 46 houses were sold. October and November had tied for the most single family home sales so far in 2009 with 46.

The number of distress sales in November was also down from October. There were 13 bank owned foreclosures that sold in November, down from 16 in October. There were 2 short sales that closed escrow in November, down from 4 in October. Distress sales accounted for 37% of the single family home closings in November compared to 43% in October.

November Statistics for South Lake Tahoe Single Family Home Sales

There were 41 Single Family Homes sold in November
The average sales price for the homes sold was $386,217 (Down from $440,393 in October)
The median sales price for the homes sold was $$320,000 (Down from $323,500 in October)
The average price per square foot for the homes sold was $222 (Down from $239 in October)
The average days on the market was 158
The median days on the market was 122
There were 13 bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in November
There were 2 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that sold in November

Real Estate agents in South Lake Tahoe are still struggeling with getting short sales closed. According to the South Lake Tahoe mls, there are now 40 short sales currently in escrow, and only 2 short sales actually closed escrow last month. There has been a total of 32 short sale closings so far this year on the South lake Tahoe mls compared to 124 bank owned foreclosures that have closed escrow.

The bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still selling quickly and for close to asking price. The foreclosures that sold within 31 to 60 days of being listed sold for 101.86% of the list price. That percentage dropped to 90.27% of the list price for the 5 foreclosures that were on the market for longer than 120 days.

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosure Statistics for November

There were 13 bank owned foreclosures sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls in November
The average selling price for the foreclosures was $263,838 (Down from $308,838 in October)
The median selling price for the foreclosures was $189,900 (Down from $282,500 in October)
The average price per square foot was $197 (Up from $184 in October)
The 2 foreclosures that sold with in 30 days of being listed sold for 96.46% of the list price (including the escrow period)
The 3 foreclosures that sold from 31 to 60 days of being listed sold for an average of 101.86% of the list price.
The 3 foreclosures that sold from 61 to 90 days of being listed sold for an average of 100.5% of the list price.
The 5 foreclosures that sold from 120+ days on the market sold for an average of 90.27% of the list price.

Currently on the South Lake Tahoe MLS there are 398 single family houses listed and 96 of them are currently in escrow. There are 75 short sale listings and 40 of the short sales are in escrow. Foreclosures account for 42 of the single family homes on the market and 20 of the foreclosures are currently in escrow.

With the extension of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit until April 30, 2010 and the addition of the $6500 current homeowner tax credit, it will be interesting to see what happens to the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market during the rest of 2009 and beyond!

Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe for the Month of July

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market had another solid month of activity on the sale of single family homes. There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that closed escrow in the month of July, there were 38 homes that had sold in June. With three consecutive months of increasing home sales across the country, South Lake Tahoe seems to be following a similar story.

Statistics for the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in July

There were 37 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in July
There were 9 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe sold in July
Only one short sale was sold in July
The average sales price was $395,570 ( up 11% from $352,555 in June)
The median sales price was $353,000 ( up 12% from $310,000 in June)
The average price per square foot was $238 ( up 4% from $229 in June)

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe were still popular with home buyers in the month of July. Currently there are 38 foreclosures listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and 20 of them are in escrow. The foreclosures that sold in July had an average sales price per square foot of $204, a median sales price of $305,000, and an average sales price of $320,767. The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in the first 60 days sold for an average of 105.7% above the listing price. The multiple offer situations that the bank owned properties are having is causing the homes to sell for above asking price.

There are 472 single family homes that are available on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and there are 96 homes that are currently in escrow. Out of the 96 homes that are in escrow, 33 are short sales and 20 are foreclosures bringing the percentage of “distress sale” escrows to 55%.

August should be another strong month in terms of home sales with the number of current escrows at close to 100. There seems to be continuing good news about the economy, and it will be interesting to see if and how it will affect the South Lake Tahoe real estate market.

Please give Brent and Jill Johnson a call for more information about real estate in South Lake Tahoe!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for June

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is continuing to attract buyers looking to purchase homes at values around 35% less than what they were in 2006! According to the South Lake Tahoe mls, there were 38 single family homes that sold in June with a median sales price was $310,000, 35% less than the median sales price was in June of 2006. The average price per square foot was also down 38% from $370 in 2006 to $229 in 2009.

The attractive home prices, low interest rates, and the $8,000 first time buyers tax credit contributed to an increase in sales from 26 homes sold in May to 38 homes sold in June. The number of bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in June dropped 2 units from 11 sales in May, to 9 sales in June. June also saw 5 short sale closings, no single family home short sales were reported in May on the South Lake Tahoe mls.

Statistics for the single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in June

There were 38 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in June
9 of the houses sold were bank owned foreclosures
5 of the houses sold were short sales
The average sales price was $352,555 (down 2% from $360,169 in May)
The median sales price was $310,000 (down 2% from $315,000 in May)
The average price per square foot was $229 (up 3% from $222 in May)
The average days on the market was 184

The bank owned foreclosures that sold in June were a major contributor to the decline in the median and average sales prices. The average sales price for the 9 foreclosures that sold in June was $288,456, compared to an average sales price of $416,350 for the non-foreclosures. The median sales price for the foreclosures sold was $289,000, compared to $376,000 for non-foreclosures. Average price per square foot was only $176 for the foreclosures, and was $253 for the non foreclosures. Most of the foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe are in need of at least some kind of work which contributes to the lower sales prices.

With 31 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that are currently in escrow, it was great to see that 5 short sales closed escrow in June considering that there were no short sales that closed escrow in May. The short sale listings that closed escrow in June had an average sales price of $283,200, a median sales price of $290,000, and an average sales price per square foot of $212.

South Lake Tahoe home buyers also put 44 single family houses in escrow during the month of June. The number of June escrows is down from 56 in May, but up from 43 in April. The number of distress sales that went into escrow in June decreased with only 3 foreclosures and 8 short sales that went into escrow.

Statistics for the Single Family Homes in South Lake Tahoe went into Escrow in June

There were 44 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that went into escrow in June
The average list price for the new escrows was $451,525
The median list price was $304,500
The average price per square foot was $277
8 of the homes are short sales
3 of the homes are bank owned foreclosures

Activity on lots in South Lake Tahoe picked up slightly in June with 5 lots sold, and 3 lots that went into escrow. 625 Tahoe Island Drive was a bank owned lot that had a list price of $74,900, received multiple offers and sold well above asking price at $125,000. There were also two lots in the Tahoe Keys on Venice Drive that sold with allocations.

Condos in South Lake Tahoe also improved with 8 new escrows and 3 sales. Two of the condos that went into escrow and one of the condos that sold were in the Tahoe Keys.

To find out more on how to take advantage of the low interest rates, the $8,000 first time home-buyer tax credit, and the low South Lake Tahoe real estate prices, call Brent and Jill Johnson at (530) 416-2625 today!

Short Sales Are Here to Stay!

The number of short sale listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls has been on the rise, and many buyers are now giving short sale transactions a chance. Out of the 519 single family homes on the market in South Lake Tahoe, 75 are listed as short sales. Currently 32 of the 75 short sale listings in South Lake Tahoe are in escrow.

With so many homeowners in trouble or upside down on their mortgages, lenders are now realizing that short sales can be a better option than foreclosure. According to Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar“While many complain that lenders are foreclosing too aggressively, and others claim a wave of foreclosure sales is imminent, the data actually shows that lenders are doing everything possible to delay foreclosure. The reality is that we have very few homeowners being foreclosed on when viewed as a percentage of those scheduled to be foreclosed on, delinquent, or upside down on their mortgage.”

Although lenders are taking short sales seriously, the process is still far from seamless. The time that it takes to get an approval on a short sale is one of the biggest challenges that we are facing. It can take from as few as a couple of weeks to over 6 months to get an approval or to have a negotiator assigned to a short sale file. This time can be cut down by having a real estate agent with experience in short sales. It is extremely important to submit a 100% complete short sale package so that the lender will take your file seriously!

So far this year there have been 158 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that have been reported as sold on the the mls. WIth only 13 out of the 158 homes (8%) sold as short sales, the number of short sale closings is still relatively low. Now that there are 32 short sales in escrow, it will be interesting to see how many of them close in the next few months.

With so many homeowners upside down in their mortgages, it will be essential for lenders to continue to streamline the short sale process. Now that buyers, sellers, and lenders are realizing the benefits of short sales, short sales are here to stay!