A Peek at the Year End View of Lake Tahoe Real Estate
It’s rather delightful to spend the last day of 07 in the office, looking out at the blue skies and listening to the holiday chatter of our co-workers. Sensing a rather upbeat mood, I was curious as to the year’s overall production levels within the Tahoe area. Something told me that the outcome was going to be better than expected. And, although there is one more day of recording in front of us, the preliminary news was, YES . . . better than we expected.
A quick peek showed the following: The median home price was $435,000, slightly down (approximately 8.5%) from $474,500 in 2006 and $460,000 in 2005. Considering that 2005 and half of 2006 were record breaking years AND in light of the continual doom and gloom heard every night on the news, we are pleased and remain confident that the Lake Tahoe real estate market will always be a choice destination for investors.
While the overall values seem to be holding steady, what has shown noticeable change is the room for negotiating as the sale to list ratio is currently showing 96.1% for 2007, 97% for 2006 and 99% for 2005. At the same time, the average time on the market (which of course leads to the ability for buyers to negotiate a better purchase price) has climbed to an average of 158 days on the market in 2007, 130 days in 2006 and 92 days in 2005.
As we hear the newest wave of “doom and gloom” being forecast for the stock market, we can’t help but wonder if folks will see the opportunity to jump back into the Lake Tahoe real estate market while the “getting is good.” If we were to base our “guesstimates” upon our online activity and the phones ringing, we would say that is a good guess.
Once the final numbers are in, we will provide a detailed updated report. In the meantime, Happy New Year to All and best wishes for health, laughter and discovery.