Posted by Maura on January 18th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
There are two houses that are on the market right now in Truckee that I think are both great deals. One is a new listing in Tahoe Donner and the other is a newly-reduced listing in Ponderosa Palisades, a neighborhood located between Downtown Truckee and Northstar.
The first home in Ponderosa Palisades has been on the market for a while, but the sellers just reduced it yesterday to $539,900 from $599,000. This home is in a quiet cul-de-sac with south-facing views of Northstar Resort.
The second home was just listed this week with my office, Pine Ridge Properties, Inc. This house is an extraordinary deal @$725,000. The newer home sold for considerably more than this in the past two year, and is beautifully furnished with all furnishings and everything included in the purchase price. What a deal!
If you or anyone you know is thinking of purchasing in the Tahoe area, there has never been a better time to buy. Interest rates are at historic lows and buyers are in the driver seat. Some forecasters say there hasn’t been a buyer’s market like this since the Great Depression. Now is the time.
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Posted by Maura on January 9th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
The town of Truckee has been on somewhat of a timeout this past week; that is, unless you are a plow guy or on ski patrol. Schools were closed Monday, and the roads made for pretty sketchy driving conditions.
This didn’t stop many from driving to the ski areas, which is exactly where I have been lately…
The storm totals exceeded six feet of fresh powder at Squaw Valley, making ski conditions deep and fluffy. Yesterday I spent 6 hours at the hill…and never got off of KT-22! Every run filled in again and again in the Rock Garden-area of KT. This has kick-started what began as a pretty weak ski season for Lake Tahoe, and we are now looking forward to a great season.
See you on the slopes, and if you are looking to have a ski cabin of your own, check out the following great deals. There has never been a better time to buy in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area.
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Posted by Maura on January 7th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
I was reading Seeking Alpha’s Housing section this morning and found an interesting article by Toro. The article is called Six Calls for 2008. Number 5 addressed the real estate market for 2008. In it, Toro doesn’t think we will see a catastrophe, however we are not at the bottom of the housing market yet, but rather are only 1/2 way through. Yikes! Have a read and see if you agree.
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Posted by Maura on January 4th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
If you are looking for something cool to do next Saturday, check out the Lake Tahoe Adventure Film Festival coming to the Grand Sierra Resort Hotel on January 12, 2007. Tickets are $17 at the door, or the Grand Sierra Resort Hotel is also offering an $89 package for a standard hotel room and two tickets to the festival.
If you want to check out some thrilling adventure movies, I highly suggest this event. If you need further motivation, they are giving away a week-long heli ski trip to Points North Heli-Adventures in Cordova, Alaska. I have been there a few times…it is well worth the chance.
See you there!
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Posted by Maura on January 4th, 2008 — Posted in real estate
I stumbled across this article from Realtor online magazine in the Sales Coach column. This article was written by Kelle Sparta, the owner of Sparta Success Systems a real estate training company.
In the current real estate climate, there are more agents than there are transactions and if you have a real live client, it is easy to fall prey to their unrealistic expectations out of desperation to make a sale.
I have been in this situation lately, both representing buyers and sellers. Sellers still think their house is the best, and surely someone will fall in love with it like they did or they are NOT going to sell. Some buyers are watching waaaayyyy too much Fox News and think they can offer $150 on a forclosure and take a house off of a desperate bank’s hands.
Unfortunately, neither case is working- not yet, anyway. Many forclosures and Real Estate Owned properties are not yet taking rock-bottom prices, and although houses are still selling, they are mostly selling below the asking price. The media is partially to blame for sensationalizing the housing market and putting it constantly in our faces. Loans have also gotten harder to come by compared to a year ago.
As the above article suggests, the key to a successful client relationship is to be honest and upfront with your local real estate market from the first time you sit down with a potential client, and armed with current statistics. If the client is still unrealistic, I have learned to cut my losses in lieu of wasting time- and money.
Give it a read, and have a happy storm day:)
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Posted by Maura on January 1st, 2008 — Posted in real estate
If you are like me on New Year’s Eve (and I hope you aren’t) you were in bed by 9 pm and sound asleep by the time midnight rolled around. That is, with the exception of waking up because of the raging party happening on the street behind you…
I must be getting old. And I digress….
I always said that if money were no object and I could live anywhere in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee area, it wouldn’t be on the lake, (nice as that would be) it wouldn’t be under the tram at Squaw Valley either. I would live in the quiet and picturesque neighborhood of Juniper Mountain in Alpine Meadows. If you truly want to feel as though you live in the mountains, this is it.
Juniper Mountain is a hillside neighborhood that is the only south-facing neighborhood in the valley. It shares a ridge with Squaw Valley, and there has been talk of expansion and development connecting Squaw Valley to Alpine Meadows through Juniper Mountain.
The views of Munchkins and the surrounding peaks are breathtaking, and to me it exemplifies what mountain living is all about.
That being said, this brand new Craftsman-style home came on the market at the top of Juniper Mountain this week for a mere $1,950,000. The listing agent says that it can be purchased for a substantial reduction if the buyer assumes the finishes; right now it is being sheet rocked.
So I am dreaming, but if you or anyone you know might be able to swing it, this is an amazing spot.
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