If we had our druthers, we’d be Abbey Springs. That’s assuming we weren’t we, but we were in fact a large association of homes and condominiums. If that’s who we were, we’d do so very well to be Abbey Springs. We’d laugh at our friends, presumably they’d be other large associations as well, because we, as a large association, wouldn’t consider hanging out with smaller, lesser associations. We’d have our friends, those bloated associations just like us, and we’d sit around and talk about life, about associationy things. We’d laugh about people who stand up and complain about dues, and we’d laugh about the association presidents who desired, for one reason or many others, to be an association president. We would have fun being this massive association, because if we were Abbey Springs we’d be revered among our peers.
That’s because Abbey Springs just is. It’s just the way it is, the way it’s been, and those ways have found reasonably routine favor with the vacation home buying masses that smartly find their way to Walworth County. In the way that Geneva National has been sexy at times because of its feast or famine nature, Abbey Springs has just existed. There was a blip when the association decided to spend trillions (millions) of dollars and update the facilities and grounds. That was a battle and in that there was some sizzle. But otherwise, Abbey Springs is just a 592 unit association on the southern shore of Geneva Lake that plods along without a whole lot of market adversity.
When times were really good, in 2006, Abbey Springs sold 28 total units. Of that mix of single family and condominium properties, just one closed under $200k and four closed over $794k, including one at $1.3MM. That was one heck of a year. When the market re-set in late 2008, what followed was an adjustment that was necessary and needed. Prices corrected, volume slowed, and what wasn’t well known was how deep and how long this particular correction would endure. While Geneva National muddled along in those rough years, Abbey Springs jus sort of was. There were 17 sales in 2010, 14 in 2011, 17 in 2012, and 22 in 2013. Abbey Springs, even though prices corrected and volume dropped, fared as well as any large association ever has.
2015 was a very good year for Abbey Springs, but it wasn’t remarkable, nor was it special. It was just a year and Abbey Springs was just Abbey Springs. There were 22 units sold last year, with five of those printing over $500k and seven closing under $200k. In 2014, there were 20 sales, in 2013, 22. This is a pattern of normalcy at Abbey Springs, and the association should be rather proud of itself for producing such a steady and consistent flow of transactions. Geneva National should be envious of that stability (though Geneva National had a fantastic 2015).
While it’s understood that $300-500k buys a pretty nice condo in Abbey Springs, and that $450k-$900k buys a pretty nice house (including one on Saint Andrews that I sold last fall for $746k), the unique part of Abbey Springs is the lower end segment that thrives. If you came to the lake with $200k to spend on a vacation home, I applaud your sense of purpose. Many in that range would opt for a smaller, lesser lake, where they could buy a similarly small, lesser property. This would be their mistake. Abbey Springs will gladly take your $200k and offer you a small condominium with full access to the unrivaled Abbey Springs amenities, which include, as a reminder, the following: Indoor pool, outdoor pool, restaurants, sand beach, basketball courts, tennis courts, exercise facilities, racquet ball court, game room, in/out service, pier system, and 18 hole golf course.
If you’re looking for a vacation home here, and you’re amenity oriented, there’s nothing like Abbey Springs. The market is sound, the volume predictable, the prices easy to understand. 2016 should be a repeat of 2015, which was a repeat of 2014, which, oddly enough, was a repeat of 2013. Expect around 20 sales here, with stable prices. Low interest rates should encourage buyers, and left over buyers from 2015 should be pleased to find new spring inventory coming to the market this month and the next. If we were Abbey Springs, we’d be awfully proud of ourselves, but we’d try to keep it to ourselves for fear of coming across as too smug.