Glenwood Springs Sells

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It’s true that the lakefront vacation home market has an epicenter. The impact zone, in this vernacular, is the lake itself. The market immediately surrounding the lake, those desirable lakefront homes, that’s the primary goal that lies closest to that watery bulls eye. But the shockwaves extend far beyond that initial row of the fortunate, back one home and two, back one road deep and then beyond. The association homes that surround this lake, and surround the immediacy of the lakefront home itself, those are the homes that make up the bulk of our Lake Geneva vacation home market. Those homes are as varied as the lakefront homes that rest in front of them, with price points ranging from $180k on the low side to $1.4MM on the high. There are associations that offer slips and others that offer little besides a grassy patch of shared lawn that leads to a white pier, but perhaps less important than the association itself is the location of the home.

Last week, I closed on the home at 647 Hazel Court in Glenwood Springs. This home was one that you’ve seen around these margins for quite some time, and we finally found the right buyer one day during our rainy April. The home was in Glenwood Springs, which is a great association by any measure, and the home was clean, neat, and ready to live in, if still basic in finishes and style. The true appeal of this home, however, was not in the trim detail or the association, or the way the apple tree blooms in the spring just perfectly through that dining room window. The appeal here was in the location. This home was just three homes from the water, affording the new buyer the opportunity to walk from home to lake in less than 45 seconds, assuming they’re walking slowly and deliberately in a manner that suggests they’re savoring each step.

The location reminds me of the location of a cottage I sold last fall in Wooddale. If the Wooddale cottage ($417k) was a tad further from the lake, it had a slip and a view that was a tad bit better than the view from Hazel Court. The Hazel sale closed at $395k, putting the values pretty much in line. There are benefits to each and detriments to each, but by and large the two sales are of similar properties that might be in very different associations but are tethered together by the one thing that supersedes any association allegiances: proximity.

While it’s fun when a buyer can afford lakefront, and it’s fun when a buyer can afford a beautiful home with a boatslip, what if the aim is simply to find a cottage for $400k or less that boasts, as its primary attraction, easy proximity to the water? I’ve said many times before that I’d trade a slip and a view for ridiculous proximity, as I know the true magic of a lakefront experience doesn’t generally take place inside the home but, instead, occurs on the pier and in the water and on the edge of a diving board with your toes wrapped over the edge. That’s where the action is, and that’s what I want to be close to. For $400k or less we’re rarely going to find a slip, and we’re rarely going to find a view, but what about the best candidates for those in that price range who just want to make that walk from their lake home to the lake in the absolute least amount of time possible?

Here’s everything priced under $425k with access to Geneva Lake, per the MLS this morning. I extended the search to $425k simply because I may be naive, and I’m not entirely sold on this whole “we need to buy homes for more than they’re worth, and quickly! well, because, um, because the market has been magically healed!” On this list, there are homes that fit our proximity goal quite nicely, and others that have lake access at the end of a long and arduous drive from the home to the water, and for the sake of brevity and generosity we will not pick on those homes today. The ones that are close, those are the ones we want.

Without a doubt, the best home on this list, today, in my opinion, is the listing on Upper Loch Vista for $339k. This home is an easy walk to and from the lake, and the association is divine, in a simple sort of way. Best of all, my parents live by this home, so a summer spent here just might feature snippets of me either hooking myself in the arm while fishing, or dumping over a sailboat, repeatedly. I like the price point, I like the location, and I like the home well enough. Another home on this list is in the Club as well, and deserves a similar look. The small cottage on Cain in Wooddale is close to the lake, and has a slip, but it is indeed a very basic and very small cottage, so the buyer will need to be somewhat unique to decide that the cottage as it is currently configured will work.

There’s a listing on Park Ridge for $419k on this list, and that home has easily the best proximity to the water that one can expect for $400k or so. The home is one off the water, with lakeviews that will last throughout the year. The access is steep, so the buyer should not be afraid of a huffy walk back up from the water to the house, but the porches are ample, the style somewhat vintage, and that location is quite wonderful. The house needs work, as will most of those homes in great locations in this price range, but the reward of incredible proximity is well worth the effort.

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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