As the leaves on the Aspen trees change from green to autumn gold, it’s time to take look at the real estate sales in Incline Village and Crystal Bay during the third quarter of 2017.

In spite of the fires in Yosemite National Park and other spots in Northern California bringing smoke to the Tahoe Basin, sales were solid in the third quarter.

There were a total of 136 closed escrows on the Nevada side of North Lake Tahoe last quarter. We saw 56 houses, 56 condos, and 24 freestanding condos change hands to new owners. Prices for single-family homes ranged from a modest $499,000 for a 1,368 square-foot cabin in the Woods subdivision all the way up to $7 million for a lakefront home in Crystal Bay.

---

---

At the present time, there are 29 houses in escrow ranging in price from $599,000 up to $6.5 million. We are seeing a fairly typical price point distribution with 11 properties priced under $1 million, 12 places between $1 million and $2 million, and six properties in escrow over $2 million.

Some buyers in the moderate price range have been sitting on the sidelines hoping to pick up a bargain during the off-season. Unfortunately, most of these shoppers will be disappointed as a significant number of properties falling into this price category are finding their way into the rental pool, as discouraged sellers seek to earn some income during the winter months.

---

---

Condo sales in Incline Village and Crystal Bay were extraordinary with 56 units being snapped up during this three-month time frame. The Burgundy Hill condo complex led the charge with six sales in the quarter. There were five closed transactions in McCloud, and no other complex had more than three or four sales. Only six condos sold at prices greater than $800,000. But there were some super-luxury properties in the mix, including three lakefront condos selling between $2.9 million and $3.9 million.

During the next couple of weeks, readers will be bombarded by statistical information from a variety of sources trying to spin the third quarter statistics in a way that favors a particular firm or locale.

It is not practical to lump together statistics from the Tahoe-Truckee area since each community has very different market attributes. What is most important is to focus on the general trends within each local market and ignore the statistics being spouted that emphasize average prices or other meaningless numbers that are used to promote someone’s agenda. Like politics, all real estate is local and you cannot aggregate unit sales or prices from disparate communities and have an analysis that makes any sense.

With the inventory of properties for sale in Incline Village and Crystal Bay at a relatively low level, buyers would be well advised to continue shopping during the fall of 2017. It is almost certain that prices will continue to rise during 2018. This is a result of a couple of factors.

First and foremost, the year-to-year inventory continues to decline. Also, demand remains strong due to a host of economic factors and the effects of Proposition 30, which continues to drive high-income individuals to seek residency in the tax-friendly environs of Nevada.

Sabrina Belleci and Don Kanare are the owners of RE/MAX North Lake. Read their blog and find weekly stats on their website at http://www.InsideIncline.com.