Lake Tahoe Real Estate Market Report August 2018

Tahoe Luxury Real Estate Sales Push the Market Higher in 2018

August 2018 was an incredible month for North Lake Tahoe and Truckee real estate sales, further solidifying the Lake Tahoe region as a California “power market” with over $185M in single-family home sales in the month of August! The total dollar volume for single-family homes is at $891M which is a 28% increase over 2017 (a historic record year)! This is simply incredible and puts us on pace to have another record-breaking year with over $1B in total sales. This voluminous increase in dollar volume is due to the fact that luxury home sales are up 33% over last year and the sale of $3M+ homes is up 40%. So far in 2018, we have seen three record-breaking lakefront sales at $22.8M, $24M and $40M! Oliver Luxury Real Estate was fortunate to represent 2 of these record sales including the $40M sale of 2380 Sunnyside Lane.

Year over Year Lake Tahoe, CA Real Estate Market Conditions and Value Trends

August 2018 Statistics

692 Single Family Home Sales Up 7%
Avg. Marketing Time: 64 Days Down 15%
Avg. List to Sold Discount: 3.9% Up 10%
Total Sales Volume: $891M Up 28%
Average Price: $1.288M Up 23%
Median Price: $720K Up 8%
4 REO & Short Sales Down 73%
9 Sales Below $300K Down 55%
203 Sales over $1M Up 33%
57 Sales over $3M Up 40%
High Sale Price: $40M Up 63%
Low Sale Price: $168K Up 17%

August 2017 Statistics

- 642 Single Family Homes
- Average Marketing Time: 75 Days
- Avg. List to Sold Discount: 3.5%
- Total Sales Volume: $639M
- Average Price: $995M
- Median Price: $664K
- 15 REO & Short Sales
- 20 Sales Below $300K
- 136 Sales over $1M
- 34 Sales over $3M
- High Sale Price: $15M
- Low Sale Price: $140K

The Seasonality of Tahoe Real Estate has Begun

With kids back in school and a cool-down in the weather pattern, summertime in Lake Tahoe has come to an end. Traditionally, the real estate markets slow down this time of the year as fewer visitors are coming to Tahoe which leads to a lower volume of homes trading hands. Over the last few weeks, we have seen a high number of price reductions from sellers looking to make sure that their homes are priced effectively to get them sold before the end of the year. There is still a shortage of inventory in most neighborhoods and price points, so I think we will continue to see a robust number of sales in the coming months, but we might see the median home price slip a little over the next few months. I anticipate that we will still have a solid appreciation at the end of the year.

Wealthy Buyers are Investing in Power Markets

Wealthy buyers from the San Francisco Bay Area see Lake Tahoe as a “power market” and a quasi-mountain club to escape the fast pace of Silicon Valley. A place to unwind with friends and family in a pristine environment. The volatility in equity markets has prompted many wealthy buyers to purchase “safe assets” such as luxury real estate. In Tahoe, we have seen a 33% increase in luxury sales volume as many buyers are pulling cash out of the stock market and purchasing tangible assets such as lakefront real estate, golf course homes, and vacation homes. Prime Lake Tahoe and Truckee real estate is in high demand and is pulling up the entire market. When you throw low inventory into the mix, coupled with high buyer demand, we have a recipe for robust market conditions.