May Tahoe Donner Market Update

Tahoe Donner is still seeing quite a bit of activity! 14 homes sold during the month of May 2010. This makes a total of 74 homes sold year to date. The least expensive home that sold last month was for $357K and the most expensive home sold for $1.1 million. The average home sale price was $626,117 and the median was $646,125.The homes were on the market an average of 107 days. The majority of the homes sold were in the $300K-$800K price range. 1 home that sold was a short sale and the rest were standard sales. There are now 117 homes on the market in Tahoe Donner (up from 85 last month). 13 homes listed are short sales and 5 are bank owned. 19 homes are currently in escrow. The absorption rate is around 16% and there is just over 6 months supply of inventory remaining in Tahoe Donner. Click on the link for current homes for sale in Tahoe Donner.

February Tahoe Donner Update

11 homes sold in Tahoe Donner last month (February 2010). This makes a total of 21 single family homes that have sold in Tahoe Donner for 2010. The least expensive home was a bank owned property that sold for $238K. There was 1 short sale property that sold for $459K. The most expensive home sold for $985K. The average home sale price for last month was $571,454 and the median was $505K. We are continuing to see the most activity in the $500K-$700K price range in Tahoe Donner. The average days on market was 127 days. There are currently 82 single family homes listed in Tahoe Donner. There are 16 short sale listings and 1 listing is an REO. 23 homes are in escrow (up from 14 last month). This puts the absorption rate at 28% and there is about 3 1/2 months supply of inventory remaining in Tahoe Donner. Click on the link for current homes for sale in Tahoe Donner.

December Update for Tahoe Donner

There are still lots of homes selling in Tahoe Donner. In fact, there seem to be hardly enough homes on the market as inventory keeps going down and homes keep selling! Another 35 single family homes sold in Tahoe Donner during the month of December 2009. The least expensive home sold for $296K and the most expensive home sold for $1,327,950. The average days on market for these sold homes was 99 days (123 days for November 2009). The average sales price was $667,027 ($604,790 for November 2009). 227 single family homes sold in Tahoe Donner for 2009. 75 homes are still listed (very low number for Tahoe Donner). 20 homes are currently under contract. This puts the absorption rate at 27% and there is just under 4 months of inventory still on the market in Tahoe Donner. There are still some great deals on homes in Tahoe Donner!

Lake Tahoe & Truckee December Real Estate Sales Stats

Lots of activity with home sales in the Tahoe/Truckee area! 93 homes sold in December 2009! The most activity last month was in the $300K-$499K price range with 33 homes selling. 9 homes sold for under $299K, 24 for $500K-$699K, and 18 for $700K-$899K. There was more activity in the upper end price range with 9 homes selling for over $1 million! The well priced homes, especially in the lesser price range, do not seem to be lasting on the market for very long!

This information was taken from our local multiple listing service and is for the dates of December 1-31, 2009. Click on the image below for an enlarged version of the chart.

Challenges of Selling an Older Home in this Marketplace

This is definitely a challenge and one very close to my heart today having two listing in an area of a large inventory of new or newer homes, “How can I sell my two listings that are both 20+ years old against all this competition? “ Yes, they are in Tahoe Donner, which is one of the most popular areas in the North Lake Tahoe region. It is the first exit off of I-80 to Truckee, has all the amenities that anyone could desire including a downhill and cross country skiing for the winter and a private beach with boat launch and picnic area at Donner Lake in the summer.  This plus equestrian facilities, fine food dining, a sports center, eleven tennis courts, golf, trails for hiking, biking  and many a fun party, Tahoe Donner offers it all.

                         

 In Tahoe Donner there are over 140 homes on the market each month with 7%-10% selling.  So how do you promote your older home listing that is on 1.5 lots, 4000+ sq. feet or has a special view when it is 20+ years old? Most buyers feel it would take $200,000 to upgrade to today’s standards against the new comparable homes where a buyer can move right in and have beautiful wood floors, granite and flagstone for their kitchen counter tops and floors and no additional work needed.  They may have less square footage but have all the necessary rooms which are new.  Most people don’t mind smaller bedrooms when they are active outside people.

 

The answer is simple but difficult for sellers to accept.  The house has to be priced right for the situation.  In today’s market when only 7% - 10% of the properties are being sold, you need to be in that 10%.  In other words, you need to price your house to sell. How? - By being the very best bargain in your price range at that time.

 

Someone will buy the 1 ½ lots or a special private view of an older home if the price makes up for the improvements needed.  Otherwise, the buyers will move on to a smaller house that doesn’t need all the extra TLC.   This is a time when it is even more important to have the right real estate agent. Talk to your professional real estate agent.  Let them do the work for you to get the best price, but to get it “sold”.