It would appear a little bit of everything. For the entire area we saw a small decline of less than 10% in sales volume. Tahoe Donner had the biggest decline going from 36 sales a year ago to 23 this year, or 36%. The decline was almost exclusively in the single-family home market. The Tahoe basin saw a subtle 10% decline going from 44 sales last year to 40 this year. A modest increase in sales were seen in the Squaw / Alpine and greater Truckee markets, not big increases but enough to cover the larger drop in Tahoe Donner. Is the sky falling NO! Sales, in July 2017 was almost 15% below this year, so no need to panic. We are already getting in to that time of year where price changes outnumber the new listings. Those motivated sellers move prices to get sales done. Less motivated sellers will ride out the remainder of summer and fall waiting to see if someone will bite. Right now, buyers seem reluctant to bite on any listings that are not at least asking a reasonable price based on market support.
What if you are a buyer? Mortgage rates have stabilized again but are still well below the peak rates we saw at the beginning of the year. The volatility in the stock market is not going to likely help our market or our rates. In addition, we will be staring down another presidential election and people will be cautious to make big money moves let alone housing moves. My recommendation would be if you are a buyer, do what you can to secure a property while the rates remain low and inventory is much better than it has been. You may have to put a number of offers out there to find that motivated seller, but it will likely be worth the effort. You can wait to see what surfaces in the price reductions, but you will likely be doing what most buyers are doing and that might be too late. Don’t be afraid to put a reasonable offer in on an unreasonably priced home because you never know what might stick.
What if you are a seller? If you are seriously considering selling, I would get your property on the market ASAP. There are more things pointing at head winds for the real estate market than tail winds. Inventories are generally up, not just in our market but across the state and the country. This leads to higher days on market and ultimately more negotiating when the time comes. But it is not all doom and gloom. The Truckee/Tahoe real estate market is still seeing sales in days or a week, but it is primarily price driven. If a new listing is seen as a good value, it will sell fast, and it might still receive multiple offers. This appears to be true in all price ranges. We are still seeing a considerable amount of million plus and multi-million-dollar sales. I have been telling folks this year, “we are in a market that is hard to leave money on the table”. If you somehow underprice a property you will likely get the offers needed to get it to where it should be. The real risk is over pricing and using that time on the market to figure this out and then the listing becomes stale. Personally, my favorite time of year is right around the corner. I know per the calendar; Fall doesn’t start for another couple months but in the mountains it will always arrive earlier. Those cool mornings and warm sunny afternoons are as good as it gets. Don’t get me wrong, I love winter but there is just something wonderful about fall.
What if you are a buyer? Mortgage rates have stabilized again but are still well below the peak rates we saw at the beginning of the year. The volatility in the stock market is not going to likely help our market or our rates. In addition, we will be staring down another presidential election and people will be cautious to make big money moves let alone housing moves. My recommendation would be if you are a buyer, do what you can to secure a property while the rates remain low and inventory is much better than it has been. You may have to put a number of offers out there to find that motivated seller, but it will likely be worth the effort. You can wait to see what surfaces in the price reductions, but you will likely be doing what most buyers are doing and that might be too late. Don’t be afraid to put a reasonable offer in on an unreasonably priced home because you never know what might stick.
What if you are a seller? If you are seriously considering selling, I would get your property on the market ASAP. There are more things pointing at head winds for the real estate market than tail winds. Inventories are generally up, not just in our market but across the state and the country. This leads to higher days on market and ultimately more negotiating when the time comes. But it is not all doom and gloom. The Truckee/Tahoe real estate market is still seeing sales in days or a week, but it is primarily price driven. If a new listing is seen as a good value, it will sell fast, and it might still receive multiple offers. This appears to be true in all price ranges. We are still seeing a considerable amount of million plus and multi-million-dollar sales. I have been telling folks this year, “we are in a market that is hard to leave money on the table”. If you somehow underprice a property you will likely get the offers needed to get it to where it should be. The real risk is over pricing and using that time on the market to figure this out and then the listing becomes stale. Personally, my favorite time of year is right around the corner. I know per the calendar; Fall doesn’t start for another couple months but in the mountains it will always arrive earlier. Those cool mornings and warm sunny afternoons are as good as it gets. Don’t get me wrong, I love winter but there is just something wonderful about fall.
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