There is a strange feeling in the market this morning. It’s not so strange on the selling side, as this always exists there, happily, contentiously, whatever the situation wherever the real estate, sellers feel it. Buyers used to feel it, back in the day. If you bought a house in 2004 it wasn’t always because you wanted the house. Many times, you bought a house then because you knew that if you didn’t, someone else would. The long forgotten feeling that I’m feeling this morning is just that- buyer competition.
New listings are hitting the market at a fevered pace these days, with three new lakefront listings coming to market in just the past week. I brought the new lakefront at 560 Sauk in Fontana to the party, and I’m intent on showing her off to anyone that wants a peek. At $1.599MM, this lakefront is the second cheapest lakefront home on the market in Fontana. The only home with a lighter list price is on the North side of Fontana, and it features a big lot that is limited due to a stream that meanders through from the Lower Gardens down to the lake. I plan on catching rainbow trout in front of that stream in April, but that’s another post.
My new lakefront is four bedrooms, two baths, and has a two car attached garage. If you’re an entry level lakefront buyer, you know that finding a two car attached garage is not a typical discovery in that particular market. The lakefront is fairly level, with just a few steps and a slight slope to contend with when taking the delightful stroll from deck to pier and back again. The lakefront measures 45′ in width which should be suitable for someone to engage in a rigorous renovation or addition, or even a tear down as is the trend that has made many Lake Geneva builders content with other people’s recession.
Currently, there are at least three lakefront homes pending sale. Two in the 700 Club and the third on South Lakeshore in Fontana. I am insanely jealous that I am not involved in any of these transactions, so please do send your friends and family to me so that we might together right this imbalance. There is activity outside the lakefront as well, including a fresh pending sale in Lower Brookwood, and some quality new listings elsewhere. I just listed cottage Q in Fontana’s Belvidere Park– the first cottage there to see the light of the MLS in more than 20 years. This cottage is surprisingly large, with five bedrooms, two baths, a large kitchen flanked by a formal dining room, and both living and family rooms. While the home could use some renovating, it appears to be a suitable shell that could be transformed into a most impressive cottage at the lake. The proximity to the water is unparalleled, the views divine, the amble from front porch to white pier both delightful and swift. I will sell this cottage soon.
With a swelling inventory it is only normal to expect the existing inventory to adjust to the influx. Two side by side listings in Cedar Point Park are engaged in a pricing war, with one reduction prompting another. These are both primed to be bought in the low $1MMs (possibly, but who knows), and the lots are substantial in depth and the elevation not as steep as some at the severe southern point of Cedar Point. If I were a buyer, I’d call myself to talk about these two post haste. The same goes for the cheap Glenwood Springs lakefront and my new entry level lakefront on Sauk. If entry level buyers are active, they should be focusing on these properties before they are badly beaten to the punch. Buyers love to see sellers sweat. They love the competition that drives prices down, and they are right to love those things. But they may have forgotten about one nasty little aspect of a real estate market. Sometimes, buyers are in competition too.