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Tahoe Update

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February 25, 2024

Tahoe Update

Greetings Fellow Life Travelers:

Good week for ski vacation with some snow, some blue sky and active resort action!  Nice snow pack on the mountains with not a lot of accumulation around our houses.  Fabulous weekend for the World Cup races at Palisades Tahoe.

I remember the days when living in Squaw Valley, involved with the ski business, jumping into ski clothes the first time a flake fell from the sky.  Those were the gorgeous stretch one-piece suits with matching jackets and fur boots.  Good friends owned a ski store so I got to order at wholesale before the season started – “I’ll have one in white, one in red, one in navy, one in shocking pink (yes)….and maybe that yellow one too.”  Needless to say, a whole lotta fun!  Now it’s – Really? Do I need to don something other than my Spanx Jeans and High Fives parka?  Clothes horse for many moons – loved it!   Living in the mountains one has little need for ball gowns and stilettos these days.  Years ago, we dressed up for dinners out and a few fancy parties, but they are few and far between now.  Alex Cushing wore tennis shoes with his black tie in the ‘60s – way before Jeff Bezos thought it was cool.  Could prattle on about this subject for some time, but let’s see what was cool in real estate this week.

Residential Real Estate – week 2/17 – 2/23

  • Tahoe Sierra MLS – North/West Shores & Truckee.  New Listings – 16; Escrows – 11; Solds – 15
  • Incline Village/Crystal Bay MLS.  New Listings – 2; Escrows – 3; Solds – 2  
  • East Shore, NV MLS.  New Listings – 2; Escrows – 5; Solds – 0
  • Reno/Sparks MLS.  New Listings – 82; Escrows – 120; Solds – 87

Interest rates have climbed a bit again resulting in lower escrows across the country.  Inflation is wavering, causing some concern. However, long range look is positive, so it’s a matter of weathering uncertainty right now.  Two items of note in the ultra-high-end market for Tahoe:  Chase represented the buyer in an off-market $30M 2.8-acre land transaction in Glenbrook, NV that closed this week, and an off-market listing at Rubicon on the West Shore just became available at $55M.  Call or email me for details! 

Local/Real Estate/Luxe

  • Hamptons’ hot market.  Fueled by the pandemic, interest hasn’t abated.  Prices going up, not a lot for sale.  Overpriced homes also sitting.  (Too much ambition in pricing often results in languishing even in a strong market.)
  • Smart Blankets. Out with the old electric blanket!  New ones heat up, cool off, straighten themselves and may have 20 settings…all controlled by Alexa. Ones I saw advertised ran from $159 to $1,555.  
  • Capella Cheese.  For an intriguing exploration into an amazing Cheese purveyor, check out www.CapellaCheese.com  Good friend has recommended this for over-the-top choices of extraordinary selections.
  • Keep Tahoe Blue.  Huge move in the Tahoe region to quell use of single-use plastics.  Truckee and South Lake Tahoe have already banned them from sale.  And, Truckee has implemented either a $5 charge for ‘carry out container’ or an opportunity to purchase your own container for that purpose when not finishing your dinner.   $.25 for the coffee cup if you’re not bringing your own at your favorite coffee house.
  • Liberty Toast – Reno Airport.  Our very own Mark Estee (who started Moody’s) will open his new eatery in the next few months on Concours C (airport under major expansion currently).  
  • Death Valley lake.  Amazing – with all the rain in Southern California, Death Valley has become a lake.  Once the rain stops, it will subside and disappear!
  • Boatworks – Tahoe City.  Big plans for redevelopment are moving through the process.  Written comment will be taken through Feb 29.  cdraecs@placer.ca.gov.  Another scoping meeting will be held Feb 26 from 4 – 6 at the Tahoe City PUD.  Zoom link – https://placer-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/99615438857
  • Luxury Retail.  Digital transformation, sustainability, personalized experiences and experiential retail are key trends for 2024.  Use of AI, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) is becoming more common in creating unique shopping experiences. Online chatbots are in our lives to stay, providing 24/7 customer service for luxury retail services as well. 
  • Impressive photo:  Cathedral, Mountain, Moon   After six years of trying, Italian photographer Valerio Minato finally captured this shot on December 15, 2023.  (see below) 

Entertainment

TidBits

  • Signs:  1) Only dead fish go with the flow.  2) I named my Ipad Titanic. It’s syncing now.  3) Try resistance training; refuse to go to the gym.  4) A book hit my head and I’ve only my shelf to blame. 4) If you’re in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut.  5)  Can’t get up to vote? You may have electile dysfunction. 6)  Life and beer are very similar.  Chill for best results.  7)  Bulldozer: Someone who sleeps through political speeches.  8) The inventor of the doorbell did not own a dog. 
  • I married for love, but the obvious side benefit of having someone around to find my glasses cannot be ignored. Cameron Esposito
  • Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me.  Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  • I’m the only person that left the Smokey Mountains and took them with her.  Dolly Parton
  • Honestly, if I were two-faced, would I be showing you this one? Abraham Lincoln
  • Haikus are easy/ But sometimes they don’t make sense/ Refrigerator
  • I don’t even butter my bread.  I consider that cooking. Catherine Cebrian
  • The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for 30 years she served the family nothing but leftovers.  The original meal has never been found.  Calvin Trillin
  • May you live to be a hundred years.  With one extra year to repent.  Irish toast
  • Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering. There’s a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.  Leonard Cohen (I love Leonard!) 
  • The bottom line is, in life, sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things happen.  But honey, if you don’t take a chance, nothing happens.  Dorothy (Bea Arthur, Golden Girls)
  • You can’t blame anyone else if you fall in your driveway.  It’s your own asphalt.
  • If it doesn’t add to your life, it doesn’t belong in your life.
  • Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. Anne Lamott
  • My esteem in this country has gone up substantially.  It is very nice now when people wave at me, they use all their fingers. Jimmy Carter
  • So, the bills are washed, the laundry is paid, the clothes are in the oven and the last load of dinner is in the dryer.  Who says I can’t multitask?  

As a Gemini, multitasking is kind of second nature.  I’m not saying it’s the way to go, but the trait seems to come with the zodiac sign!  So off to tackle several projects!  Have a great week and see you next time.

Best wishes, 

Trinkie