South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog Update Regarding the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Last week I wrote about the first time home buyer tax credit, and how it could be used as part of the down payment on an FHA loan. The next day, I wrote about how that information may have been pre-maturely released. According to HUD, borrowers can now immediately apply the funds of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit towards their down payment. Home buyers using FHA-approved lenders can apply the tax credit to their dawn payment in excess of 3.5% of the appraised value of their closing costs, which can help achieve a lower interest rate.

This tax credit down payment option is great news for the South Lake Tahoe real estate market. First time home buyers that are on the fence now have a great reason to purchase their first home. After three months of increasing pending home sales not only in South Lake Tahoe, but Nation wide. The housing market is definitely heating up!

Make sure to keep logging on to my South Lake Tahoe real estate blog for the latest in real estate news and South Lake Tahoe real estate statistics!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog Update Regarding $8,000 Tax Credit

On May 16th I wrote a South Lake Tahoe real estate blog post regarding the FHA now allowing the first time home buyer $8,000 tax credit as part of the down payment. Apparently Shaun Donovan, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offered this news prematurely. My blog post was written from information provided from the National Association of Realtors.

Here is a copy of an e-mail that I received from Andy McInnes of Band Of America regarding the current status of the credit down payment option.

As many of you know, the Secretary of HUD stated at the NAR Real Estate Summit last Tuesday that FHA is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. I’ve received multiple emails and phone calls around this subject asking if and when we would participate. We’ve now learned that HUD removed this information and pulled Mortgagee Letter 2009-15 from their website so the remarks by Secretary Donovan may have been premature. HUD will let us know if there is a change in status and we will communicate as needed.

Andy McInnes

It appears that the option to use the $8,000 tax credit as part of the down payment is currently not an option. I will make sure to update my SouthLake Tahoe Real Estate Blog with any new information regarding the tax credit/ down payment option as soon as I hear anything. I take pride in providing the most up to date information regarding the South Lake Tahoe real estate market and I apologize for providing any information that was prematurely released by HUD.

Sincerely,

Brent Johnson

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for April 2009

For the second month in a row the South Lake Tahoe real estate market has shown signs of improvement regardingbuyer activity. There were 43 new single family homes that went into escrow on the South Lake Tahoe mls, up from 38 in March, and up from 22 in February. Out of the 43 new escrows, 15 were short sales and 18 were bank owned foreclosures, bringing the percentage of distress sale escrows to 65%. Many of the bank owned properties that went into escrow had multiple offers on them.

The statistics for the new escrows are as follows:

Pending April Single Family Homes in South Lake Tahoe

There were 43 new single family homes that went into escrow in April, up from 38 in March.
The median list price for the homes was $349,900 (up 15% from $297,900 in March).
The average price per square foot was $246
The median days on the market was 129
15 of the new escrows were short sales
13 of the new escrows were bank owned foreclosures

There seems to be a bit of a frenzy over the bank owned foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe. There are 25 foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and only 9 of them are still available. Yesterday there was a new foreclosure listing located at 1782 Southern Pines, there are already 4 offers in on this property and threats of more coming in.

If you compare the bank owned foreclosures that went into escrow to the non-foreclosure escrows there are some noticeable differences. The average square footage of the foreclosures and the non-foreclosures was very close, 1676 square feet for the foreclosures and 1619 for the non-foreclosures. The average price per square foot for the foreclosures was $206 per square foot, which was 22% less than than the non-foreclosures which had an average price per square foot of $263. The median list price for the bank owned foreclosures was $299,000, which was 18% less than than the non-foreclosure homes which had a median list price of $364,000.

The short sale homes that went into escrow were similar to the non-short sale or non-foreclosure homes. The average price per square foot for the short sales was $246, only 6% less than the non-distress sale escrows. The median list price for the short sale homes was $379,900, actually 4% higher than the non-distress sale escrows.

The amount of homes that were reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls in April was 25, which was the same number of homes that sold in March. Although the number of homes that sold was the same, there was a dramatic drop in the median and average old prices. A large part of the change in the price can be attributed to the fact that the median square footage of the sold homes was much smaller in April. The median size sold home was 2,012 in March and was 1,565 in April.

Sold Houses in South Lake Tahoe in April

There were 25 homes in South Lake Tahoe that sold in April
7 of the sold homes were bank owned foreclosures
2 of the sold homes were short sales
The median sales price was $291,000 (25% less than $388,000 in March)
The average sales price was $334,696 (27% less than $457,160 in March)
The average price per square foot for the sold homes was $210 (5% less than $222 in March)
The median days on the market was 111

The 7 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe had an average price per square foot of $197, a median sales price of $270,000, an average sales price of $247,914, and a median days on the market of 86. Although there are only 9 single family foreclosures that are still available on the South Lake Tahoe mls, there should be more coming onto the market. There are still a fair amount of notices of default being filed, and this should more foreclosure listings in the future. The key to purchasing one of the new foreclosure listings will be to have your pre-approval letter ready and to keep following my South Lake Tahoe real estate blog post on foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe.

For more information regarding South Lake Tahoe real estate, contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

Vacation homes in Lake Tahoe Full for Presidents Day Weekend

There must have been a lot of occupied vacation homes in Lake Tahoe this weekend from the looks of the traffic leaving town this afternoon. With chain controls from Meyers all the way to Kyburz, traffic was backed all the way past the Y. I was surprised that the chain controls were all the way down to Kyburz, because the roads were only wet from Kyburz to Strawberry!

The fresh snow must have attracted all of skiers that have been waiting for one of the best powder days of the season. Heavenly Valley reported 25″ to 33″ of new snow in the last 7 days, and Kirkwood reported 82″ to 108″ of fresh powder!

Jill and I had a couple of clients looking at South Lake Tahoe homes on Friday and Saturday which went very well. We also had showings on a couple of our listings, so there were other buyers looking at houses in Tahoe also.

It was great to see all of the people enjoying our great town and all of the fresh new snow. There are a lot of vacation homes and second homes in South Lake Tahoe, and I think that a lot of them were full this Presidents Day Weekend!

South Lake Tahoe real estate blog post by Brent Johnson on a snowy Presidents Day Weekend. For more information regarding homes in South Lake Tahoe for sale, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

Viewing Homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe? Bring your snow boots!!

If you are planning on looking at homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe, make sure to bring your snow boots! Yesterday, my wife and partner Jill was out showing houses in a snow storm and came home with wet and very cold feet. We have finally been getting some well needed Sierra snow, but it does not make things easy for house hunting!

After one of the driest January’s on record, sellers have forgotten how important it is to maintain access to their home through the snow. Many times buyers will pull up to a home that has not been plowed, and just drive away. That sure makes it hard to sell! There was one out of town agent who told Jill that she was just up her two weeks ago and shoveled a path to the front door. It has snowed a few feet since then, and there was a 4 foot berm from the snow plow!

Yesterday Jill had some very adventurous buyers willing to wade through the snow to get inside. It was a good thing, because they wouldn’t have been able to see many homes if not!

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are the most likely homes NOT have a plowed driveway after a snow storm. It is usually up to the listing agent to schedule the snow removal, pay for it, and hopefully be reimbursed from the bank. Don’t expect to warm up once you are inside either, most foreclosures for sale in South Lake Tahoe are winterized and have no heat!

A lot of homes in South Lake Tahoe are second homes. It is easy for a homeowner who lives out of town to forget that when it is raining in the valley, it is most likely snowing in Tahoe! If you have a second home in Tahoe for sale, and would like buyers to look at it, hire a snow removal company to plow the driveway!

When planning a trip to look at houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe, make sure to bring a good pair of waterproof boots, a jacket, and gloves. You may also want to bring a note pad and a pen to take notes, a digital camera, and a tape measure to make sure that your furniture will fit!

Happy house hunting!!!

If you would like to set up an appointment to tromp around in the snow and look at houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe, or would like more information about foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe or real estate in South Lake Tahoe, contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Real estate blog posted by Brent Johnson on a snowy Tahoe day!

Country Club Estates/ Elks Club

The Country Club Estates/ Elks Club area has some of the nicest and largest houses for sale in South Lake Tahoe.

Although there are many newer large homes in the Country Club Estates area, there are also smaller and older re-sale homes available. Houses currently on the South Lake Tahoe mls range from a bank owned 3 bedroom foreclosure listed for $264,900, to a newer custom home for $1,649,000.

The Country Club Estates area is in a great location because it is only a few minutes from the Y, but it has a secluded county feeling. Being in Country Club Estates makes you feel like you are in the mountains. The homes are nestled around the towering pine trees on sloping lots. The area also has easy access from both Pioneer Trail and Hwy 50.

Due its location on the sloping hill, many of the homes in Country Club Estates have mountain views, and some homes even overlook the Lake Tahoe Golf Course. It is also common to find homes that either neighbor a National Forest lot, or even back National Forest land.

If you are looking at homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe with a quiet county setting but not too far away from Tahoe’s amenities, Country Club estates is an area that you should be looking in. Weather you are looking for a million dollar luxury home or a small fixer upper/ foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe this area should have something for everyone.