Archive for the ‘Donner Lake’ Tag
Sunny skies on Sunday at Tahoe
Yes, it’s that time of year again. When crisp mornings are followed by warm afternoons, and the bright yellow leaves of the aspens and cottonwoods shine brightly against the deep blue skies. But then, just when you are nicely lulled into complacency with the beauty of autumn, the snows of winters arrive, usually with a vengeance with just a day or two of warning. Will you be ready?
-Are the hoses disconnected and stowed away? Has the sprinkler system been turned off and drained?
-Is everything out of the yard that you don’t want covered in snow for the next six months? Kayaks? Lawn chairs? Planters? Bike racks?
-Do you have all your firewood stacked and ready to be easily accessed so you can stoke the flames of winter?
-Has your heater been serviced?
-Have you installed a stop and drain valve to easily shut off the water in your house when you leave for an extended period?
-Have you reorganized your garage so that you can actually get a car in there? And does that car have its winter tires on? Do you need new windshield wipers?
-Is the snow blower ready to go, or the snow poles installed along the driveway so the snow plow company won’t dig up your landscaping?
-And where is that @#*& snow shovel and snow and ice scraper?
View from my office this morning!
Phew, you’ve finished those pesky chores. Now you just have one more fun step before winter. Go shopping. Can’t find your warm gloves and need to get another pair? What about that jacket that died in April? Now’s the time, and the local businesses would love to see you come walking in the door. Or better yet look up the local ski swaps. I’ll have information on ski swaps later in the week so check back in a few days.
Finally, satisfied that you are ready, it’s time to sit back, relax and dream of what that fresh dumping of new snow will bring you: Is it a smooth glide across Euer Valley, or would you prefer to catch a view of Tahoe as you make your turns from the top of the Sherwood Chair? Or perhaps your dream is simply sipping on a hot toddy, sitting close to the crackling fire, and watching the big flakes float to the ground.
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Posted in the last blog was a summary of North Tahoe/Truckee real estate sales activity for the first half of 2013 in comparison with the first half of 2012. What do those numbers mean if you are contemplating buying or selling.
A few key points:
The average and median prices were up 16% in the first half of 2013, while total sales were up only 5.7%.
The median days on the market was only 37 days in 2013…a drop of 44% from the number of days it took to sell a home in 2012. The average days on the market in 2013, however, was significantly higher, 92 days, just 19% faster then 2012.
Remember, median is the 50th percentile. To compute the average, you take all the sales, add up the total price or days on the market and then divide it in half. The average may be higher than the median when several very high numbers are reflected in the average.
What accounts for the significant differences between median and average when it comes to the days on the market, and number of sales?
Perhaps it is a sign of two markets:
The first market is one of well maintained homes that are priced competitively. Buyers are ready, willing and able to jump on these puppies as soon as they hit the market. These buyers are driving up the average and median prices, and driving down the median days on the market. The lack of homes that fit this description is why even though the buyers are there, the homes that meet their needs are not.
The second market is composed of a large supply of homes that need work and are priced too high. Some of these homes were purchased at the height of the market, and the sellers are not able to sell the properties at a lower price. And some are listed for sale by those who are only motivated to sell if they can get “the right price.” This market is reflected in the high average days on the market. What accounts for a median days on the market of 37, with an average of 92? A lot of homes that sit on the market for six months or a year or more before they finally sell…usually after several price reductions.
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Castle Peak at Donner Summit
The history of Donner Summit is about much more than the horrible struggle of one party of California bound travelers that gave the area it’s name. Donner Summit is a center of California history because unbelievably it was one of the easiest ways to get over the Sierra, but as we all know, it can be an incredibly challenging passage, especially if you try to do it in a snowstorm.
The first wagon train to reach California was the Stephens Murphy Townshend Party in 1844, which traveled over Donner Pass two years before the ill-fated Donner Party. They stopped on their journey at Big Bend long enough for the first European baby to be born in California, Elizabeth Yuba Murphy. One member of the party was Moses Schallenberger who spent the winter at Donner Lake, and later had the ridge above the lake named after him. Other party members went on to start the cities of Sunnyvale, Murphy’s and Stockton.
The Railroad was completed in 1869, but to get over Donner Summit required fifteen massive tunnels, including Tunnel 6, which was over 1500 feet long and blasted through solid granite by crews of Chinese workers. Some of the rock removed from the tunnels was used to construct the still visible China wall, which was built without the use of mortar.
Serene Lakes
Without refrigeration, ice was a necessary commodity in the west in the mid 1800s, but it was transported all the way from Boston or Alaska at great expense. So when the railroad opened, entrepreneurs saw opportunity in our cold climes. The Summit Ice Company began operation in 1868 at what were then known as the Ice Lakes, later the Serene Lakes. But the operation only lasted four years before Donner Summit’s heavy snows made nearby Prosser Lake, which had even colder temperatures, but little snow, a more attractive alternative.
The three Serene Lakes, were turned into present day Serena and Dulzura with the raising of the water behind a dam in 1941. The construction of a new road into the lakes in 1959, issued a development opportunity, leading to the creation of eight separate subdivisions at the lakes, and over 600 homes as well as Royal Gorge Cross-Country, and the Ice Lakes Lodge.
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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