South Lake Tahoe MLS

March South Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

March was a great month for closings on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. There were 44 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that were reported as sold during the month of March. The number of sold homes in South Tahoe was up in March from only 30 home sales in February. The median sales price of the homes that were sold in March was $310,000 which was down 2.4% from March 2010, but was up substantially from $269,200 from what it was in February.

The number of sold foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe were also up in March. There were 17 bank owned single family homes that were sold in March which was up from 10 in February. There were only 3 short sales that closed escrow in March which was down from 5 short sale closings in February.

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

The median sales price of the homes in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in March was $310,000, up from $269,200 in February.
The average sales price of the houses in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in March was $349,941, down from $356,770 in February.
The average price per square foot was $197, up from $188 in February.
The average days on the market was 153 and the median days on the market was 125 including the escrow period.
There were 17 bank owned foreclosures (REO’s) that were sold, up from 10 in February.
There were 3 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that were sold, down from 5 in February.

The foreclosures in South Tahoe that were sold in March had an average sales price of $242,621 and a median sales price of $215,000. The average price per square foot of the foreclosures that were sold was $169 per square foot, much lower than the non-foreclosures that sold for $217 per square foot.

Currently there are 345 total single family listings on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. There are 266 listings that are active and 79 that are active pending. Short sales account for 75 of the current MLS listings. Out of the 75 short sale listings, 35 are active, and 40 are active pending. Bank owned foreclosures accout for 42 of the single family listings. There are 26 foreclosure listings that are active, and 16 that are active pending.

Lake Tahoe Foreclosures

Foreclosures in Lake Tahoe have become a popular target for buyers investing in South Lake Tahoe real Estate. Foreclosure listings have become popular with buyers because they are usually priced below the current market value.

The term “Foreclosure” is actually the legal process by which the bank or lender uses to sell the property in order to satisfy the loan balance in the event of a default. In California, this process is most commonly a non-judicial foreclosure.

When a homeowner stops making mortgage payments, a Notice of Default is recorded with the County Recorder. The homeowner then has 90 days to cure the default. If the homeowner does not cure the default, a Notice of Trustees Sale is recorded. The Notice of Trustees sale states that the lender or trustee will sell the property at auction in 21 days.

The Trustee Sale Auction is held as a public auction conducted by the lenders representative. The winning bidder must pay with cash in the full amount of the bid. The lender usually bids in the amount of the balance due plus costs. If no one else bids higher than the lender, the property reverts back to the lender. Once the property reverts back to the lender it becomes an REO.

Why buy an REO?

An REO property is an investment gone bad to a lender, so REO’s represent a loss to the lender. Real Estate holding costs are expensive and will add to the lenders loss. In order to get money loosing assets off of the books, lenders will price REO’s ( foreclosure listings) to sell quickly. Most of the foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe are priced below the current market value. Many times the foreclosures are priced low enough to attract multiple offers.

Purchasing a foreclosure that is listed on the South Lake Tahoe MLS is similar to purchasing a property from an individual seller. Buyers can finance foreclosures just as they can finance re-sale and new homes. Buyers will also have an inspection period that ranges from 10 to 17 days to to any property inspections that may be necessary. Delinquent tax and utility liens will be cleared by the seller, and buyers are issued a clear title and title insurance.

Most foreclosures are sold in “As Is Condition” which makes a Home Inspection and a Termite Inspection very important. If problems are found in the inspections that are more costly than anticipated, the buyers can back out and the initial deposit will be refunded, less any inspection expenses. REO property owners are exempt from providing a Transfer Disclosure Statement or a Natural Hazard Disclosure. The seller is exempt from these disclosures because in most cases they have never seen the property and know little about it.

Because Bank Owned Listings in South Lake Tahoe are usually priced below the current market value, they can be a great investment opportunity. If you are interested in speaking more about foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, please feel free to call me at (530) 416-2625!

South Tahoe Real Estate Statistics for December 2010

December ended up being a solid month in terms of closings for the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Market. There were 40 single family homes (not including condos) that were sold on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. Although the average price per square foot dropped below $200 per square foot, both the average and median sales prices were up from November.

South Lake Tahoe MLS Statistics

There were 40 single family homes in South Tahoe that were sold in December, up from 38 sold homes in November and down from 49 sold homes in December 2009.
There were 24 distress sales in December. 17 of the sales were bank owned foreclosures and 6 were short sales. 60% of the homes sold were distress sales, up from 53% in November and up from 43% in December 2009.
The average sales price for the sold South Tahoe Homes was $404,998, this is up from $362,943 in November and down from $469,281 in December 2009.
The median sales price was $332,000, up from $291,250 in November and down from $343,000 in December 2009.
The average price per square foot was $192 which was down from November when it was $212. The price per square foot was also down from December 2009 when it was $220.

There were 5 Tahoe Keys Homes that were sold in December. The houses in the Tahoe Keys that sold had an average price per square foot of $276. The median sales price was $625,000 and the average sales price was $812,500. Only one of the sold Tahoe Keys homes was a foreclosure, none were short sales.

South Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

South Lake Tahoe MLS statistics as of November 17, 2010

The following statistics are for Residential (single family and condo/town homes) located in the City and County areas of South Lake Tahoe:

The total number of listings on the South Lake Tahoe MLS is 511 (78 of the homes are listed by Chase=15.3% of the inventory).
412 of the listings are active (still available) 42 of the active listings are short sales and 31 are bank owned listings. Only 17.7% of the active inventory is distress sales.
99 of the listings are in escrow. 50 of the current houses in escrow are short sales and 25 are bank owned. 75.8% of the current escrows are distress sales.
The 99 escrows represent 19.4 % of the total inventory in escrow.

Breakdown by price range of the 99 escrows

Under $200,000 21 properties
$201-$300,000 37 properties
$301-$400,000 16 properties
$401-$500,000 9 properties
$501-$600,000 3 properties
$601-$700,000 5 properties
$701-$800,000 3 properties
$801-$999,000 4 properties
Over 1 million 1 property

So far this year there have been 495 single family homes and condos sold in the South Lake Tahoe MLS.

145 of the properties sold were bank owned foreclosures (29.3%)
81 of the properties sold were short sales (16.4%)

There are currently 80 single family homes and condos listed in the Tahoe Keys area. 68 of the properties are active, and 12 of the properties are in escrow. The current Tahoe Keys inventory includes 8 bank owned properties and 7 short sales. There have been 58 properties sold in the Tahoe Keys so far this year. 8 of the sold homes were foreclosures and 6 of the homes were short sales.

South Tahoe Real Estate in October

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market typically begins to slow down in the late fall and into the winter. There has been a trend of slowing sales, but buyer activity is still quite active for this time of year. There were 45 houses sold in October on the South Lake Tahoe MLS. Although the number of sales is down from 61 in August, it is not far off from the 53 houses that sold in July.

Distress sales accounted for 15 of the 45 houses that were sold. 5 of the distress sales were short sales and 10 were bank owned foreclosures. The bank owned foreclosures that sold in October sold for a very low price per square foot of $154. With the exception of two newer foreclosures, the bank owned properties that sold in October were in poor condition and needed work..

South Lake Tahoe MLS Statistics for October 2010

There were 45 houses that sold in October on the South Lake Tahoe MLS, this is down from the 61 houses that were sold in September.
10 of the houses that were sold were bank owned foreclosures and 5 were short sales.
The median sales price of the sold homes was $297,000, down from $330,500 in September.
The average sales price of the sold homes was $357,263, down from $445,254 in September.
The average days on the market was 143 and the median days on the market was 115.
The average price per square foot of the houses that were sold was $201, down from $219 in September.
The percentage of distress sales that were sold was 33%, up slightly from 28% in September.

The current inventory of houses available on the South Lake Tahoe MLS in the city and county is 443. 356 of the houses are active, and 87 are active pending. Of the current inventory, 41 are bank owned foreclosures. 23 of the foreclosures are active and 18 are in escrow. There are 84 short sales currently on the market. 41 of the short sales are active and 43 of them are in escrow.

In looking at the current inventory of pending houses, 62 of the 87 houses are distress sales. That puts the percentage of distress sales to regular sales that are in escrow at over 71%. Hopefully we can get some of these short sales closed and that percentage will go down.

South Tahoe Real Estate Statistics for September

As usual, September was a busy month in terms of closed escrows in South Lake Tahoe. According to the South Lake Tahoe MLS there were 61 single family homes that had closed escrow in September, up from 49 homes sold in August. The median and average sale prices were up as well.

The average percentage of list price to sales price was also up. This is bad news for buyers who think that they can still make “low ball” offers, but good news for sellers who are probably already taking a huge loss.

Average days on market Breakdown and Average % of List Price Received on Solds by Market time:

0-30 days on the market, 2 listings sold for an average of 99.86% of the listing price.
31-60 days on the market, 10 listings sold for an average of 96.22% of the listing price.
61-90 days on the market, 20 listings sold for an average of 95.93% of the listing price.
91-120 days on the market, 9 listings sold for an average of 92.89% of the listing price.
120+ days on the market, 20 listings sold for an average of 93.26% of the listing price.

The longer that the homes were on the market, the more flexible the sellers were. The houses that were new on the market sold for very close to asking price. The days on the market includes the days that the homes were in escrow as well.

September South Tahoe Real Estate Statistics

There were 61 homes that sold in September on the South Lake Tahoe mls, up from 49 sales in August.
There were 16 bank owned foreclosures that closed escrow in September, the same number that sold in August.
There was only one short sale that closed escrow last month, down from 7 in August.
The median price of the sold homes was $330,500, up from $289,000 in August.
The average price of the sold homes was $445,254, up from $355,002 in August.
The average days on the market was 144 and the median days on the market was 88.
The average price per square foot was $219, up from $207 in August.

The bank owned properties that sold in September had a very low price per square foot of only $152. Most of the foreclosures that had sold were fixer-uppers that needed work. The average sales price of the foreclosures was $257,875 and the median sales price was $232,500.

One statistic that was surprising to me was that 72% of the houses sold in September were regular sales. Only 28% of the sold homes were foreclosures or short sales. Regular sellers are now having much better luck competing with the REO’s now that they have priced their homes competitively.