What odd times we live in. And how much more odd they are when you’re in real estate in a thriving resort market. On one hand, I’m supposed to be sheltering in place. Or am I? I don’t think I am. I think that’s over. Fauci said we can stop wearing masks but sellers require them inside houses, sometimes. Or did Fauci say that? No one knows. We should be worried about the riots, which are happening because a very bad thing happened in Minnesota. But Kansas City is having their windows smashed and someone was killed in Saint Louis because of it, so what’s really happening? In a world facing self-inflicted upheaval there is one thing that remains constant: People want to feel normal.
Maybe that’s why the lakefront and lake access market at Lake Geneva is so hot. After all, during periods of unrest people typically lock down and avoid new things. This time, it’s all different. The unrest has made people more willing to engage in something new. The lockdown has made people want to leave their homes and find something else. The market here has never been hotter. There have never been more buyers than there are today. Yesterday? Fewer buyers. The only question is whether or not tomorrow will have more than today. I’m betting yes. I don’t know why, exactly, but the rioting and the burning and the virus and the stock market and the weather all have something to do with it. You can choose the order of their importance.
Last week, you noticed I listed two new homes. This week, I’ll list at least one more, though my MLS restricts me from telling you about it right now. I guess you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow, or Friday, to learn more. Hint: It’s a lakefront. Another hint: I have another lakefront aside from this one coming to market later this month as well… There have been a lot of lakefront deals lately, including a fresh-fish deal on the Black Point lakefront that has been weighing mightily on the lakefront market. That home is listed just under $7, and it’s not my listing (even though I had some exposure to it once and predicted the final sales price with startling accuracy), nor is it my buyer. From a pure market perspective we can be happy that property has found a buyer. The dramatic and constant price cuts were a negative for our overall market, which is one of the reasons I generally shy away from the sales model that implements consistent price cuts as a strategy. Still, this property should sell this month and that’s a really good thing for the lakefront market. Any tragically aged inventory that sells is a good thing for any market.
The condo house on Bonnie Brae is under contract with a mid $1.7M ask. A deal fell through (for the second time) on Bluff Lane involving a cottage with a mid $1.8M ask. A small cottage on Constance in Williams Bay came to market two weeks ago fro $1.5M and quickly found a buyer (several offers, the rumor goes). One spec home in Cedar Point is still under contract, as is a home on Maytag point in Lake Geneva priced in the low $3s. That’s another piece of aged inventory that I’m glad to see leave the active rolls. A parkway home in Cedar Point hit the market last week and went under contract to a buyer of mine within a day or two ($800k ask). Several other off-water lake access homes sold recently as well. I have an offer being negotiated on my Sauk Trail lakefront, so if you’ve been considering that home you’d do well to stop strolling and start running.
The market is uniformly hot. Each price point touched by the activity. No seller left out of this rush, and no buyer unwilling to consider even the most terrible of options. It’s an all-out buying frenzy, and if you’re wondering why, all you need to do is look at the world today. It’s not normal. It’s messy. Riots are not good. Viruses are bad. But the lake is still blue, the waves still soft, and the sky still bright. If your every day life doesn’t feel so normal, just come to the lake. We do normal really, really well.