The Lake Club - Tahoe's Finest Lake Experience

Spring is here and warm temperatures are in the forecast. Daydreams about summer at Lake Tahoe are getting closer to reality. Access to Lake Tahoe is very limited, and the newest lakeside amenity is The Lake Club for The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe. Guests who are staying at the Ritz-Carlton now have another tempting activity to add to their list of mountain adventures while in the Tahoe area.

The Lake Club is located in Tahoe Vista, which is just a short 15-minute drive from Northstar Mountainside where The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe is located. There are shuttles that can take guests to lake venue, or guests can drive themselves. Once guests arrive, they will be greeted with a contemporary and stylish place to enjoy Tahoe’s legendary clear waters. Design influences are incorporated from local and world renowned artists and designers, meant to complement the natural beauty of the lake as seen from floor to ceiling windows throughout the Club.

Multiple indoor dining and gathering spaces invite guests to enjoy fine food, conversation and cocktails. The upper floor of the Club is a indoor/outdoor dining terrace with fire place and sweeping views of the lake.  

The pier and surrounding buoys are available for guests to use with their own boats or rentals (boats, waverunners, yachts) can be arranged. Other water activities such as paddle boarding, canoeing and kayaking can be launched from the beach and lawn area directly on the lake. For those enjoying lake activities, there is an outdoor whirlpool and shower/changing rooms to rinse off at the end of the day.

With the addition of The Lake Club, The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe has truly elevated the guest experience beyond all expectations. Come and enjoy all that the Tahoe area has to offer this summer in true five-star style.  

Photos courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe by Don Riddle

Information included from Tahoe Quarterly and The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012 

Drink Tahoe Tap Water

Tahoe tap water is some of the cleanest in the world and has won awards for its purity. Yes, just the water that comes out of the sink or water fountain. In fact, many Tahoe area communities get water straight from Lake Tahoe, which is renowned for its clarity. The damage caused to the environment from plastic bottles is significant, and locally it is important to raise awareness that there is no need to buy bottled water when tap water is far superior in this area. Interestingly, the health standards that the Environmental Protection Agency applies to tap water with regards to contaminants are more rigorous than what the FDA requires of bottled water manufacturers.

Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows have stopped selling bottled water in hopes that guests will consider buying re-usable pouches and keep refilling them. This initiative by Squaw/Alpine is estimated to save 28,000 bottles per year from ending up in a landfill. In addition, many public businesses, parks, and community areas have easy fill tap water machines to refill reusable containers.

Plastic bottles are a serious problem for the environment. According to a recent article in Forbes, globally humans buy 1 million plastic bottles a minute. And 91% of all plastic bottles are not recycled. Most plastic bottles end up in the ocean or in a landfill, and take over 400 years per bottle to naturally decompose.

It is easy in Tahoe to enjoy refreshing water from the tap. There is nothing like fresh, clean mountain water and it is free for all. Just turn on the faucet and enjoy.

Photo courtesy of IVGID
Information used from the following:

Lake Tahoe News

Tahoe.com

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012 

Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows "Going Green" In 2019

Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows are committed to “going green” and running resort operations on 100% renewable energy by the end of 2018. The green initiative will not be limited to just the resort, but the entire Olympic Valley region. Energy sources will include solar, wind, hydropower, and other sources of renewable energy. Through their collaboration with Liberty Utilities, the green switch will almost cut the resorts’ carbon footprint in half. Nearby homeowners and businesses will also benefit by having more renewable energy options available.

Tesla Inc. batteries will help Squaw/Alpine as a backup source of clean and renewable power when storms and fallen trees cause power outages to keep the lifts running and provide power to the area. The batteries will be made in Tesla’s factory in Nevada.

Squaw has been focused on green initiatives for some time. The resort is bottle-free and provides incentives for carpooling and ride sharing.

Other resorts like Vail and Heavenly hope to follow suit to run off of renewable energy in the next 10 years. If all goes as planned, Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows will be the countries’ first resorts to operate entirely off of renewable energy.

Information used from the following:

GreenMatters

Bloomberg

Photos courtesy of Squaw Valley

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012 

March, 2018 Tahoe-Truckee Market Update

A short month, during which a week is allocated to ski-related travel, often turns February into a hectic period for real estate sales. While the total volume of sales often drops, the premium segment of the Tahoe-Truckee market continues to thrive. This year the top end transactions in Northstar, Martis Camp, Old Greenwood and waterfront property on Lake Tahoe all transacted at extremely healthy numbers.

The winners of the season are, without question, savvy sellers taking advantage of laughably low inventory by coming to market now with extremely limited competition. Current sellers face less than 3 months’ supply across all market sectors; and just 3 weeks’ supply in prices below $1,000,000. 

Even premium price points, those above $1 million, are feeling the effects of limited inventory. Where balance typically exists at 1 year’s supply, current inventory offers just under 7 months.

A few specifics:

Gray’s Crossing   10 active listings           26 sales (past 12 months)  4.6 months’ supply

Old Greenwood      5 active listings          15 sales                              3.9 months’ supply

Lahontan               10 active listings          20 sales                              6 months’ supply

Martis Camp         20 active listings          44 sales                              5.5 months’ supply

Northstar               52 active listings          110 sales                             5.6 months’ supply

Two communities offer interesting case studies on the current phenomenon.

Lahontan, the trailblazing resort community, transacted a single home in the first half of 2017. At the time, Lahontan was shaking out a value differentiation for older properties versus updated homes. Year to date 2018, every home listed below $2,000,000 has been absorbed subsequently pushing momentum into higher price points that now show homes pending sale at $2,495,000 and $3,150,000. The 10 remaining homes range in price from $2,490,000 to $4,889,000.

In Tahoe Donner, the bell weather community for the Tahoe-Truckee region, more homes are currently pending than available listings; a previously unseen phenomenon that rewards those willing to shortcut the typical spring listing period. In fact, with conditions so heavily weighted against buyers, a seller wishing to leaseback or seek some other concession to extend time in their mountain home may be accommodated.

With new snow on the ground and market momentum building, the balance of ski season promises to be a busy period for real estate activity.

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012 

SnowFest! 2018

March 1st – March 11th, 2018

SnowFest is a North Lake Tahoe tradition that originated in 1982.  It is an annual 10-day event that takes place all over North Lake Tahoe with over 100 activities for the whole family and even the family dog. With all the new snow falling this week/weekend, there is much to celebrate in and around Tahoe.  

The festival starts off with a bang with fireworks at Commons Beach in Tahoe City on Friday, March 2 at 7:30pm.

On Saturday March 3, the Tahoe City fire station will be hosting a pancake breakfast from 7-11 am before the Tahoe City SnowFest parade which starts at Safeway in Tahoe City and runs through town ending at Save Mart. The notorious Gar Woods 30^th Annual Polar Bear Swim will take place at 2:30pm with tons of crazy people braving 39 degree water and snow. Participants swim to the end of the Gar Woods pier and back to shore to try and win a cash prize, but most people just do it for fun. Enjoy the action with a famous Wet Woody or a hot cocoa to keep warm.

Throughout the week the fun doesn’t stop with events like: Pete ‘N Peters Bar Game Olympics, the Eagle Wings Dance Pageant where traditional Native American dances will be re-created and performed, Za’s annual Clam Bake, Bridgetender’s Ribfest and the Wine n’ Ice carving competition just to name a few.

The kids will enjoy meeting the rescue dogs of Squaw Valley, S’more Saturday in Kings Beach, the Snow Sculpture contest at the River Ranch, and the I-Did-A-Run race. Hosted at Tahoe Donner Downhill ski resort, the I-Did-A-Race is for dogs of all shapes and sizes. Dogs pull a covered wagon across a snowy track to raise money for the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe.

SnowFest is a perfect way to celebrate all the new snow we have received and to enjoy fun events all around the Tahoe region.

Click here to see full schedule of events. 

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012