Lake Tahoe estate near Zephyr Cove sells for $20.9 million

If you've been saving your dollars to make an offer on the spectacular Wovoka estate on the southeast shore of Lake Tahoe, forget about it.

It was snatched up this week by an as-yet undisclosed buyer – for $20.9 million.

The 9,100-square-foot estate, with sharp geometric angles and a cathedral-style design facing the water, is named after a Northern Paiute leader who was born in Nevada in 1856 and is credited with developing the tribal Ghost Dance across the western United States.

The five-bedroom, six-bath lakefront home was designed by architect Theodore Brown and built on about three acres near Zephyr Cove in 2001.

Perks in the home include nearly 20-foot-tall windows looking out onto the lake, a swimming pool, a spa, a boathouse and a private pier.

Last June, the Wovoka property was listed for about $25 million. It was previously owned by a trust of the family of the late casino magnate William Ledbetter.

Ledbetter, the longtime general manager of Harveys Lake Tahoe hotel and casino and a Tahoe community philanthropist, died in Rancho Mirage in 2007 at age 77.

Specific details of this week's Wovoka sales transaction, finalized Wednesday, were not disclosed, but Tahoe Luxury Properties in Tahoe City called it "the Lake Tahoe region's highest-dollar real estate transaction for a single-family home thus far in 2013."

Bill Dietz, sales president of Tahoe Luxury Properties, said the Tahoe market, which took its lumps during the recession, seems primed for more transactions across all segments.

"Buyers across all markets are recognizing the opportunity," he said. "Median home price, as well as sales volume, indicates that Tahoe's overall market found the bottom in late 2011 into early 2012 and is actively rebounding."

Dietz said the high-end lakefront estates picked up steam last year with "38 public lakefront transactions on the north and west shores of California and Nevada. … We saw enormous activity within this niche segment, and it appears activity will carry forward this year as well."

Dietz added that buyers of lakefront properties "are taking advantage of lower prices relative to five years ago."

He also noted that "high-wage-earning Californians are purchasing in Nevada to escape California's recent tax increases."

• Read more articles by Mark Glover

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