Lake Tahoe neighborhood where Bidens are vacationing is among the priciest in U.S.

The Glenbrook community where President Joe Biden and his family are vacationing is known as Lake Tahoe’s oldest settlement — and also among the most expensive zip codes in the United States.

The president and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Nevada on Friday to vacation at the rented Lake Tahoe home, a lakefront estate at Glenbrook about 50 miles from Reno. 

The Bidens, including son Hunter Biden and his family, will be staying at the home for a week. President Biden is also pausing his vacation to visit Hawaii on Monday in response to the recent wildfires that burned down the historic town of Lahaina.

Glenbrook's exclusive gated community among the priciest in the country

Glenbrook is an exclusive Lake Tahoe community of just under 300 people with an average age 64, according to 2020 U.S. Census data. It also boasts some of the priciest real estate — not just for Lake Tahoe but the entire country.

With a median home price of $3,075,000, Glenbrook’s 89413 zip code made PropertyShark’s annual list of top 100 most expensive zip codes. Glenbrook ranked as the 31st priciest real estate market in the 2022 list. It was also the only Lake Tahoe community to make the top 100 after Crystal Bay was knocked out of the list last year.

Luxury houses in the Glenbrook-Uppaway community typically start at $2 million for “a modestly sized cottage,” according to Sue Lowe, president and corporate broker for Chase International. Homes with lakefront views, however, could go well over $30 million, Lowe added.

The Tahoe home that the Bidens are renting belongs to billionaire Tom Steyer and wife Kat Taylor. The Glenbrook mansion last sold for $15 million on Sept. 12, 2007, according to the Douglas County assessor records. Online estimates for the property’s value range from $16.5 million to $18 million.

The Thunderbird Lodge — also known as the Whittell Estate — holds the record for the most expensive home sale for Lake Tahoe at $50 million. 

Originally built in 1968, the Steyer mansion sits on a three-acre lot on Lake Tahoe’s east shore. The house is 4,000 square feet and has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. The Bidens are renting the house at fair market value, according to a statement from the White House.

Glenbrook initially made its mark during the Comstock Lode era

Glenbrook was founded in 1860 a year after the information about the Comstock silver lode became public. The name Glenbrook came from a stream that ran through the meadow or “glen.”

By 1861, lumber operations started in the Glenbrook area, which peaked at four sawmills with about 500 people employed at logging camps. Activity at Glenbrook eventually settled down, however, following the depletion of its forests and the end of the Comstock Lode boom.

Today, Glenbrook is far removed from the bustle of the Comstock era, turning into a quiet, exclusive community for the wealthy.

Glenbrook is primarily a gated community of second homes mostly made up of natives from Northern and Southern California, with visits peaking during the summer, according to Lowe. Inventory continues to be low in the community, with many houses passed from generation to generation.

Glenbrook boasts a private nine-hole golf course with mountain views and a beach with cabanas and a pier. Only 159 acres of the community’s 750 total acres are developed.

Glenbrook recently made the news after Minden native and Bently Enterprises CEO Christopher Bently reduced the listing price of his Lake Tahoe mansion in the area to $35 million. Bently, who has been on a property-selling spree, originally listed the mansion for $55 million, which would have broken the record for the most expensive home sale in Lake Tahoe.