Geneva Lakefront Market Update

I’ve had the unique privilege to make at least two early spring sojourns around Geneva Lake. I understand this may upset you, particularly when I admit that one such late afternoon journey left me with slightly burned cheeks and a matching reddened nose. But these were trips taken on the three spring days that have been reason to celebrate, and they were taken before winter returned this week to remind us of how dull and unwanted he really is. The trips around Geneva this spring were familiar, but each new year brings changes to the lakefront, and this year those changes might be even more pronounced. In summation, there are a ton of really large homes being built on Geneva right now.

There are no fewer than fifteen new lakefront homes currently in some stage of construction, be it the continual application of finishing touches or merely the dirty art of digging a foundation. Many of these new homes are of a different breed than the new homes of the past decade. They are large and they are impressive and they are ostentatious if ever something was. They are also, for the most part, quite beautiful. The return of the shingle style home is a welcomed development by me, and I’m sure by others, and it appears that new construction either veers towards shingle style or manor style, a generic term I’ll use to describe homes built with hefts of stone and slate. Though for all of these classic homes, there have been a few that teeter on the absurd, but I’ll let you figure out which ones (one) that is.

While the first trip around the lake is always exciting and refreshing, it is also filled with reminders of a market that, while robust and vibrant, isn’t equally effective for all home sellers. There are signs on properties that appear to have been erected out of concrete and granite, as their permanence has become more a fixture on the lakefront than a temporary notice of availability. Several of the 31 true lakefront homes on the market today have been for sale for quite some time, and by quite some time I mean years and years. And this is not Door County. We’re not accustomed to market times that span years instead of months, so these select few that have grown tenured in front of our very eyes are part of a group that no one wishes to gain acceptance. Just like a sporting team can skew young with rookies or old with veterans, the lakefront inventory on Geneva is a touch long in the tooth.

Thankfully, in spite of the aged inventory, price reductions look to be on the increase, and these reductions are bringing into view properties that had previously lingered just beyond my horizon. There is a listing in Cedar Point Park in the mid $2MMs that I absolutely adore. Yes, I said I adore it, which means you might as well. Beyond the adoration, it appears ripe to sell right. Best get in touch with me on that one. There are other lakefronts as well, my two new lakefront listings aside, for I have already fawned over their virtue plenty. There are large estates on the market and small ones, and there is ample inventory in nearly every price segment of our lakefront market, from $2MM to $7MM. But one market remains conspicuously absent from most MLS links: the entry level lakefront segment.

This week, another entry level lakefront hit the open market in the mid $1MMs. This listing is nice to see, particularly since it is now just the second lakefront home available priced at less than $1.95MM. The other is a lakefront that has been on the market for quite some time, another member of the veteran squad that looks to have been placed in the IR. The entry level lakefront market is void of much quality, and my fears from last fall have been partially realized. After a torrid run on the entry level lakefront home last summer and fall, I worried that we wouldn’t be able to replace the inventory that was absorbed. In order to meet the needs of the buyers, we really do need entry level lakefronts on the open market. For every buyer that can swing a $2.5MM lakefront home, there are fifteen that can afford a $1.3MM lakefront home. You know those types, those miserable millionaires and billionaires that have been degraded and targeted by our current administration. Those types of buyers who can afford lakefront will generally, at least initially, look at entry level products. If we have no inventory to share, there is no market to be made, and no market means no liquidity and no liquidity means fewer sales to write about which means you’re going to get more posts like the one tomorrow about Mulberry trees. Seriously.

The lakefront market still needs some inventory, yes. But the lakefront market is ripe with opportunity, and in the case of several offerings, there are values to be had that haven’t been available for more than a decade. Others, like my 412 Harvard listing, can be had for far less than replacement value, rendering the building trend on the lake as a very expensive alternative. If lakefront is your aim, I’m begging for a chance to help.

About the Author

I'm David Curry. I write this blog to educate and entertain those who subscribe to the theory that Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is indeed the center of the real estate universe. When I started selling real estate 27 years ago I did so of a desire to one day dominate the activity in the Lake Geneva vacation home market. With over $800,000,000 in sales since January of 2010, that goal is within reach. If I can help you with your Lake Geneva real estate needs, please consider me at your service. Thanks for reading.

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