This four-bedroom house in Truckee, California, near Lake Tahoe, went on the market for $ 1.65 million and sold less than 24 hours later for $ 2 million.
General and Hamilton
Lake Tahoe real estate is depleting at a record pace as San Francisco tech workers flee the city in search of more space and a healthier lifestyle.
A new wave of urban flights is reshaping the property markets from New York to Chicago and Los Angeles to San Francisco. As part of this change, Lake Tahoe is seeing unprecedented bidding wars, buying activity, and price increases. Brokers say the inventory of homes for sale has dropped to about a fifth to a tenth of usual levels.
“People are writing cash deals for houses, unseen,” said Sabrina Belleci, a Lake Tahoe brokerage with Re / Max. “They just want to get out of the city.”
Lake Tahoe has long been a bucolic escape for Californians looking for a getaway and, on the Nevada side, lower taxes. But the latest increase in purchases is greater than any other the market has seen, brokers say. They say tech workers and investors in the Bay Area, as well as the Los Angeles media, are coming to the Tahoe area in search of bigger homes with home offices, more land for kids to play. and access to outdoor activities such as swimming and biking.
The flight from the city received another boost this week after Google announced that it would keep workers home until July 2021. Private schools in the Bay Area also recently announced that they will likely switch to all online classes in the fall, giving families another reason to stay. outside of San Francisco.
“Buyers say ‘there is no reason for me to be in town,'” said Breck Overall, an agent for Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty.
Historically, properties in the Tahoe area took three to four months to sell, Overall said. Now, it’s more like four days. Properties often have six to 12 offers after they hit the market, he said, adding that many are selling well above the asking price.
Recently, a property went on the market with a price of $ 1.65 million. Located in downtown Truckee, California, on the Truckee River, it was signed less than 24 hours later and closed for $ 2 million.
This three-bedroom house in Truckee was listed for $ 670,000 and sold quickly for $ 70,000 more than the asking price.
Sierra Sotheby’s Int Realty
The Tahoe Donner tourism community generally has 80 to 120 homes on the market, Overall said. Now there are only about a dozen.
Almost all offers are in cash, with little or no contingency. Overall, he said that if buyers need financing, they have little chance of getting a home, as sellers prefer quick, cash deals.
“I think it has established a new market here,” he said.
And the numbers show no signs of slowing down. Kaili Sánchez, with Sierra Sotheby’s, said the company’s pending sales in June for the Tahoe area totaled $ 191 million, compared to $ 72 million last year.
July is shaping up to be even better, with $ 129 million in pending sales between July 1 and July 15, more than three times last year’s total. She said that while families have long viewed Tahoe as a vacation home market, many families now plan to stay longer.
“Now they are shopping for their primary residence,” he said. “Maybe it’s for a year, maybe more. But they want to be outdoors.”
With so few houses for sale, many buyers have decided to buy empty land and build a house. Local builders and architects say waiting lists are getting longer for their services. Brokers have also started knocking on doors in hopes of persuading homeowners to list their homes.
“People who could have sold in a typical season keep their homes because they want a place to stay,” Belleci said. “The inventory is reaching the point where we are running out of houses for sale. It is very limited.”
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