Once the snow falls, people flock to the mountains to ski on our slopes, eat at our restaurants and buy our homes.

During last year’s ski season, the Incline Village and Crystal Bay housing market was booming and local Realtors continued to have strong sales numbers throughout the year even with the looming presence of COVID-19.

The walls of snow in the higher elevation neighborhoods made it difficult to find homes that were for sale without pulling out your GPS.

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It was almost impossible to make it from one home to another without getting lost or praying you could actually find the home underneath the pile of white fluff.

According to the Incline Village MLS, there were 53 home and freestanding condo sales and 41 condo sales from October 2019 to January 2020.

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So far, during October to the ate of this writing, in the 2020-2020 winter we have seen 79 homes and freestanding condo sales and 48 condo sales, ahead of last years total.

This could mean two things. The first is that people are continuing to seek refuge from urban cities as they remote work and schooling continues to be a art of our lives and people are traveling closer to home and can drive from CA cities to Tahoe instead of flying across the country on holiday.

Another option is that last year’s winter gave Buyers a well needed reminder of how truly magical the mountains can be when we have moderate to above average snow levels and you have the best pow run of your life, even if the resorts are closed and you have to hike for it.

Snow making helps curb the appetite of an everyday skier but it will not produce the same experience and true, nature made snow.

Holiday season visitors will keep our restaurants, slopes and resorts bustling for a few weeks but will with Ski resorts limiting day passes and only allowing season pas holders to ski, more people will be looking at property rather than hitting the slopes.

Now that the main holiday season is upon us, all we can do is pray for snow and impatiently watch the weather and news channels in hopes for a cold and wet forecast and resorts staying open in spring. Our community depends on it.

Summer buyers are also heavily influenced to buy and Sellers are convinced to sell based on their experiences and memories made in the area.

Drought years can mean reduced water levels, limited boating activities, docks covering rocks, and no floating the Truckee River – all important elements of summer life here in Tahoe.

We still have a long spring season ahead of us and look forward to the next few months with optimism for the real estate market and the ski industry.

There’s not doubt that the Incline Village and Crystal Bay Real Estate Market sales totals have continued to grow over the past few years. With tax reform in CA, a new president, continual COVID lock downs in CA and rose-colored glasses for a great snow season, we are looking forward to a successful 2021.

Sabrina Belleci is the owner / broker of RE/MAX North Lake.