“I can see clearly now, the rain-snow-atmospheric-river-bomb-cyclone is gone…”
At long last…”it’s gonna be a bright, bright, bright sunshiny day!” The blue skies come as a welcome relief to even the most die-hard powder hounds, and clarity in the real estate market arrives like a breath of fresh air after almost three years of nail-biting uncertainty.
We can see clearly now: first quarter 2022 was the price pinnacle. As in all real estate booms, some will win, some may take a loss, but at least now we know where we stand. As Johnny Nash sang in his 1972 chart-topping single, “I can see all obstacles in my way.” It’s the not-knowing that’s hard.
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The Tahoe-Truckee market is still feeling the squeeze of low inventory and high prices, leading to lower overall unit sales and notably reduced total volume from last year. However, now that the inevitable and necessary price correction is underway, we hope to see some blue sky peeking through the clouds in the form of increasing market activity.
Sellers who set their sights on home valuations from the end of 2021 and early 2022 may feel disappointed, and it’s true that the price drop over the course of 2022 was the largest Q1>Q4 fall since 2009, but don’t despair! Median prices are still orders of magnitude higher than pre-pandemic levels, so most homeowners can still come out ahead. Following are the numbers for both single family homes and condos combined.
Clearing skies also mean that we’re back to a more familiar standard of negotiating. Everyone can relax a bit now, as homes close below asking price, unlike the sky’s-the-limit bidding wars of 2020-2021.
For a second year in a row, buildable lots begs for a mention. Kudos to those who held out over the years, even decades, when lots in this area seemed like a hit-or-miss investment. This is the one sector where the prices might not correct, since the remaining sellable inventory is a finite resource.
This early 70’s music video for the original version of “I Can See Clearly Now” is warm, fuzzy Gen X comfort food–bet you’ve never seen it!
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