Residential sales around Lake Tahoe break $500M barrier

Home sales around Lake Tahoe exceeded $500 million in the first six months of the year amid a return of high-end buyers to the region’s luxury market.

Total dollar volume for single-family residences in the region stood at $511,139,859 in the six-month period ended June 30, compared with $472,811,970 in the six-month period ended June 30, 2016.

At the same time, sales of residences priced above $1 million increased to 104 from 102.

The four-pronged sales region is comprised of the East Shore of Lake Tahoe, Incline Village, South Shore of Lake Tahoe, and Tahoe City. Chase International, a Lake Tahoe-based real estate agency, compiled the sales data.

Sales of single-family residences were strongest in Incline Village where dollar volume surged to $175,924,050 in the period ended June from $137,565,181 in the period ended June 30, 2016. That marked a gain of about 28 percent.

In the same period, the average price for a single-family home leaped to $2,119,567 from $1,448,055. However, total sales in Incline Village dropped 12.6 percent to 83 from 95.

Sue Lowe, corporate vice president for Chase International, said the Incline Village market has been soft the last few years, but is up on the back on some large sales in the first half of 2017.

“One is $31 million,” said Lowe, who was referring to the $31.1 million a couple paid for a home in the 1000 block of Lakeshore Boulevard that once belonged to casino mogul Steve Wynn.

The sale of the nearly 5-acre property, which was initially listed for $35 million in spring, features a 12,661-square-foot main home with 210 feet of lake frontage.

Of note, Wynn paid $6.5 million for the property in 1993, and then tore down an old cabin and built a new house on at the site dubbed, “Old Forge,” according to Tahoe Luxury Properties.

Ten-Four-One Realty Trust then bought the property from Wynn in 1998 for $17 million, public records show.

While the deal for the former Wynn property was the high-water mark in the first half of the year, it also represented what attracts would-be buyers to the area.

“We are seeing more lakefront sales this year than in a typical year, and luxury buyers are out there in full force,” said Don Kanare, co-owner of RE/MAX North Lake in Incline Village.

“These buyers are very affluent people. The majority are from Northern California … we are seeing a lot of money flowing into the market.”

Elsewhere, home sales in the South Shore of Lake Tahoe ranked second at $145,112,125 in the six-month period ended June 30. That was down from $159,190,048 in the six-month period ended June 30, 2016.

The decrease in dollar volume was due largely to lower sales, which dropped about 13.8 percent to 274 from 318. On the upside, the average price for a South Shore residence swelled to $529,606 from $500,598.

Home sales in Tahoe City ranked third at $129,525,684 in the six-month period ended June 30. That was up 15 percent from $112,641,182 in the six-month period ended June 30, 2016.

At the same time, the average price for a single-family residence in Tahoe City jumped 21.7 percent to $1,079,380 from $886,938. That price hike occurred in face of a dip in total sales to 120 from 127.

Single-family home sales in the East Shore ranked fourth at $60,578,00 in the six-month period ended June 30. That was down from $63,415,559 in the six-month period ended June 30, 2016.

However, the average price increased to $1,408,790 from $1,132,420 in the same period.

As for the second half of the year, Lowe said the outlook is bright for the regional real estate market.

“We’ve seen a big surge in higher end buyers coming back. We just had our best month ever for the month of June,” she said.

“We’ve got a lake that is totally full, brimming over. The heat is kicking up on the outer areas and the Central Valley. And the Bay Area people want to come here.”