We're clearly not the only ones. The price of houses in the $1M+ range have gone up significantly since it became clear around the summer that this COVID thing isn't going away anytime soon.
There are many all cash offers as well.
The person who bought my place last year ended up paying over $6000 a year for insurance via CalFAIR (no fire hydrant nearby). When I bought it in 2013 - it cost about $800 a year. There are definitely people who can't get regular insurance and end up paying a lot for meh insurance.
For one house that we were interested in, in an area that's not super risky (which is very relative), it's about $2500 per year through CalFAIR. That's only for fire, and doesn't include any other aspect of homeowners insurance.
No word what the plan is after the stay but I would be cognizant of any insurance plans that you get.
It’s pretty easy to find prime plots of land in the Tahoe area for less than $250k.
The problem is building: there is a shortage of construction labor (they can’t afford to live in the area anymore), and the building season is short.
Building cost per square footage is higher than in the Bay Area, often exceeding $600/sq.ft.