Archives for January 2014

Snow Problem

According to my favorite weather ‘geek’ we are going to see a change in the weather which should lead to more precip. Here’s a link to his page (I recommend joining the e-newsletter list; he only send when appropriate): http://www.tahoeloco.com/weather-geek

“The storm door is opening, folks. Now we just need to hope for snow and not just rain.

The high pressure that’s been blocking our storms all winter is pulling apart and opening a path to California and the Sierra for a series of storms moving in from the Pacific.

The first system is due late tonight into Tuesday, and it will be a warm one. Precipitation is likely to be focused just north of Tahoe with some showers possible  over the Basin. The dry air that’s present near the surface will limit the amount of precip that reaches the ground, and snow levels will be high. While they might initially be around 6000 or 7000 feet, that is likely to be brief, and they are forecast to rise to around 8000 feet as the storm moistens and warms the air. But there will be not be much moisture for us either way.

This one is tapping into a plume of sub-tropical moisture and could drop 1 to 2 inches of precipitation (measured in water-content) on the Sierra. With that warm moisture tap this storm will also see high snow levels, at least initially, probably between 7000 and 8000 feet.

But those should drop as the cold front swings through on Thursday,  hopefully to below 7000 feet.  Snow-to-water ratios will be weak — below 10 to 1 — but even at that rate we should see 1 to 2 feet of snow above 8000 feet, with smaller amounts below those elevations.

It looks like we will start drying out on Friday, but the weather will remain unsettled and we could see some snow into the weekend.

Stay tuned for more details.

Check www.tahoeloco.com for updates.

As always, if you know someone who might want to receive the Tahoe Weather Geek’s free forecast summaries, please forward them this email. Anyone can subscribe by sending an e-mail to 

tahoeweathergeek@gmail.com with “subscribe” in the subject line. Your email address will not be sold or shared for commercial purposes and you will not be spammed.”

Reno Tahoe reaches “Tipping Point” with over 50 Top Ten Awards

Check out this interesting SFGate.com article:

Reno, NV (PRWEB) December 11, 2013

Travelers looking for a fun, safe, affordable, sunny, beautiful, hip and varied vacation destination should check out Northern Nevada’s Reno Tahoe area, according to more than 50 varied publications and websites, from A (AOL Real Estate) to Z (Zagat.com). The four season, high desert resort destination that encompasses Reno, Sparks and North Lake Tahoe has been recognized for excellence on more than 50 occasions – in a wide variety of national publications and online rankings – over the course of the past 24 months, and the “Top 10” accolades just keep on coming.

“It’s pretty incredible to be ranked #9 on the list of ‘100 Best Places to Live’ (Livability.com), #5 on ‘Top Spots for Winter Vacations’ (The Weather Channel) and as one of the ‘20 Most Crime-Free Cities in America’ (AOL Real Estate), while offering the #1 Lake in America, Lake Tahoe (USA Today Reader’s Poll) and the #1 Ski Resort, Squaw Valley (Men’s Journal), as well as the #1 ranking for ‘Underestimated Cities for Food’ (The Daily Meal),” according to Christopher Baum, President and CEO of Reno Tahoe USA. “It’s especially surprising when you consider that this is a resort area that most Americans haven’t visited… yet,” said Baum, “But we’re confident that THAT is about to change.”

Reno-Tahoe International Airport is the gateway to nearby Lake Tahoe’s world class skiing for the vast majority of visitors. And with an early storm recently dumping two-to-three feet of fresh powder in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, listed as one of “11 of the World’s Most Beautiful Mountain Ranges” by UnofficialNetworks.com, it will be difficult to find a better winter sports getaway this season, according to authorities such as:

  •     Buzzfeed Travel, which ranked Lake Tahoe #1 among “34 Places that are Even Better During Winter.”
  •     National Geographic Magazine, which recently highlighted Reno as one of its “Top 10 Emerging Ski Towns.”
  •     Men’s Journal, which recognized top-ranked Squaw Valley, as well as nearby Northstar and Kirkwood, as having some of the “Best Ski Schools in the U.S.”
  •     FoxNews.com, which ranked Squaw Valley USA one of the Top 10 “Best Ski Resorts in North America.”
  •     MSN.com, which cited Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe (just a 25 minute drive from downtown Reno) as one of the “10 Hippest Ski Areas You Rarely Hear About.”
  •     Forbes, which also picked Squaw Valley as one of their “Top 10 U.S. Ski Resorts.”

Besides its top overall rating from the readers of USA Today, Lake Tahoe also picked up several additional noteworthy warm weather awards:

  •     Yahoo! Travel included North America’s highest alpine lake in its international list of “10 Lakeside Vacations that Have it All.”
  •     FamilyVacationCritic.com voted Sand Harbor at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe one of the “10 Best Beaches for Families.”
  •     Yahoo! Shine named Lake Tahoe as a Top 10 lake vacation “Best for Celebrating a Western Icon.”

In addition to its #1 rating from The Daily Meal, and Campo’s selection by Esquire Magazine as one of “The Best New Restaurants in America,” the region’s diverse and rapidly expanding food scene also was recognized as follows:

  •     The local GourMelt Grilled Cheese Truck earned double honors this year as one of the “10 Best Grilled Cheese Trucks” by CultureCheeseMag.com and also as one of the “101 Best Food Trucks in America” by The Daily Meal.
  •     Chapel Tavern in Reno’s hip MidTown District was recently named one of the “10 Best Places to Drink Rum” in the country by Zagat.com.
  •     A mainstay in downtown Reno for more than 50 years, the Awful Awful was listed as one of the “51 Great Burger Joints Across the U.S.” by USA Today.

Additional recognition for Northern Nevada also came for several of the area’s top Special Events:

2013 Market Recap

Lake Tahoe real estate finished 2013 strong, marking significant increases in average and median home prices, as well as sales  volume. The figures are part of a quarterly report released by Chase International Real Estate.

Comparing last year’s figures with those from January 1 through Dec. 31, 2012, the  2013 year-end report showed a 29 percent jump in median home price ($445,000) and  23 percent rise in average home prices ($775,516) at Tahoe. Sales volume was up 23  percent, heavily impacted by a 42 percent leap in sales of homes priced over $1 million.  Homes selling for less than a million dipped six percent.

2013 4th Quarter Real Estate Stats Tahoe City

2013 4th Quarter Real Estate Stats Tahoe City

The East Shore and Incline Village, both in Nevada, led the lake in sales. East Shore saw  an 89 percent leap in sales volume with a 104 percent increase in homes sold for more  than a million. Incline Village saw a 71 percent increase in volume sold and a 79 percent  rise in the sale of million-dollar homes. The median price of a home on the East Shore is  $681,250 (up 41 percent) and Incline Village’s is $880,000 (up 25 percent).

“The upper end of the market continues to rebound,” said Sue Lowe, corporate vice  president for Chase International. “Many professionals, executives and business owners  are recognizing the benefits of making a financial and lifestyle investment in Lake  Tahoe.”

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors notes that nationwide, 2013 marks the best sales overall in seven years, but he predicts that the strong price gains and higher mortgage rates mean a more modest growth in values is expected for 2014.

Though the median price of a Tahoe City home is up 19 percent ($510,000), sales volume was down 20 percent. Volume sold was up ten percent on the South Shore, with a 34 percent increase in median home price ($329,000).

“The sale of homes priced under $1 million is down because of the lack of inventory in the lower segments of the market,” Lowe said. Sales volume was also up in Truckee (32 percent), with a substantial jump in homes  selling for more than $1 million (63 percent). The median price of homes sold in Truckee last year was up 15 percent to $510,000.

 

Tahoe Lakefront Sales Map

Tahoe Lakefront Sales Maps

This map shows shows every 2013 Lake Tahoe lakefront property & lot sold on the Tahoe Sierra MLS plus sales that I know of which occurred off-MLS. Click on any placemark for each property’s sale info including address and description (please note some MLS links have expired since this was published). View the lakefront sales map for 2011-2012 here. 2009-2010 here; 2007-2008 here. For more information visit my Tahoe Lakefront page. Note that the map marker locations are to be used as a general reference only.

Click here to See All Current Lakefront Listings

Click here for more Lake Tahoe lakefront property information

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