Time to Get Off the Fence!
October 27, 2010
If you have been on the fence, this recent article (Sept. 12, 2010) from the Wall Street Journal may provide you with the nudge you need!
10 Reasons to Buy a house now-WSJ
Tahoe homes break Nevada sales slump
October 11, 2009
Original article By Jason Hidalgo • jhidalgo@rgj.com • October 7, 2009 at RGJ.com
Increased activity at the lower end of the housing market helped Lake Tahoe shrug off a sluggish start to 2009 and post higher sales in single-family homes for the year.
Unit sales for single-family homes in Lake Tahoe were up 12 percent from 2008, fueled by strong interest in homes priced less than $1 million, according to Chase International’s third-quarter review.
A 25 percent increase in unit sales for homes at the lower end of the Tahoe housing market helped offset a 35 percent decline in sales of homes priced at more than $1 million. Activity was especially strong for homes priced between $250,000 to $750,000, with inventory declining at a very fast rate, said Sue Lowe, Chase International corporate broker and vice president.
“The numbers show a healthy amount of confidence in the market,” Lowe said. “The first-time homebuyer tax credit has certainly helped. But we’re also seeing a lot of investors entering the market.”
Lowe cited increased affordability as a key factor for the pickup in activity.
The median price for Lake Tahoe homes at the end of the third quarter was $589,563, 18 percent lower than the same period last
year and 30 percent less than the $842,500 median at the same point in 2007.
Meanwhile, increased sales at the lower end has pushed down median prices to early 2000 levels, Lowe said. The decline has made Tahoe, particularly the South Shore, affordable for many consumers who got priced out of the market in recent years.
Other prospective homebuyers also are attracted by getting more home for their money than a few years ago.
Robin Fall, a Danville, Calif., retiree, plans to move to Incline Village in a couple of weeks with his wife after his offer for a home was recently accepted. Fall, a frequent visitor to the area, said he and his wife have always planned to move to Incline Village because they like the town and the wide range of activities that were available year-round.
“We would have moved here even if prices were still high,” the 54-year-old said. “But we wouldn’t have been able to afford the house that we bought now.”
(…continued at RGJ.com)
Click to Read the rest of this article at RGJ.com
