You’ll notice that here, on this Lake Geneva real estate blog (I worded that especially for Google), I rarely factor annual price gains or losses. I contrast volume all the time, but when I add up annual productivity and then play it against a prior year, I hardly, if ever, total up those sales and divide by the number of them. I don’t do this for a very simple reason. Low volume markets cannot be effectively measured by traditional methods. In a low volume market, two low sales or two high sales can wildly swing the averages, and for this reason I don’t engage in such fuzzy math. If you’re wondering if Lake Geneva volume is always low, it’s best to remember that we’re a low volume market in both years good and bad. It’s just the way it is.
For that reason, I gauge the health of an individual market based on its volume first, and based on everything else second. If volume is strong and prices appear, on the surface, to be off somewhere between 25-25% from the market highs, then all is well from where I stand. With those explanations, it’s time once again to think about Abbey Springs. There was a time earlier this year when it seemed that something was amiss within Abbey Springs. It seemed, for a moment or two, that buyers were rethinking the positioning of this market within our broader vacation home market. It seemed that there was a pause in order. Fear not, it only seemed like those things were happening.
Abbey Springs is still alive and well. Barring only 2008, the one year in the last ten where Abbey Springs appeared to be a mere mortal (registering just 5 sales from 1/1/08-11/12/08), Abbey Springs has been a YTD model of consistency. YTD sales here look like this: 2008: 5, 2009: 15, 2010: 16, 2012: 14. That’s pure consistency, and it’s even more impressive when you consider the drought in 2008 was likely caused by the massive assessment to fund the wide scale infrastructure improvements that Abbey Springs bit off around this time, not just the general weirdness of the market back then.
This year, the 14 YTD sales are quite nice, but the look even better when you consider that three more properties within that gated entrance are pending sale today. So why the consistency? Why the hiccup-less performance over years? Why does Abbey Springs have it so good, so often, when the rest of the market heaves and bends from month to month and quarter to quarter? I suppose the answer is quite simple. There is nothing like Abbey Springs. Not here, not in Walworth County, not in Kenosha or Racine, and not in Lake or McHenry. There isn’t any vacation community as complete as this- tennis courts, pools (indoor and outdoor), golf, beach, restaurants, etc and etc. When you don’t have any direct competition, it’s not hard to stay somewhat desirable.
Today, there are 28 homes and condos available in Abbey Springs. If you’re wondering what the pricing looks like, I’ll save you the wonderment. The prices look a lot like they did last year and like they did in 2010. They look about the same as they did in 2009. Are they off from the highs of 2006? Sure they are.