Does overpricing a Lake Tahoe home cost the seller money?

Yes. Across 7336 Lake Tahoe and Truckee sales since January 2023, homes that sold within 30 days got a median 100.0% of their first list price, while homes that sat more than 120 days got a median 88.6% and 85% of them closed more than 5% below the first price. Source: Real Estate Tahoe analysis of MLS closings.

How many Lake Tahoe sellers end up below their original asking price?

46% of Lake Tahoe and Truckee home sales since January 2023 closed more than 5% below the first list price, and 35% had at least one price reduction before selling. The median sale was 95.8% of the first list price.

How do I choose a listing agent in Lake Tahoe who won't overprice my home?

Ask every agent you interview for their listings' sale price as a percentage of the FIRST list price, not the last one, and their days on market. A high quote that has to be cut later is how sellers lose money. Real Estate Tahoe publishes every listing it has sold with its first price, final price and days on market at realestatetahoe.com/lake-tahoe-overpricing-report/.

What Overpricing Costs Lake Tahoe Sellers

The short version: 46% of 7,336 Lake Tahoe and Truckee home sales since January 2023 closed more than 5% below their first list price. Homes that sold within 30 days got a median 100.0% of their first price. Homes that sat more than 120 days got 88.6%. On a $1.5 million home, that gap is about $171,000.

95.8%

Median sale price as a share of the first list price

46%

Sold more than 5% below the first list price

35%

Had at least one price cut before selling

Median days on market

The longer it sits, the less the seller gets

Every sale below is measured against the price the home first went on the market at. That's the number a seller was promised at the listing appointment. Measuring against the last price after the cuts hides exactly the cost we're measuring.

Time on market	Sales	Median % of first price	Sold 5%+ below first price	Had a price cut
Sold within 30 days	2,395	100.0%	15%	4%
31 to 60 days	1,696	97.0%	33%	21%
61 to 120 days	1,685	93.0%	65%	53%
More than 120 days	1,560	88.6%	85%	78%

A home priced right sells in the first few weeks, when buyer attention is highest. A home priced above the market waits, gets cut, and becomes "the one that's been sitting," and buyers negotiate harder on it. That's why the most expensive listing appointment is often the one where an agent promises the highest number.

By price range

First list price	Sales	Median % of first price	Sold 5%+ below	Median days
Under $1M	3,656	96.6%	40%	49
$1M to $2M	2,216	95.5%	47%	49
$2M to $4M	994	94.1%	55%	63
$4M and up	470	93.7%	59%	74

By town

Town	Sales	Median % of first price	Sold 5%+ below	Median days
Truckee	2,220	97.0%	38%	26
South Lake Tahoe	1,878	95.9%	45%	63
Incline Village	1,014	94.3%	55%	80
Tahoe City	426	96.7%	42%	26
Stateline	392	93.0%	61%	97
Olympic Valley	247	96.2%	41%	47
Kings Beach	202	96.5%	43%	33
Carnelian Bay	187	94.7%	52%	38
Tahoma	185	96.0%	45%	41
Tahoe Vista	169	95.2%	49%	50
Zephyr Cove	160	92.7%	61%	82
Homewood	135	96.2%	43%	27
Glenbrook	87	93.1%	60%	110

Our own listings, every one of them

We think every listing agent should publish this table. Here's ours: every home a Real Estate Tahoe broker listed and sold, with its first list price, what it sold for and how long it took. We include the ones that didn't go to plan.

98.1%

Our median sale price as a share of the first list price (market: 95.8%)

46%

Of our listings sold more than 5% below the first price (market: 46%)

Our median days on market (market: 51)

Listings sold. A small sample, so judge the table, not just the median.

Home	Sold	First list price	Sold for	% of first price	Days
685 Titlist Drive #One, Incline Village	Sep 2026	$749,000	$738,000	98.5%	41
4175 Beaumont Road, Carnelian Bay	Sep 2026	$1,350,000	$1,260,000	93.3%	50
2755 North Lake Boulevard #36, Tahoe City	May 2026	$499,000	$460,000	92.2%	110
3115 North Lake Boulevard #92, Tahoe City	Jan 2026	$520,000	$490,000	94.2%	95
123 Juanita Drive #1-42, Incline Village	Aug 2025	$1,290,000	$1,265,000	98.1%	26
8745 Dolly Varden Avenue, Kings Beach	Apr 2025	$768,000	$768,000	100.0%	5
824 12th Street #A,B,C, Sparks	Aug 2024	$650,000	$650,000	100.0%	89
9500 Brockway Springs Drive, Kings Beach	Jun 2024	$8,200,000	$8,200,000	100.0%	0
2650 Elsie Irene Lane, Reno	Dec 2023	$650,000	$610,000	93.8%	44
1001 Commonwealth Drive #180, Kings Beach	Oct 2023	$525,000	$495,000	94.3%	65
1320 Edelweiss Lane, Tahoe City	Jun 2023	$2,250,000	$2,250,000	100.0%	4
330 Kimberly Drive, Tahoe City	May 2023	$2,500,000	$1,825,000	73.0%	248
300 West Lake Boulevard #105, Tahoe City	Jan 2023	$1,650,000	$1,650,000	100.0%	11

Every closing we've represented, buyer side included, is on our sold page. For this quarter's prices and sales by town, see the Lake Tahoe market report.

How to avoid paying the overpricing tax

Ask for the first-price number. When you interview agents, ask for their listings' sale price as a percentage of the first list price, and their days on market. Most will quote sale-to-list against the last, reduced price. That number hides the cuts.
Be wary of the highest quote. A number well above the recent comparable sales wins listings, not buyers. The table above shows what it usually costs.
Price for the first 30 days. That's when a new listing gets the most attention from buyers, their agents and the portals' "new" filters.
Check the details that move Tahoe prices: STR permit eligibility (permits never transfer with a sale), TRPA land coverage, lake access and HOA rules. Buyers find these out in escrow if the listing doesn't state them up front, and that's when deals get renegotiated.

Get a price you can actually sell at

A free, data-backed valuation from Murat or Kristina, with the comparable sales it's built on.

Get my home's value How we sell homes

Method: closed residential sales at $50,000 or more in the Lake Tahoe basin and Truckee (Incline Village, Crystal Bay, Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista, Carnelian Bay, Tahoe City, Homewood, Tahoma, Olympic Valley, Truckee, South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Stateline, Zephyr Cove, Glenbrook) with a sold date from January 2023 through September 2026. Leases are excluded. A home reported by two MLS systems is counted once. Sales with no original list price or days on market are excluded, as are records where the sale price is under half or over 1.5 times the first list price (data-entry errors). Days on market are as reported by the MLS and may reset on relisting. Our listings: homes where a Real Estate Tahoe broker was the listing agent, including closings our brokers recorded under a prior brokerage, matched by agent name. Source: Incline Village Board of REALTORS® MLS, Tahoe Sierra MLS, Northern Nevada Regional MLS and South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® MLS records. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Updated automatically.