Truckee – North Lake Tahoe Year End Market Review

2011 Truckee – North Lake Tahoe Year End Market Review Real Estate Report:
(North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region MLS)

Residential Properties – Single Family Homes and Condominiums

2011 Year End Summary:

Sales Summary 2011:

Overall, residential sales for 2011 were up 7.1% from the 2010 calendar year which was encouraging for the Truckee-Tahoe real estate market.

Total Sales:
For 2011, there were 1,217 residential properties sold in the market as compared to 1,136 residential properties sold for the same period in 2010.  Of the total sales in the market for 2011, 956 were single family homes, while 261 or 21% of the sales were condominiums.  I n 2010, condominiums represented 31% of the sales or 270 units and single family home sales represented 866 units.

REO & Short Sales:
Of the properties sold in Truckee and North Lake Tahoe this year, 206 were REO’s, (16.9%), and 186 were Short Sales, (15.3%) which results in over 32% of the properties sold being distressed properties.  In 2010, there were 218 REO sales and 141 short sales or just over 31% of the total sales which was almost identical to this year.

Sales Price Range:
The hottest segment of the Truckee and Tahoe real estate market in 2011 were homes priced under $500,000 as 66% or 808 properties have sold in this price range.  In 2010, 60% or 682 properties sold in this price range which was significantly lower than this year.  Certainly the price declines in the market influenced this trend as home buyers took advantage of these buying opportunities in the market.

Luxury home sales, homes in Truckee priced above $1,000,000, were down 24% from 2010 sales as 101 properties or 8.3% of sales occurred in this segment as compared to the 133 properties sold last year.  The median sales price of the luxury properties sold in 2011 were $1,625,000 which was up 1.5% from last year’s median sales price of $1,600,000.  Conversely, the average sales price of the luxury sales in 2011 was $2,016,821 which was 9% lower than last year’s average price of $2,199,131.

The mid-range market, homes priced between $500,000 and $1,000,000, resulted in 308 properties sold or 25.3% of sales as compared to 321 properties sold or 28.3% of sales in this range in 2010.  The mid-range market was very consistent in terms of year over year sales.

Median and Average Sales Prices:
The median sales price for properties sold in Truckee and Tahoe in 2011 was $397,700 while the average sales price was $535,834. For the same period in 2010, the median sales price was $430,000 and the average sales price was $640,727 which is a (7.5%) and (16.4%) decline in price respectively year over year.

Active Inventory Summary:

Active Listings: The active inventory for residential properties for sale in Truckee and Tahoe reached a high for the year in August with 1,378 properties listed for sale.  At the end of the year, the active listings for residential properties was at the annual low of 854 active listings in the market; 622 single family homes and 232 condominiums for sale.  Coldwell Banker has over 15% of the active listings in the market and continues to be the market leader for listings.

REO-Short Sale Listings:  Of the active listings, there are 132 properties listed as short sales, (15.5%) and 45 properties listed as REO sales, (5.3%).

Months of Inventory:  Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has roughly 6-months of inventory available.

2011 Summary and 2012 Outlook:

The 2011 Tahoe-Truckee real estate market was almost identical to the 2010 market as we saw an increase in total residential sales which were fueled by decreasing median and average home sales prices.  The distressed sales market for both REO’s and short sales was almost identical year over year with roughly 32% of all residential sales being distressed.

While none of us have a crystal ball as to what 2012 has in store, it seems likely that the trends of the past two years may carry forward for 2012 with increased sales, continued pressure on home prices and the existence of distressed properties in the overall sales mix.

Note: Data on this page is based on information from the Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors, MLS.  Due to MLS reporting methods and allowable reporting policy, this data is only informational and may not be completely accurate.  Therefore, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage does not guarantee the data’s accuracy.  Data maintained by the MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.  DRE License # 00313415