As we dig out from the most recent snowstorm pummeling the Lake Tahoe basin, we find a modest amount of activity on the Incline Village Real Estate market last week. There were a total of 2 new listings, 4 price reductions, 2 properties going into escrow and 3 places closing escrow.
We anticipate overall sales activity will remain generally slow for the next couple of months. This is due to the usual seasonal factors of very few new listings, lots of properties being withdrawn from the MLS during the wintertime, and most people interested in skiing instead of viewing properties. It gives those of us in the Incline Village real estate industry a little bit of a break to enjoy some recreational time in the great outdoors. Later this winter Don will be taking off on a ski trip to Utah and Colorado that will encompass 9 different ski resorts.
There is one new listing on the Incline Village real estate scene that we find rather intriguing. The single-family home at 850 South Dyer Circle is a very nicely remodeled 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 2446 ft.² property on a large .38 acre lot. You’ll find nice upgrades including stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, beautiful bathrooms and a host of other improvements too numerous to mention.
Offered at $1,850,000, the split level floor plan provides a nice separation of space for family and friends. The family room/game room is a great feature providing an additional spot for gatherings and entertaining. The listing agent is one of our favorite cohorts in the Incline Village real estate business and a great person to work with.
The recent gyrations in mortgage interest rates have our heads spinning. After rising briefly to 7%, the 30 year mortgage interest rate has backed off to somewhere in the low to mid 6% range depending on which lender you’re talking to. Mortgage interest rates generally have little impact on Incline Village real estate sales because the majority of purchases in our market are all cash. However, it’s a different story for middle America where the average person can only afford to purchase a home if they can borrow a very large percentage of the purchase price.
Until such time as the Fed finishes raising interest rates and inflation is reduced to 3% or less, we anticipate mortgage interest rates to remain relatively high compared to the last 15 years. Americans got used to artificially low interest rates after the Great Recession and over 90% of all current mortgages carry an interest rate of 5% or less. For most middle-class Americans it’s simply not practical to purchase a new home and incur a far higher interest rate that comes with a much larger monthly mortgage payment. While this won’t have much effect on our local real estate market, it’s going to be a problem in a lot the country.