Snow was great at Kirkwood yesterday. Excellent coverage for this early in the season. Some crowds, not horrible…chatted with a few people that had historically gone to Sierra at Tahoe but moved to Kirkwood since it is shut down after the fire.
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Tahoe RE is selling quickly. Even during the fire evacuation and these current blizzards. Crazy times.
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If the prices in Tahoe area have risen between 20-30% over the past year, they are just following the national trend. So, if 800K home is selling for approx 1,1000,000, we should just say thanks to FED for creating a feel good factor.
My Tahoe properties have doubled in value in the last three years. In spite of the headwinds of vacation rental bans. The price appreciation has no end in sight. Can’t build more than 20 houses a year in SLT due to TRPA restrictions. Jackpot for current owners. Newbyies are SOL in SLT.
Currently roads are closed. Record snowfall and the tourists keep coming. Many spent all of Christmas Day stranded on 50 and 80. Nothing can keep the tourists away. I haven’t left my house in days. Just shoveling.
Good news is storm will be ending today. Starting tomorrow, thousands of skiers will be coming. I am headed the other way to my farm.
Price doubling in three years is really a great event for real estate.
I can say the prices in SLT area are growing much faster than REAL BA.
For bench-marking purpose keep in mind that SP500 Index has appreciated 30% in last one year. And more than doubled since the bottom of March 2020.
I own stocks. I build rehab and manage RE. RE is bread and butter investing. It is my business. Stocks are in a casino controlled in NYC by the thieves, touts and liars. I refuse to put much of my assets in stocks.
The same (casino analogy) can be said about Real Estate too. The prices of real estate are not rising because they have become more valuable all of the sudden than they were just a few years ago. The same player who is manipulating the price of stock is also manipulating price of real estate.
RE is local. Stocks are international. Different animals
But most of the price rise is due to reasons that are not local. Excessive money supply is a macro phenomenon.
Macro is only one issue. Like I said, the TRPA restrictions on building is a local issue that has been benefiting existing owners.
What is TRPA? But, good zoning rules are required to keep these property valuable. Else it is what economists call “Tragedy of Commons”. Google meaning of the word Tragedy of Commons"
Tahoe Region Planning Authority. A terrorist organization with no government oversight. That controls all activities and development in the Tahoe basin. Allows only 80 homes to built per year in the 600 square miles it controls. Meanwhile many more than that become abandoned or derelict per year. Let alone the fact that 50% of homes in Tahoe are empty 80% of the time… second homes… means an extreme housing shortage. Jackpot for landlords like me.
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what happens to the abandoned or derelict homes?
It is really difficult to rebuild thanks TRPA. There is one next to my apartment building. At first TRPA only allowed 300sf where a derelict 200 sf cabin stood. Now after 5 years it’s been approved for 1600sf. Basically derelict for five years. Now an empty lot with a chain link fence. Thank you TRPA and the building department. We have these all over town. Often bought over 50 years ago as a summer cabin. My generation and their Kids don’t want them . Rarely more than 500sf. Smelly dark fishing summer only shacks that appealed to my grand fathers generation. Like Emerald Hills 40 years ago. They all need to be torn down and rebuilt to 1500sf min. TRPA won’t let it happen. If my neighbor could build 2400 4/3 the house would be worth $1.2m. I have 5,000 sf on my lot next door built in 1953. TRPA is insane and has hurt the economy and citizens immeasurably for no good scientific reasons. Pure anti growth politics. I have 2 across the street… abandoned all except 3weeks a year
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Classic Tahoe story. Two girls fashionably dressed Jeans and high heels . Get their Tesla stuck on Cold Creek. A steep street. Try to put on chains. Abandon their vehicle in the middle of the road and call Uber. Tesla sucks. The truck driver in Colorado got life in prison for being a lousy driver.
What should these girls get?
Me.
Is it the Tesla’s fault Or people are just unfamiliar with driving in snow? I see sedans in snow country.
I had a little Mazda 3 in NY state. First winter was scary. I didn’t know how to drive in snow and had summer tires. I spun out, I got stuck, and it was all bad. By 2nd winter, I was ready. I learned how to drive in the snow/ice, got the right tires, and it made a world of difference.
I have had several events at Highway speed in Iowa Interstate in month of Jan/Feb. Spun out at 55 mph but luckily landed upright in the median. It was full of snow. So felt like a soft landing. Car was derivable. My friend took the driving, and 10 miles later, we again skid out of freeway into median. Two skidding at highway speed in 55 miles. Car was rear wheel driven. Front wheel driven cars are less prone to skidding on hard acceleration.
Big problem with Teslas is ground clearance. Designed for low wind resistance not for driving on snow. Teslas and Prius should be banned in high snow areas. They high center. Then even chains are useless. Lots of abandoned cars everywhere. Plenty of bad drivers even with 4x4s. 50 is finally reopened. 80 might take a couple of more days
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