Real estate

After the frantic pace of home sales in South Lake Tahoe over the past two years, things are starting to slow down to a more level pace. Home sales in South Lake Tahoe, California dropped 13% in the month of July, mainly due to the fact that there is a lower inventory of homes priced under $300,000. Homes priced between $435,000 and $650,000 actually saw a rise in closed sales, up 20.5%. There was a huge surge in home sales from 670 a year in 2012, to a peak of 790 for the year ending in May of 2013, back to 678 for the past 12 months.

Having recently read an article about the owners of the Barton Ranch property planning to tear down all the buildings as they rot and decay for the advancement of the Tahoe Valley Plan I felt I had to reply. Although I haven't read over that plan I am aware of the rich history of the Barton family who are clearly one of Lake Valley's founding families.

This spring, local REALTOR® Gregory Cremeans has been actively raising funds for the Reno/Sparks Relay for Life and the Tahoe Pride Equality Scholarship program, which he founded.

In the past month, Gregory hosted a scholarship fundraiser and client appreciation party at TOAST, a locally owned restaurant in Zephyr Cove, NV. This event raised over $700 benefiting Lake Tahoe Community College students.

On December 28th, Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate in Zephyr Cove decided to give back to the pets in the community by hosting a Holiday Pet Food Drive, yielding big results. Leading up to the 28th, close to 600 lbs of dog and cat food were donated to pets in need. In addition, many pet toys and other items were donated, on top of $170 in check donation.

The Barton Foundation has been a cornerstone for The Barton Health Group for more than 20 years by providing excellent healthcare service to customers and also have been big players during the holiday season. This year’s Barton Festival of Trees and Lights will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Barton Health and Coldwell Banker Select will be contributing to the event in a major way. The franchise will be donating a gorgeous “sports themed” Christmas tree to the event, which will be auctioned off at the black tie gala event on December 7th.

Gregory Cremeans recently joined the Coldwell Banker Select office in Zephyr Cove and is already off to a great start. Gregory has achieved the Cartus Network Affinity Specialist (CNAS) certification. The certification recognizes top performance and service to clients, as well as meeting goals within the organization. Pat McCulloch, Broker Manager for Coldwell Banker Select, is incredibly proud of her agent’s new designation. “As members of the Cartus Broker Network, our agents strive to deliver excellent service to every client,” she states.

The real estate market in South Lake Tahoe continues to show strong numbers, no matter which set of figures you look at. What was especially high in October was the median price of homes sold.

Median Sales Price Continues to Rise

Coldwell Banker Select in Zephyr Cove will have an agent rejoining their organization with over 13 years of experience. Gregory Cremeans holds licenses in both California and Nevada and has achieved many accomplishments during his career. Gregory has a Graduate REALTOR® Institute designation, as well as e-PRO certification and is recognized in the Coldwell Banker Multi-Million Dollar Club. He has also achieved Top Producer honors throughout his years as an agent. He is incredibly passionate about real estate and getting the best deal for his clients.

Coldwell Banker Previews International is the quintessential organization involving all aspects in luxury real estate both stateside and internationally and now they have two new Luxury Trainers to add to their short list. Dena Hospodka, Managing Broker and Melanie Stewart, Director of Luxury Marketing service the Northern Nevada Coldwell Bankers and are now recognized in the company as Previews Luxury Properties Trainers. Credit for their new Luxury Trainers status is due to extra training, tremendous work in the company and extensive background in marketing and selling Luxury Homes.

A new Board of Directors was elected at the TahoeChamber ’s October 15 board meeting. The board reflects the local business community in that it is comprised of small businesses, professionals, healthcare, gaming and resort representatives. Their diverse business expertise partnered with their enthusiasm ensures that our membership is well served.

The Coldwell Banker Select office in Zephyr Cove is known for pushing it to the limit when securing great deals for their clients. However, the hard work of three agents also translates outside of the office. Last weekend, Pike Reardon, Jim Kilen and Penny Echan all participated in the North Tahoe/Truckee Ironman event, with Reardon and Kilen having big finishes, with Pike finishing 9th in his age group and 84th overall. Echan woke up at 2AM Sunday morning to get her kayak in the lake prior to the 5AM start time of the event.

Coldwell Banker Select in Incline Village will be welcoming a new REALTOR® to the office. Denise Lozner is excited to join the Incline Village Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate team! Denise has been involved in the Real Estate business for the past year as an escrow transaction coordinator and has a background in customer service, contract management and negotiation. Denise believes that these skills will enable her to be a successful agent for the Incline Village office.

Trish Kirsch is the latest addition to the Stanford Mortgage team in Reno. Trish brings several accolades with her, such as President’s Club, Platinum Club and Million Dollar Producer’s Club recognition. She is specialized in Super-Jumbo and Construction Loans and has a “whatever-it-takes” attitude when closing deals for clients. She believes in honesty without compromise and Stanford Mortgage expects great things from Trish in the future.

About The Select Group

Real estate agents on Lake Tahoe's Nevada side say they're making sales to Californians trying to escape to Nevada after recent tax hikes in California.

In November, Californians approved Proposition 30, which raises taxes on earnings over $250,000 for seven years. Nevada has no state income tax.

Stanford Mortgage and Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate will be joining forces to host The Most Elite Real Estate Networking Event in Northern Nevada. “Third Thursday” will once again be the prime networking event for all real estate professionals, which will take place at the L’uva Bella Wine Gallery. Please join us at 13925 S. Virginia Street in Reno on Thursday, August 15th, starting at 4:00pm until 7:00pm. A professional photographer provided by Stanford Mortgage will be on site to offer complementary updated headshots for any professional in the Real Estate and Mortgage Industry.

Lake Tahoe Community College’s summer lineup includes many brand-new classes that educate and enlighten while entertaining learners. Students can earn college credits while studying a variety of subjects, from the roots of rock n’ roll to the fundamentals of food and wine pairings. Classes begin July 1, and registering early guarantees students a spot.

Here is a sampling of new summer classes LTCC is offering:

Median price of homes sold continues to increase

The median sales prices for homes sold in April of 2013 rose 48% from April of 2012 to $334,500. When analyzing the figures in more detail, you see some interesting things.

Now is a great time to invest in Lake Tahoe, whether it's a vacation rental, long term rental, multi-units/apartments or retail buildings. With the continued low interest rates and property prices still considered low, now is the time to pull the trigger before it's too late. I advise my clients that waiting will not help their situation. The biggest challenge is the lack of homes for sale. The key to to watch for new listings as they get posted to the MLS system.

The Lake Tahoe real estate market is off to a strong start in 2013, experiencing a 34 percent increase in median home price and a 53 percent leap in average price. Sales volume around the lake is up 61 percent, primarily due to a 133 percent jump in homes sold for more than $1 million. The figures were part of a quarterly report released by Lake Tahoe-based real estate company Chase International.

When looking at the entire state of California the average price of a home for sale is $307,600. In Nevada you have a huge spectrum of home values due to the diversity of cities, therefore the average sales price is only $145,400.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal there are 6 reasons why there is a declining inventory of homes for sale in the United States. These 6 reasons also apply to Lake Tahoe, on both the California side and Nevada sides of the Lake.

Their 6 reasons why housing inventory is declining

1.  Many homeowners are underwater (owe more than their home is worth) so they are unlikely to sell until home values rise more than they have already. More than 10 million home owners are in this position in the US.

With access to more than 10,270 skiable acres at three premier mountain resorts—Heavenly Mountain Resort, Northstar California Resort and Kirkwood Mountain Resort — Lake Tahoe’s only true three-mountain season passes provide season-long access to the most diverse and quality experience Lake Tahoe has to offer. Starting today, Lake Tahoe skiers and snowboarders can lock in the lowest guaranteed price on a season pass for the 2013-2014 winter season (www.bestoftahoe.com) for as little as $389.

Lake Tahoe real estate had seen a steady down trend in home sales over the last few years, and the last 9 months has seen a steady upward climb. In February of 2013 buyers seemed to be on a buying frenzy and sellers were deciding not to sell and hold on for a higher sales price in the future. The big topic of conversation among Lake Tahoe Realtor's is the lack of homes for sale and how sellers are pulling their homes off of the market.

Closed Sales of South Lake Tahoe Homes

Tahoe Mountain Club is excited to announce two-time Olympic gold medalist, snowboard and skateboard sensation Shaun White as the newest member of Tahoe Mountain Club.

As one of the most prominent figures in snowboarding and skateboarding, Shaun White has called Northstar California his home resort since 2011. After the first season of training at Northstar, White initiated a conversation with Tahoe Mountain Club as a means for expanding his involvement with the resort and the region.