Lake Geneva Market Buys

There are at least 12 lake access and lakefront homes pending sale right now. There are 112 lake access and lakefront homes, give or take, that are listed for sale and are not pending sale. Let’s leave those smug pending properties alone this morning and focus on the 112 that are available. Let’s also assume that the properties that have sold this year, whether we were interested in them or not, are no longer of any importance to us. We cannot cry over that spilled milk any longer, just like we can’t worry about the last weekend that we spent in the city and can, instead, only think about how we’re going to spend the next weekend that commences five short days from today. Onward.

Of these available homes, let’s play stock picker, or match maker. Let’s look at the available inventory and pick the best of show in each segment. Let’s just do it for fun, based on my opinions of value and my opinions of the market and how each best home fits into each segment. It’ll be fun. Here goes:

The entry level lake access market is a market that I find to be quite intriguing. It is a market for those limited by budget, but it is also a market that proves even value minded buyers can enjoy weekends in a similar manner as the lakefront set. Just getting here is half the battle, the other half is how much you spend to stay here. If I’m an entry level lake access buyer I have one very simple task: To get as close to the lake as is humanly possible and still stay within my budget. The entry level market has a couple of tiers itself, those lake access homes under $220k (the very, very low end of our market), and those lake access homes priced up to $350k. If that is my budget and my aim, I have one very clear target, and it’s a humble home on Upper Loch Vista listed in the low $330k range.

That home would allow a buyer to own a home that is no more than a 3 minute walk to the lake. If we were crows, and we flew to the lake, then we’d only have to fly over the roofs of five other homes before we found ourselves over open water, and that’s a sweet commute to the lake no matter if we are walking or flying. The home needs updating, sure, but the Loch Vista Club is a high quality association and it’s where I’d be if I were an entry level buyer.

The next segment is a bit trickier. It’s the mid-level lake access market, and it’s a market full of choices and options. We must decide if we value a view, or a slip, or proximity. We have to weight those options. If I’m the buyer, which I am because this is my site and I’m the one typing, then I’d probably value the slip first and mix in some sort of proximity requirement as the driver. If the price target for this mid-market is $350k to $700k, I’d look to pick up one of the two available Lake Geneva Club properties ($565k and $695k), or I’d buy the cabiny looking place on Aspen Lane listed at $599k. I value small associations and I think I need a slip in this price range, unless I’m picking up a great view of the lake or some unbeatable proximity. If I find the slip and I find a nice street, I’m going to tackle a project and then buy a boat. Aspen Lane or Lake Geneva Club, either one would deserve my attention.

The upper bracket lake access market, priced from $700k to $1MM, is easier for me. I’d need a reasonable house with decent finishes, combined with either outstanding proximity or a slip. Ideally I’d have a slip here, but if I found extreme proximity to the lake and had to add the slip separately (rental, in/out, etc), I would. I don’t find much in this segment tempting right now, though if forced to make a decision I’d probably pick up the old cottage on Upper Loch Vista. I would then have a summer home across the street from my parents’ home, which would be strange. On one hand, I could stop over for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On the other hand, I could then use my dad’s boats whenever I felt like it, so it’s an obvious win-win for me, and a crushing loss for my parents.

The entry level lakefront market has some quality inventory right now, even if most of that $1MM-$1.2MM inventory has been gobbled up over the past 18 months. There’s a nice new listing in Geneva Manor that I may pay some attention, but I’d probably try to force the lakefront on North Lakeshore Drive of Fontana listed at $1.7MM into the entry level price structure. That’s a find, probably the best out there at the moment, and I’m a big fan of the quirky setting there. The access is difficult, but I think I may like that after some time. It would also give me reason to buy a G500.

Buyers in the mid-market lakefront segment have many, many decisions to make. Do we go for structure and finishes or do we run towards location and frontage? This was a trick question. I can go to ABT on any day, any time, and buy a SubZero. They make lots of them. I cannot, however, arbitrarily buy lakefront value, so I’ll hunt for that first. If I’m a buyer in the $1.6MM to $3MM range, I think I likely pick up the home on North Lakeshore of Fontana listed for $1.95MM. I think I can buy it right, and then I do a fitting renovation of that home. The property next door sold for $3MM, so I know the setting can support increased value. If there was another home in that price segment that combined rare land value, I’d pursue it, but I currently do not see any such temptation.

The upper-bracket lakefront market isn’t quite as easy as it may seem. There are numerous price points here, so I’ll do a quick break down that will find me with budgetary limitations in the low $3MM range, and then again in the $3.5MM to $6MM range. I think I buy the South Shore Club home on Lakeside Lane if I’m a low $3MM buyer, facing the current inventory. The home is beautiful, the amenities elevated and unrivaled, and I know I could put a serious dent in their annual boat gas budget. I would even take pride in having my name brought up at annual meetings in this context, “We must stop Curry from using the boats all the time, how can we do this?”.

Beyond that price point, there is just one active object of my high end housing desire, and it’s not even on the market this morning. The lakefront listed in the mid $5MMs on the East end of Cedar Point Park, with a white half and a blue half, that’s my property. I’d buy it because the lakefront is rare, and huge, and I know I can make the home a suitable manor that would easily accommodate my summer shenanigans as well as my planned winter brooding. The home would be perfect for me. If I am to buy it I must travel to some other state to buy lottery tickets because no one, ever, buys winning lotto tickets in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

So what would I buy right now? Those things.