Tahoe Lakefront Property

Lake Tahoe, CA

Search all Lakefront Property on Tahoe MLS

 Locations: All North Shore, Tahoe City and the West Shore through Rubicon’s Gold Coast

Price Range: $900,000′s – $30+ million

Considered by most to be the ultimate goal for a Tahoe property, our lakefronts are a breed unto themselves. There are huge differences in what is offered at various prices but the fun thing is that the lakefront market is a microcosm of Tahoe itself. We have little Old Tahoe’s that haven’t changed in generations, massive acreage parcels with 20,000 square-foot mansions, and everything in between. We see underground basketball courts, helicopter landing pads, movie theaters, three-level car garages, sea plane docks, remote-control railroad boat launches, and just about anything else you can image. In 2011 the bottom end of the Tahoe lakefront market did the unthinkable – it dropped below $1 million. There was one Meeks Bay lakefront which sold for $975k and then two North Shore properties which sold for just over $1m (View These Lakefront Listings). In 2012 a modest Kings Beach lakefront went into foreclosure and sold for $900,000. At the same time a relatively secluded lakefront property in Tahoe City hit the market as an REO for $1.1m and had over a dozen offers.

So far, 2012 is off to a great start with double the number of lakefront properties sold as the same time last year (through 4/4). Though the lakefront REO’s occurred, some of the other sales include an estate for $8.6m and nice Carnelian Bay property for $5.6m.

Sellers Note: So far in 2012 sellers are getting roughly 90% of asking price. Link to Tahoe Lakefront Owner’s Assoc.

Buyers Note: There are nice, remodeled lakefronts with piers in the low $2m range.

Some of the most differentiating characteristics for our lakefront properties are these:

Depth of Water Near Shoreline – Tahoe’s ‘yearly tide’ means that the lake level is always in flux. It can rise and fall considerably from one summer to the next. Deep water is insurance for the low water years and there is generally a price associated with that.

Pier and Accoutrements – Piers add roughly $500,000 to $2m in value. Boat hoists, rock cribs, multiple slips, and boat houses (especially those with living areas) each increase value.

Lake Frontage – The most affordable lakefront parcels can have as little as 10 feet of frontage (flag lots). Some are built on lots that are only 50′ wide (King’s Beach) while many lots are 100′ across. Estate properties can have up to a thousand feet on the lake.

Proximity to the “Highway” – West Shore and North Shore Blvd.’s, though relatively small, do generate noise. Some neighborhoods offer a buffer for their lakefront homes while other properties are sited directly on the roadside. Some lakefronts will have the Blvd. address but long meandering drives which mitigate the sound and add to privacy. The beauty of all the lakefronts is that the living is done facing the lake with the house buffering most of the noise. And there’s no distraction from that ever-changing Tahoe view.

Historical Sales Data

Tahoe Lakefront Sales Map 2011-12 (view maps dating to 2007 here)

View Tahoe Lakefront Sales, 2011-2012 in a larger map