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Coldwell Banker
2024 Real Estate Market Report
North Lake Tahoe -Truckee
Residential Properties – Single Family Homes and Condominiums
Activity for January and February 2024
Residential Sales Summary 2024
Total Residential Sales:
Another year has begun, but not a lot has changed in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee real estate market. Low supply and tempered demand continued to be the story in the first months of the year.
It can be hard to tell the trajectory of a new year simply by looking at the statistics of the first couple months. January and February are always slow months (never more than 95 residential transactions, even in the boom years). However, the activity underlying the statistics feels encouraging. We’re not anticipating a monster year, but it does seem like it will be busier than last year and closer to historical norms (when looking at number of transactions) than 2023 was.
That said, for February, just 53 residences sold. That is up from 50 sales last year, but represents just 74% of the 5 year average and 72% of the 10 year average for the month. It is the second lowest number of February sales in the last 10 years.
Median and Average Sales Prices: For the month, the median residential sales price was $890,000 and the average was $1.457 million. The median is very low compared to the last couple years, which points to a significant percentage of lower priced sales (particularly condos which made up nearly 40% of the sales for the month). At the same time, luxury activity was solid enough to keep the average high. The lack of activity in the mid range can, at least partially, be blamed on lack of inventory.
For single family homes the median was $1.356 million and the average was $1.789 million.
For condos the median price was $640,000 and the average was $863,000.
Prices are still at a very healthy premium from where they stood in 2019 (before COVID). For the last 12 months, the single family home median sales price is up 61% compared to 2019 (from $745k to $1.199m) and the average sales price is up 52% (from $1.135m to $1.730m).
For condos the median sales price is up 67% compared to 2019 (from $430k to $725k and the average sales price is up 78% (from $555k to $989k).
Active Residential Inventory:
Active Listings: Winter is winding down. It’s the time of year when inventory hits annual lows. There are 175 residences currently on the market, up slightly from 155 at this time last year. Hower, in 2019 the number was over 350. Looking at long term numbers, inventory is still at the lowest levels we have seen historically prior to COVID (Around 60% of the average for the 5 years prior to COVID and 40% of the 10 year average) for this time of year.
Current Pending Sales: The number of pending sales is at 71 (up slightly from 67 last month). About 65 residences went into contract in February.
Current inventory represents a little over 2.7 months of supply relative to February activity. Historically any number below 5 months of supply is considered a seller’s market. But, this is the most balanced market we have seen in years.
Sales Under $500,000: In the first 2 months of the year, there were 8 residential sales under $500k, representing 7% of total sales. In 2023, 6% of sales were in this range.
Mid-Range Market Sales $500,000 to $999,999: 44 residences sold between $500,000 and $999,999, representing 37% of total sales. In 2023, 40% of sales were in this price range.
High End Home Sales $1,000,000 to $1,999,999: 45 residences sold between $1m – $2m, representing 38% of total sales. In 2023, 37% of total sales were in this range.
Luxury Home Sales Over $2 Million: 23 residences- have sold over $2 million, representing 19% of total sales. This includes sales over $5 million. In 2023, 18% of sales were in this range.
What’s Going On Looking Forward?
The real estate market continues to sputter along as it has for nearly 2 years now after the COVID boom. However, the inventory of homes for sale has not built up and prices have only softened slightly.
As mentioned above, underlying activity is starting to pick up. A strong stock market and declining interest rates is helping strengthen demand in our local market, which gives us reason to hope for increased activity in the coming year. The election, of course, will be an interesting variable to sprinkle in.
Low inventory will continue to be a big force on the supply side of the market. Inventory is still nearly half of what we typically saw at this time of year in the pre-COVID benchmark years.
We’ve seen a handful of multiple offer situations in the last few weeks, but they are still somewhat uncommon. bidding wars (5+ offers) have almost gone away. However, price reductions seem to only be occurring on 5% of listings each week (not a strong trend).
We expect below “normal” (by pre COVID standards) activity, measured by number of transactions, to continue in Q1 2024, but are hopeful to see transactions climb toward normal averages as we get deeper into the year.
Sellers, keep in mind, this is still a much better time to be a seller than it was in 2019 (which seemed like a very healthy market at the time!). You can expect a shorter time on market, but much higher sales prices!
Buyers, keep in mind, this is the most balanced market we have seen in the last 3 years. You now have the following things working in your favor:
- The ability to negotiate price is back!
- The ability to inspect a property and have normal contingencies is back!
- The ability to negotiate repairs is back!
- Interest rates have dropped back from highs and are steady.
Contact Your Coldwell Banker Agent Today to Find Out More about the Opportunities Available in the North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Market.
Note: Data on this page is based on information from the Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors, MLS. Due to MLS reporting methods and allowable reporting policy, this data is only informational and may not be completely accurate. Therefore, Coldwell Banker Realty does not guarantee the data’s accuracy. Data maintained by the MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. CA-BRE License # 01908304
