South Lake Tahoe MLS

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Market Update

Here are the latest statistics for the South Lake Tahoe real estate market as of February 11, 2010.

Currently there are 388 single family house listings on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. 300 of the homes are active and 88 are active pending. With 23% of our housing inventory in escrow, the market is continuing to be very active.

Short sales account for 20% of the single family home inventory in South Lake Tahoe. There are 77 short sales listed on the South Lake Tahoe MLS and 43 of them are currently in escrow. Many of the short sales that are currently in escrow have been in escrow for a long time. The median days on the market for the short sales that are in escrow is 170.

Foreclosures account for 12% of the single family home inventory on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. There are 46 foreclosures listed on the South Lake Tahoe MLS and 22 of them are in escrow.

With 43 short sales and 22 foreclosures in escrow, 65 of the houses in escrow are now distress sales. Having 74% of our current escrows being distress sales is not good news for regular sellers. For more information regarding South Lake Tahoe real estate statistics, please call Brent Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for January

Bank owned foreclosures and short sales dominated the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market in January 2010. Distress sales accounted for 59% of the single family home sales reported on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. There were 32 homes sold in January, 11 were bank owned foreclosures and 8 were short sales. This is the first time that the sale of foreclosures and short sales have out numbered regular sales since I have been keeping track of real estate statistics in South Lake Tahoe.

Although the number of homes sold was down from 48 in December to 32 in January, this is a big improvement from January 2009 when only 18 homes were sold. The number of short sales in South Lake Tahoe that are closing escrow also continues to improve. There were 8 short sales that closed escrow in January, up from 6 in December, and and 2 in November. That is good news for the 40 other short sales that are currently in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe MLS.

January South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

There were 32 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe sold in January, up from 18 in January 2009, and down from 48 in December 2009.
The average sales price for the South Tahoe homes was $348,328, up from $345,350 in January 2009, and down from $472,453 in December 2009.
The median sales price for the South Tahoe homes was $317,250, up from $310,000 in January 2009, and down from $346,500 in December 2009.
The average price per square foot was $209, down from $261 in January 2009, and down from $220 in December 2009.
The average days on the market was 162, up from 123 in January 2009, and up from 155 in December 2009.
The median days on the market was 127, up from 94 in January 2009, and up from 110 in December 2009.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in January sold for an average price per square foot of $195, non-foreclosures had an average price per square foot of $228. The foreclosures that closed escrow also sold quickly, the average days on the market was 65, and the median days on the market was 60. The average sales price for the foreclosures was $269,818 and the median sales price was $215,000.

Short sales in South Lake Tahoe were on a much slower pace than the foreclosures. The average days on the market for the short sales that closed escrow was 239 and the median days on the market was 229. The average sales price for the short sales was $399,438 and the median sales price was $375,750. The average price per square foot for the short sales was $198.

Currently there are 384 active homes on the South Lake Tahoe MLS and 80 of them are in escrow. Short sales account for 40 of the current escrows and foreclosures account for 19. With 59 of 80 of the current escrows being distress sales, February should yield similar statistics to what we saw in January.

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!

New Income Property Listing in South Lake Tahoe

3728 Primrose Rd.

5 Plex Near Stateline Offered at $425,000

This 5 plex is in a great location close to Stateline, shopping, and bus lines. There are four 2 bedroom 1 bath units and one 1 bedroom 1 bath unit. All units are separately metered and the tenants pay for their own utilities. Currently 100% occupied with long term tenants, this is a great opportunity to own income property in South Lake Tahoe!

Unit #1 is a 2 bedroom 1 bath unit rented for $700 a month
Unit #2 is a 2 bedroom 1 bath unit rented for $720 a month
Unit #3 is a 1 bedroom 1 bath unit rented for $650 a month
Unit #4 is a 2 bedroom 1 bath unit rented for $700 a month
Unit #5 is a 2 bedroom 1 bath unit rented for $750 a month
Laundry income is $75 a month
Total income is $3595 a month

Annual Expenses

Property Insurance $2400
Property Taxes $4700
Refuse $1620
Sewer/water $3240
Gas $1800 (for common water heater)
Electric $600
Repairs/maintenance $1200

The adjacent 5 plex at 1053 Moss is also for sale for $425,000. If both properties are purchased, the price will be discounted to $795,000.

For more information about this property or any other property on the South Lake Tahoe mls, please call South Lake Tahoe Real Estate agent Brent Johnson today!

December South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market finished out the year with another strong month of single family home sales. December had the most single family home , sales of 2009 with 48, topping the months of October and November in which 46 single family homes were sold. This was a big improvement from December 2008 when 26 single family homes sold in South Lake Tahoe. Although the number of homes sold in 2009 was up 20 units, the median sales price was down 16% from December 2008.

Distress sales accounted for 42% of the single family homes sold in December. There were 14 bank owned properties and 6 short sales that were reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls. The six short sale closings is an improvement from November when only 2 short sales sold. The short sales that closed escrow in December had an average days on the market of 295, much higher than the foreclosures that sold which only had an average days on the market of 60. As of January 6ththere are still 38 short sales that are still in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe mls.

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Statistics for December

There were 48 single family homes sold in December 2009, up from 41 in November 2009, and up from 26 in December 2008.
The average sales price was $472,453, up from $386,217 in November, and down from $523,490 in December 2008.
The median sales price was $346,500, up from $320,000 in November, and down from $412,450 in December 2008.
The average price per square foot was $220, down from $222 in November, and down from $249 in December 2008.
The average days on the market was 155, down from 158 in November, and down from 204 in December 2008.
The median days on the market was 110, down from 122 in November, and down from 136 in December 2008.

There were 4 newer foreclosures sold that were built in 2003 or later, but the other 10 were older homes that needed work. The 14 foreclosures that sold in December had an average sales price of $294,660 and a median sales price of $269,400. The average price per square foot for the sold foreclosures was $176.

Currently on the South Lake Tahoe MLS there are 369 single family homes listed and 80 of them are in escrow. Short sales account for 73 of those listings, and 37 of the short sales are in escrow. There are 42 bank owned foreclosures, and 22 of the foreclosures are currently in escrow.

South Lake Tahoe home buyers took advantage of 22% total decrease in the median home sales price in 2009. There was a 22% increase in homes sold in South Lake Tahoe from 364 units in 2008, to 445 units in 2009. There was also a 3% increase in total volume from $178,081,602 in 2008 to $183,711,317 in 2009. It is clear that home prices are down, and buyer activity is up in South Lake Tahoe.

New South Lake Tahoe MLS Listing on 1796 Arrowhead!

Just Listed by South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Agents Brent and Jill Johnson

1796 Arrowhead Offered at $249,950!

Click Here to see the Virtual Tour!

Here it is, a 3 bedroom home with a garage that is move-in ready that is NOT a short sale or a foreclosure! This cute Meyers home sits on a sunny and fully landscaped 7,550 square foot lot. Recent upgrades include a new gas freestanding fireplace, laminate flooring, and a comp roof. Give South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Agents Brent and Jill Johnson a call to see this house today!