Truckee-Donner Land Trust - 2018 Summer Hiking Series

The Truckee-Donner Land Trust has been protecting and preserving scenic and historic land in the greater Truckee area for more than 25 years. Past and current projects are targeted based on their high natural resource value with the goal of encouraging sustainable public use on these properties. Their success stories are too many to name, but anyone who recreates in the Truckee/Donner area on trails is likely enjoying the great outdoors on a parcel of land that the Land Trust helped to protect or bring into public use.

The Land Trust is very proactive in encouraging community involvement whether it be through donations, trail work or other outdoor events. Recently the 2018 Summer Hiking Series was announced which will include over 40 hikes at 11 different properties this summer. Some highlights include The Royal Gorge Rim Trail, Perazzo Meadows, Mt. Lola and Castle Valley just to name a few. There are hikes suitable for people of all ages and a variety of options for different distances and difficulty. Hikes are guided by a docent and there are detailed descriptions on the TDLT website for all of the hiking options.

Registration is open now for the upcoming summer season. This is an amazing opportunity to see some of the most beautiful and unspoiled land in the region. Get out there and enjoy.

Learn more about the Truckee-Donner Land Trust.

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012 

Earth Day – Green Initiatives in Tahoe

Living in and visiting a beautiful area like Lake Tahoe magnifies the importance of environmental awareness and proactive measures to keep this place we love healthy and sustainable. Many local businesses and organizations are very active in working towards keeping the Tahoe area clean, beautiful and environmentally responsible, and have been for years.  Tahoe is an area where the population can swell to 5 times its usual size on busy summer and winter periods, so every little local initiative stands to have a big impact regionally.

In 2014, Truckee banned the use of plastic bags at retail shops and grocery stores with the aim to eliminate plastic bag pollution in the area. Three and a half years later, this is just the norm in the area and people are used to bringing reusable bags around with them. The Town of Truckee is currently implementing a program that provides residents with recycling and yard waste carts instead of plastic bags which will prevent an estimated 3 million bags from going to landfills in the next 10 years.  

The next hot topic is single use plastics and polystyrene. South Lake Tahoe has recently banned the use of polystyrene which  is the most frequently found trash found along Tahoe’s shoreline. Polystyrene is not biodegradable is used in items like foam coolers, plates, clamshell containers, and plastic silverware. The ordinance will take effect in October, and local food providers and business need to stop distribution and sale of these items. There is the hope that the rest of the towns in the Tahoe region will follow suit shortly.

Drink Tahoe Tap has been active in promoting the use of reusable drinking containers and raising awareness around the quality of the local water in an effort to stop the wasteful use and disposal of plastic water bottles. Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows have banned plastic water bottles at their resorts through their Drink Mountain Tap campaign which will keep 28,000 plastic bottles out of landfills annually. Squaw/Alpine have a much bigger vision moving forward with their goal to run solely on renewable energy by the end of 2018.

The Tahoe Fund was formed specifically to preserve the beauty in the Tahoe region and encourage responsible use of natural resources in addition to improving and funding outdoor recreations areas and programs. Ongoing programs such as the Take Care Campaign informs visitors of issues related to the area and reminds them to be responsible stewards while they are here. Bear awareness, appropriate litter disposal and fire prevention are just a few recurring themes. The Take Care Campaign also offers ways for people to get involved  in various projects while they are here such as Earth Day events and community cleanup days.

There is a lot going on in Tahoe to keep this place amazing, and this is just scratching the surface. As a simple start, if every resident and visitor would simply use reusable drinking containers and dispose of trash properly the positive impacts to the area would be monumental.

Come by the Tahoe Truckee Earth Day 2018 event at Squaw Valley this weekend to learn more about how to preserve and protect our local resources. 

Photos courtesy of Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, The Tahoe Fund and the Town of Truckee. 

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012 

Q1 2018 Tahoe-Truckee Market Update

The convergence of several different narratives meld together to explain the performance of real estate in the Tahoe-Truckee region during the first quarter of 2018.

Economic:  A surging Northern California economy continues to deliver robust demand for second homes.

Supply:  Historically low supply has shifted negotiating power into the seller’s favor creating upward pressure on prices.

Environmental:  A peculiar winter delivered low snow in the early season; a scenario that actually facilitated greater real estate activity than during the previous winter when abundant snowfall hampered access.  Tremendous late-season snow inspired visitation from would-be consumers under optimal conditions.

The convergence of these factors resulted in the strongest ever first quarter for Tahoe-Truckee real estate based upon a number of different metrics. Total residential sales grew 6% over the same period a year prior while total dollar volume leapt by 19%; indicative of a greater number of premium homes selling. In fact, 83 homes traded at prices greater than $1 million, 53% more than during the same period in 2017 driving average price up 12% to $971,767.

The luxury segment is driving both volume and price as premium, modern homes provide an opportunity for instant gratification to wealthy consumers. Martis Camp and Lahontan are two communities that embody this trend in particular. Martis Camp has been setting new benchmarks for an extended period of time. In Q1, 2018 that community saw 11 homes close escrow up from an already robust 7 in the first quarter of the prior year.  Lahontan, a community in which the dichotomy between old and new product is most evident, has absorbed 7 already in 2018 versus just 1 over the same period a year ago.

Interestingly, vacant land experienced an unseasonable surge in activity during the first quarter. Winter’s deferred start allowed atypical access to property during this period leading to 66 closed transactions. Average price increased a modest 5% over this period driven by 3 premium Martis Camp sales topping $2 million. Figures adjusted to exclude that market outlying community show a 7% decrease in median price reflective of soaring construction costs diminishing that residual value of the land.

An imbalanced supply of available homes will create an interesting market dynamic into the second quarter; a period when a majority of the year’s inventory is brought to market.  With consumers perched awaiting an option to inspire a purchase, well priced sellers will be rewarded.

Katie Tyler

Realtor®

BRE 01442453

c 530 277 1012