Housing sales in the Lake Tahoe area held steady last year, notching a 1% increase in the number of units sold, according to local real estate company Chase International. But they were much stronger in the outlying towns of Truckee, Reno and Sparks.
Overall in the Lake region, 1,014 single-family units and 273 apartments were sold in 2010. But the average price in both sectors was down, from $706,366 to $607,683 – a 14% drop – for houses and from $396,284 to $348,868 – a 12% dip – for condos, Chase reported.
“High end home sales on the East Shore helped buoy the Lake Tahoe market,” said Susan Lowe, a Chase vice president. “It definitely is still a buyers' market as average and median prices have continued to fall. But with units sold rising, we believe the market is strengthening.”
In Truckee, meanwhile, 620 single-family houses changed hands last year, a gain of 13% over the 2010. But condo sales dipped 4% to 187. In Reno, single-family sales were up 9% to 3,974 and multifamily sales rose 5% to 804. Similarly, in Sparks, house sales rose 10% to 1,896 and apartment sales jumped 15% to 216.
Perhaps as another sign of a tightening market, Chase has added 65 agents over the last 12 months. The Zephyr Cove-based company has eight offices in the region – plus one in Great Britain – staffed by a compliment of 240 sales people.
