Contributed from Jeff Brown – Tahoe Mountain Realty Broker
Greetings,
The first tangible proof of an apparent trend for the Tahoe Truckee real estate market became apparent in April, 2018. Due to an exceptional shortage of inventory, the volume of transactions dropped significantly when compared to the same month in previous years. Conversely, what property did transact showed an extreme bias toward the premium end of the market driving average price up substantially.
While the inventory shortage has been apparent going back to the 4th quarter of 2017, momentum in the market drove the total number of transactions to numbers slightly ahead through Q1, 2018. As inventory tightened, it became evident that 2018 would focus on quality over quantity as the market delivered fewer transactions but at larger prices.
Driving figures through the roof in April 2018 was a lone $40 million transaction of a rare and compelling $40 million estate on Tahoe’s West Shore. Including this transaction, the number of sales dropped by 17% year over year while transaction volume leapt by 77% and average price by 212%. Adjusting for this market anomaly, volume was up 22% and average price 48%. Even the steadier median price metric grew by 36% indicative of a higher class of purchases as well as some market appreciation.
Beyond this remarkable lakefront transaction, other premium sales were distributed across multiple communities. Martis Camp continues on the forefront of marquee acquisitions with three transactions between $4.5 – $5.5 million. Four other lakeside properties got a jump on the summer waterfront season with sales greater than $2 million. Winter closed with strong activity in Northstar’s Mountainside community with a $3 million transaction. Gray’s Crossing, Schaffer’s Mill and Lahontan all saw strong demand for luxury property as well.
Ideally, supply will begin to catch up to demand as spring yields the largest crop of new listings. While 181 properties have been newly listed in the past 30 days, total inventory stands at just over 3 month’s supply, a further reduction from recent months. A typically quiet month for tourist activity combined with the common Memorial Day listing surge, should provide greater balance to the market heading into summer.
Including the aforementioned transaction for $40 million, momentum is clearly building for Tahoe’s most iconic properties. The California side has already matched the number of sales above $8,000,000 for all of 2017 while Incline Village recently transacted a home at $36 million. With but a handful of truly epic lakefront estates available, the coming summer promises to be active.
By Jeff Brown – Tahoe Mountain Realty
#1 Sales Producer in Northstar, Gray’s Crossing and Lahontan
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