While epic spring snow and warm weather have most people dreaming of summer in Lake Tahoe, a brief storm moved through late last week keeping alive the streak of Friday closures of Highway 80 if only briefly. This makes five of eight weekends and brings the total snow accumulation for the season to over 650” at Northstar. Despite, or perhaps because of, thoughts of golf and mountain biking, there was a surprising amount of activity in the market this past week validating the typical trend of increased business at the trail end of the season.

At Northstar, a strong run on single-family homes saw three listings go pending:

·         1032 Martis Landing for $1,135,000

·         1030 Martis Landing for $849,000

·         163 Basque for $560,000

·         Additionally, the bank-owned homesite at 2308 Overlook Place found a buyer for $289,900; a remarkable price for a site of this quality.

·         A 2-bedroom, 1-bath condo in the Gold Bend complex is also now pending sale for $299,000.

 

At Lahontan, home sales saw activity over the weekend with one escrow closed and another opened:

·         8492 Lahontan Drive closed for $1,800,000. 180 days on market, $442 / sq. foot seems about right.

·         449 William Hurd, Lot #34, is pending sale for $1,550,000 or $393 / sq. foot.

 

Finally, the Gray’s Crossing lot market remains very active and a fascinating study:

 

7              Active listings

6              Active Contingent sales pending bank approval

2              Pending Sales

10              Sales closed in 2011

 

Tells me we have less than one quarter’s inventory on the market. Median price of $55,000 is dead flat with 2010, another good sign. The six pending short sales have a median asking price of $54,000 – only slightly below the sold median.

 

Of the seven active listings:

 

·         2 are short sales, indicating quick absorption but a long time before closing

·         1 is a Trustee Sale (not an REO) that should function like a Standard Sale according to listing agent

·         4 are standard sales

o   2 of which are not even close to market value (in my opinion)

§  B72 for $165,000

§  W147 for $199,000

o   Leaving just two viable Standard Sales on the market, plus the Trustee Sale

§  W137 for $59,000

§  W48 for $47,500 (Trustee Sale)

§  W122 for $105,000

As we approach the shoulder season, I expect we’ll see some continued absorption in all markets over the next few weeks, then quite of a bit of new inventory introduced through the month of May. From there, nice weather and an improving national economy should help facilitate a strong summer season.

Content provided by Steve Kegel, Posted by Tim lampe.  Call with any questions, cheers,  Tim