Among a dwindling throng of reasonable Realtors who take the opinion that the market, while in moderate health, is bumping along a bottom trough, I am the self appointed Captain. I see the market in a different way, and the more I write about it and live it, I become even stauncher in my opposition to the “buy now”(!!!) rhetoric that so easily overwhelms the limited vocabulary of most agents. It might surprise you, as it did me, that in a weekend filled with irony, I found myself telling not one, but two different customers the phrase that I really despise. Buy now.
Each deal was different, but both had several common threads at the heart of the situation. Both parties were in search of Lake Geneva vacation homes, and both parties had been working with me for quite some time. One for about 3 years, the other maybe 6 months. The price ranges were significantly different (a spread of more than $2MM), but both of my beloved customers were seeking their own slice of the Lake Geneva lifestyle, it’s just that one had a healthier appetite and a much bigger fork.
I am of a mindset that most properties on the market today are overpriced. I’ve come to that jaded position after seeing list prices fail to react to the new realities of the market, and I’ve been more than vocal in my opinion. Both properties my buyers were trying to buy over the weekend were, in my opinion, well priced from the get-go. This may have been the reason that my buyers had interest in them in the first place, but more than that, both properties fit almost exactly into their lifestyle requirements.
One customer wanted desperately to be in Fontana. This Fontana love is pretty common these days, and I attribute it to the newly refurbished lakefront and road systems. I also attribute it to what I call the Gordy’s Effect, a phenomenon that exists because Gordy’s sells Cobalts, and Cobalts are cool, and all those red bathing suites and Gordy’s logos gang up to brainwash all unsuspecting Illinoisans that lay eyes on all of the above. Whatever the case, this customer loved Fontana, and wanted to be close to the lake on a relatively limited budget. When we found a house that fit the bill, we bid, and after some moments of disheartening silence while we waited to see if another bid from another buyer was going to be written, we were successful in the end and locked the house up pending the forthcoming inspections and contingencies. Either way, the city of Chicago has one happy couple this morning, because they locked up a hot property in the exact location they desired.
The other deal was similar only to one or two deals that I’ve ever done before. It was a heated bidding war between two capable buyers, and ultimately, my buyer won. Did we steal the property? Not really. But we did lock down a phenomenal lakefront property that will hopefully be the subject of a couple future posts here. The property is everything a Lake Geneva vacation home should be, and when most of us close our eyes and picture an estate style vacation home, this property is what we see. The buyer wasn’t able to negotiate the way we would have hoped, but all deals involving two buyers tend to share that result. The negotiations were as heated as I’ve seen in more than three years, and while the deal might be a harbinger of future market activity, I instead think it was simple a case of the right property at the right time, and two different buyers wanted to be the right future owner. I’m incredible grateful and humbled that my buyer was chosen as the winner of what boiled down to a game of high stakes real estate poker.
So two wonderful buyers, two fabulous properties, and one Realtor who proclaimed last weekend the time to buy. There’s a truth in this post that many people might miss. My mantra is still intact, and I my attitude remains opposed to the “buy anything, buy now” (!!!) rhetoric of the real estate world. Instead, I prefer to preach to buyers that they should buy what they love. Buy what will make them happy. Buy a place where family and friends can gather and make aquatic memories for generations to come. Don’t just buy anything, and certainly don’t buy something that is overpriced. But when the time comes, and you find what you truly love, don’t be the guy that refuses to bend just a little to get the job done.
A firm, loving, pat on the back to my two customers who made me proud this weekend. My pat on the back doesn’t come just yet, but when I see these customers lounging lakeside, or driving the winding roads around Lake Geneva this summer, I’ll waive and smile, and maybe, if they’re close enough, I’ll show them the secret LGVHC handshake. That’s when I’ll know it was a job well done.