Click on the image to the left to see the additional graphs.

Here is the press release that came out with the mid-year stats:

TAHOE HOME PRICES BEGIN TO LEVEL OFF

Home Sales Pick Up With Surge in the $10 Million Market

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. (July 8, 2010) – Home prices in Lake Tahoe are beginning to level off and the high-end market is looking lively, according to a mid-year analysis by Chase International.

The average home price was up two percent ($899,515) while the median dropped only one percent ($530,681). The slight changes mark the first time the Lake Tahoe real estate market hasn’t experienced a significant drop in home prices since the end of 2007.  The report compares sales and figures from January 1 through June 30, 2009 to the first two quarters of 2010.

Sue Lowe, vice president for Chase International, notes that while the recent tax credits boosted sales in some markets, such as Reno, they probably had little effect on Tahoe home sales. “Most of the sales around the lake are second homes.”

There was a 36 percent increase in homes sold for less than $1 million while homes over a million jumped 60 percent. Tahoe City and Incline Village showed the biggest improvements in sales. The majority of million-dollar homes sold in the $1 – $2 million range, however four homes sold for more than $10 million.

“The $2 – $10 million market is still soft but we have had some significant activity in the ultra high-end sales (over $10 million),” Lowe said. “There’s been definite signs of a rebound this year compared to the first half of 2009, which was quite challenging. But inventory is down and prices are leveling off – we’re optimistic that the market is starting to stabalize.”

Truckee home prices saw only minor drops in median ($505,000) and average ($615,514) home prices – six and five percent respectively.

The first graph shows sales volume for single family homes and condos sold from January 1 – March 31 in 2009 compared to 2010. This year saw a 22% increase for single family home sales volume from last year. Sales volume for condos increased by 174% from last year. Single family home sales volume in 2009 was $94,659,052 and $115,263,815 in 2010.

The next graph compares median & average price in 2009 and 2010. Both the median and average sales prices decreased by 29% in 2010 for single family homes. The median sales price for condos decreased by 20% and the average price increased by 21%.

The third graph compares units sold in 2010 compared to 2009. There was a 50% increase in the numer of single family home sales in 2010 for properties under $1 mil. There was a 71% increase for properties over $1 mil. For condos under $500K, there was a 119% increase in 2010 and a 400% increase for condos over $500K.

Our broker, Sue Lowe believes the higher number of home sales is due to the increased number of short sales and bank-owned properties, federal tax credits for first time home buyers, as well as investors coming back to the market. Lowe states, “There is a significant amount of activity in the lower-end of the market. The abundance of short sales and bank-owned properties is creating some once-in-a-lifetime deals. Combine that with tax credits and we’re seeing homes move quickly. That inventory is dropping at an impressive rate compared to what we had a year ago.”

The Reno/Tahoe market seems to be following the same trend as the national real estate market. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently stated that the number of pending homes has gone up more than expected (8.2% in February) in response to the homebuyer tax credit. NAR Chief Economist, Larry Yun said the improvement is another hopeful sign. “The rise in buyer contact activity may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring. The healthy gain hints home prices are continuing to flatten,” he said. “We need a second surge to meaningfully draw down inventory and definitively stabilize home values.” Click on the link to read the NAR article.

Lowe acknowledges that home prices are slow to recover due to the amount of short sales and bank-owned property deals. “Those deals have been making up a good part of the market, but they’ve also been driving down home prices. I believe that the market will continue to correct itself and we’ll see some strong activity in the next few months.”

So, forget everything you’ve heard at those parties; here’s the real answer to the question, “How was the real estate market in 2009?” Armed with this information, you will impress even your most well-read friends!

Bottom line: Real Estate Sales rose exponentially in the Reno/Tahoe areas in 2009.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. (Jan. 4, 2010) – For anyone who has been waiting for the market to hit rock bottom to get into their dream home in the Lake Tahoe or Reno areas, time is definitely running out. Sales of single-family homes are up dramatically throughout the region. And while home prices continued to fall in 2009, the overall number of units sold has made a remarkable recovery.

Year-end statistics released today by Chase International show single family home sales increased in all of the nine distinct communities they measure within the Reno/Tahoe area. “The numbers don’t lie. Sales have risen exponentially in 2009, and we expect that trend to continue into 2010,” notes Sue Lowe, corporate vice president of Chase International.  In fact, inventory is being absorbed at an astonishing rate.

For instance, the entire Lake Tahoe basin units sold are up 22% over the previous year.  Tahoe City increased 38%, South Shore saw a 22 percent increase, East Shore saw an increase of 17 percent, and Incline Village increased 4 percent. In Truckee, unit sales jumped 23 percent.

The 2009 numbers for Reno and Sparks were also extremely positive – with Reno single-family home sales measured in number of units up over the previous year by an impressive 41 percent, and sales in Sparks increasing by a whopping 52 percent.

Condominium sales continue to be volatile and vary greatly depending on the area but overall increased around the Lake by 17%. Condo sales along East Shore were up 69 percent, Tahoe City was up 47%, Incline Village up 8% but the South Shore was down  27 percent. Condo sales also were very strong in the Reno/Sparks area – up 59 percent in Reno over the previous year and up 100 percent in Sparks (70 condos sold in 2008 in Sparks while 140 sold in 2009).

The median sales price for both homes and condominiums continued to drop last year over 2008 prices, which contributed to the increase in sales. However, the experts at Chase International say this downward trend in sales prices might be coming to an end.

“We are definitely seeing signs that home prices may be reaching the bottom. Some of the home prices we saw in 2009 were equivalent to prices a decade ago, and buyers have taken advantage of these discounts by snapping up some of these great properties, thereby limiting available inventory. Now that the word is out about the amazing values to be had in the Reno/Tahoe area, we anticipate pricing will level off as even more buyers enter the market,” says Lowe.

A complete breakdown of Chase International’s year-end sales report can be viewed on Chasenation.com.

Headquartered in Lake Tahoe, Nevada since 1986, with eight offices in the region (Zephyr Cove, Glenbrook, Incline Village, Tahoe City, Squaw Valley, Truckee, South Lake Tahoe and Reno) and one in London, England, Chase International and its exclusive affiliations handles a large share of the country’s property. A recognized leader in the world of real estate, Chase International has once again taken the reins of cutting edge technology by launching www.ChaseNation.com, the first interactive social networking website created by a real estate brokerage as a vehicle for direct interaction with consumers online.

With nearly 200 professional Realtors® boasting an array of industry certifications and the highest volume per sales agent in the area, Chase International successfully represents homes at all price levels.  For more information about Chase International visit www.chaseinternational.com.

The first chart breaks sold properties down by price band and area (Incline Village, East Shore, Truckee, Tahoe City, South Lake Tahoe, Sparks, Reno & Carson Valley). These are for single family homes sold during January 1 – September 30, 2009.

The second chart compares some of the real estate market numbers in 2008 vs. 2009. The first graph shows sales volume for each year and a 13% decrease from 2008 to 2009 for home sales. The second graph shows the median & average price for single family homes and condos in 20o8 and 2009. The third graph shows units sold in each year and we see an increase in the number of homes sold under $1 million.

Click on the images below for enlarged versions of these graphs…