Local realtor Larry Sabo who specializes in a very “focused market trend” analysis for specific areas just completed another report today September 16^th, 2009. The report is focused on all South Lake Tahoe condos (Nevada side only) and excludes upper Kingsbury area. You can view this accurate report now.

Because of our ideal real estate office location in the casino core, we attract many prospective buyers and sellers for both timeshares and vacation home properties. It’s true that most people that walk in our office are seeking a good deal on a timeshare. We also see visitors interested in general real estate properties. We have two departments at Paradise Real Estate and Timeshare Resale; the timeshare resale division and the real estate division. Just like the timeshare resale business, we focus on nice vacation properties at very deep discounts. We are currently working with pre-foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned properties. You would not believe the prices on some of these properties! We are not talking about depressed areas either. If you would like to own a Lake Tahoe home or invest in a vacation rental property, please call me at 530-318-1945 or email me .I would also be glad to email you a list of our current short sale and bank owned properties. However, if you wish to go directly to our Real Estate search site.

The recent government stimulus package allows first time home buyers up to an $8000 tax credit. In addition lower interest rates have created more activity in the Tahoe real estate market. We have seen an increase in buyers taking advantage of incredible home ownership opportunities and finally fulfilling their life-long dream to own a piece of Lake Tahoe. I encourage you to contact me directly so I can consult with you on the many tremendous opportunities in this RARE real estate market. If you would like to receive automatic email notifications when vacation homes first get listed please go to the link at Paradise Real Estate and fill out your criteria. This will not include all short sales. I will provide that separately when it becomes available to my real estate division via banks. Soon my website will include a link to valuable foreclosure information.

Thanks again from “Your Real Estate Consultant for Life”

The median sales price in March 2008 for a single-family residential home in South Lake Tahoe, California dropped to $425,000. That is 10.5 percent less than one year ago when the median sales price was $475,000. Home prices have been on a steady decline since peaking at $489,000 in March-April 2006. The March 2008 price of $425,000 is identical to the median sales price in June 2005. “Local home prices are still under pressure as more foreclosures and short sales become available. I expect home prices will continue to decline over the next 12 months. It is truly a buyers market with some outstanding bargains available,” said Dan Spano, President of Paradise Real Estate.

There is some good news for sellers: the number of available homes on the market declined to 361. This is the lowest number of available homes since March 31, 2007 when 359 homes active listings were available for sale. There are currently 40 homes in escrow. This represents 10 percent of the 401 active single-family residential listings in MLS. By comparison, on July 31, 2007 there were 597 active single-family homes on MLS with 40 homes in escrow for a net total of 557 properties available for sale. “The decreasing supply will help stabilize pricing through the busy summer months,” Spano continued. “Smart shoppers will benefit from attractive home pricing and very low mortgage interest rates. I expect to see more buyers emerge as the weather warms up.”

2007 was a difficult year for real estate across the entire country and South Lake Tahoe, California was no exception. Sales dollar volume was down 11 percent and the median price decreased 5.5 percent to $449,900. The downward trend has continued so far this year with the median sales price for February 2008 dropping to $435,750. However, there are indications that the South Lake Tahoe real estate market is starting to turn around.

Currently, there are 426 active single-family residential listings on the South Lake Tahoe MLS with 52 homes in escrow. Last year at this time, there were 352 active single-family residential listings with only 25 properties in escrow. “A good number of listings have gone into escrow within the last 30 days,” said Dan Spano, President and CEO of Paradise Real Estate. “Buyers are realizing that home prices have corrected and this is a good entry point. Mortgage rates are also very attractive and that has helped spur home sales.”

Overall, the entire Lake Tahoe real estate market still posted some impressive numbers for 2007. The median home price was up 5 percent to $843,500 and the average price increased 12 percent to $1,386,219. The overall dollar volume of homes sold was down only five percent with 14 percent less units sold compared to 2006.

The town of Incline Village on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe led the way with the dollar volume of homes sold up 19 percent over last year. The median price for a home in Incline Village increased 6 percent to $1,140,000 while the average price for a home was up 5 percent to $1,629,980. The numbers were also impressive on Nevada’s East Shore of Lake Tahoe. Total sales dollar volume increased 4 percent and the median price jumped 14 percent to $1,045,000.

The data was not as good on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Total dollar sales volume in Tahoe City declined by 27 percent. The median price decreased by 2 percent to $749,000 but the average price actually increased by 3 percent to $1,156,483.

“The market for high-end homes in the multi-million dollar price range was very strong in 2007,” continued Spano. “Sales of lower end homes were more like a normal year.”

The recent fallout in the subprime mortgage market has permanently changed the landscape for homebuyers. New Century, a subprime lender that was once the second largest in the industry, filed for bankruptcy in April. The company joined dozens of other subprime lenders to crash and burn in the housing market downturn. They were all victims of rapidly rising default rates.

So what does all this mean for the homebuyer? Basically it means it is quite a bit more difficult to get a mortgage loan now than the past few years. Popular forms of 100 percent financing have just about disappeared completely. Companies that were previously anxious to lend money are now very cautious. “First-time homebuyers will be affected because now they need to come up with a down payment,” said Dan Spano, President of Paradise Real Estate in Lake Tahoe. “This will prevent many first-timers from purchasing a home. Higher risk borrowers with low credit scores will also get squeezed out. The impact has truly been felt from Wall Street to your street.”

“However, if you are looking to purchase a home, do not despair,” Dan continued. “Mortgage rates are still historically very low and it is truly a buyers market. There is creative financing available, you just have to do some more shopping. Please call me direct at 530-318-1945 and I help you purchase the Lake Tahoe home of your dreams. I will be happy to share all of my great connections in the mortgage business. Together, we can get it done!”