As we close out 2021, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the last year. At Serene Lakes, we are eternally grateful to all of the clients, contractors, and vendors who fill our days and make it all happen. In our 51st year in business, we feel very fortunate to have been able to grow our team and expand both East and West of the slope in the last year. While we are still your Summit experts, we have enjoyed getting to work with clients from Grass Valley to Glenshire, and everywhere in between.
Despite lower than normal inventory, we managed around two dozen listings this year, preparing comparable listing reports to decide on competitive pricing, transforming properties with staging, creating digital and print marketing campaigns, and ultimately managing smooth transactions. Our total transaction volume was about $31,000,000, making Serene Lakes Realty #12 of 510 active agents in the Tahoe region for number of transactions, #37 for sales volume, and #1 in Serene Lakes for sales, a record that to our knowledge has not been broken. For comparison, our ranking MLS wide in 2020 was #6 for units sold and #28 at about $37,000,000 when we had more inventory on the summit. Whether helping a family sell the cabin they have cherished for years or welcoming newcomers to the community, it is a pleasure and an honor to get to be part of these milestones.
The start of the year continued many of the same challenges we faced in 2020. Low inventory and growing demand led to increases in home prices that were sustained throughout 2021. In response to housing shortages, both Placer County and the Truckee Town Council approved a 45-day moratorium on new short term rental permits, both were later extended into 2022. After hitting a somber one year anniversary of the COVID-19 in March of 2021, California officially “reopened” the economy on June 15 and in August we welcomed the roll out of vaccines as they became widely available. That optimism was measured by the Caldor and Dixie fires that devastated the area throughout the summer. Despite the smoke, the market stayed strong. Per the California Association of Realtors® , a combination of low interest rates and remote work led to an increase in second-home sales, up 6.6% in 2021. Nevada and Placer County both saw increases in median home price. Looking at November of 2021, the median single-family home in Placer County went for $650,000 (up 7.0% from November of 2019) and $561,250 in Nevada County (up 48.4% from November of 2019).
And to perfectly round out an exciting year, we have “Deep-cember”. The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (CSSL) reported 193.7 inches (over 16 feet) of snow in December. This breaks the 1970 snowfall record for December of 179 inches (just under 15 feet). I-80 closures kept many visitors away, resorts operated at limited capacity, and the gas stations ran dry as we shoveled ourselves out. We hope you are staying safe and warm on the slopes as you ring in the New Year! We cannot thank you all enough for the continued support and for being part of our lives. As always, we wish you health and all the happiness in the world for 2022.
Cheers!
Krista & Flannery
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