As a recent transplant from the Bay Area to Tahoe, I'd like to get peoples thoughts on the property market here, or barring that, the vacation/second home market in general. FYI, property ownership is about 50/50 full-timers v. out-of-towners.
I'd been thinking about moving for a long time, but the final push was when my Bay Area landlord decided to sell the place I was in (after discovering her PITI was $200/month more than rent, which isn't too shabby these days). As soon as I had everything packed up, new landlord (in Tahoe) changed their mind and decided to list the place (spending more than rent, again, and they don't see the home appreciating any time soon). There was a quick burst of realtors coming by to show the place, and now its' maybe 1/week. Having already been through this once, I'm staying put, although if a new buyer wants us out we'll consider voluntarily moving if they grease the wheels and hire professionals to do all the moving for us. But that's another story.
All the landlord trouble has caused me to start watching the market more carefully. Not for this year, as I need to make sure that everything works out with my job, but possibly for next. I had a good feel for the east bay (Oakland/Berkeley specifically), but up here you have a number of factors: out of town money looking for second homes, a huge transient seasonal labor force, and an immense build-out over the past 10 years. I do know that over the past two summers I've seen for-sale signs sprout like wildflowers.
For local wages, even a modest home seems beyond traditional price:income metrics. Housing below 300k is almost nonexistent, yet median household income is 60k. Many of the second homes built in the last 10 years are very big and very pricey. High property tax, high heating bill, possibly a high HOA for the golf course/swimming pool. You'd think a 4000+sqf second home on a golf course is the sort of thing that people pay cash for rather than finance, but the number of foreclosures / short sales in the newer developments tells a different story. Maybe they're the exceptions and out of town money will keep things afloat, or maybe people will discover they don't use the place enough to justify that sort of carrying cost.
What's a good metric for evaluating property prices in places like this? I don't feel as confident applying price:rent or price:income ratios as I do for the Bay Area.
As a recent transplant from the Bay Area to Tahoe, I'd like to get peoples thoughts on the property market here, or barring that, the vacation/second home market in general. FYI, property ownership is about 50/50 full-timers v. out-of-towners.
I'd been thinking about moving for a long time, but the final push was when my Bay Area landlord decided to sell the place I was in (after discovering her PITI was $200/month more than rent, which isn't too shabby these days). As soon as I had everything packed up, new landlord (in Tahoe) changed their mind and decided to list the place (spending more than rent, again, and they don't see the home appreciating any time soon). There was a quick burst of realtors coming by to show the place, and now its' maybe 1/week. Having already been through this once, I'm staying put, although if a new buyer wants us out we'll consider voluntarily moving if they grease the wheels and hire professionals to do all the moving for us. But that's another story.
All the landlord trouble has caused me to start watching the market more carefully. Not for this year, as I need to make sure that everything works out with my job, but possibly for next. I had a good feel for the east bay (Oakland/Berkeley specifically), but up here you have a number of factors: out of town money looking for second homes, a huge transient seasonal labor force, and an immense build-out over the past 10 years. I do know that over the past two summers I've seen for-sale signs sprout like wildflowers.
For local wages, even a modest home seems beyond traditional price:income metrics. Housing below 300k is almost nonexistent, yet median household income is 60k. Many of the second homes built in the last 10 years are very big and very pricey. High property tax, high heating bill, possibly a high HOA for the golf course/swimming pool. You'd think a 4000+sqf second home on a golf course is the sort of thing that people pay cash for rather than finance, but the number of foreclosures / short sales in the newer developments tells a different story. Maybe they're the exceptions and out of town money will keep things afloat, or maybe people will discover they don't use the place enough to justify that sort of carrying cost.
What's a good metric for evaluating property prices in places like this? I don't feel as confident applying price:rent or price:income ratios as I do for the Bay Area.
#housing