From the Field

Journal

Real numbers from our 22,920-property database. No fluff — just what the data says about buying, selling, and owning in North Tahoe.

March 2026

The Remodel Premium: What Upgraded Homes Are Actually Worth in North Tahoe

Every homeowner considering a remodel in North Tahoe asks the same question: will I get my money back? It’s a fair question — and one that most agents answer with anecdotes rather than data. We decided to answer it with numbers. Using our 22,920-property North Tahoe database, we identified 3,620 properties flagged as remodeled and…

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March 2026

1,840 Properties and the Pier Premium: What Lakefront Actually Costs in North Tahoe

Lakefront property in North Tahoe is the market’s top tier — everyone knows that. But within that category, there’s a distinction that separates the merely expensive from the truly premium: the pier. We analyzed all 1,840 waterfront-flagged properties in our 22,920-property North Tahoe database to answer a question buyers and sellers ask constantly: what’s a…

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March 2026

Who Actually Owns North Tahoe? What 22,920 Property Records Reveal

Every real estate conversation in North Tahoe eventually circles back to the same question: who actually owns all these homes? Drive through Carnelian Bay on a Tuesday in October and half the driveways are empty. Walk the streets of Tahoma in November and you’d think the town was abandoned. But the properties aren’t abandoned —…

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March 2026

The West Shore: Why Tahoma and Homewood Are Lake Tahoe’s Best-Kept Secret

By Tristan Roberts · March 2026 · West Shore Guide The west shore of Lake Tahoe — Tahoma, Homewood, Meeks Bay — gets a fraction of the search volume of the North Shore. That’s exactly why it’s worth paying attention to right now. What the West Shore Actually Is Highway 89 running south from Tahoe…

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March 2026

When Is the Right Time to Buy in Truckee? What 20 Years of Sales Data Says

By Tristan Roberts · March 2026 · Market Analysis The question I get asked most consistently is some version of: “Should I wait?” My answer is almost always the same. Here’s why — backed by 20 years of actual sales data from the Truckee and North Tahoe market. What the Data Actually Shows 2019: 809…

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March 2026

North Tahoe STR Market: What the Numbers Say About Rental Income in 2026

By Tristan Roberts · March 2026 · North Lake Tahoe Market Intelligence North Lake Tahoe has more permitted short-term rentals than most people realize — and the data tells a specific story about where rental income is strongest and where the regulatory environment is tightening. 2,443 Active TOT permits $1,300 Avg nightly rate peak season…

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March 2026

What Bay Area Buyers Get Wrong About Purchasing a Tahoe Vacation Home

By Tristan Roberts · March 2026 · Buyer’s Guide I’ve been helping Bay Area buyers find homes in North Lake Tahoe for 27 years. The same five mistakes show up over and over. Here they are, plainly. Mistake 1 Trusting Zillow estimates. Zillow’s algorithm is built on Bay Area data density — hundreds of comparable…

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March 2026

Dollar Point: North Tahoe’s Most Consistent Luxury Market — What the Data Shows

By Tristan Roberts · March 2026 · Neighborhood Deep Dive Dollar Point is a small peninsula on the north side of Lake Tahoe, just east of Tahoe City. It has roughly 20 recorded sales in the last two years and an average sale price of $4.06 million. Here’s what that number actually means — and…

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March 2026

Spring Property Maintenance Checklist for Tahoe Homeowners

Spring in Tahoe means one thing for property owners: your house just survived another winter. Time to assess the damage and get ahead of summer. After 27 years maintaining properties across North Lake Tahoe and Truckee, here is the checklist I run through every spring. Exterior: Start Here Pine needle removal. Every property in the…

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March 2026

Truckee Real Estate: How a Mountain Town More Than Doubled in 20 Years

Truckee median home price in 2005: $620,000. In 2025: $1,355,000. That is a 118.5% increase. More than doubled. I tracked 4,958 Truckee sales across two decades. Here is why Truckee outperformed most of the Tahoe basin. Why Truckee Won Year-round community. Not just a vacation town. People live here full-time. Schools, a walkable downtown, local…

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March 2026

20 Years of Tahoe Real Estate: 24,767 Sales Analyzed

I pulled every sale from 2005 to 2025 across North Lake Tahoe and Truckee. 24,767 transactions. $25 billion in total volume. Here is what the data actually shows. The Big Picture 24,767 sales tracked. $25 billion in total transaction volume. The 20-year median price across the region sits at $660,000, and 2,856 of those sales…

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