Well, the market has spoken. I’m Hot. That’s what it said. It said it doesn’t care about things it used to care about as long ago as May. It said it only cares about a lack of inventory, and if you insist that the market cares about something else you should see yourself to the door. The two new lakefronts last week both sold, and with fervor.
What happens to our market next is about to be interesting. I’m going to tell you today that I think these two recent sales have propelled the next pieces of inventory to a different benchmark. Times were (a month ago), a decent house on a decent lot (100 feet or frontage, give or take), would be worth $7M to $9M. In spite of that wider range, the bulk of those properties were going to fall somewhere in the $8M to $8.5M segment. After the heated performance of the two newest offerings, I’m going to tell you the market has moved higher and new inventory that might have been priced in the $8-8.5M segment in May very well might find buyers in the $8.5-9.5M range today.
Of course this is predicated on the performance of the equity markets. The wealth effect is real, and it proves it time and time again on our lake. The only Illinois market that can compete with what we’re doing here is the North Shore, specifically Winnetka. Other than that? The rest of the Midwest pales.
I have a piece of lakefront inventory coming to market perhaps next week, and that’ll be an interesting one to show to you. It’ll be brand new, which is a rarity on our shores. I know of another lakefront that is rumored to be coming to market soon as well, and that one appears ready to test my theory above. Will the market uniformly reward new inventory? I’m not so sure. But what I do know is right now Lake Geneva is as hot as it’s ever been, and while my job has gotten very difficult, the market should cheer the current conditions. What a treat it is to work and play in a market where no one wants to sell and everyone wants to buy.
Above, my Creekside listing. Just reduced to $6.99M. Pool, canopied slip, brand new, and dead sexy. This home on a 100′ lot would be $16M right now. Save your money and take a 28 second golf cart ride to the lake…