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This Months Article: Click Here to See All of My Listings and Virtual Tours Spectacular Lakefront Home on 3.5 Acres - 565 Lakeshore Blvd For Daily Updates on Incline Village Real Estate visit my web site at: www.InsideIncline.com INSPIRED BUYERS PUSH LOCAL Boom and bust economic cycles will come and go, but the laws of supply and demand remain resilient. While unit sales of Incline Village and Crystal Bay real estate are up 40% in 2010, prices for most properties have retreated back to their 2003 levels. As the stalemate between buyers and sellers has been broken, a new equilibrium has been reached at price levels just prior to the big real estate boom. Projecting out the through the final quarter, it looks like 2010 will finish with about 250 property sales in Incline Village and Crystal Bay versus 186 sales last year. Houses Condos Free Standing Condos Total 2009 Sales 65 43 18 126 2010 Sales 78 78 25 181 In Escrow 21 31 3 55* *Approximately 25% of the properties in escrow (14) are short sales. Statistics as of 9/22/10. Traditionally in most real estate markets the median price is used to evaluate market trends. While there is still some significance to the median price for condos in Incline Village in 2010, the median price for houses is pushed up or down dramatically by just a handful of transactions. During the current year the median price has fluctuated between $750,000 and $1.1 million depending on when the snapshot was taken. There is no question that home prices have retreated from their peak in 2007, but the amount of decline varies dramatically based on location, view, interior quality and other factors. The median square footage for a home in our community has been approximately 2600 square feet for many years. In the first nine months of 2010, homes between 2500 and 3000 square feet sold at prices ranging from $500,000 to $1.4 million. We have not seen such a diverse price range for this narrow square footage band in recent memory. What this says about our local real estate market more than ever is that each single family residence is very individualized and will sell (or not sell) based on the pricing and merits of the property. What to one buyer might be a terrible location because it is at high elevation with a long driveway could be the dream home for another buyer seeking a quiet and private location tucked away in the mountains. Because most of the property purchases at Lake Tahoe are discretionary there is very often an element of emotion involved with the purchase. That emotional factor can influence the price, terms and negotiations in a transaction. The other big intangible is the “Wow Factor”. Some properties just knock your socks off when you walk in the door with their fabulous architecture, beautiful finishes and other nice features as you meander through the place. You don’t need your place to look like Versailles Palace, just a nice entryway, hardwood floors or a window that frames a small view can do the trick. If a property does not exude any “Wow Factor”, even a little bit, then buyers will tend to dismiss it and your place becomes a challenging property to sell. Even though there have been a significant number of single-family home sales under $700,000 this year, many of these properties have at least a little bit of the “Wow Factor”. Buyers are eager to fix up older places if they can purchase them at a reasonable price and they see some long-term potential. The single-family residences that have languished on the market for long periods of time are generally overpriced, in less desirable locations, or have some other intangible flaw that makes buyers shy away. One anomaly is the lack of sales of properties fronting the golf course. We see the occasional great deal, but there are a number of fairly priced, quality homes on both golf courses that are waiting for buyers to write offers. Maybe the downturn in the economy has resulted in some people hanging up their clubs and reducing the demand for golf course homes. One other important factor affecting the sales of Incline Village and Crystal Bay real estate is the real estate market in Northern California, especially the Bay Area. While unit sales of homes have declined slightly when compared with 2010 in the Bay Area, the median price has actually increased slightly for the region as a whole. When buyers in Northern California are more confident about the direction of home prices and the economy, it usually translates into more purchases of vacation properties at Lake Tahoe. SUPERB LOCATION 1 BLOCK FROM THE BEACH INCLINE TAHOE FOUNDATION Incline Village is famous for its diverse recreational facilities that make the community one of the most desirable places to live in America. As the facilities age, local demographics change and the community evolves, it is important to keep everything well maintained and updated. The Incline Tahoe Foundation was created to enhance and improve the overall well-being of the greater Incline Village and Crystal Bay Community, by accepting private donations, grants and endowments to develop and preserve the public parks, recreation facilities, programs and services within the community. Back in July the foundation had its first “Friendraiser” event which was attended by over 100 people. The community was introduced to the foundation’s board of directors and provided with an overview of the goals and some ideas for initial projects. The IVGID Board of Trustees and IVGID management are very supportive of the foundation and are closely coordinating their efforts for the benefit of the community. High on the priority list is to take the existing Par Course which consists of 18 exercise stations scattered through the woods behind the recreation center and rename it the Exer Trail. This remodeled exercise course would still consist of 18 stations but with improvements to the grounds and equipment and modifications to some of the specific exercises. Other bigger projects that will take more time to plan and bring to fruition include a year-round indoor tennis center, expansion of the Rec Center, additional weight training and exercise equipment, more space for dance and exercise classes and maybe a Disc Golf Course. (Also known as Frisbee Golf). The scope of the recreational projects on the drawing board offers opportunities for every segment of the Incline Village and Crystal Bay community. Sponsorships and naming opportunities will be made available as projects move from concept to the implementation stage. Volunteers are needed to assist with planning, development and coordination of future events and activities. The Incline Tahoe Foundation is a 501(c)3 non profit organization and all contributions are tax deductible. If you would like more information or wish to contribute your time, money or talent to the Incline Tahoe Foundation please call 775-298-0299. BEAUTIFUL 3BR, 3BA, THIRD CREEK END UNIT CONDO - $685,000 TWO LOCAL BALLOT ISSUES AFFECT If you are registered to vote in Washoe County and you own property in Incline Village or Crystal Bay, there are two races on the November ballot that you will want to pay close attention to and cast your vote accordingly. It’s a quirk of Nevada politics that we elect the local district attorney and this race has never been more critical than in 2010. The incumbent district attorney Richard Gammick is running against Roger Whomes, a former prosecutor in the DA’s office. While Incline Village and Crystal Bay property owners have been waiting for tax refunds for many years, Mr. Gammick continues to file losing appeals on behalf of the county. While Mr. Gammick claims that he is simply following the orders of the county commissioners, as district attorney he is likely giving them advice in an effort to delay the property tax refunds that the courts have repeatedly ordered. Mr. Whomes has stated that he will not waste taxpayer money pursuing frivolous litigation or unnecessary appeals. That goes not just for the Incline Village property tax situation but in other situations where the county is taking an adversarial position that is not readily justifiable. Mr. Whomes previously has worked as a police officer, spent 18 years as a prosecutor and has operated a private law practice. He brings a well rounded perspective to the DA’s office and will likely be more fair and evenhanded than Mr. Gammick. For those reasons I support Roger Whomes and I encourage the residents of Washoe County to do likewise. It is not often that an advisory ballot question takes on much significance. But WC-2 is a sheep in wolf’s clothing that could potentially end the long running effort for Incline Village and Crystal Bay to become independent. It can also open up a can of worms and make all of the unincorporated areas of Washoe County ultimately responsible for helping to pay off the approximately $600,000,000 debt irresponsibly run up by the city of Reno. While the wording of the ballot question appears innocuous, it opens the door for the Nevada State Legislature to consolidate all of the towns and unincorporated areas of Washoe County into one big government with the city of Reno. While at first this may appear to be a streamlining of governmental authority, the reality is that it would create a large and unwieldy regional government with a more expensive pay structure. The way that employee contracts are written, any governmental consolidation requires that employees performing the same type of job receive the highest contract compensation. In other words, while some jobs would be eliminated due to duplication, the remaining employees would all receive the highest contract wage rate for their occupational description. This would actually result in a net increase in salary and benefits costs. A philosophy that we can all live with is “Shared Services – Yes, Consolidation – No”. There are times when it makes sense to share services where there is an overlapping jurisdiction or duplication of effort. The county is already involved in 60 different types of shared services activities. However, consolidation of the city of Reno with all of the rest of Washoe County would create a large regional government with too much power concentrated in the hands of a small group of officials. Since the city of Reno has serious budget problems, it makes no sense to drag the city of Sparks (which already opposes this measure) and the unincorporated areas of Washoe County any deeper into Reno’s fiscal mess. And if the property owners in Incline Village and Crystal Bay ever want to break away from Washoe County, it is imperative that this ballot measure be defeated. Vote No on Washoe County 2 in November. This editorial reflects the opinion of Don Kanare and is not meant to represent the opinion of Lakeshore Realty, its broker or agents. Click Here to See All of My Listings and Virtual Tours 2010 Newsletters 2009 Newsletters February April May July October December 2008 Newsletters May June July August September October December Copyright 2010 Don Kanare - All rights reserved. Inside Incline is entirely written and published each month by Don Kanare of Lakeshore Realty 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 |
| For Incline Village Real Estate Information or a Free Comparative Market Analysis of Your Property Contact Don Kanare Your Incline Village Real Estate Agent RE/MAX Premier Properties - 5250 Neil Road, Suite 100 - Reno, NV 89502 - (775) 828-3380 |