Greetings Fellow Life Travelers:

Another week for houseguests and social fun, of course squeezing in real estate business too.  Had a great presentation by REALM, the great organization of top luxury agents across the country and globe, showcasing its refresh for the next year.  Lots of curated education covering various subjects and fostering collaboration among the members, enabling us to better serve our clients across state and country lines.  Sophisticated technology enables us to match clients’ needs and lifestyles with properties and vet them for credibility/ability to make significant purchases. REALM is the largest data consolidator for HNW and UHNW individuals.  Exposure for beautiful Tahoe properties to like-minded luxury agents and their clients is available through my membership. Another interesting and fun segment of my business!  Now let’s see what fun we had in real estate this last week.

Residential Real Estate – week 8/3 – 8/9

• Tahoe Sierra MLS – North/West Shores & Truckee.  New Listings – 49; Escrows – 29; Solds – 31
• Incline Village/Crystal Bay MLS.  New Listings – 13; Escrows – 4; Solds – 5
• East Shore, NV MLS. New Listings – 5; Escrows – 3; Solds – 2
• Reno/Sparks MLS.  New Listings – 116; Escrows – 130; Solds – 83

Overall, new listings were highest for one week so far this year.  For Tahoe Sierra, Lahontan has a new listing at $12.5M – about double of highest sale there so far.  My beautiful Flick Point listing at $22M went to escrow, and a small North Shore lakefront listed at $5.4M sold for $4.995M. Incline had a new lakefront listed at $22.5M. East Shore had a new lake view listing at $7.25M, and Reno had a new escrow listed at $8.475M in Montreux.  

Lakefront action – this week.  North/West Shores – 21 active, 3 in escrow, 1 sold.  Incline/Crystal Bay – 7 Active, 1 in escrow, 0 sold.  East Shore – 8 Active, 0 in escrow, 0 sold.  South Lake Tahoe – 1 Active, in escrow – 3, 0 sold.

Local/Real Estate/Luxe

• 5.4% increase in sales of homes of an over $10 million in U.S. first half of 2024 over same time last year. Los Angeles and Manhattan kept their two top places with LA holding top despite mansion tax imposed in 2023. Greater Nashville was fastest-growing emerging market along with central New Jersey and Jersey Shore followed by Telluride, CO. 
• Stock market volatility could impact the luxury home markets if there’s a sustained downturn, along with a slowdown in general real estate sales.
• Better news:  Mortgage Interest rates have declined to lowest since May 2023.  Without a flood of new inventory, prices could hold and continue to go up as more enter the market.  Already mortgage applications for new purchases and refinances are up.  Now we wait to see what the Feds will do in September.
• Publishers Clearing House.  Got a call with message that got cut off, so I may have lost out on millions.  Hadn’t heard about them in quite some time.  Wonder if anyone every really wins anything. 
• Goal for 2024:  18 closed escrows.  8 done, 10 to go!  (A few in escrow now.)
• Insurance for high-end homes.  Many homeowners in the over the $10M range are faced with needing multiple policies to cover replacement if home burns to the ground.  In LA, it took three separate policies to cover a $28.5M home with an annual cost of $300,000.  No one company wants exposure to all the risk (homeowners, earthquake, auto, umbrella, contents and, in some areas, flood) of a very expensive home.  Some owners are opting for high deductibles, and partial or full self-insurance.  Mansion Global
• Markets are implying an 80% chance of a 50bps September cut. Great news, right? Maybe not. On 1/3/2001, the Fed began with a 50bps rate cut and a recession came in March. On 9/18/07, the Fed also began with a 50bps cut and in December a recession commenced. Both times equities jumped and headlines praised the Fed. In the 2001/02 recession equities fell 42%, in the 2008/09 recession, 50%. Elliot Eisenberg, the Bowtie Economist

Entertainment

• Dog Soccer:  https://tinyurl.com/mr22zksw

TidBits

• Once you realize that you can do something, it would be difficult to live with yourself if you didn’t do it. James Baldwin
• The person, be it a gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid.  Northanger Abbey
• Nothing ever fatigues me, but doing what I do not like.  Mansfield Park
• Hollywood Squares.  Q.  In what state was Abraham Lincoln born?  A.  Like all of us, naked and screaming.  Paul Lynde
• Opportunities come infrequently.  When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble.  Mister Rogers
• Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.  We can Work it Out.  1965
• If you can’t find the elevator to success, just take the stairs.
• When life gives you lemons, make lemonade with a shot of vodka.
• Well, this day was a total waste of makeup.
• They say if you give a man a fish you have fed him for a day.  If you teach him how to fish, he will eat a lifetime.  Work must be for people that don’t know how to fish.
• A cluttered desk heeds a cluttered mind, but a clean desk heeds a cluttered drawer.
• Temptation shouldn’t be resisted because you may not get that chance again.
• If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress….congress?
• They say that money doesn’t bring you happiness.  I say neither does being broke, so let me suffer with a new car.
• Once I thought I was wrong but I made a mistake.
• A good friend is there when you need them.  A great friend helps you bury the body.
• Mental floss prevents moral decay.
• Treat your children like hotels.  Checkout time is 18.
• College:  Where showering is an elective and beer is a requirement.
• Beer doesn’t make you fat.  It makes you lean: against walls, doors, others, etc.

Have a great week and see you next time!

Best wishes, 

Trinkie