After the sale of 556 Sauk Trail earlier this month, I tried my best to tell several buyers that the next property to sell would likely be my listing at 6 Upper Loch Vista in Williams Bay. Low and behold, the Upper Loch Vista lakefront has indeed gone under contract as of last week. While we still have plenty of work to do before this property closes later this year, spotting this lakefront as the one that represented the best value under $2MM wasn’t too difficult. The lakefront market has been like that this year. It’s followed a pattern for the first time in a long time, and many of the homes that I have expected to sell, have sold. Perhaps I’m understanding the market better this year than I ever have before, or perhaps the lakefront is just acting a little more rationally this year. Maybe it’s both. Whatever the case, of the 33 lakefronts available on Geneva as of this morning (not including South Shore Club), It’s not a stretch to think we’ll add another sale or two before year end, on top of the current pending contracts.
(A quick note- as of this morning at around 11, another lakefront has hit the market that should make anyone searching out entry level lakefront squirm with delight. This Cedar Point lakefront (not my listing) was previously listed at $1.8MM+, now it’s $1.5MM. It sold in 2005 for $2.2MM. It’s the best deal on the lake priced under $2.2MM at the moment, and I’d jump all over it if I were a buyer in search of lakefront right now. Email me if I can help.) — Another note- this property went under contract the very next day.
The lakefront market remains quite active, in spite of the disappointment of a contract falling through on a gorgeous piece of property (and accompanying home) on the North Shore of Geneva near Knollwood. This lakefront, priced in the $4MM’s, has had two contracts on it this year, both of which looked solid. Both contracts have now fallen through. Watch this one to see if the first buyer comes back to buy it now that the price has dropped a cool million since the first contract was written earlier this year. The rest of the market remains quite virile, with the Geneva Bay Estates lakefront, the South Shore Club REO, entry level lakefront in Wooddale, and a classic lakefront on Fontana’s North Shore Drive all pending sale (none are my listing or sale). Combined with the Upper Loch Vista contract, we’re looking at as many as five lakefront sales in the next 6 weeks. As a side note, if all goes according to plan, I’d personally have assisted in four of the lakefront sales this year. I’d say I’m blushing, but I think the red in my face is just my pesky high blood pressure.
If all five close, that would bring the 2010 tally to 17, making 2010 the best year for the lakefront market on Geneva since 2007. The 2007 numbers could be eclipsed as well if we could add another three sales by the end of the year, which is very possible given the value that exists in the lakefront inventory at the moment. While I’m in love with the Congress Club offering at $1.1MM, it’s not lakefront. So if that sells by year end, it won’t count towards our lakefront numbers. I still like the lakefront on the south shore of Fontana priced in the $2.5MM range, and I really think the lakefront on the North Shore of Williams Bay with nearly 6 acres of land and 200′ of frontage will find a buyer by the end of the year. There are at least three other lakefronts that I like right now, but if you had to press me, I’d admit to having emotional affairs with each and every one of the Geneva lakefront properties available.