Greetings Fellow Life Travelers:

Glory be!  Sunshine and no snow for about 10 days!  On Thursday, Tahoe Fund said that out of the past 19 days, 15 had snowfall.  Temps are staying way cold, so snow will be great for skiing.  Traffic heading to Palisades and Northstar on Friday was beyond, Saturday worse.  Took me 2.5Hrs to get to Tahoe City, a drive that is typically 30 minutes.  To check on road status in the area, check out www.magnifeye.com that will show you video of various roads at any given time.   Now that our roads are clear again, we expect real estate activity to pick up.  Let’s see what happened this past week.

• Residential Real Estate – week 1/14 – 1/20 
• Tahoe Sierra MLS – North/West Shores & Truckee.  New Listings – 9; Escrows – 12; Solds – 13
• Incline Village/Crystal Bay MLS.  New Listings – 0; Escrws – 1; Solds – 1
• East Shore, NV MLS.  New Listings – 3; Escrows – 1; Solds – 1
• Reno/Sparks MLS.  New Listings – 88; Escrows – 98; Solds – 66

As you can see, our snowy weather continued to take its toll on the Tahoe market.  Reno fared a little better!  Lahontan is getting ‘up there’ with listings over the $5M mark, a new one this week.  Donner Lake had a nice sale at $5.5M, $125K over asking, short escrow, and Fleur du Lac sold #21 at $4M, $200K over asking.  Incline had a nice escrow at $6.998M.   The average Sale to List in the TSMLS was 95% of asking.  As you can see, our market it not in the tank and won’t be! 

Economic Outlook from Lawrence Yun, National Realtor Association economist:  Financial wealth still high, slightly down and well above 2019.  We should see a modest increase in pricing (individual markets will reflect growth or not).  More people are working; delinquencies are very low; under production of new homes; lack of supply in general.   Mortgage debt way below home prices = big equity in homes.  Interest rates calming down; could have 5.5% later in year.  About 25% paying cash, east coast in particular benefitting from foreign buyers.  Continuing ‘work from home/hybrid’ resulting in more resort buying.  Annual sales will be down but rising. 2024 will return to double digit gains.  Luxury buyers recognize recession possible but individual situations strong and attitudes positive despite headwinds.   Global wealth grew 13% in 2022.  37% lost money in crypto; 66% say real estate investment best now.  Buyers for luxury focusing on personal lifestyle enrichment, time with family, being outside, being together. 

• Local/Real Estate/Luxe
• From Sierra State Parks, both Sugar Pine Park and Donner State Park have guided 2-hour snowshoe tours on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am.  Should be perfect weather this next weekend! 
• Lake level:  Now that we’ve had a huge influx of water, the level is over the dam so water is flowing down the Truckee. 
• Snowpack.  Even with the huge inundation of snow, we are still well below an historic winter.  Even reservoirs, although filling from low levels, are still way below capacity.  So, we really need a lot more snow to have a truly major impact on the snowpack and lakes.  
• Most snow in one month:  Tahoe City received 238” in January 1916! 
• For a cozy, moody aesthetic in your bedroom, paint the room off-black. ‘Moments by Magnolia Home’ a great choice, per Mansion Global.
• RE Commercial:  Retail market is coming back in San Francisco and other urban areas.  Office buildings are a challenge and will be for some time, along with multi-family buildings owned by large companies.  The tech employee fallout has had an impact on residential rates in the City, not meeting commitments to investors.
• Residential RE:  Those with strong stock market portfolios are pulling money out to invest in real estate that they can enjoy.  Dollar value today is not as important as lifestyle, and property values historically increase over time.
• North Lake Tahoe generated over $5M in TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) and TBID (Tourism Business Improvement District) revenue, putting money to good community use in the area.  The Martis Valley Trail was one of the recipients.
• Bob Marley One Love Experience coming to LA on Jan 27 for 12 weeks at The Ovation, Hollywood.

• Entertainment
• Great video of 1952 Donner Summit train stall:  https://tinyurl.com/pkkvbsnp

• TidBits
• Important facts as we grow older:  1) Death is the number 1 killer in the world.  2)  Life is sexually transmitted 3) Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
• Common sense is not a gift.  It’s a punishment because you have to deal with everyone who doesn’t have it.
• I thought growing old would take longer.
• “People ask me what I’d most appreciate getting for my eighty-seventh birthday.  I tell them – a paternity suit”.  George Burns
• Doesn’t expecting the unexpected make the unexpected expected?
• Arguing with a fool proves there are two. Doris M. Smith
• Pets:  the family members you get to choose.
• In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back. Charles Schulz
• The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.
• When I get a headache, I take two aspirin and keep away from children like the bottle says. 
• I’d grow my own food if only I could find bacon seeds.

How can anyone live without bacon….at least once in a while?  Have a great week enjoying this great weather!  See you next time!

Best wishes,