Recently foreclosed properties have come on the market and the inquiries are high for one property in particular listed for $355,000 , built in 2006- 2566 sq ft. sounds to good to be true??? The house is a log cabin built by a contractor who did not understand how important it is to allow wood to acclimate before assembling the house or it will and it did shrink. The outside looks good but the inside tells a very different story.

Every wall has settling cracks, the floor is slanted and the staircase is dangerous. There are braces on every major beam. It is a real tragedy to see and difficult to explain to a buyer. The house basically has to be torn apart, all sheet rock removed to get access to the beams to determine what has to be done structurally to stabilize the structure.

Building in the Tahoe Basin is not for the faint of heart and to rebuild can be even more expensive. The ideal buyer for this property is a contractor or someone who understands the expenses involved and time it will take. The house is not in livable condition right now.

We reached the end of the first quarter and a quick overview indicates our market is picking up.

It is very interesting to note the number of high end properties which sold this year.

Residential Sales captured the first quarter with 15 closed sales. Residential Under Contract, 4 properties are under contract  we’ll have a ways to go to catch up with last years second quarter sales at 33, but anything is possible.

The latest a lakefront property closed this week , located at 865 Lakeshore Blvd, a .74 acre parcel with List price $8,695,000 sold price $7,350,000  Days on the Market 772  Price per square footage = $942.67

Information on sales and buyers for 1st quarter residential sales:

8 = Loans, 1 = 1031 exchange, 6= Cash

Out of the 15 sales 9 were over 4000 sq ft.

First quarter sales  2009 = 15  (median=$1,900,000)

2008 = 12  (median=$1,115,360)

2007 = 32 (median=$1,187,500)

Highest price=$7,350,000- Median=1,900,000 Average= $2,126,196  Low=$470,000

Planned unit developments have taken a back seat to home sales. With only two sales and two under contract.

Condominiums- trailing home sales with 6 sales and 3 under contract.