The Tahoe real estate market continues its strong steady upward march, recovering nearly all of the losses left behind by the great recession. Across all micro-markets, the median price rose at least 5% year-over-year. Sales volume was down in all segments of the Tahoe market, with the exception of Incline Village, which saw an increase of units sold by 6%. Low sales volume is primarily attributable to meager inventory. Year-over-year single family home inventory is down 14% across the Tahoe Sierra MLS and down 25% on the California side of the Tahoe basin. Lakefront inventory is particularly low, with only 21 lakefronts actively for sale, compared with 39 that were listed at this time last year.
Top performing segments are Incline Village, Nevada and the Lakefront market. In Incline Village, median price increased 13%, and sales above $2 million increased by 111%. Lakefront transactions in the first two quarters totaled $116,633,000. There are currently top value lakefront estates on the market with the anticipation of more soon to come, so we expect this number to rise precipitously throughout the year.
The good start to the year for real estate in Tahoe can also be attributed to a robust winter which produced a banner year for ski areas and filled Lake Tahoe to its rim. This translates to increased buyer activity as confidence grows that Tahoe is a desirable 4-season vacation destination.
The small selection of available homes for sale should keep a lid on unit sales for the balance of 2017. The light inventory, strong buyer demand and a full lake should also put upward pressure on prices. Expect to see mid single digit gains in median price, at least through 2017. There are some spectacular west shore lakefront estates available for purchase this year, to the likes we have not seen in over a decade. It will be fun to see new families root their legacies.
View the detailed report that graphs sales volume and median price by micro-region here or by clicking the gallery images below.
Download past reports here.
Source: Tahoe Sierra MLS and Incline Village MLS
