How’s the Tahoe-Truckee Market?
The goal of this page is to give market updates for those who want to stay informed. I have made the decision to not encourage travel from the Bay Area, etc. to Tahoe and am therefore not showing property to buyers nor meeting in-person with sellers. I am actively working every day via phone, virtual meetings, email, text, etc.
Updated April 4, 2020:
Summary since 3/26:
There are more properties exiting the market than there are entering the market; the numbers were equal two weeks prior. The number of cancelled escrows remains about the same with 7-8/week. The dynamic of higher-end listings having more confidence and re-entering the market was different. The two $1m+ listings that fell out of escrow decided to throw in the towel for now. The number of new escrows is similar to the prior 2 weeks with roughly 7 new deals per week. See full details and more info by clicking here.
The Details
New Listings: I am pretty amazed. There are 20 new listings since my last update on 3/26. Average price $1.2m, high of $8.5m. The $1m+ listings were spread out across our geographic area very evenly. The $8.5m is notable in that it is a non-lakefront home with manicured acreage and multiple pools located across the street from Zuckerberg’s big purchases. I would be very surprised if didn’t buy this as an amenity and for overflow – assuming he has large groups of visitors during non-covid times.
Expired Listings: 25 expired listings including two high end West Shore properties. In Tahoe, 100-day listings are very short and rare; 14 of these expireds had under 100 days on market which means they likely cancelled early due to coronavirus.
New escrows: There were a total of 7 new escrows since 3/26. Average price $1.1m, high of $2.8m on a beautiful home in Northstar. Interestingly, the Northstar house fell out of escrow on 3/17 due to a spooked buyer. It then re-entered escrow on 4/1. Unlike the new listings, activity was centered in Truckee. The only non-Truckee escrow is an investment property in Kings Beach for $450k.
Solds: As we get further from the Shelter In Place order (3/19), the solds are becoming more interesting for two related reasons. These buyers have the financial confidence, cash reserves and very strong desire to acquire that “Tahoe place.” Secondly, since these are typically vacation homes, most of these buyers are ignoring the Shelter In Place order and coming to Tahoe-Truckee to look at homes. Locals are reporting seeing full parking lots at Safeway on Friday afternoon which is very, very frustrating. For this weekend, CHP has issued a ‘No Travel to Tahoe’ warning: click here to watch video.
22 closed escrows since 3/26: Average price $923k, 3 sales over $2m. The escrows were spread out across our region but the highest concentration was Tahoe Donner with 4 sales.
Are all the escrows falling apart?
| Date range | 3/26 | 4/4 |
| Total Failed Escrows | 7 | |
| Fell out of escrow then back to market as active: | Tahoe Basin | Truckee |
| 2 | 2 | |
| Under $1m | Over $1m | |
| 4 | 0 | |
| Fell out of escrow then cancelled: | Tahoe Basin | Truckee |
| 0 | 3 | |
| Under $1m | Over $1m | |
| 1 | 2 |
Dynamics are changing a little. Last update, there were 17 cancellations over the previous 13 days and just 8 cancellations in the last 9 days. Previously the sellers over $1m were showing lots of confidence and re-entering the market after their deals fell apart. This week both escrows over $1m did the opposite and exited the market.
Helping Others
Our family is a huge fan of the Kings Beach Boys & Girls Club. We love the “grab and go” dinners and educational services they are providing since the covid outbreak. They’ve served over 400 dinners in the last couple weeks to local families in need. We donated and you can, too, at this link