Greetings Fellow Life Travelers:
The last main blast for summer activities is now pretty much over with the final phases of boat show week. Schools are starting earlier than ever it seems, so by mid-August, visitor activity really subsides. Some guests wait until after Labor Day to visit, as our fall days can be pretty spectacular. Attended the Opening Night dinner at Garwoods for the Boat Show was special with beautiful Thunderbird parked at the pier. Gorgeous evening to kick off the weekend. Sunday is Ladies Lunch and Men’s Grill at private homes on the Lake. Tahoe Style at Everline Resort (previous Resort at Squaw Creek) provides a fashion show for the ladies, always a hit! This store, owned by Teresa Prescott, is the offshoot of Sports Tahoe, after Mickey Gregory closed it and moved to New York. It is our only high-end store in the area for both fabulous winter and summer clothes. So now let’s see what this last week was like in real estate.
Residential Real Estate – week 8/5 – 8/11
o Tahoe Sierra MLS – N/W Shores & Truckee. New Listings – 29; Escrows – 39; Solds – 28 o Incline Village/Crystal Bay MLS. New Listings – 10; Escrows – 12; Solds – 8
o East Shore, NV MLS. New Listings – 3; Escrows – 5; Solds – 2
o Reno/Sparks MLS. New Listings – 120; Escrows – 146; Solds – 96
In general, most sales are under the $2.5M range. Highest escrow for Tahoe Sierra was $1.73M plus one outlier in Martis Camp at $.4.495M. A Dollar Point lakefront, listed at $14.5M sold in 3 days for $16.5M…nice to see activity on the lake! Highest escrow for Incline was $4.085M, and there was a Stillwater Cove sale at $4.6M. East Shore had a fixer/teardown Chase lakefront listed at $7.25M go to escrow. Reno had a nice Chase sale, the Pennington home, listed at $12.8, sold for $10.325M.
Local/Real Estate/Luxe
o Time to renovate? Per Mansion Global, costs of building materials and appliances are starting to come down from the highs of the last couple of years.
o Super modern homes can be a nightmare for families with small children – open stair risers, climbable railings, fountains, pools, fireplaces. There are remedies, but makes more sense to consider this issue when designing and building.
o U.S. Mortgage delinquencies fell to record low last quarter. Mansion Global
o Las Vegas market: new listings fell 52% annually in July, but Las Vegas was the only US metro area to see an increase in pending sales in July.
o IKEA in San Francisco! New warehouse opening on Aug 23 at 945 Market St., between 5th and 6th. This will hopefully be a key catalyst for The City’s downtown recovery.
o Tahoe Forest Health System donated AED (Automated External Defibrillator) to Nevada County Sheriff’s Seach and Rescue, a volunteer organization entirely funded by donations and fundraisers.
o Jackson Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Northern California’s Wine Country among the spots with biggest jump in high-end home deals ($10M+) in first half of 2023. Overall, $13.85 Billion in ultra-luxury real estate traded across 806 transactions.
o Truckee Thursdays are over for the year! As always, extremely well attended and a big draw for visitors and locals alike.
o Renovation projects in England often reveal hidden treasures buried in walls (war log of dates, 2 time capsules), above low ceilings (beautiful ornate glass ceiling), and under concrete foundation floor (small pot containing 260 gold coins dated between 1610 and 1727).
o Interest rate predictions by Fannie Mae, MBA and NAR average 6.63% for 3rdQ and 6.27% for 4thQ. Year end and next 12 months forecasts show increase in home prices, per CoreLogic and Zillow.
o Bit of trivia: Elizabeth Marie Tallchief, Jan 24, 1925 – Apr 11, 2013, was an Osage Native American. Such a fabulous ballet career she had! Her 1949 performance of Balanchine’s “the Firebird” made her world famous, and she was the first Sugarplum Fairy in Balanchine’s Nutcracker. There is current focus on the Osage, with a movie coming out based on the book, Killers of the Flower Moon.
o Lost and Found: friends of mine came by boat from the East Shore to Garwoods to meet me for lunch, and they found this paddle boat just sitting all alone in the middle of the lake (see below) and towed it back to their marina. We assume it broke loose from its mooring and is not the result of someone falling overboard.
Entertainment
o Nessun Dorma – Aretha Franklin (filling in for Luciano Pavarotti) https://tinyurl.com/5cvfvc38
TidBits
o An encyclopedia is a system for collecting dust in alphabetical order. Mike Barfield
o Tact is the art of making guests feel at home when that’s really where you wish they were. George E. Bergman
o “I’m not overweight. I’m just nine inches too short.” Shelly Winters
o Skill is successfully walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Intelligence is not trying.
o The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again. George Miller
o When women are depressed, they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. Elayne Boosler o The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it. Dudley Moore
o A mandate isn’t a law. It’s when two men go to dinner.
o I find it ironic that the colors red, white and blue stand for freedom, until they are flashing behind you.
o I think my neighbor is stalking me as she’s been Googling my name on her computer. I saw it through the telescope last night.
o You’re not fat, you’re just easier to see.
o If you think nobody cares whether you’re alive, try missing a couple of payments.
o Having a teenage daughter is like having a cat that only comes out to eat and hisses when you try to be nice to it.
o “Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.” Lady Gaga
Speaking of Lady Gaga, she is about to open her Jazz & Piano residency in Las Vegas – August 31 – Oct 5 – and will include a tribute to her good friend, Tony Bennett, with music from the Great American Songbook. Have a good week wherever you are, and see you next time!
Best wishes,
Trinkie