Tahoe home sales down in first quarter of 2017

Home sales were down around Lake Tahoe in the first quarter of 2017, with overall sales volume dipping 7 percent. The drop was mainly affected by a 13 percent decrease in the sale of homes priced under $1 million and was influenced by the severe winter the Lake Tahoe area experienced. The median home price remained steady with a 2 percent increase to $529,000.

The figures are part of a quarterly report released by Tahoe-based real estate agency Chase International. The numbers compare all MLS home sales from Jan. 1 through March 31 to the same time frame in 2016.

Homes sold for more than $1 million were down 5 percent and overall units sold were down 6 percent. Incline Village saw the biggest decreases with a 52 percent fall in volume and 24 percent decline in units sold. Homes sold for more than $1 million dropped 23 percent. The median price of a home in Incline Village fell 8 percent to $870,000.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, noted that February was the warmest in decades, which played a role in kick starting prospective buyer’ house hunting. The same could not be said for the Tahoe area where the region experienced near-record snowfall.

“I’m sure the series of heavy storms had an affect on people’s ability to do any serious house searching,” said Susan Lowe, corporate vice president for Chase International. “In the long run though, our winter with abundant snow will be a big positive for the region.”

Tahoe City saw a 28 percent jump in volume sold, primarily from a 14 percent rise in the median home price ($611,000). The South Shore experienced a 67 percent increase in homes sold for more than a million and the median home price was up 4 percent to $412,000. The East Shore also saw an uptick in homes sold for more than $1 million (25 percent) while homes selling for less than a million dropped 31 percent. The median price of a home on the East Shore rose 26 percent to $965,000.

Lake Tahoe’s numbers are essentially in line with regional trends. NAR reported that existing home sales in the West decreased 3.1 percent in February. The median price of home was up 9.6 percent from February 2016.

The sale of condos around the lake fared much better with significant increases in volume sold. Units sold for more than $500,000 was up 80 percent and the median price jumped 17 percent to $375,000.

Sales were down across the board in Truckee, with record-breaking snowfall and severe winter storms hampering buyers’ searches. Volume and units sold were both down, 29 and 18 percent, respectively, while median home price rose 7 percent to $709,000.

This article was provided by Chase International.