2019 State Of The Market

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Managing Directors, Those Bored and Successful, My Wife and Children, My Mother Who Reads These Posts, and my Fellow Lake Geneva Admirers: We meet electronically this morning at a moment … Read more

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Spring Market

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Let’s take a moment to appreciate the week that was. Monday we were roused from our slumber by snow, perhaps six inches of it, and we were glad. Or at … Read more

Lake Geneva Lakefront

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It’s January. Time for snow storms that aren’t really actually snow storms, and lakefront price reductions. Inventory will build over the coming 30 days, and price reductions won’t be uncommon … Read more

Lake Geneva Winter

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This is the time of year when social media feeds are filled to the brim with mockery. Mockery of our place, of this place, of the cold. The snowbirds are … Read more

Major Storm

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I’m not sure why you’re spending the time to read this. It’s coming. Can’t you see?  It’s not far away now. Last night, it wasn’t even close. No one cared … Read more

Merry Christmas

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I’ve been a bit absent lately, in case anyone has noticed.  I guess I just don’t have too much to say right now. I wish you a meaningful Christmas week … Read more

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Cool White

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( A rerun from 2017)   The problem with this tradition is that it’s based, at least somewhat, on emotion. On feelings.  Which is why I told my daughter on … Read more

Williams Bay Property Taxes

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Tis the season for dreading the mail. There’s something nice about the season, relating to the mail, I suppose. Each day, my mailbox is full to overflowing. Will there be … Read more

In Between

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I’m sitting here again. Like Groundhog Day, without the square. Just me and this computer, this desk. This street. A few snow flurries outside, just a dusting I’m guessing. It’s … Read more

Lake Geneva Boat Slip

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It’s that time of year again. The time of year when the piers are unceremoniously disassembled and stacked along our shorelines. That happened in October, sure, but this morning there … Read more

Lake Geneva Winter

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I think it’s cute that the city of Lake Geneva is installing an ice rink this winter. The ice rink will complement the ice castles that are currently being built … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving

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There’s nothing more to write. It’s just Thanksgiving. We should be thankful. I am thankful.  We should also be aware that on our list of things that matter, real estate … Read more

Lake Geneva Ski Season

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I write with disappointment today.  Today is opening day at Alpine Valley, the ski hill near Lake Geneva where my family spends considerable time during these coming winter months. Last … Read more

Bonnie Brae Sells

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Over the past few years, there have been some Bonnie Brae sales.  Priced between $1.6MM and $3.8MM, these sales have all made market sense. The street is nice, the North … Read more

Traps

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There are things that I dislike about this business. You know this. I dislike the lack of respect that plagues this career, even while I understand it. I dislike the … Read more

Cedar Point Sells

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After some good old fashioned pot stirring on Monday, it’s time to get back to the business at hand. Specifically, the business of the lakefront market. A few weeks ago … Read more

Big Foot Referendum

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I went to high school in the basement of a church.  To be fair, not all classes were in the basement. Our homeroom was in the kitchen of Calvary Community … Read more

Cold And Frosty

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What a mundane life it would be if we missed mornings like these. Mornings like this. The cold morning where you’re not really cold. The foggy morning where nothing is … Read more

Decisions

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On a day last week, in the afternoon of that day, there was a choice to be made. The sky opened after a period of rain and a period of … Read more

Compass, Et Al

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It should come as no surprise that there’s a competition to be what’s next. In this context, we should capitalize What’s Next.  If you own a business that makes money, … Read more

Wish

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I used to wish for things. Lots of things. In the third grade, I wished that a girl I liked wouldn’t move away. She did. Later, I wished that the … Read more

Lake Geneva Video

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It’s been three years since I had my homepage video filmed. That was a terrific video, if I do say so myself. But this last week’s weather was so perfect … Read more

Buena Vista Sells

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It’s a curious thing to watch buyers as they watch the market, and the houses that exist inside of that market. Buyers are attracted to various things, to shiny, for … Read more

Discernment

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A few weeks ago, I wrote an offer on a property on behalf of a buyer. This is no feat. There is no trick to this. It’s just a form … Read more

Seasons

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In the northern reaches of this state, where monuments to large men and larger fish draw worshippers and summer starts and ends in the span of barely more than a … Read more

One Last Summer

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Somewhere, sometime, there was a decision made. It was a decision based on indecision, really. This would be it. A lifetime here, in this place, but the times had changed. … Read more

Emagine Theater

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I’d like to become the sort of person who only spells theater theatre. I’d like to place emphasis on the A, while I’m at it. But I’m not sure I … Read more

Lake Geneva Realtors

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There’s nothing that makes me hate my chosen profession more than leafing through a local glossy magazine. There are lots of glossies here, most notably that Summer Homes For City … Read more

Glenwood Springs Fontana

Gone

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This week wasn’t like the other weeks. It wasn’t like the one before it, or the two before that one. It’s been a week unlike any since this week last … Read more

Woodstone Lake Geneva

Woodstone Sells

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Woodstone, prior to last week, was a nice subdivision in Linn Township with mostly architecturally pleasing homes and a delightful little wildflower corridor. Prior to last week, the development was … Read more

Loramoor Sells

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Most of the players in this game are endless and unflappable cheerleaders.  I did this! They say. I’m amazing! Others chime. Such is the business of self promotion. Without this … Read more

Not The Same

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I don’t really know exactly how Hamburger Helper works. I assume it’s just a powder mix, with some starch to bind and some salt to flavor. Maybe a dash of … Read more

Today

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It’s another nice day here. The sky is calm and the birds are chirping.  Some water from the sky would be nice, but that’s an opinion only shared by the … Read more

Valley Park Lake Geneva

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My large lakefront offering in Valley Park is still available, though it probably shouldn’t be.  Compare this property to the newest lakefront listing on Geneva, priced at $14,500,000. That listing … Read more

Lake Geneva Buyers

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It’s summer of 2018 and you’re in Lake Geneva.  You’ve done several things right to make it here. You’ve made strategic decisions that have led to this point. You’ve endured … Read more

Lake Geneva Real Estate Market Update

Summery

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My calendar said spring turned to summer last week. The first day of summer, it said, capitalized with an exclamation point. The hardware stores had an ad in the paper, … Read more

Woodstone

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The thing about houses, is they’re all the same. A few bedrooms, some bathrooms. The number of each signaling the value, sometimes.  A kitchen down the hall from the dining … Read more

Buena Vista, Fontana

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A fresh video for my rare listing in Fontana’s bucolic Buena Vista.  This home offers a large private pier, beautifully updated finishes, immaculate gardens, and loads of lakeside patio space. … Read more

Scarred

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It’s still not clear to me whether or not the air conditioning worked. I remember a serviceman arriving in his rusted Suburban, the smell of his cigarettes, the sound of … Read more

On Average

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A lack of inventory is a curious thing. On one hand, lack of inventory typically leads to pricing increases. This is obvious. If I have one of something and three … Read more

The stunning pastels of a Lake Geneva spring

Municipal Musings

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Last weekend, it was hot. You know that. I know that. It was super hot. Smoking hot. Summer hot. If you were here, then you were less hot than the … Read more

Lilacs

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There was an old Lilac outside my childhood bedroom window. It wasn’t a great bush, or tree. Whichever it was, it wasn’t the finest specimen. It was just a bush … Read more

Valley Park

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Follow South Lakeshore Drive far enough from town and after some time you’ll be in the general vicinity of Black Point. But weave farther and deeper off of the known … Read more

Forty

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This weekend, I’ll turn 40. It’s no big deal, really. No feat, nothing particularly impressive about passively allowing time to be measured. I’m probably an old 40, if there’s such … Read more

Hazel’s Baker House Fish Fry Review

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When a new restaurant opens there is much excitement surrounding the event. Yay! The internet screams.  But opening a new restaurant is at once fun and exciting and yet, still, … Read more

Categories Uncategorized

Bay Colony For Sale

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Back on the market just in time for whatever season we’re now calling April, a most memorable Bay Colony lakefront condominium… There’s a thing about lakefront condominiums. The typical way … Read more

Lake Geneva Prices

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There’s an interesting bit of information available this morning courtesy a recent lakefront sale. The sale was of an older house on a 90′ lakefront lot in the Birches. The … Read more

Beware The Traps

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There’s a house for sale not too far from where I’m sitting. It has a roof and some siding and windows. There’s even a deck. It’s close to the lake … Read more

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Process

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There’s a process to this whole thing.  This is something the buyers who wish to be here on these shores, but lack either the financial ability or the mental focus … Read more

Along The Way

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I love my kids. I really do. Of the few things in this life of which I’m certain, that condition is firmly assured. But I can’t stand driving anywhere with … Read more