Abbey Springs Market Update

Abbey Springs is starting to bore me. It’s not that I don’t like the development, with all those fancy amenities and finely curried lawns. I do. I like those things quite a bit actually, and think that if I had a vacation home there I’d probably play tennis once a weekend on those beautiful Har-Tru courts. Those courts and the golf and the pools and the beach, it’s all quite wonderful, really. But the real estate market in Abbey Springs leaves me lacking. There is little sizzle. There is a lack of excitement that can only come after a development has glibly avoided most of the real estate tumult of recent years. I find Abbey Springs and its steadfast nature to be boring.

In what can only be viewed as a positive for buyers, there have been a couple price reductions of late in Abbey Springs. There are units available that I like, and have liked for a year or more. Apparently my taste is not shared by everyone. Either way, there is value, even if the value pales in comparison with some of the shades of value found outside this tidy development. This morning the MLS shows 31 available condominiums and single family homes in Abbey Springs, with one other sale pending. The steady inventory is a great sign for the ownership, if less so for the buyers. The two sales that closed in the last month include a small two bedroom condo for $165k ($178k list), and a single family home for $425k ($450k list). While those sales are nice for the market, and prove that liquidity has not yet been a significant problem for Abbey Springs, the sales look in line with the market representing neither apoplectic highs or pleasing lows. Oh look honey, another average sale in Abbey Springs that doesn’t invoke any reaction at all because it’s so, so… so boring.

There has been increased buyer activity of late in the lake access market priced between $275k and $500k, so I’d expect Abbey Springs to be a beneficiary of this activity. The theory goes that buyers will look at old cottages close to the water and instead be led into the open, shiny, polished granite arms of Abbey Springs. Buyers will originally love the idea of resting on front porches and wandering down to bold white piers, but many will opt for the tennis and the golf and the general country club atmosphere of Abbey Springs. While my personal preference stands in solidarity with the lake access cottage, I do understand Abbey Springs and its allure. If I were a buyer today and wanted to spend $325k or so on a nice Lake Geneva vacation home, I would certainly end up in Abbey Springs at least for a tour. And if I were on that tour, and I saw the tennis courts, my eyes might grow large, even while my back begins to ache in anticipation. If I saw the clubhouse, I could certainly envision myself sitting on the patio eating a club sandwich or tucked into a corner table with a football game on and a trough of chili in front of me, you know, depending on the season. If I’m a buyer and I have amenities on my mind, Abbey Springs in the most natural, most affordable fit in our broad market.

If I were a buyer, I know I’d see the value in Abbey Springs, and I might just find solace in the lack of volatility in that association. The foreclosure bug that remains unruly at best has been kept at bay inside Abbey Springs, with only a whisper of a foreclosure here and there. The strength of the association has precluded Abbey Springs from being a sexy play of late, but it certainly is a stalwart in our market, and the consistency of market performance should be embraced rather than reluctantly acknowledged. For now, I do like several of the available properties in Abbey Springs, with one or two in particular catching my focused eye.

A great big happy Father’s Day to all who have earned the designation. And yes, that photo above was taken this morning at 4:30 am. My insomnia grows.