Should I stay or should I go?

Many residents in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee area have experienced quite the ride in the past two years in the home front ups and downs of this crazy market that was inflated by the massive surge of people wanting to move to what we call paradise.  Don't get me wrong, who wouldn't want to live in Paradise?  I do.  But yet the question remains, can we afford it now?  Is the market softening? Will it soften enough to free up enough to allow the first time buyer to jump back into the water (not just the lake - excuse my weird sense of humor).  I believe so.  With the curtailing of the STR permits, the local governing bodies heard the cry of the people and it seems to be helping slightly.  Not to mention the threat of inflation, the fact that people purchased over a time of great panic due to our inventory moving hotter than pancakes, the lack of old man winter showing his true face, articles stating to stay away from Tahoe - Condé Nast Traveler; you get my drift? Yes, it is correcting and it will soften but for how long?  My theory and the theory of many of my fellow colleagues that have been at this for a few decades (not to date myself) is that we will return to pricing that was just prior to 2018.  Yet with the recent shift of prices falling (5% in the last 6 months give or take) rates are still climbing, so then the question remains if the market will push through the challenges and my answer is yes, but you need to strap on for the ride and hold loosely but don't let go.  In the end it's about need and provision and hopefully in the long run when you are ready to retire out of the snow country, you'll have a good amount of equity in your pocket and the lifestyle memories of living at the Lake.  In the words of my beloved Father, there is only one Tahoe.

Happy New Year!  Here's to 2023 with a positive outlook of what's to come!

Stefanie Scapini