I have committed many sins inside of the Abbey Springs gates. The gates are innocent, the winding streets are as well, but my behavior inside those gates has been anything but. I could keep this secret tucked inside my front shirt pocket, as I have for the past many years, but it wouldn’t make my sins any less egregious. To say that my sins were carried out inside the gates is a bit vague. These sins were indeed committed inside the ropes, as a way to say they were committed on the green lawns of the 18 varied golf holes that dip and bob past homes and behind condominiums. The sins were always offered on a tee, and I would swing wildly, no, violently, and send these little white sins far into the sky. While aloft, they had not yet turned dark.
But when they landed, they turned against me. Sometimes, they’d softly land on the grass, where they were supposed to. Other times, they’d land soft and scoot into woods and weeds or water, but this too is acceptable. These typical landings aside, there were times, too many to count, when these little white balls were lofted far into the sky as roof and deck and window seeking missiles. These white balls had no interest in finding fairway, they wanted to bang off of man made structures. And so it went, the perpetual hacking and watching and waiting and when the ball smacked loud and hard against someone’s home there was also cringing. These sins I have committed against Abbey Springs, and I am sad for it.
I’ve committed other sins there too. Like the many times that I’ve declared Abbey Springs dead. I do it almost joyously. This is the one association around Geneva Lake that has plugged along, seemingly unaware of the tattered market that surrounds it. 2008 was a slow year in Abbey Springs, but it didn’t stay slow for long. 2009 was a rebound, even as other associations and segments were not yet fully engulfed in the spreading downturn. There have been fits and starts since then, moments of silence and periods of prolonged buyer absence, but these absences have only served to make those buyers hearts grow ever fonder.
Today, there are at least three condominiums in Abbey Springs pending sale. Two of these three have been listed for quite some time, and one of these three has had my attention for more than a year. These three sales will lift the 2011 YTD sales figure to 15- a most respectable figure. Yet for the late increased momentum, Abbey Springs is significantly behind 2010 in terms of volume. Last year at this time there had already been 16 sales in Abbey Springs. Perhaps troubling for the upper reaches of that market is the relatively thick glass ceiling that has existed above the $500k mark this year. Historically, Abbey Springs has been able to peddle high priced homes with relative ease, and by November 21 of 2010 there had been three sales over $500k. This year there has been just one, and that one by the slimmest of margins ($505k).
So what’s the prediction for Abbey Springs? Well, since I’m usually wrong on this market, let’s just pretend that it’ll keep humming along without so much as a hiccup. The late season market will likely yield another one or two sales before the year is out, even if those closings don’t occur until 2012. The Mayans don’t have us scheduled for complete destruction until next December, so those January closings will still happen without incident. The way it looks today, fire from the sky may be the only thing capable of derailing Abbey Springs. Also, if a Pro-V1 with “DC” on it smashed through your skylight or dented your car, I am truly sorry.