Bijou, Lake Tahoe Market Update, July 30, 2010

Throughout the upcoming weeks, we will be updating our neighborhood sales statistics.  Today’s focus is on Bijou.  The following information is taken from the South Lake Tahoe Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Services, reflects comparative data for the period between January 1 and July 30th for both 2009 and 2010 and is in regards to single family residences only (does not include condominiums.)  While deemed accurate, this information is not guaranteed.  So, how is the Bijou area holding up in regards to the volume and over all values at this time.

As always, we want to point out that when comparing notes, it is important to distinguish between the average and median home prices.  The median is probably the most reflective as one can look at that number as a “middle of the road” indicator.  In other words, just as many homes sold above that price as below.  On the other hand, it is important to look at an average as well because, while an unusually high or low sale can skew the results somewhat, they also can show that there have been some strong (or weak) sales that are not the norm for an area.

Between January 1 and July 30, 2010, the Bijou neighborhood experienced 25 closed sales which was slightly higher than the 22 reported in 2009.  The median home list and sold prices respectively were  $289,900 and $268,000 reflecting a sale to list ratio of 92.4%.  During the same period for 2009, the median list and sales prices in Bijou were$298,500 and $272,750 with a sale to list ratio of .91.3%. The median time on the market (from list to close) was 92 days in 2010, which was a big improvement over the 142 days reported in 2009.

The average list and sold prices in 2010 were $347,504 and $331,372 (92.6% sale to list) with an average time on the market of 167 days and a dollar per square foot value of $171.  This number is considerably less than that of the entire South Lake Tahoe area and most likely, the result of a few abnormal sales.  The good news is that the Bijou area has seen an improvement as compared to the average list/sale prices of $$317,327 and $300,755 (94.7% sale to list) in 2009.  The average dollar per square foot value in 2009 was $210 with an average of 150 days on the market.

As of this posting date, there are 49 homes currently listed within the Bijou neighborhood of which 7 are pending escrows.  Of the pending sales, 2 are pending short sale approval.  The median list price of the homes currently for sale within Bijou is $284,250.  The lowest priced listing is $139,900 for a 3 bedroom bank-owned cabin and the highest priced listing is $1,849,000 for a 5 bedroom estate located on 7 acres.