Lake Geneva Market Update Part 2

This morning I had a wonderful topic in mind. Well, maybe not wonderful, but at least passable, which is better than the alternative, but still less than wonderful. Anyway, I was going to write about a sale in Glenwood Springs. It was a lakefront sale, in the way that Glenwood Springs sales are sort of lakefront sales, and this home sold for $1.25MM. It was a large home, on a large lot, but the location was a bit impaired not because of a giant hill, as many in Glenwood Springs are, but because of the close proximity to both the Country Club Estates piers and Fontana Beach, and the Abbey Harbor entrance. I was going to write some genius bit about how that sale at $1.25MM may have been the last of a breed. It would be the sale that rendered the entry level lakefront home extinct, or at least endangered. It was going to be forward thinking, sharp, and incredibly insightful.

Then, a new lakefront came to market at $1.3MM, and my entire schtick was thwarted. Lest you think I was way off, consider that this new lakefront is in the Lake Geneva Beach Association, which has always suffered somewhat diminished value relative to the rest of the lakefront and lake access scene. Perhaps I wasn’t entirely wrong in thinking that the entry level lakefront home is nearing extinction, but the drama is certainly a bit lessened when I was to tell you about the ending of an era at the same time as the era puts out more offspring. Alas.

Instead of the original movement, let’s just make this a general market update. I know the last post was also a general market update, but things have happened since then. There was a sale a few weeks ago that I haven’t yet mentioned, that of a Vista Del Lago lakefront condominium. That unit came to market a few years ago at a lofty price, and sold recently for $450k. The sale is not the story, rather it’s the condo dues and tax liability that Vista Del Lago cannot seem to escape from. The monthly condo dues on that $450k unit? $1,027. The taxes are in excess of $12k. Vista Del Lago has had a few sales over recent months, but those taxes and those dues are an incredible drag on the market performance of those units. I’m happy the sale took place, but still, ouch.

There’s the sale for $1.25MM from last week in Glenwood Springs, but that’s the one I already talked about, so let’s not talk about it anymore. But I should say that the property was originally listed around $2MM, so even though the market is incredibly active, aged inventory still has to sell at a somewhat extreme discount in order to attract a buyer. That’s all I’m going to say about it. Remember last week, or maybe it was two weeks ago, when I said that the South Shore Club opportunity had nearly passed us all by? Remember when I said that there was a sale pending, that of lot 20, and another sale in the process, that of a built home on lot 12? Remember all that? Well, another lot went under contract last week- lot 19. So, when I told you there were only a few lots left I wasn’t lying, but not there are even fewer lots left to consider. Lots 6, 31,32 are remaining. Better hurry up if you’re dreaming South Shore Club dreams.

There was a new listing on Sidney Smith Lane a few weeks back. You’re forgiven if you don’t know anything about Sidney Smith Lane, because it’s a small, private lane that serves just a few homes. The new listing came to market at $849k, and though it isn’t my listing, I did happen to bring a buyer to that door and we have a nascent contract pending there. It’s a very small association, and with all things Lake Geneva, few owners sharing a pier is always better than many owners sharing a pier. We’ll look for that sale to work through the stages, and then we’ll welcome a new owner to our scene.

If I did see one potential bright spot for lakefront buyers today, it’s in the homes priced around $2MM that have grown stale on the open market. I see several homes in that range that may be primed to sell at a reasonable level, assuming they are realistic sellers who understand the damage that extended days on market can do to a property. If I’m a buyer in the mid to upper $1s, I’d be nibbling on those $2ish listings. Of course, I’d call David Curry for representation, assuming I’m you and I still exist as a person in spite of that assignment.