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Greetings!
I recently saw an article that caught my eye; it stated that buying a home is now cheaper than renting one in 98 of the nation's 100 major metropolitan areas. 4 of the 10 top metro areas to make that list were California's own - San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles & San Diego. This was just confirmed at a class I attended for the Council of Residential Specialists where they forecast that rents will continue to rise over the next couple of years. Paul Dales, senior economist at Capital Economics, estimates that decreased vacancies in the home-rental market will push average rental rates up as much as 5% by early 2013. He expects rents to rise at an annual rate of 3% this year and remain at that level in 2013. "Assuming that the economic recovery gains a firmer footing, in the future years there is scope for rents to rise by around 4% a year," Dales said.
We are hearing these same predictions from multiple sources. As a landlord of a home in the Bay Area, I can tell you that I recently rented my home in a shorter amount of time than I have ever previously experienced. All of the prospective renters had just been through a short sale or foreclosure. These people still need a place to live and unfortunately it will be a few years before they will qualify for a loan. Almost daily we have people come into our Truckee office looking for long term rentals.
As rents rise and home prices remain low, homeownership is becoming even more acheivable, however the rising rents do create a bit of a dilemma for people who can't afford to buy just yet because it will make it harder for people to save for a down payment. The downpayment is the biggest barrier to buying a home that aspiring homeowners face.
If you able to purchase a home now, it is an incredible opportunity for investment. I have read that rental property is the best source of retirement income, it is never to early to begin building for your future. If you have been considering "moving up" and are able to hold onto your home as a rental property consider it a "double whammy" Do it now!
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Market Update - March 2012
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The ski resorts are hailing March as the miracle month and I guess real estate agents could do the same. We saw a jump from 69 sales of residential properties in the month of February to 108 sales for March. Distressed property sales remained high at 42% of the total sales. We are also seeing a continual increase in the number of high end sales (over 1 million dollars) January reported 2 sales, February reported 9 and March came in at 11 sales over 1 million dollars. Also worth noting is that the median sale price seems to be moving upward; January's median sale price was $335,000; February - $358,000 and March's median sale price was $380,000. All positive signs for our market.
Statistics from the Tahoe MLS: the solds from March 1 - 31, 2012:
Tahoe Donner: 27 homes (5 SS) (2 REO), 3 condos
Northstar: 4 homes (1REO), 2 condos (1 REO)
Glenshire, Cambridge, Juniper Hill, Juniper Creek, The Meadows: 2 homes
Olympic Heights: 1 home (1 REO)
Prosser Lake Area: 5 homes (1 SS) (2 REO)
Sierra Meadows, Ponderosa Palisades: 1 home (1 REO)
Martiswoods, Ponderosa Ranchos: 0 residential properties
Lahontan: 1 home
Martis Camp: 0 residential properties
Old Greenwood, Grays Crossing: 0 residential properties
Truckee Proper: 0 residential properties
Donner Lake: 3 homes (2 REO), 1 condo
Donner Summit: 5 homes (1 SS) (2 REO)
West shore Lake Tahoe: 17 homes (5 SS) (2 REO)
Tahoe City: 4 homes (1 SS) (1 REO), 2 condos
North shore Lake Tahoe: 3 homes, 2 condos
Kings Beach & Tahoe Vista: 5 homes (1 SS) (2 REO)
Alpine & Squaw Valley: 3 homes (1 SS), 3 condos ( 1SS)
Shared Ownerships - entire region: 6
Mobile Homes - entire region: 0
Sierra & Plumas Counties: 2 homes
Condos and Homes sold over $1M in Truckee and North Lake Tahoe: 11 (1 SS)
Highest priced home or condo sold: Once again another Tahoe lakefront home commands the highest price sale in our region at $5,640,000. 4850 North Lake Blvd. Carnelian Bay. The seller accepted an all cash offer but left $3,300,000 at the negotiating table. He must have been really motivated after 1,069 days on the market, because he left behind a Sanger ski boat, Kawasaki jet ski and all of the furnishings in this 5,200+ sf home. 4 bed, 4.5 bath, home theater, boat/toy garage with remote control rail system, trex pier with 12,000 lb lift, etc, etc.
Lowest priced home or condo sold: 11591 Snowpeak Way is the original Tahoe Donner Lodgette. This unit looks right onto the Tahoe Donner Ski Hill. It has no bedroom, no kitchen or cooking facility and is ready for a custom remodel. This 336 sf unit sold for $40,000. Can you believe that a 2 bedroom, 955 sf house in Loyalton sold for just $7,000 more? It just depends on where you want to be and what your needs are.
The list to sell ratio on the median was 95%. In other words, the homes sold within 95% of the list price! The median list price for this period was $402,000 and the median sale price was $380,000. Using the median price tends to take the extreme highs and lows out of the picture as it is based on the sale of the house in the middle of the pack. The average days on the market were 140.
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| Screaming Hot Deals | |
In this particular spot, we feature the 3 properties in the multiple listing service that we feel are well priced. These are the properties that we wish we had buyers for because we know they are of such value that they will not last long, even in this market. So, for this month, come and get 'em before they are gone. . . .(by the way if when you click on the link you get nothing -- they have already gone under contract).
1) 13659 Hansel Ave. Here's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 2 car home in Tahoe Donner that is priced well below market value at $299,000. The only reason we can see that it is still on the market is that it is difficult to see because of its ski leased status. It is a short sale, so there are no guarantees but it was just reduced from $330,000 and should get an offer soon. We bet that this won't last to publication!! 2) 221 Antelope Valley Road located up in the Loyalton area of Sierra Valley is a gentleman rancher's dream. 10.39 acres with a beautiful 2400 square foot home AND a huge 3-car garage. The place has a greenhouse, borders on forest service land and is adjacent to a creek. What more could one want? If I were 10 years younger, I would buy it. 3) You couldn't build a home for this price! At $98.05 per sq. ft. this 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home at 8345 Cascade Rd. on the Donner Summit has to be a best buy. Nothin' fancy for sure, but at this price you could gussy it up and have a nice 1,488 sf cabin in the lovely Serene Lakes area. The price on this REO listing is just $145,900
The best feature of this property is the neighbor -- ask us about it.
Be sure to contact us if you would like to take a look at any of these properties!
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| Worst Deals on the Market | |
These are the properties for sale that we feel are the worst priced homes on the market in our multiple listing service. Every month we will choose 2 or 3 properties which, for one reason or another (usually price) are something we alone feel are not going to sell anytime soon. Remember, this newsletter is purely and solely our opinion - there is nothing here that indicates that it is ANYTHING but our opinion.
1) From the moment we walked into this house last week on tour, I knew it would find its way to this column. Yes, 14994 South Shore Drive is pretty proud of itself. 1497 square feet, a 2 car garage and a wonderful Donner lakefront setting and this 1969 built home has been somewhat remodeled but we still think that $1,250,000 or $835 a square foot is an awful dear price to pay for this home.
2) 1227 Gold Bend , located in Northstar has been on the market 947 days and we can see why. The price looks okay at $280.73 per square foot which translates to $539,000 but there is no garage AND the place looks like it was intentionally decorated to fit the 60's or maybe it is the last known home of Austin Powers! Seriously, we think that this home would have sold if it had come on the market at this price 3 years ago (instead of $100K+ more) but now it has become threadbare and stale.
Be sure to let us know what you think that any of these properties will sell for by contacting us here and when it does, the entry closest to the actual sale price will win a gift certificate.
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| Banks Ease Credit and Rent Homes |  | |
We are reading that this is the year that the housing crisis is going to end. Of course that is pure speculation but here are a couple of factors that could lend credence to this prediction.
First of all, the banks are beginning to loosen the reins on their lending guidelines. According to articles that we have read, banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. At the lowest point during the crises, the benchmark was 3.2 times. Even more important though is the fact that the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700 which is higher than what was required before the housing crises but considerably better than just after the collapse of the financial market.
Another telling sign is that conventional lenders are beginning to make loans when a borrower has less than 25 percent to put down. In contrast to a low of 74 percent loan to value ratios reached in mid 2010, banks are now lending at 82 percent and above LTV.
Okay, so this loosens up the money market - what about the flood of inventory that we should be seeing because of more foreclosures? Won't that cause a decline in property values and a sense amongst buyers that we have not hit the bottom of the market thus contributing to a continued lack of urgency?
The banks have inadvertently (or intentionally) thought this situation through. To keep some of the homes that they have foreclosed on off the market, the banks, including big ones like Bank of America, are running pilot programs offering the former owners of these homes the opportunity to stay in their homes on a rental basis. How interesting. The success of this plan is yet to be seen, but we for 2 think that this is a great idea!!
On another note, the climate continues to be positive according to Nicole Francis, one of our lending partners with Raintree Financial:
A recent study by Fannie Mae showed that 73% of consumers polled in March said that buying a home today is a good idea, which up from 70% in February. At the same time the percentage of those who say it's a good time to sell is at 14%, up just slightly. With 44% said they expect their own financial situation to improve over the next six months. In addition, 37% said that home prices will increase - and this is up 5% from February. This coupled with the continued murmurs of QE3 moving rates back down to all time lows this week may mean the perfect storm for home buyers looking to purchase and an excellent season for real estate business!
So let's see how it goes. Maybe the housing market will begin to recover.
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Kappy, Jennifer, Jody and Christie have a combined 67 years in the Real Estate Profession. We are committed to giving our clients the most up to date Real Estate information and Stellar Service because, We Love Our Work and So Will You! Call us or e-mail us for information about the Tahoe Truckee Real Estate Market. By the way, if you think any of this information might be of interest to anyone you know, feel free to forward this newsletter. We would really appreciate it!
Sincerely,
Kappy Mann, Jennifer Boehm, Jody Scowcroft & Christie Coker
Keller Williams Real Estate
530 563-6165 |
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**INCENTIVE**
Glenshire
HOMEOWNERS!
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Because we believe this is such a great time for our sellers to get ready to put their homes on the market, and because there is such a lack of inventory we are offering an incentive to any Glenshire Homeowner who signs a listing agreement with us before our next newsletter is published. With a successful sale,
JK Real Estate will credit $1,000 towards your closing costs for any sale of $100,000 and over.
Rather than keep all the goodies in one place, we plan to move this incentive to YOUR neighborhood next month!!
It is just one more way for us to say
Thank You, we appreciate your business!
Contact us Here or call us at 530 320-0878 or 530 400-0531 today!!
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Adventure Travel Institute
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Have you ever wanted to travel to South America with a tour but didn't want to spend the entire vacation sitting on a bus listening to a loud speaker? We have both experienced a wonderful vacation at the hands of this travel company, and it was not just your cookie cutter tour. Henry Wilds is the owner and tour guide extraordinaire of the Adventure Travel Institute. He has been taking small groups to Mexico, Central and South America for over 20 years.
ATI's very economical tours are relaxed, organized and off of the beaten path. You will be exploring areas not found on the usual guided tours, and with Henry's knowledge of the different areas and mastery of the Spanish language you are assured to come away with the full experience including local history, people & scenery. Travel with great people where lasting friendships are made, we just can't say enough about Henry Wild's Adventure Travel Institute program. If you have wanted to visit Machu Picchu but are intimidated by the planning, this is definitely the way to go!
You might think that trips such as these would be cost prohibitive but alas, they are surprisingly affordable and include accommodations in wonderful hotels and pensions. Call Henry for a brochure --- you won't be sorry!! (530) 318-1506
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April Fool's Day |
| Hopefully you all survived this year's celebration of April Fools' day without incidence. When we were kids, every year we would play the same trick on my dad -- put salt in his sugar bowl -- every year he "faked" surprise when he sipped his first cup of coffee. I looked up the origins of this ubiquitous day and though there are several vague explanations for singling out this date but this is the one I liked the best. Apparently, during the 15th century in France, the Gregorian Calendar (current) was introduced. The New Years Days (March 25-April 1st) were changed to January 1. Since communications were difficult in those days, some of the population of the "civilized" world didn't get the message and continued to celebrate New Years on the old dates - April 1! Thus the origin of "All Fools' Day." |
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| BIG Night Out |  | |
Here is a benefit for a really worthwhile cause. The DragonFly Restaurant is sponsoring a benefit for the Kidzone Museum in Truckee on Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 5:30 - 11pm. For only $40 per person ($45 at the door) you get dinner and 3 drinks (beer or wine). There will also be music, dancing, raffle, silent and live auctions. Be sure to attend and support the KidZone!! Call 530 587-5437 for more information. See you there!!!
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