Tahoe homes sales up, but buyers still seeking deals

Sales of homes in the Lake Tahoe Basin and Truckee are up following the first three quarters of 2010, but median home prices remain low, according to several area real estate agents.

The number of properties sold in the Lake Tahoe Basin during the first nine months of 2010 increased 28 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a statement from Chase International.

Sales of single-family homes at the East Shore decreased 2 percent during that time, but increased everywhere else around Lake Tahoe and Truckee, up 28 percent at the South Shore, 46 percent in Tahoe City, 27 percent in Incline Village and 13 percent in Truckee, according to the statement.

"I'm reluctant to say we've hit the bottom of the market, but the number of buyers has substantially increased," said Sue Lowe, corporate broker and senior vice president of Chase International. "The prices are still stabilizing."

The biggest decrease in price has been in Tahoe City, where the median price of a single-family home dropped 19 percent, from $570,000 to $460,000, compared to the same time last year.

Median single-family home prices dropped 12 percent from $925,000 to $812,500 in Incline Village, while prices at the South and East shores saw slight up-ticks.

Median single family home prices at the South Shore during the first nine months of 2010 have seen a three percent up-tick, from $315,000 to $325,000. The median price for a single family home rose 1 percent, from $531,000 to $535,000, according to Chase's statistics.

Median prices for condominiums are down around the lake, with the steepest decreases in Tahoe City where the median price for a condominium dropped 20 percent from $375,000 to $300,500 compared to the first three quarters of 2009.

Although the sale of several lakefront properties has helped the high-end market, the numbers through nine months point to a market dominated by bargain hunters.

The prices have finally got to the point where the people are jumping into the market, said Chris Plastiras, broker and co-owner of Lakeshore Realty in Incline Village. Plastiras said he expected the bargain hunting trend to continue for the next few years.

"What we're seeing are people who are looking for value," Plastiras said. "When they see that value they pretty much buy the property. We're seeing property sell for prices that they may have sold for 10 years ago."

Distressed properties, those in short sales or bank-owned, represent a significant minority of the properties sold so far this year. Distressed properties sales represent about 25 percent of the Incline Village market, Plastiras said.

The sale of distressed properties is especially strong at the South Shore, where sales of distressed single family homes represent nearly half of the units sold this year, according to data from Lake Tahoe Real Estate blogger Richard Bolen.

More than 45 percent of single family homes sold in the city this year have been distressed, Bolen said. About half of the single family homes sold at the South Shore this year sold below $300,000, Bolen added.

"The theme is, they're looking for a deal," Bolen said.

About 40 percent of single family homes sales in 2009 were distressed properties, about twice as many as in 2008, Bolen said.