High End Real Estate And The Buyers Who Love It!

While vacationing at Lake Tahoe, I had an interesting discussion with a veteran real estate appraiser about the state of the high end real estate market in Lake Tahoe.  We’re talking multi-million dollar properties. 

It appears that the listing inventory of lake front properties is near/at an all time high.  Buyers of these high end homes are waiting for just the right property.  Can you say “a steal?”

A recent case in point was a lake front property that had been on the market for quite some time without selling.  The owner eventually lost it to the bank who put it back on the market at a significantly lower list price.

Buyers came out in droves and after double digit offers (slightly over 20 offers), the home sold slightly above 3 million.  The sales price was approximately 53% of it’s prior list price and approximately 60% of it’s original purchase price (I believe it was purchased in 2005, but not quite sure).  Can you say “a steal?”

This happened in Lake Tahoe, but it could easily have happened in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Saratoga or Los Gatos.  The high end in any of our local real estate markets is still quite difficult for sellers and should continue to be that way at least through 2010. 

Food for thought:  If you are thinking of selling your high end property in our local market, there are plenty of qualified buyers.  However, they want a “steal” and are prepared to wait until they perceive they have found one.   Prepare yourself for this reality and you’ll have a better experience.