The Tahoe/Truckee real estate market continues to be very active for the time of year. There were 133 homes sold in March, representing the largest number of March sales in 15 years. It’s also 68% more than March 2020 (79), and 33% more than the 10 year average for March (100).
 
The first quarter saw 334 sales. Again, this was the busiest 1st quarter in 15 years and marked 33% more sales than Q1 2020 and 31% more than the 10 year average for Q1.
 
Median and Average Sales Prices:   These numbers are increasing dramatically. For the period January through June 2020, the median sales price was $674,500 (up slightly from $669,000 in 2019) and the average sales price was $986,430 (up slightly from $975,296 in 2019). 
 
In the second half of 2020, we jumped to a median of $825,000 (up 22% compared to the first half of 2020) and an average of $1,209,097 (up 23%). 
 
For Q1 2021 the median was at $951,000 (41% higher than the first half of 2020) and the average price was $1,581,773 (60% higher than the first half of 2020). For March alone, the median price was $955,000 and the average was $1,769,558.
 
When you isolate to single-family homes the numbers are even more extreme. In Q1 2020 there were 175 single-family home sales. The median price was $727,500 and the average was $1,168,175. In Q1 2021 there were 240 single-family home sales (up 37%), the median price was $1,135,000 (up 56%), and the average price was $1,892,028 (up 62%). In March, the median was $1,170,000 and the average was $2,170,957.

Active Residential Inventory
 
Active Listings: 
 
There are currently 139 residences actively for sale (84 single-family homes and 54 condos). This is about 1/3 of the active inventory we typically expect at this time of year.
 
That’s only part of the story though. There were 20% more new listings in 2021 than there were in 2020. A slight surge in March brought us to 378 new listings in Q1, which is 10% above the 5 year average for Q1 new listings (344), but slightly below the 10 year average for Q1 (384). So, it is not the supply side that is particularly tight relative to recent years. It’s the extremely strong demand that is keeping active inventory at record lows. 
 
Current Pending Sales:  There are currently 215 residences in contract (up from 192 last month). 134 residences went into contract in March (up from 103 in both January and February).
 
Current inventory represents 1 month of supply, relative to the last 30 days of activity.
 
Sales Under $500,000:  In Q1, residences priced under $500,000 represented just 10% of sales or 35 properties sold. For the same period in 2020, 28% of sales were in this range. 
 
Mid-Range Market Sales $500,000 to $999,999:  In Q1 149 residences sold between $500,000 and $999,999, representing 45% of total sales.  For the same period in 2020, 47% of sales were in this price range.
 
Luxury Home Sales Over $1 Million:   150 residences have sold over $1 million, representing 45% of total sales. 57 of those sales were over $2 million. In Q1 2020, just 25% of sales were over $1 million.
 
Coldwell Banker Ranks #1:  Among all brokerages in North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, Coldwell Banker continues to rank #1 in total number of sales. For the previous 12 months, Coldwell Banker represented 12.22% of sales. This represents 13% more transactions than our next closest competitor. 

Contact us if you would like to discuss market conditions in further detail, learn more about our take on how COVID-19 is affecting the Real Estate market, or to discuss your goals for buying or selling Lake Tahoe real estate.

What’s Going On Looking Forward?

The one thing we can say with confidence is demand is MUCH stronger than supply right now. 5, 10, even 15 offers are common when a new house comes on the market. Each sale in a neighborhood seems to set another high watermark for pricing. The number of transactions this year will hinge on supply because the demand is there. Continued appreciation throughout the year seems like a safe bet. 
 
Sometimes dramatic jumps in pricing motivate people to sell their home. You know the conversation, “the neighbors just got how much for their house??!! Maybe we should think about selling!” In the second half of 2020, we saw some of this phenomenon as the number of listings surged through the normal summer listing season and well into the fall (when new listings typically drop off). That allowed for an extremely large number of transactions. Will that trend continue in 2021? Or, will people hang onto one of their best performing investments causing the already low inventory to dwindle further? We’re about to find out as the ski areas shut down and we move into our traditional “listing season”. It will also be interesting to see if there is a noticeable jump in the school enrollment for next year which will give us a clue to how many families are making Truckee their permanent home. Lastly, we are also watching Fannie and Freddie's tightening of standards on second homes and investment properties. Currently second homes and investment properties make up approx. 11% of Fannie/Freddie's portfolio and their goal is to decrease that number to 7%, which will affect mortgage rates on second homes.
INVENTORY IS LOW
NOW MAY BE A GREAT TIME TO SELL
155 Painted Rock Court
Listed at $2,488,000
UNDER CONTRACT AFTER 6 DAYS!
16831 Northwoods Blvd
Listed at $749,000
UNDER CONTRACT AFTER 5 DAYS!
12486 Saint Moritz Lane
Listed at $1,275,000
UNDER CONTRACT AFTER 5 DAYS!
13725 Skislope Way
Listed at $399,000
UNDER CONTRACT AFTER 6 DAYS!
13202 Skislope Way
SOLD AFTER 2 DAYS
$101k OVER ASKING PRICE!
12958 Hansel Avenue
SOLD AFTER 4 DAYS
$101K OVER ASKING PRICE!

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