2024 Real Estate Market Report – January

Coldwell Banker

2024 Real Estate Market Report

North Lake Tahoe -Truckee

Residential Properties – Single Family Homes and Condominiums

Activity for January 2024

Residential Sales Summary 2024

Total Residential Sales:

Another year has begun, but not a lot has changed in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee real estate market.  Low supply and tempered demand continued to be the story in the first month of the year.

For the month, 68 residences sold.  That is up from 52 sales last year, but represents just 82% of both the 5 and 10 year averages for the month.  It is the second lowest number of January sales in the last 10 years.

Median and Average Sales Prices:   For the month, the median residential sales price was $1.195 million and the average was $1.413 million.

For single family homes the median was $1.3 million and the average was $1.491 million.

For condos the median price was $855,000 and the average was $1.118 million.

Prices are still at a very healthy premium from where they stood in 2019 (before COVID).  For the last 12 months, the single family home median sales price is up 59% compared to 2019 (from $745k to $1.181m) and the average sales price is up 53% (from $1.135m to $1.742m).

For condos the median sales price is up 69% compared to 2019 (from $430k to $726k0 and the average sales price is up 80% (from $555k to $998k).

Active Residential Inventory:

Active Listings:  We are in the heart of winter, when inventory hits annual lows.  There are 190 residences currently on the market, up slightly from 175 at this time last year.  Hower, in 2019 the number was over 350.  Looking at long term numbers, inventory is still at the lowest levels we have seen historically prior to COVID (Around 60% of the average for the 5 years prior to COVID and 40% of the 10 year average) for this time of year.

Current Pending Sales:  The number of pending sales is at 67 (up from 55 last month).  About 55 residences went into contract in January.

Current inventory represents a little over 3.5 months of supply relative to January activity.  Historically any number below 5 months of supply is considered a seller’s market.  But, this is the most balanced market we have seen in years.

Sales Under $500,000:  In January, there were 5 residential sales under $500k, representing 7% of total sales.  In 2023, 6% of sales were in this range.

Mid-Range Market Sales $500,000 to $999,999:   20 residences sold between $500,000 and $999,999, representing 29% of total sales.   In 2023, 40% of sales were in this price range.

 High End Home Sales $1,000,000 to $1,999,999:   30 residences sold between $1m – $2m, representing 44% of total sales.  In 2023, 37% of total sales were in this range.

Luxury Home Sales Over $2 Million:   13 residences sold over $2 million, representing 19% of total sales.  None of the sales were over $5 million.  In 2023, 18% of sales were in this range.  This included 46 sales over $5 million, of which 7 were over $10 million.

What’s Going On Looking Forward?

The extremely strong “covid boom” real estate market is in the rearview mirror and we have turned to well below average activity across the region for the last 18 months.  However, the inventory of homes for sale has not built up and prices have only softened slightly.

Is the market activity going to change dramatically in 2024 compared to 2023? Probably not.  If it does, it will likely come from something not currently on our radar.

A strong stock market and declining interest rates usually helps strengthen demand in our local market, which gives us reason to hope for increased activity in the coming year. The election, of course, will be an interesting variable to sprinkle in.

Low inventory will continue to be a big force on the supply side of the market.  Inventory is still nearly half of what we typically saw at this time of year in the pre-COVID benchmark years.

Multiple offers on a property has become uncommon and bidding wars (5+ offers) have almost gone away.  However, price reductions seem to only be occurring on 5% of listings each week (not a strong trend).

We expect below “normal” (by pre COVID standards) activity, measured by number of transactions,  to continue in Q1 2024, but are hopeful to see transactions climb toward normal averages as we get deeper into the year.

Sellers, keep in mind, this is still a much better time to be a seller than it was in 2019 (which seemed like a very healthy market at the time!).  You can expect a shorter time on market, but much higher sales prices!

Buyers, keep in mind, this is the most balanced market we have seen in the last 3 years.  You now have the following things working in your favor:

• The ability to negotiate price is back!
• The ability to inspect a property and have normal contingencies is back!
• The ability to negotiate repairs is back!
• Interest rates have dropped back from highs and are steady

Note: Data on this page is based on information from the Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors, MLS.  Due to MLS reporting methods and allowable reporting policy, this data is only informational and may not be completely accurate.  Therefore, Coldwell Banker Realty does not guarantee the data’s accuracy.  Data maintained by the MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.  CA-BRE License # 01908304