Incline Village Real Estate
News Letter - January 2011

Don Kanare - Realtor
Your E-Pro Incline Village Real Estate Agent

775-828-3380 - www.InsideIncline.com

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This Months Article:
Bargain Hunters Still in Command
Why Do Some Properties Fall Out of Escrow?
Lots of Good Commercial Space Available in Incline Village

For Daily Updates on Incline Village Real Estate visit my web site at: www.InsideIncline.com

YEAR TO DATE SALES STATISTICS - 2010 vs. 2009 AS OF NOVEMBER 11, 2010

                      Houses       Condos       Free Standing Condos     Total

2009 Sales      76               56                     20                             152

2010 Sales     100              96                     27                             223

In Escrow        11              22                      2                               35

Bargain Hunters Still in Command of Real Estate Sales Activity
It looks like bargain hunters continue to dominate the Incline Village Real estate market as evidenced by the activity during the past two weeks. All year long we have seen value priced properties get the lions share of attention and the most recent activity from the Incline Village MLS reinforces this trend.

14 properties closed escrow in the last 14 days and 12 of them sold for less than $1 million with 10 properties changing hands for under $600,000. This would have been unheard of just a couple of years ago.  All seven condos that closed escrow sold at prices of $420,000 or less.

Taking a look at the big picture, of the 96 condos that have sold in Incline Village and Crystal Bay in 2010 only 8 of them went for more than $600,000. Considering that the median price for a condo was $585,000 just a couple of years ago it shows how the pendulum has swung the other way.

While sales activity continues along at a relatively strong pace for this late in the season, all 10 properties getting accepted offers during the past 2 weeks were priced under $995,000. However, this does include a couple of very nice places such as the beautifully remodeled condo in Village Highlands and one of the freestanding condos in the Country Club Villas located across the street from the Hyatt.  There are a finite number of quality properties in good locations and low elevation homes and condos continue to be in greater demand than anything else in our community.

With 419 properties currently on the market (if you add up all of the houses, condos and freestanding condos listed for sale on the Incline Village MLS on October 31st), buyers still have some good variety from which to choose. Many sellers who would normally have withdrawn their properties from the market by this point in time are still hopeful of receiving an offer prior to the first major snowfall.  And most of the buyers looking at properties in Incline Village and Crystal Bay this time of year are bargain hunters back for second and third looks hoping to strike a deal with a motivated seller.

BEAUTIFUL 3BR, 3BA, THIRD CREEK END UNIT CONDO - $685,000
1 Level Living with LR, DR, Kitchen and 1BR and Bath on Entry Level
Click Here to See a Virtual Tour

Why Do Some Properties Fall Out of Escrow?
When buyers and sellers open escrow everyone is always hoping for a smooth transaction.  There are a number of contingencies during the due diligence period that give the buyer an opportunity to learn more about the property. Inspection reports, the cost of homeowners insurance, loan approval, review of the preliminary title report and homeowners association documents are all important aspects of the process.

Every step of the way there is information to be analyzed and judgments to be made as to whether to proceed with the escrow process, do further investigation of a particular issue or back out of the transaction. Cautious buyers use the due diligence period to learn as much as they can and allay any concerns they may have about the property they are hoping to purchase.

While everyone uses their best efforts to nurture a transaction in escrow towards a successful closing, sometimes issues arise that cause the deal to fall out of escrow. This can happen for many reasons and in a buyers market it tends to happen a bit more often than in a sellers market.

With all the inventory available, buyers have been very finicky the past 3 years when it comes to making discretionary purchases of vacation homes. As a result, buyers need to be satisfied with every aspect of the due diligence process or they will use disapproval of one of the contingencies as a reason to cancel the transaction.  Simply saying that you think the cost of homeowners insurance on the property is too high is enough of a reason for a buyer to cancel the escrow in Nevada.

Sometimes inspection reports come back with unforeseen repairs that will result in costs well in excess of the amount budgeted in the purchase contract. In that case, the parties may either renegotiate or the buyer might simply choose to walk away from the deal.  In Nevada, even if the seller offers to repair everything noted in the inspection reports it’s still not good enough.   The buyer can simply disapprove of the inspection reports, cancel the escrow and get their earnest money deposit back minus the cost of inspections.
The loan approval process has become much lengthier after the subprime mortgage debacle. A buyer can have a sufficient down payment and good credit, but if the condo complex in which they wish to make a purchase is involved with litigation or has a high percentage of owners delinquent on their monthly dues, the lender might not approve the loan.

And on rare occasions buyers simply change their mind that they don't want a property and release the liquidated damages specified in the purchase agreement to the seller.  For all of these reasons and many more, a transaction can fall out of escrow even if everyone involved has worked hard to make it succeed.

RARE 2 STORY, 2BR, 2BA MCCLOUD CONDO - #48
Remodeled 1328 Sq. ft.Condo - Entire Top Floor is A Large Master Suite
$559,000    Click Here to See the Virtual Tour

Lots of Good Commercial Space Available in Incline Village
One of my friends is looking for a commercial space to rent in Incline Village and asked if I would help him scout around for a suitable location. Since my specialty is residential real estate in Incline Village and Crystal Bay, I thought this would be a good opportunity to educate myself further on the commercial properties in our community.

After spending a couple of weeks looking at a variety of properties it's pretty clear that anyone searching for commercial space has a lot to choose from. Monthly rents range from under $1 per square foot up to $3 per square foot depending on the location, improvements, age and quality of the building, common area maintenance charges, etc. I was actually quite surprised how much nice office space is available for less than $1.75 per square foot per month including the CAM charges.

While we have not seen foreclosures hitting the commercial property sector to any significant degree in Incline Village, the vacancy rate is high enough that property owners and their rental agents are willing to negotiate. This is an excellent time for anyone with a lease that is expiring to consider finding a new location for their business. With a wide variety of quality properties to choose from in locations varying from high traffic to super private it looks like a tenant’s market.  There are good properties available for retail, general office and light industrial purposes.

A real feather in the cap of our community is the establishment of a local office by IBM. This prestigious firm has leased several thousand square feet of office space in a beautiful newer building on Incline Way. Having a vote of confidence from a company like IBM will hopefully help to attract more software and high-tech firms to our community. With the favorable tax system in Nevada and the superior quality of life on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, Incline Village provides a welcome environment for businesses seeking to relocate from California and other high tax states.

909 Harold Drive - 3 Unit Building with great rental history! Makes a nice investment property or keep 1 unit for yourself and rent the other 2 to pay for the mortgage. All units have garages. New roof, new exterior paint, lot of other upgrades. $699,000
For more details Send Don an E-Mail

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2010 Newsletters

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2009 Newsletters

February      April     May    July   October    December

2008 Newsletters

May     June     July     August      September     October    December    

Copyright 2008 - 2011 - Don Kanare - All rights reserved.

Inside Incline is entirely written and published each month by Don Kanare for property owners and others who have an interest in Incline Village and Crystal Bay. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at 775-828-3380 or send an e-mail to: Don@InsideIncline.com