Written by Steve Kegal, my  Preferred Broker atthe Village at Northstar.

Posted by Tim Lampe your Broker by choice for 29 years.

It. Just. Keeps. Snowing. Northstar has received 52” in the past 72 hours in a snow “event” rivaling the most significant of the season. Northstar has reported 564” total snowfall for the season which is 161% of normal – for the entire year. With more snow in the forecast, we could be above 600” by the end of the week; the biggest winter since 1982-83. This is all welcome and certainly marketable news, particularly in light of Northstar’s announcement to extend ski operations an additional week through 4/24, except that the brunt of the storms continue to occur on Fridays, preventing a significant number of our customers from reaching us. Three of the past four Fridays have seen road closures on Highway 80 for some period of time when most Northern California families would typically be en route to Tahoe.

Northstar Lodge Hyatt was booked to capacity for the weekend, a very promising sign, but had a significant number cancel because they simply could not make it over the pass. Others turned around and stayed the night in the Sacramento area, only to make it up on Saturday for a condensed trip. The consolation for those that endured was absolutely phenomenal skiing with powder re-loads Saturday and Sunday of at least two feet per day.

As expected, the weather has did not enhance short term real estate activity as we continue to compress our demand to what promises to be a very active spring.

On a contrary note, the buyer incentives recently introduced at Northstar Lodge Hyatt have been quite successful, despite the remarkable weather challenges, in delivering new deals over the past week. This accounts for nearly 50% of the inventory allotted for this promotion creating an even greater scarcity than already existed for this project. With several interested parties engaged, I expect to have several more such stories to report by next week’s report.

In the meantime, there are a few stories to report from our region over the past week:

·         Two closings at Gray’s Crossing including:

o   The home on W-130 for $675,000.  A fantastic deal for a home of this location, this was the single most difficult short sale I have ever seen successfully close. Every challenge imaginable existed in this deal including 1st and 2ndlien holders, tenants, etc. Kudos to Liza Killen of Tahoe Mountain Resorts for showing remarkable patience and creativity in successfully navigating this deal.

o   Lot W-90 sold for $57,000.  A nice corner lot in The Woods with open space to the rear and a potential site line to golf course, this represents a good buy.

o   B-18, a personal favorite for its size (.55 acre) and long views to Northstar, has been reduced to $34,900 – a very good deal.

·         At Lahontan, Lot #275 sold for $150,000. This is an extraordinary lot just off the 17th green with long fairway and mountain views.

·         Finally, a home at Lahontan has been reduced to $999,000.  The home is at the rear of the property, bordering private land to the rear. The home is unfinished, awaiting a buyer to fund the final interior work including flooring, cabinetry, fixtures and appliances.