Lake Geneva Market Update

The week nearly gone was, to me, a good week. I only fell in the lake once. I successfully helped a seller find a buyer and a buyer find a seller. I found more than my share of Morels (post next week). I bought a new phone, this time choosing a still clumsy iPhone and breaking the Blackberry string that has endured for years. Why yes, Steve Jobs, I am sitting a bit more upright in my chair this morning, thanks for noticing. But the week wasn’t just good for me, it was good for Lake Geneva. And if you’re concerned about Lake Geneva, and why wouldn’t you be, it was, by association, good for you too.

Last weekend proved to me that the market, though walking with a slight limp, is strong and remains filled with buyers. I guess that’s what it is to be Lake Geneva. To be always in control, to be potent, and to always be the best. Last Friday a lakefront home in the mid $1MMs hit the market (not my listing), and what followed was a weekend of activity that I haven’t seen since at least 2007, and probably 2006. There were showings, many, many showings. And there were offers, many of those as well. There was probably eye gauging and hair pulling as well, as buyers scrapped for a bit of cottage heaven in a very rare setting. The fevered activity proved what I’ve been saying for all of 2011- the entry level lakefront market is in sore need of inventory to fulfill the voracious appetites of the buyers that are active and motivated in this particular segment.

When the dust settled this week, I was pleased to have represented the buyer who was chosen to proceed with the contract. There are many types of buyers in this market. There are buyers who need to be convinced that Lake Geneva is the place to be (duh, it is). There are other buyer who will only buy if they feel that they’re getting a tremendous deal. And there are other buyers still who will only buy if the are getting a deal that makes the tremendous deal look mundane and sad. But there are other buyers who know exactly what they want, and where they want to be, and what they want to spend, and those buyers are the buyers who end up buying and being the happiest. The activity at the one lakefront home over the weekend showed that buyers who have done their homework will be successful in the end, while buyers who fail to recognize value and pursue it are forced to find pleasure in kicking that can filled with their vacation home dreams a bit further down a suburban sidewalk.

But there were other deals last week as well. I heard a little rumor about a large estate receiving two offers on it last weekend, though I’m not sure if either of those offers were accepted. I received a contract on my listing in Country Club Estates this week, and we’re looking forward to closing on that property in time for that buyers first of many Lake Geneva summers. There are at least 10 pending contracts on lake access and lakefront homes at the moment, and I’m spoiled to be working on 4 of those transactions. There are 128 other lake access and lakefront homes for sale on the MLS today, providing ample inventory and eliminating any excuses that might keep an ambling buyer away from the lake this summer.

The market right now looks a bit stronger to me than it has, and that’s probably owed mostly to the time of year, but at least partially to increases in the stock market. I’m not going to go on about gas prices helping Lake Geneva, because they don’t really matter much. Buyers love Lake Geneva because it’s pretty much the best lake that any glacier ever dug, not because they can save $8.35 every weekend by not driving another 20 miles north to some other, lesser, tragic, lake. I see activity at the moment in the inventory starved entry level lakefront market, that’s obvious. But there is other activity in the entry level lake access ranges, and I’ve had plenty of showings on my lakefront listings that wouldn’t qualify as entry level. There are buyers in most segments, with the possible exception being the mid-range of the lakefront condo market. There are buyers currently contemplating some of the larger, more expensive offerings, but the sub $600k condo market remains hesitant at best.

You have options for your summer. Lots and lots of them. But I’m hoping you don’t fall into the trap of trying to force a summer of activity into one week-long vacation. Even if that week-longer is at Geneva. Summer is a journey, not an event, and as such cannot be folded and pressed into a week wide box. My summer begins three weeks from today, and I’ve been standing in line with my sweat stained ticket crumpled in my left hand for weeks now. I’m going to be sure not to miss it, and I hope you won’t either. After all, it’s not your only option, just the best option around.

About the Author

I'm David Curry. I write this blog to educate and entertain those who subscribe to the theory that Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is indeed the center of the real estate universe. When I started selling real estate 27 years ago I did so of a desire to one day dominate the activity in the Lake Geneva vacation home market. With over $800,000,000 in sales since January of 2010, that goal is within reach. If I can help you with your Lake Geneva real estate needs, please consider me at your service. Thanks for reading.

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