Luxurious Lake Tahoe has long been one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world, but almost as suddenly as COVID struck, its population pivoted. Real estate broker Susan Lowe explained, “We’re seeing a slew of people wanting to call Tahoe their permanent residence because they know they can work from home.”
Lowe has been selling Tahoe-area real estate for 30 years and never before has she seen this dynamic. “These are unprecedented times,” she said. “This is the busiest most robust market Tahoe has ever experienced.”
In the new work and school-from-anywhere culture, people are choosing to do that from the very spots where they generally vacation.
Sales of homes in vacation towns are soaring nationwide, and Tahoe leads the list of the most popular choices, according to RedFfin, a real estate brokerage. Sales there are up 80% through the third quarter of this year, compared with a year ago.
It’s the same in the area around Bridgeport, Connecticut, then Bend, Oregon, Cape Cod and the Jersey Shore. The transplants are generally coming from San Francisco, New York City and Boston.
Monte Jensen isn’t retired yet. But the recently-former San Franciscan decided to buy and move into his retirement dream home in Tahoe early. “As i look to retire, I looked to Lake Tahoe where I visited all my life,” he said. “When COVID hit, of course, it’s less populated in Lake Tahoe, so that really pushed me forward to make it happen now.”
Jensen is thrilled with how much the Tahoe home he bought in April has already appreciated. With all the demand, vacation home prices are soaring. As for the quality of life with so many more full-timers, he says it’s a little different, but Susan Lowe says it’s fantastic for the local economy, which will now have to add more services, as in more jobs.
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