Lake Geneva Sales
My son is contemplating going to law school. When I was 20, I did not contemplate this. I was contemplating whether or not I had a house I could sell … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
Over the past many months the market in our lakefront and lake access market has been dislocated. The dislocation, due to the absence of accumulating open market inventory, led to … Read more
999 Snake Road Sells
By now you may have heard about my latest sale. While the out of towners attempt to lecture the locals on how to market and sell properties, I’m just here … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
I have a friend who ordered a fancy new car two years ago. It was the sort that has a roof you can remove, ideally during sunny stretches of weather, … Read more
Stoney Hollow
Stoney Hollow at Pier 74 is a magnificent stone and slate Tudor located on Snake Road at the end of private Folly Lane. This premier estate is offered with the … Read more
The Loch Vista Club
One month ago, I listed a great cottage on Lower Loch Vista for $689k. Then I had 16 or more showings over the following two days. Yesterday, I sold that … Read more
700 Club Sells
Few people know that I first sold this house in late 2021 in the high $7s. It was an off market sale that never made its way to the MLS, … Read more
Loramoor Sells
There’s a thing about a quiet sale at Lake Geneva, and that is that it’s not really all that quiet. I can try to keep things quiet, for the protection … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
At this point in the summer there are things that we all know. We know that the Harold Smith deal fell through, or at least it was under contract and … Read more
New Lakefront Listing
Simple lakefront perfection is yours with this turn-key lakefront home on 100 feet of impossibly level frontage on Geneva’s South Shore. This immaculate six bedroom home is positioned at the … Read more
Loch Vista Club
Is there a more perfect lake cottage? I don’t mean in Williams Bay. I don’t mean in Walworth County. I mean anywhere. I suppose there could be, but I doubt … Read more
Work From Home
If no one had to work in a physical office with co-workers and a communal CLIFF BAR dispenser, then it made good sense that people might move to Whitefish, Montana. … Read more
Wisconsin’s Top Agent
In a market with a whole lot of marketing subterfuge, it’s good to know there’s still a way to calculate the top agent. I’m proud to represent the Lake Geneva … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
By now you know that Harold B. Smith’s estate, Aloha Lodge, is under contract. Find me a market in the Midwest that can sell homes over $30M that isn’t Lake … Read more
Ye Olde Bar And Hotel Fish Fry Review
It was a last minute decision, really. Earlier in the day I had decided that I’ve had enough of the fish fry scene for one spring. It was over for … Read more
Summer Homes For City People
Well, it’s that time again. The fifteenth issue of Summer Homes For City People is now complete. As is my usual course, I approached this day with equal portions of … Read more
Big Foot Inn Fish Fry Review
There’s an old saying that says, “Sometimes if you want to feel young you should eat fish fry around 5 pm at the Big Foot Inn.” Considering my 2023 has … Read more
Lake Geneva Sales Update
On Twitter, I follow two particularly financial types who hold tight to diametrically opposing views. One thinks the stock market is on a fast race to the moon, and no … Read more
Lake Geneva Rentals
I can’t fully explain to you how pleased I am that the Lake Geneva lakefront market doesn’t care about rentals. What a relief that is to remove rental concepts from … Read more
Abbey Ridge For Sale
One of my two complementing agents, Jessica Genrich, just listed this rather fantastic Abbey Ridge residence that includes a separately deeded Abbey Harbor boat slip. This immaculate unit has been … Read more
Lake Geneva Off Market Lakefront Sales
If you read my winter edition of Summer Homes For City People, you know that off-market sales accounted for 0.00% of our 2017 lakefront volume. And if you know that, … Read more
Abbey Springs Yacht Club Fish Fry Review
In April of 2018 I bought an Abbey Springs Dining Membership so I could eat at their lakeside restaurant and review the fish fry. Back then the membership was $200 … Read more
Mars Fish Fry Review
Many men who are the same age as my father shipped off to war at the same time my dad drove off to college. While many of those good men … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
The news from last week is that I didn’t land a big listing that I was hoping to land. I worked pretty hard to get this particular listing, as it’s … Read more
Pier 290 Fish Fry Review
Friday was a busy day for me, but it wasn’t so busy that I didn’t find the time to eat some fried fish. My wife generally doesn’t love some of … Read more
Aspen Lakefront Realty
I suppose my lifelong love of Aspen started last March when I visited for Spring Break. In Aspen, we capitalize Spring Break, because it is nearly everything to us. And … Read more
556 Sauk Trail
Entry level lakefront homes at Lake Geneva tend to have consistent attributes. The attributes we love are those perfect white piers, and that meandering shore path at the water’s edge. … Read more
Global Team Leader
A trip is when you go to the grocery store to buy milk on a Wednesday. A trip is to Cancun because you won the sales award for the third … Read more
Lake Geneva Real Estate Marketing
I think maybe I’ve discovered another angle that has exposed just how terrible I am at the newly modified rules of real estate marketing. Everyone knows I’ve sold oodles of … Read more
Abbey Waterfront Fish Fry Review
It was February of 2018 when I last judged the fish fry at The Waterfront, that harbor side restaurant located inside the Abbey Hotel. At that time, the fish fry … Read more
Popeye’s Fish Fry Review
I last reviewed Popeye’s March 5th, 2018. While that feels like it was a couple of years ago, I’m alarmed to realize that it was, as a point of fact, … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Inventory
Well, it feels like we’re about to see some more inventory. There’s a new lakefront listed under our MLS’s Delayed heading, which is category I’ve never used and never will … Read more
Lake Geneva Odds and Ends
Have you ever noticed how many walking trails and parks there are in the Lake Geneva area? I haven’t really, but I know it’s a lot. There’s one big walking … Read more
Best Fish Fry Lake Geneva
It’s something that I still get asked about, and with some meaningful frequency. Where’s the best fish fry in Walworth County? The problem with the question is the answer. The … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Performance
I rather like CNBC’s Rick Santelli. He cut his teeth at the CME and CBOT, and speaks not as a refined journalist but as a sharp elbowed floor trader with … Read more
In Praise of Doing Nothing
There’s a cheeky little line about a dead squirrel that some people like to tell. They say that the road is full of dead squirrels who couldn’t make up their … Read more
Summer Homes For City People
I hope by now you’ve had a chance to pick up a copy of the winter edition of Summer Homes For City People. But, for the sake of today, let’s … Read more
February Market Update
I guess the job of a real estate agent is to pretend everything that’s happening makes sense. Years ago I used to quietly make fun of one market participant who … Read more
Lake Geneva Top Agent
I am very tired of telling everyone about how many houses I’ve sold. It’s nauseating, really. I have no idea where the balance is between making sure everyone knows that … Read more
Lake Geneva Seasonality
Seasonality is dead, or so I like to tell my clients. This chart below helps show the smoothing of activity for the most recent five year period when compared with … Read more
Lake Geneva Price Per Square Foot
That’s how the structure footage factors into value, but what about the price per square foot of land mass? This metric can be egregiously skewed from year to year, but … Read more
Lake Geneva Price Per Front Foot
Lake Geneva’s favorite metric is also one of my least favorite: The Price Per Front Foot. I generally disapprove of the importance that the market places on this defining metric, … Read more
Lake Geneva Cash Transactions
It’s rather obvious that Lake Geneva isn’t as interest rate sensitive as most real estate markets. I’ve been saying for the better part of the past year that I’d be … Read more