Lake Tahoe, and the town of Truckee to the north, has long been known as a weekend and vacation spot, where residents of the San Francisco Bay Area could escape via Highway 80 to ski in winter and hike in summer.
Like many communities, the increasing acceptance of remote work has seen Lake Tahoe shift to a popular destination for primary homeowners, a transformation that exploded with the pandemic and resultant hot real estate market.
With demand exceeding supply at a rate of six-to-one, prices have increased more than 30% year-over-year throughout the market, says Doug Flynn, a broker with Tahoe Mountain Realty.
“Whereas $1 million had previously represented a starting point for luxury real estate, it now defines the regional median,” Flynn says.
Here’s what’s been moving at the entry, middle and high ends of the market in the Tahoe-Truckee region.
High — Above $3 Million
Tahoe lakefront properties and homes in Martis Camp, a private gated community located between Truckee and North Lake Tahoe, have seen extraordinary demand over the last year, with many homes sold off-market.
An estate called Bella Vista, with a five-bedroom main house and one-bedroom guesthouse with an RV garage, in the gated Juniper Hill community 15 minutes from the Truckee Airport, was recently listed for $4.375 million. A sale is pending.
Medium — $2 Million-$3 Million
While historically sales have been low in the $2- to $3-million threshold, over the last year new developments in resort communities including Gray’s Crossing, Old Greenwood and Northstar have added to the inventory.
Buyers here have spent the last year here as their primary residence and Flynn predicts it’s likely to stay this way until in-person schooling returns in the fall.
In Gray’s Crossing, a resort community built around an 18-hole championship golf course, all 12 of the development’s Fairway Townhomes have sold, including a modern four-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom home at 11040 Ghirard Road.
Entry — Under $2 Million
The “entry level” for the greater Tahoe-Truckee region has grown from about $500,000 to close to $1 million. According to Flynn, these properties, which tend to come with deferred maintenance, generally fall outside of resort communities around Truckee and purchasers are more likely to be looking for full-time residences.
Inventory here is a little more dated, though this is a relative term and extends to some homes constructed as recently as ten years ago in more traditional mountain architecture that includes peak roofs and heavy masonry accents.
Recently, an 1875 Queen Anne Victorian with five bedrooms and two bathrooms at 10230 Donner Pass Road, in the heart of downtown Truckee, sold for $1.46 million.
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