Most expensive house here? $368,400

What’s the most expensive house currently for sale in Fallon and Churchill County?

It’s a 2,259 square-foot, one story, four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath house on 3/4 acres located at 2737 Country Club Drive. The asking price is $368,400, according to Bob Getto, co-owner of Ferguson and Getto Realtors.

The second most expensive, he said, is a five-bedroom, four-bath, 2,956 square-foot house on one acre at 4260 Hawk Dr. that is listed for $349,000.

A recent past sale of a higher-priced houses includes a 3,034-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bath house on 1 1/2 acres on River Village Drive that sold for $385,000. A five-acre ranchette on the Sheckler Cutoff with three bedrooms, three baths and a separate guest house, however, is still for sale at $439,000, added Getto, a trustee of the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service and treasurer of the Sierra Nevada Association of Realtors.

Concerning today’s residential real estate market in the city and county, there are 96 houses for sale, with half of them pending sale. The average number of days that houses here stay on the market before being purchased is 138. This is much better that the 200-day figure of five years ago, Getto said.

The residential real estate market in Fallon and Churchill County is “fair... I’ve seen it better and worse in my 30-year career as a Realtor in Fallon. More houses aren’t selling because we don’t have enough jobs to attract more people to the area,” he added.

When I asked him if the continuing development of geothermal energy will have a favorable impact on local real estate sales, he answered, “not really... geothermal plants have become so automated and computerized that they need fewer and fewer employees.

Will the completion of the massive Tesla battery plant off I-80 west of Fallon bring a number of Tesla employees to this area?

“I don’t think Tesla will have much of an impact here. We are just too far away from Tesla. Most prospective home buyers will not want to face a two-hour round-trip drive to the Tesla plant. Those two hours could be better spent at home with their families,” stated Getto.

But Tesla, however, is making a major impact on the residential real estate market in Fernley, Sparks, Reno and even Dayton, where new houses are being built for the Tesla employees. “The difference between the residential real estate market in these towns and Fallon is night and day,” Getto stated.

Elsewhere in Northwest Nevada, the most expensive houses in Reno and Carson City are listed, respectively, for $ 5.2 million and $650,000. If you’re planning a move to Las Vegas, check out a 17,000 square-foot estate named “Casa Paradiso” that’s listed for $25 million. On four acres, it comes with seven bedrooms, 14 bathrooms and a 12-car garage.

What’s the most expensive house for sale in Nevada? Located at Zephyr Cove on Lake Tahoe’s south side, it’s on a sandy beach, has eight bedrooms and 10 baths, sits on 31 acres and is listed for $59 million. Three months ago, another Lake Tahoe estate, at Incline Village on the north shore, sold for big bucks: $25.25 million.

If you’re interested in relocating to Orange County in Southern California, why not consider purchasing a $55 million estate in San Clemente just two doors down from former President Richard Nixon’s Western White House? In fact, the Western White House itself, called “Casa Pacifica,” has just been listed for sale, I learned this week.

The beachfront mansion, where Nixon entertained 17 heads of state, is listed for $69 million.

Farther up the coast, in Newport Beach, sits a two-story, six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion with elevator and detached guest house that was bought in 2008 for $35 million by Las Vegas hotel, casino and gas station owner Jerry “Terrible” Herbst. He later sold it to actor Nicolas Cage.

About 55 miles north of Newport Beach lies the most expensive house currently for sale in the United States.

It’s in Beverly Hills and is listed for $195 million.

Set on 25 acres, the property includes a working winery. The house, called in Italian “Palazzo di Amore” or “Palace of Love,” has 53,000 square-feet of living space, 12 bedrooms (including a 5,000 square-foot master suite), 23 bathrooms, massive pools, tennis court and a 10,000-bottle wine cellar. The house is owned by a real estate mogul who has been renting it out for $475,000 a month.

David C. Henley is Publisher Emeritus of the LVN and may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.