South Tahoe Real Estate Inventory Continues to Decline

Theresa Souers, 2012 Public Relations Chair
September 22, 2012

South Lake Tahoe’s real estate inventory is declining following statewide trends posted by the California Association of REALTORS®.  Per the report CAR released on September 17, 2012, the statewide inventory of unsold homes index for existing, single-family detached homes fell to 3.2 months in August from 3.5 months in July and 5.2 months in August 2011.  The Tahoe area has historically followed the Bay Area trends by about six months to a year and up to this point, a similar pattern is holding true.

Based on statistics derived from the South Lake Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service, when looking at homes sold within the 96150 zip code (the area specific for the city and county areas of South Lake Tahoe) the inventory of unsold inventory fell to 6.6 months at the end of August as compared to 9.4 and 11.2 respectively reported for the same time periods in 2011 and 2010. This is a decrease of nearly 31% over the past year.

The index reflects the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.  A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal.  When the number goes higher, inventory is plentiful and it’s considered a buyer’s market. When the number goes lower, the advantage goes to the seller.

CAR continued to report that “Nationwide, the inventory of homes for sale also has declined.  In July, there was a 6.4-month supply of homes compared with 9.3 months in July 2011.  The current number is in line with the long-term average, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.”  However, NAR also acknowledges there are “acute shortages” in places such as California, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of Florida

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