The lakefront condo market on Geneva has made it through this period of sluggish sales relatively unscathed. Prices remain stable, and only a slight drop in average sales prices has been noticed. As of this afternoon, there are only 14 lakefront units for sale on Geneva. A couple of those units aren’t really what I would consider lakefront anyway, with some at Geneva Towers, and one sort of on the harbor at the Abbey Villas. The villa unit would actually be a spectacular rental unit if someone was looking for a great return on their investment. I wouldn’t doubt that this unit, if renovated to the Abbey standard, could net an owner as much as $30k in income per year. I know that because I have a unit at the Abbey Villas for sale, unit 17G, priced at $379k, that is on pace to net nearly $25k this year, in spite of having been on the rental program only since May. There is no better return in the area.
A new lakefront condo at Bay Colony is available as of today. It’s not cheap, priced at $749,900, and it’s not even in a good location in the building. The unit is an “04” unit, which means that it’s at the South end of the building. Bay Colony, which is the building to the north of Bay Colony South (get it?) is positioned on an angle for some odd reason, which forces the southern most units into a big mess of trees. The result is a deciduous oasis that blocks your view of the lake pretty good, unless you’re standing on the patio and looking towards the North. Still, the units are of fair size, and come with a transferable deep water boatslip. The last couple sales at Bay Colony were around $600k, including one that I sold in 2006 for that exact figure. $749k is a stretch.
I actually lead the Geneva lakefront condominium market in overall transaction sides since 1999. That’s almost a decade of lakefront dominance. These are lakefront sales involving multi family condominium buildings, not PUD single family developments that only have a condominium zoning. Oh, and those stats don’t include the Abbey Villas or the Abbey hotel, even though for some reason agents tend to think those are lakefront properties. That’s a harbor in front of the Abbey. It’s man made. Suffice to say, I know the lakefront buildings better than anyone, and would be more than happy to give you a tour of the available units. I’ll tell you what, why don’t you come up next week, and we’ll go on a boat tour of the lakefront condo market? Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a fall afternoon to me. Either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday of next week would be fine.