The supposedly unique nature of the snowflake bores me. My whole life I’ve been told that each snowflake is different. Each one unique. Each one somehow a variation of the last, but in that variation it becomes entirely its own. While I’ll admit that the concept is intriguing, the reality beyond the concept is quite blunt. Snowflakes, as viewed by you and by me, are all the same. They clump together to create snowballs, snowmen, and snow drifts, each one gladly shedding its solitary existence in order to join something memorable. If their individuality is intact, this matters little as their outward display is uniformity personified. Snowflakes, for all of their proven singularity remain collectively identical. You know what’s not identical? Lakefront homes on Geneva, that’s what.
That last statement is true. While some buyers, both engaged buyers and casual buyers and never-will-be-buyers view the lakefront market as one collective mass of similar objects, those of us who know and appreciate the lakefront know that each home is so unique, each setting so differed. More importantly, the market exists only at the whim of the ownership of these individual properties, as owners choose to sell or choose to hold and in these decisions shape the broader market that can be viewed as a simple collection of separate properties. What makes Geneva different is not our immunity to market trials and tumult, as we’ve proven that while we may be in better health than nearly all other markets, we have not been vaccinated from this particular strain of market virus. What sets this market apart from all others is the simple truth that an opportunity missed may very well be an opportunity never again presented.
If you’re Bill Buyer, and you have a very specific set of requirements, Geneva can, at times, provide you with exactly what it is that you’re looking for. What Geneva cannot do is hold that opportunity open indefinitely, nor will Geneva likely offer a replacement property for that discovered ideal. If Bill Buyer misses out on the lakefront that was absolutely perfect for him, does Bill Buyer simply move to the house next door and remedy his vacation home-less existence? Odds are, no. And with that, Bill Buyer will wonder in utter darkness for years, or decades, waiting for the next perfect opportunity to manifest itself.
This is the danger of a market that is comprised of very few existing properties. Opportunities come and opportunities go, but opportunities only exist for moments in time and are only capitalized on by those who have both eyes narrowly focused on the prize. The lakefront market on Geneva is, today, quite robust. There are deals being consumated, and there are many more buyers circling the wagons, intent on seizing the spoils of a lifetime of weekends spent at the lake. The large lakefront estate that I mentioned a few weeks ago ($4.199MM) has gone under contract. There was a touch of lis pendens trouble affecting this property, though there’s no way to know if all parties involved were aware of that slight monetary snafu.
The lakefront deal of mine in Buena Vista remains intact, and should proceed smoothly on the path to close. The off-market sheriff’s sale closed recently as well, and while I remain convinced that the price paid was an unnecessary premium, it’s always good to remove distressed properties from the market. The entry level lakefront scene continues to boast many buyers, and a severe lack of sellers. There are sellers, but the available homes are not in the most desirable of locations. If another entry level lakefront in the sub $1.6MM range hit the market in either Williams Bay or Fontana, that lakefront would most likely sell within days, as was the case with the Buena Vista lakefront from two weekends ago. If anyone reading today is aware of any potential lakefront seller in this (or any) category, I would be most grateful for the lead.
My best available land buy at the moment is found on the south shore of the lake with a Fontana address priced under $3MM. This lakefront is estate sized, and should find a buyer before most of the other lakefront offerings. I still find myself standing outside of a lakefront on Circle Parkway in Williams Bay, face painted green and white, with a giant foam #1 sign on my right hand, all while sending looks of desire at the shingled exterior of this fantastic lakefront in the $2.5MM price range. This one should sell, as should the other. My own two lakefront listings are in play, and have had relatively tepid, if steady, action over recent weeks. The lakefront on Harvard for $2.49MM is perhaps the most fantastic lakefront house in terms of style and finishes on the market priced under $3.5MM right now. There are 34 true lakefront homes on the market today, and several of them are fitting my eye quite nicely.
Expect to see a few sales on the lakefront over the next three weeks. There are active buyers reviewing the favorable inventory, and I suspect at least two of those buyers will find suitable matches. I may be a value guy first, but I’m also a location and lifestyle guy. That is to say, if you’re intently staring at a lakefront right now that fits your every need, but the price is a touch high, let’s go beat on the seller together. Let’s work the best deal we can, and if the end price is a whisper higher than you want it to be, contemplate the possibility of lonely walks past that lakefront ten years from now. It will be snowing, and you’ll be alone, in the cold, sad, rejecting the excuses from ten years prior that kept you from making that offer.
photo by Matt Mason Photography