Incline Village and Crystal Bay real estate sales have been moving along at a solid pace this year. Sales of single family homes in particular have been unusually strong.

During the first 5 months of 2016, sales of houses in units are up nearly 30%. Sales of condos and freestanding condos are about even with the pace of 2015, and that was an exceptionally big year for those 2 categories.

As of this writing, a total of 63 houses have closed escrow as compared to 52 in 2015. The median price of houses that have sold this year is $980,000.

The sweet spot in 2016 is for houses priced between $750,000 and $1.7 million. The inventory for lower-priced single-family homes is rapidly disappearing.

We have seen 20 sales of houses priced under $800,000, and there are only 16 homes in that price range currently listed for sale on the MLS.

In 2015, there were 54 sales of houses under $800,000. With demand remaining strong and lower-priced homes getting snapped up, it is becoming increasingly difficult for bargain-hunting buyers to find anything that meets their criteria.

Long-time owners of houses less than 2,000 sq. ft. may wish to consider putting their properties on the market while demand is high and the supply is low.

The condo market is also suffering from a relative shortage of inventory. There have already been 72 sales of condos in 2016 and there are just 78 condos for sale at the present time.

Prices continue to march slowly but steadily upward for this segment of our market. Half of the condos that have sold this year had final sale prices between $280,000 and $485,000. We anticipate seeing more activity for condos in the $500,000 to $800,000 price range as we get further into summertime.

There is still a shortage of 3 bedroom condos with a garage at low elevation. While we have seen a couple of properties come on the market in Skylake and Third Creek, a few of these sellers have been testing the waters at prices that are above where we thought we might see sales at this point in time.

However, a beautifully remodeled condo in Third Creek came on the market at 789K and got an accepted offer fairly quickly. Whether more units in the complex will follow suit is yet to be determined.

With over 60 properties currently in escrow and sales activity continuing at a solid pace, we feel the market will continue to show strength during the busy summer season.

Lake Tahoe is finally above the natural rim, which means the boat ramps that were closed last summer will be in full swing this year. Vacation rental bookings are excellent and we expect to see a larger numbers of visitors this year than at any time since 2012.

If you are considering purchasing a property in Incline Village or Crystal Bay, it’s to your advantage to write an offer during the month of June rather than waiting until the crowds arrive in July and August.

As a buyer, you will have less competition during the next couple of weeks. We are seeing more multiple offer situations in 2016 than at any time since we came out of the recession. This trend is likely to accelerate as we move into the peak season for real estate sales this summer.