Reno Tahoe Real Estate News » Alan Nicholls

Truckee Real Estate Activity Spikes

Alan Nicholls — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:20:17 +0000

Real Estate activity in the Truckee area has spiked considerably since the first of the year.

Since January 1 there have been 60 new home escrows in the Truckee area with 34 of them coming in the past 14 days! 27 of those 60 have been in Tahoe Donner with 17 of them occurring in the past 2 weeks.

This is good news for our Sellers and the area real estate market in general.

While some buyers are getting out of other investments and making cash purchases, others are taking advantage of the historically low interest rates on conforming loans (under $475,000 for our area). As well, we are starting to see some banks offering competitive jumbo loans for the first time in over 6 months (some jumbo ARM’s are starting under 6%).

Whether this current pace of activity is sustainable is yet to be seen, but we are excited and wanted to share this valuable information with all of our clients.

Although home loan rates are very attractive now, the picture could be quite different as some inflationary factors will likely come to light heading into summer. Oil prices may be on the rise as we approach the summer driving season, some of the economic stimulus might begin to take hold, corporate cost-cutting measures could start to bear fruit, and, perhaps most importantly, the Fed will no longer be a buyer of Mortgage Bonds. These are all ingredients in a recipe that could very easily result in significantly higher interest rates this summer…so if you have been thinking about acting on a home loan, do not delay.

Impact of the Economy and Foreclosures on the Truckee Real Estate Market

Alan Nicholls — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:24:10 +0000

Since the peak of the market in early 2006, single family homes in Truckee have dropped in value around 15% and prices are looking very similar to where they were in late 2004. We haven’t had the huge build-up in inventory or foreclosures which some areas of California have seen (except in vacant land). The performance of the stock market the last 2 months has noticeably increased the motivation of sellers, but has not yet seemed to have an impact on buyers. Or, maybe it’s more appropriate to say it has increased the motivation of some buyers, while decreasing the motivation of others, so the “net impact” on demand is unchanged.

There are a lot of people who call us asking about buying opportunities in foreclosures which helped us uncover some interesting facts about the Truckee market place:

There are 469 single family homes for sale in Truckee. Just 7 of those properties are bank owned foreclosures (known as REO’s). 20 of the homes for sale are “short sales” (homes where the asking price will not completely pay off the mortgage, so the seller needs to get approval from the bank in order to close the escrow). Most short sales are in default, but not all.

Now for the interesting part . . . There are 48 homes currently in escrow. Of those, 7 are REO’s and 16 are short sales awaiting bank approval (the process is extemely slow, frequently taking 90 days or more). Clearly buyers are very interested in, and pulling the trigger on, a high percentage of the foreclosure properties which are available. Many banks are pricing REO’s at or near fair market value, but those which are priced below market are being snapped up very quickly. If you want to get your foot in the door on a foreclosure, look to us to help you identify the best opportunities.

Tahoe/Truckee’s Greatest Season

Alan Nicholls — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:22:31 +0000

As the Labor Day holiday comes and goes, many people think of the summer season in Tahoe as being over. For exactly that reason it is one of our favorite times of year. For most families, the month of September represents kids getting back to school and the return to “normal” day to day activities. This also means that it’s more difficult to take days off or even sneak in a weekend getaway because of soccer and football and all the other activities the family becomes involved in. This leaves a little window of time (mother nature determines the length of it) where those who can make it up here get to really enjoy everything the Sierra summers have to offer without dealing with some of the congestion and hustle and bustle which can exist during the actual summer months.

One of the best examples is being able to go to the local golf courses, without having to make a tee time, and enjoying the perfectly green grass and great playing conditions which come together at this time of year. After a long winter our courses can be a little rough in the early season, but after a long summer the courses are in their absolute best condition in late August through September.

This is also a wonderful time for hiking and biking with slightly cooler temperatures but absolutely gorgeous surroundings. Or maybe you prefer to relax on what feels like a private beach or take out the boat in what can be incredibly calm and private waters.

You can wrap up your days with a comfortable evening on the deck of one of our many fine restaurants. Not only will you be seated immediately, but many of the establishments will also offer seasonal discounts to all of their patrons.

The combination of colder mornings and numerous ski shop sales also make us start thinking of what brought us here . . . ski season!! Believe it or not, it’s just around the corner.

Ponderosa Golf Course Saved

Alan Nicholls — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:40:23 +0000

The word on the street is that Ponderosa Golf Course has been saved! Apparently the owners of the golf course and the Truckee-Tahoe Airport District came to an agreement fo purchase by the district, and in turn, the Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District will take over the operation and maintenance of the course.

The sprinklers have been turned on and the work to get the course open has begun. Although the course will probably not be able to open for awhile, the fact that this longtime “local” golf course is reopening and will remain open for generations to come is fabulous news. We’ll call it a modern day miracle! Thank you to all the parties involved that continued to negotiate until the “final hour” to make this happen.

Keeping Our Air Clean

Alan Nicholls — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:56:23 +0000

One of the most significant sources of pollution in mountain towns is the smoke created by woodburning fireplaces. Communities throughout Lake Tahoe and Truckee have been making an effort for years to reduce the amount of smoke that gets into our atmosphere. These communities have been offering rebates to people who buy woodstoves which meet the strictest EPA requirements or who switch to gas appliances. As well, some communities have required changeouts to reduced emission appliances whenever a home sells. This has been very effective in eliminating the majority of the polluting beasts (I suspect less than 5% of homes still have them in Truckee), but now the town of Truckee’s “Woodstove Ordinance” faces it’s most difficult hurdle, eliminating the last remaining heavy polluting woodstoves.

As of May 31st, 2008, all homeowners are REQUIRED to comply with the ordinance. As of that date, if a property owner is found to have a non-compliant woodstove on their property, the Town will give the owner a notice to comply and will require you to remove the old appliance and associated piping within a certain time period. If you comply with the notice, there will be no fines. If you don’t a fine will ensue. If you ever take out a permit for a remodel, addition, etc. the Building Department inspector will check all the woodstoves in your home for compliance and will issue the notice to comply as a condition of finalizing the permit (as they have done on new construction since 1994). Also, if you sell your home, you are responsible for disclosing to the buyer that the home contains a non-conforming appliance.

As an incentive, if you get a permit to change out a non-compliant woodstove prior to May 31, the town will offer you a rebate of $300 for changing to a compliant woodstove, or $500 if you change to a gas or pellet stove.

If you have questions about your woodstove, I encourage you to contact me or any other “certified” woodstove inspector.

Don’t Put Your Skis Away Yet!!

Alan Nicholls — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:34:16 +0000

Are you getting sick of all the negative news like I am? I want you to read something today which puts a smile on your face, so let’s dig into one of my favorite topics . . . SPRING SKIING!!!

When the weather starts to warm up (and this year it started awfully early) a lot of people feel the desire to head for the ocean, pull out their golf clubs, get their boat out on the lake, or just do something which involves wearing shorts and flip flops. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area (yes, I’m lucky enough!!) know that this really signifies time to get out your light weight ski clothes and head for the slopes. Sure, nothing beats the powder days we experienced in late January and early February, but I think spring skiing comes in a close second.

The key to great spring skiing is paying attention to the night time temperatures and the wind (the NOAA forecast gives you everything you need). If night time temps are barely reaching freezing, it’s best to get out on the mountain early (Alpine Meadows will start turning Summit Six as early as 8am when we get deep into spring). However, if the temps are getting down into the 20′s at night, or the wind is blowing over the ridges, you can sleep in a little and show up at the mountain at 10:30 or so.

If you’re timing is right, you’ll get there just as the snow starts to soften. You’ll want to start on the southeast and south facing slopes which have been absorbing the early morning sunshine. One of the best examples is the Mecca of spring skiing, High Traverse at Alpine Meadows (just call it “high T” if you want to sound like a local). Other great options are Sugar Bowl’s Disney Chair and numerous places at Squaw including skiing off the southeast side of Palisades to Sun Spot (my favorite) and Granite Chief Chair. These runs will treat you to some of the sweetest and smoothest skiing you’ve ever had. Your edges will dig in effortlessly and your skis will bend and carve heroically. As these runs start to turn from corn to slush, you’ll want to follow the sun to different exposures. Keep doing this until the temperature is high enough to soften the north facing slopes which will remain glorious longer than your legs will.

The highlights of spring skiing are numerous. Within just a couple hours you can get in more runs than you can imagine (no crowds! no lift lines!). When you’re done skiing, normally by noon or one if you’re like me, you don’t have to head to your car and sit in traffic. Instead, head to the lodge and peel off some layers and kick back in the sunshine on the deck. If you pick your days well it will be warm enough to wear the ultimate after ski boots . . . flip flops!!! Every ski area has local bands rocking, and ice cold beer pouring. There’s no better way to relax your muscles after your day on the slopes.

The moral of the story is . . . don’t put away your ski gear yet!!! Get out there and enjoy!

Be Careful Who You Listen to . . .

Alan Nicholls — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:29:17 +0000

I recently received an email from a client who purchased a vacation home a couple of years ago in Tahoe Donner. My client was deeply concerned about his investment as he had heard from a “friend” that the inventory of homes in the Tahoe Donner area was “huge” with one in 3 homes for sale, lots of foreclosures, etc.

I quickly responded to him with the reality that there were actually only 125 homes currently listed in Tahoe Donner (of nearly 5500 in the subdivision) and there were 25 homes currently in escrow which would represent just a 5 month inventory of homes currently on the market. As well, I mentioned that it is late in the winter, which can be one of the slowest times of the year in our market.

Once my client realized these “actual” statistics, he felt much better about his investment and was glad he had contacted me rather than believing his friend or watching the local or national news headlines.

This story illustrates that many people only take the time to read a couple of articles in the newspaper (or online), and watch the nightly news. We should never lose sight of the fact that the media’s job is to sell newspapers and magazines and to get great ratings for their TV shows. Their job is to grab our attention with sensationalized headlines.

Real estate is very localized and calling a real estate professional in your particular area of interest is the only way you will get an accurate portrayal of what is really going on.

New 1031 Exchange Guidelines Affecting Vacation Homes

Alan Nicholls — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:11:58 +0000

In a real estate market, such as Truckee and Lake Tahoe, where the vast majority of owners are investors or vacation homeowners, 1031 exchanges are a common part of a transaction. Until recently the IRS was very vague in defining “investment property” so many people performed exchanges even on properties which they had never rented and held only for personal use. It was quite common to hear CPA’s and exchange facilitators say things like “well, since it’s not your primary residence and you bought the place in hopes that it would increase in value, it qualifies as an investment property.”

Those days appear to be over. The IRS has finally set out guidelines as to their definition of an investment property. As of early March 2008, an owner must rent the home at least 14 days a year (at a fair market rate) and can only inhabit the property for personal use up to 14 days a year (or 10% of the number of days rented, whichever is larger). This is a very important change for people to be aware of if they own a second home or rental.

Click Here to read a detailed article discussing the guidelines.