There are many great Truckee area homes for sale.  Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (530) 582-6900 for a FREE home buying consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today we’re counting down the top five reasons why fall is a good time to list and sell your home.

5. It’s absolutely beautiful right now. Your landscaping looks great. Flowers are still in bloom and the yard is green. The house looks great and your curb appeal couldn’t be better. 

4. It’s the perfect time to trade up to a larger home. If you’ve been waiting for the market to turn, stop waiting. Interest rates are still really low. Homes priced under $600,000 are still selling in about two to three weeks. Homes in the higher end of the market take longer to sell, so there is more for you to choose from. The cost for your loan will be really low right now, so make sure you take advantage of the market and move up to a larger home.

3. Buyers have been waiting for new homes to come on the market. A lot of homes that were on the market have sold. The ones that are leftover have been on the market for a long time, and buyers don’t want them. They are waiting for great homes to come on the market. These homes should be in a great location, in great condition, and competitively priced.

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Fall buyers are ready to make offers right now.

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2. Buyers are highly motivated right now. These buyers want to buy homes. They are not coming up to Tahoe for vacation like they do in the summer; they specifically want to buy a home for the winter. Instead of getting 10 or 15 showings like you do in the summer, in the fall you’ll get two to four showings. Those buyers are ready to write offers.

1. Inventory is shrinking right now. This is the best reason to sell your home in the fall. There is a smaller number of homes available than the number of sales. For example, in August of 2017, we sold 223 houses. In September of 2016, only 206 homes sold. So, inventory is shrinking but sales stay up.

Don’t wait for next spring. List your home this fall and enjoy a successful home sale.

If you have any other questions about selling this fall or you would like to know more about preparing your home for the market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

There are many great Truckee area homes for sale.  Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (530) 582-6900 for a FREE home buying consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

A lot of my clients often ask, “Are we currently in a buyer’s or a seller’s market?”

Right now in the Tahoe-Truckee area, the answer depends on which neighborhood you’re looking in. For example, in Lahong, there are more than 22 great homes for sale, and about two to four are selling every month. The same is true for some of the high-end homes in Tahoe-Donner and around the lake.

If you’re looking for a high-end property, it’s definitely a buyer’s market. If you’re a first-time homebuyer looking in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, you’ll face a lot of competition, so that price point is definitely a seller’s market.

Our current inventory is about 12% less compared to where it was at this time last year. Supply is down, but there is still quite a good selection of homes on the market. Inventory isn’t quite low enough to cause prices to spike—they rose 5% from January to March, but they’ve since stabilized and are now what’s keeping our market level. Interest rates are still very low as well, especially on jumbo properties, and some of our clients are still getting rates between 4% and 4.25%.

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Supply is down, but there is still quite a good selection of homes on the market.

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To summarize, it’s not only a great time to buy, but it’s also a great time to sell because you’re selling in a market where buyers can get incredible rates on their loans. We’re still about 10% below our peak pricing, so buyers should be aware that we still have quite a ways to go in terms of appreciation.

As a seller, you need to pay attention to what other homes are selling for and make sure yours stands out in terms of its condition. As always, listen to your Realtor and stage your home as best you can to attract the best buyer possible.

If you have any other questions about our Tahoe-Truckee market or are thinking of buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me. I’d love to help you!

There are many great Truckee area homes for sale.  Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (530) 582-6900 for a FREE home buying consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

The spring real estate market is here. What’s happening in the Tahoe-Truckee market? 

Inventory is still exceptionally low. New listings are down 24% this year compared to last year. As a result, we have also seen a 16% decrease in sales. 

However, the median sales price is up 11%. 

In the last three weeks, more homes have come on the market now that people are able to get out of the snow and get their houses ready for sale. 

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Homes that are priced right and in great condition will sell quickly.

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Now is still a great time to sell your home. Homes that are priced right and in great condition are selling very quickly. If you are trying to buy a home, let us know exactly what you are looking for so that we can notify you as soon as that property hits the market. 

If you have any questions about navigating our current market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

There are many great Truckee area homes for sale.  Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (530) 582-6900 for a FREE home buying consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

When is the best time to sell your house in the Truckee-Tahoe area? There are a few factors to consider: 

1. What percentage of homes are selling on a monthly basis? In March and April of last year, over 18% of homes on the market actually went into escrow. In August, 20% of homes went into escrow. That number dropped to 18% in September but jumped back up to 22% in November. 

In short, March, April, August, and November had the highest percentages of homes in escrow last year. 

That number can shift depending on your neighborhood. For example, last March in Tahoe Donner, 75% of homes on the market went into escrow. Inventory is incredibly low in Tahoe Donner, which is why the percentage of home sales is so high. So far this year, inventory remains low. 

Last April, Tahoe Donner had 58% of homes on the market enter escrow. That number dropped to 11% in May because more people put their homes on the market. As a result, you can expect inventory in Tahoe Donner to go up again this May. The percentage of homes sold went back up in November of 2016.

Overall, keep in mind that spring and fall have a higher percentage of homes go into escrow. 

2. What is the average selling price? Between January and May, the average sales price in our area was $808,000; from August through December, the average price dropped to $776,000. Prices go up when homes sell in the spring and drop a bit through the second half of the year.

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Prices go up when homes sell in the spring and drop a bit through the second half of the year.

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In Tahoe Donner, the average price from January through May was $603,000. From August through December, the average sales price dropped to $575,000. Even luxury markets like Old Greenwood experience a similar trend, with an average sales price of $1.88 million in the spring and $1.6 million in the fall. 

3. When is it most convenient for you to put your home on the market? Of course, this is the most important factor of all. When does it make the most sense for you to sell your home? When do you need to move? What makes the most financial sense for you? 

If you have any other questions about when to put your home on the market, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

There are many great Truckee area homes for sale.  Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (530) 582-6900 for a FREE home buying consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

What happened in our 2016 real estate market? 

Overall, more homes sold in 2016 than in 2015 and home sales went up by 15%. The average sales price is up 11%, and the median sales price is up 5% over the last year. 

These numbers can be deceiving because each neighborhood has its own dynamic. For example, in our more popular neighborhoods like Donner, Glenshire, Donner Lake, North Shore, and West Shore, we saw minimal growth of 1% to 3% in the median and average sales price. 

There were some interesting anomalies in our 2016 real estate market. 

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2016 saw some interesting real estate anomalies.

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In Martis Camp, home sales doubled in 2016. However, the average sales price is actually down by 6%, and the median sales price is down 14%. In Squaw Valley, sales also doubled but the average sales price went up 7%. On the other hand, the median sales price went down by 4%. 

So, who were the winners in 2016? The neighborhood of Brockway Vista saw a 4% increase in the average sales price and a 14% increase in the median sales price. That’s the result of new streets and redevelopment in the downtown area. Brockway Vista also went down the most during the economic downturn; now, they have made a full recovery. 

Northstar also saw a significant increase in the average sales price—the average is actually up 46%! The median sales price jumped up even further, increasing by 63%. Why the huge increase? You can thank the new Mountainside development for that.  

If you haven’t been to Northstar lately, there are some incredible new homes out there that are definitely worth taking a look at. The question is, will Northstar overshadow Martis Camp? Only time will tell. 

If you are interested in the specific numbers for your neighborhood, click here for a full report. You can also search all local real estate on my website. As always, if you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

There are many great Truckee area homes for sale.  Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (530) 582-6900 for a FREE home buying consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Why is your home not selling?

That’s a tough question. Here in the Tahoe Truckee area, you can’t just put a “For Sale” sign in your yard and expect your home to go off the market. The answer, though, can usually be boiled down to one or a combination of five different reasons:

1. The home is overpriced. Our average buyer is an out-of-towner who visits the area for the weekend, looks at several properties, and picks whichever one offers the best value. Price is a big factor in how emotionally attached they get to a home, as well. If you’re just waiting for an offer to come in, you’ll be waiting for a long time. Price the home correctly the first time to generate offers and give you the opportunity to choose the best one. 

If you’re just waiting for an offer to come in, you’ll be waiting a long time.

2. The presentation is off. Have you ever gone into a house that didn’t quite smell right or just didn’t feel very good to be in? A house’s presentation is another factor that plays a large part in how emotionally attached a buyer is going to get to it. To present your home in the best possible light, make sure it’s clean, it smells good, and it’s nice and warm.

3. Poor marketing. This can either be because the online photos don’t look very good, the property is unavailable on multiple websites, or the description of the property doesn’t correlate with its actual dimensions. Many agents look at the multiple listing services to decide what houses they’re going to show, so you need to make sure your house’s photos look spectacular and its description conveys exactly what it has to offer. 

4. The home is in bad condition. Do you have a few light bulbs out? Is the carpeting peeling? Then you may have a problem. You want your house to stand out for the right reasons. 

5. The seller isn’t listening to feedback. Whenever we have a listing being shown, we always get feedback from buyers and agents, and we listen to that feedback. That’s the primary way we know if there’s something that we need to correct. That’s also a good way to know if your competition is priced better.

We would love to share our marketing strategies and how we succeed in selling homes with you. If you have any questions or are looking to buy or sell real estate, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We’d be happy to help!

How did October look for the Tahoe Truckee real estate market? 

Right now, we’re making the transition from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market. Our overall inventory is shrinking—we went from more than 1,000 homes and townhomes on the market at the beginning of last month to just 800 by the end of it. We also saw more than 190 houses and condos come off the market. 

It’s not uncommon to see frustrated sellers want to take advantage of getting some rental income at the end of the year, so we’ll probably see most of those properties come back on the market in April or May. In the meantime, the sellers that decide to stay the course can take advantage of the low inventory.

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Sellers can potentially take advantage of the low amount of inventory.

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From October 2015 to October 2016, our average sales price rose 8%. In certain neighborhoods, though, pricing has remained flat or even dropped a little bit. For example, in Tahoe Donner, the current average sales price is $634,000. In October 2015, it was $643,000.

Why the fluctuation? With a lower amount of inventory, prices start creeping up. What happens then is that we start getting more inventory, and when the buyer activity doesn’t match that increase, prices tend to flatten out. 

If you are interested in capturing this great seller’s market we’ll be experiencing from now through the end of March, please don’t hesitate to call me or shoot me an email. I’m happy to help!

The fall is one of my favorite times to buy and sell real estate. Inventory has started to drop off, and buyers who are purchasing seem more motivated in getting a deal done before the winter. The same goes for sellers.

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Inventory has started to drop off.

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Right now, we have 1,002 homes on the market in Tahoe/Truckee, with 626 of them being single-family homes. This number is actually up from last year, when there were only 473 homes for sale. 

The average sales price right now is $950,000, which is up significantly from the average of $849,000 that we saw at this time last year. That’s a big jump. In certain neighborhoods, we are seeing even more interesting trends.

Last year during the month of September in Tahoe Donner, we saw 23 homes sell. Last November, we saw 30 home sales in Tahoe Donner. This last month, we had 38 properties sell. With only 70 homes currently on the market, this is great news for sellers in Tahoe Donner. 

In Lahontan, there were over 25 homes for sale last year. Right now, there are only 15 homes for sale there. Inventory in certain markets is dwindling down to almost nothing. 

If you are a buyer right now, there are some really good deals. There are sellers out there who would really like to get a deal done before winter. As a seller in this market, your competition is way down. 

If you’re interested in buying or selling in the Tahoe/Truckee area, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

What happens in the Tahoe Truckee market as summer comes to a close and kids go back to school? Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: in the fall, we actually see an increase in the number of homes that sell.

For example, we had 93 homes sell in August of last year, 117 in September, 115 in October, and 228 in November. What makes this good for sellers is that during this time, fewer and fewer homes are listed on the market. Last August only saw 154 new homes listed, 139 in September, 101 in October, and in November, only 125 homes were put on the market.

At the same time that fewer people put their homes up for sale, a lot of other sellers also take their homes off the market so that they can ski lease them. Yes, a seller will get some income from renting their home for the winter, but this sets them up to go back on the market at a time when everybody else is listing their homes in the spring and summer.

So if you’re a seller and you’d like to set yourself apart while taking advantage of the declining supply and increased demand of the fall months, then it would make sense to list your property for sale now.

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Fall’s low inventory and high demand make it a great time to list your home.

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Another reason why this fall selling season is going to be a busy one is because our interest rates are still incredibly low – many of our buyers are getting rates that are under 4%. In addition, as we get into the fall, seasonal motivation tends to push buyers to purchase a home before wintertime, so demand will still be very high.

If you have any questions about the fall market or anything else, please feel free to give me a call or send me a text or email. I look forward to speaking with you!

I just got back from a real estate conference with more than 4,000 of the top real estate agents in the country, and many talked about their markets declining and slowing down. These people were from markets like San Francisco, LA, Miami, and Dallas. What I wanted to talk about today is whether or not we’re seeing a shift or softening in our Tahoe Truckee market.

Let’s look at the factors that mark a softening market. One of the first signs is when the days on market begins increasing. Last month, the average was 143 days, and this month it’s 148, so it’s increasing a bit, but not enough to say whether this is a trend.

Are agents and sellers seeing fewer offers on homes? We’re not seeing four or five offers on a property, but maybe one or two. Are we seeing less traffic on our listings? Definitely, but only time will tell if that’s because the summer market is slowing as usual or we’re actually seeing a trend.

Are less credits being offered for things like closing costs and flooring? The good news for sellers is no - we’re not seeing many credits going to buyers. Another sign is more price reductions. In the last month we’ve seen more than 295 sellers actually reduce their price to get their home to sell. We’re seeing more price reductions now than in the spring.

Are listing prices lower than recent sales? This is another sign. In our market, homes are very different from each other so it’s hard to tell, but overall, our prices are still within the same range. Is there an increase in housing inventory? At this point, not at all! Last month we had 716 houses for sale, and this month we have 718 houses for sale.

Overall, the answer is no! The market is not shifting; in fact, it’s great. We’ve seen a bit of softening this summer, but that’s normal for this time of year. As a buyer, your buyer advantage window will probably last another two or three weeks, and then it will start tapering off as inventory starts to drop.

If you’re thinking about selling, now is a great time. If you’re a buyer - get off your seat and come buy a house! Now is the time.

If you have any questions or any interest in buying or selling a home, contact me soon. Your prime window may be closing!