Today is May 1 OR the begining of...GRADING SEASON. That means now you can move earth around the basin and you have til Oct. 15 to get it done.  Have you lined up an excavator? If not you will most likely will be put off into to June or July. In North Lake alone there will be 47 new homes built but anybody putting in a new garage or addition will most likely have to move dirt to do it. And how many excavating contractors are there? I'm not sure, I have a list of about 40 but they include some Truckee contractors too. The issue at stake here is that we have a tight season, not only limited by the TRPA but also by the weather. Getting caught without your roof up by late October may mean shoveling snow if we get an early storm and nobody wants to pay carpenters to shovel! So if you're thin... 05/01/2007

One of the less pleasant things about spring in Tahoe is that when the snow melts all of the trash, brush, pine needles and other debris is now revealed. I doubt there are few people who like yardwork less then me but I know that if you crank it out now you can have more fun this summer. I don't always get it done the way my wife would like but there are some advantages to not procrastinate.First-you can burn brush in Tahoe. You need to get a permit at the fire station but they're good for three years. Then all you have to do is call in to the number provided and they tell you if you can burn on that day or not. "Today is not a burn day."  The burn days however pretty much stop once it gets good and dry in the underbrush and the fire hazard goes up. I'd say about June 1st. The motivatio... 04/26/2007

Drive through Tahoe City at 7Pm any night of the week this month and you may not see a sole on the street. That may be refreshing after a busy winter or the calm before the storm of the summer but its a little frustrating when you see all the great properties out there ripe for some negotiating but no one to take a run at them. Right now, there are about 200 single family homes on the market from $300k to $32m-a wide range of prices and a wide range of choices. Timing is everything, and for sellers that missed the magic window last summer and decided to keep their properties on the market-have now had them sit there for 8 months and have probably gone through several price reductions. So at this point the property is probably priced about where it will sell, is possibly spruced up some ... 04/23/2007

After easter Tahoe gets pretty quiet until mid June or the heat gets too oppressive in the valley. But its a great time to come up here during the lull when the weather is nice and you can ski/bike/golf/waterski all in the same day.  Many resorts offer deals to entice customers off during the shoulder season.Here's some ideas:1. Check out http://www.snowbomb.com for the summer card which is half off until May 1. Good for a free round of golf and other freebies, there's coupons there too, good for all kinds of things.2. Lodging and ticket deals at Squaw: http://www.squawvacations.com/discount-packages.html3. Both Squaw and Alpine are offering Spring passes which pay for themselves in days and are good towards next years pass. www.skialpine.com. www.squaw.com4. watch the free weekly Tahoe... 04/17/2007

 Neil MorseTahoe City, CA Realtorwww.northtahoeproperty.com Today the Sierra Sun (our daily paper), yes we have a daily now, reported the Tahoe City average price to be $1.4 million! Holy smokes, don't let that scare you. The truth in numbers is in the median which I calculated to be more like $775,000. This is looking at single family solds reported from Jan 1. to now. I think that number will come down soon though, as mentioned in the Sierra Sun piece, the low end is moving while the high end is a bit stagnant. Looking at the pending properties-there are 26, the median is $639,000. Thats good news I think, we need prices to come down some to stimulate the buyers. I'm starting to see some good listings out there at the $600k mark.Last night we had a quick snow storm that dropped a coup... 04/12/2007

Construction will start up again around North tahoe starting May 1. Here's some of whats on tap: The lakeside Trail phase IV will be completed by mid-June connecting Commons Beach to the bottom of Grove street. The path runs along the lake and will be paved. In some ways this can be a continuation of the path that runs from 64 acres along the river and over Truckee River dam. Its not continuous though as the Tahoe Marin won its effort to keep the trail from cutting across its property.Heritage Plaza-between Syds Bagelry and Watson Cabin will open June 21st. This is an area to picnic and view the lake right along North Lake Blvd. Those are the two you'll probably notice the most the others are infrastructure related like pump houses and  water lines-speaking of which a water line will be... 04/11/2007

North Tahoe Market Stats as of 4/11/06: Active single Family Homes:  191    Median: $895,000  Ave: $1,957,856Highest price $36,500,000Lowest Price: $299,000 Pending: 27Median of Pending: $629,000  Ave. Sq. ft. price of pending: $540,000solds last 30 days: 11Median Sold $635,000Percent of sold price to asking: 97%Neil MorseTahoe City, CA realtorhttp://www.northtahoeproperty.com   04/11/2007

I have an ongoing series on vacation rental owning in North Tahoe found at my website: www.northtahoeproperty.com. Whats unique about owning in Tahoe is that there are not enough beds to be found in hotels in North Tahoe for all the people that want to come up during the peak times. And with the exception of a few places the hotel scene is kind of lacking....The cardinal rule in real estate: location x3 applies for rentals too. Around Tahoe people want to be close to the lake in summer and close to skiing in winter. Squaw has seen some big development over the years and there are two resorts to stay at there but they are expensive. Alpine still has no accomodations and probably never will. Alpine is a good location for a vacation rental in the summer but its the doldrums in the summer s... 04/10/2007

The Dollar Point area in Tahoe City is one of the most desirable subdivisions to own in all of North Tahoe. They offer a sandy beach, tennis, pier buoy field, pool and grounds for $720 a year. Granted this is used from May to Sept. An HOA meeting is scheduled for 4/17/07 you can log into www.dollarpoint.org if you are a homeowner and find out when and where.   Neil MorseTahoe City, Ca realtorwww.northtahoeproperty.com  04/09/2007

Current Market Stats for the Tahoe City-North Tahoe Area: As of April 4, 2007   ACTIVES:  Single Family:   (from Kings Beach down to Emerald Bay) Active single family listings 176  Median $898k Average $1.857m  Condos:  Active 49 Median: $509k    Average: $784k  Lots: Active: 43  Median: $375  Average: $650 SOLDS: Solds in Tahoe Sierra MLs since Jan.1: 94     North Lake: 35  Median SFD in North Lake: $720K Ave. sq. ft price solds: $543 Sq. ft.  Ave. DOM: 151  Neil MorseTahoe City, CA realtorwww.northtahoeproperty.com  04/09/2007

Neil MorseRealtor-Tahoe City, CA I think once you have a handle on how the Tahoe Season flows you can start to build a booking plan based availability, nightly rates, minimum stays and the like-parameters by which to book your property. First off is what and how many... Occupancy should be based on how many can comfortably sleep in beds and how many will have to share the baths. In the back of your mind is how much wear and tear you want. A typical three bed, two bath in Tahoe can handle 6-7 adults or children mixed. Pushing beyond that I think will just tax your home too much. Also, will you allow pets? Cats no way, never, never. But a dog? You can't overlook the bookings created by being pet friendly. Often that Golden Retriever is just too much a part of the family to put them in a k... 04/09/2007

 Neil Morse realtorColdwell Bankerwww.northtahoeproperty.com  Yeah, I'm a local I'm proud to say and here's a couple of things you may appreciate that I sure do. Maybe not quite secrets but more like insight. First, as of March 25th Alpine Meadows will be selling full season spring passes-good 'til they close. This year it might be an earlier season if we don't get more snow but I bet mother nature isn't finished yet. Whats also good about it is that the $129 is good towards a full pass next year. If we get some snow we could go into May at Alpine........Next are two favorites for food. First, right smack and and in the middle of downtown is Java Stop. Refreshingly, they have $1 12 oz. coffees, sandwhiches, bagels, roll-ups- healthy type stuff, wheatgrass shakes etc. But what I like is ... 04/09/2007

Neil Morse RealtorTahoe City, CAwww.northtahoeproperty.com  Commons Beach is in many ways at the heart of our town here in Tahoe City. I know as soon as the sun has melted off the snow my son is raring to go "lets go to the park."  The Easter egg hunt was another successful event put on by the TCPUD. Look for Concert series this summer on Sundays. Neil Morse RealtorTahoe City, CA   04/08/2007