Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
There’s something fascinating about the vacation home market here. On any given Tuesday it can feel like a tomb. Lifeless. Stale. A market so terrible that I consider opening the … Read more
Market Updates
Outing Sells
This was a nice little sale for the buyer and the seller and the market. My most recent lakefront sale, this of a classic cottage (with updates) on Outing on … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
I take no pleasure in the storms that have battered Florida. Not for the storms from the years before this year, not for the storms this year, and certainly not … Read more
8 North Lake Shore Sells
Sometimes, sellers sell and move away. They had their fill and then they push away from the scene and slink into the night. Enough, they say. They move to the … Read more
Circle Parkway Sells
What is it that you want? Do you want a sanitized existence smothered in perfection? Do you value things and places that make you feel sterile and secure? Do you … Read more
Bay Colony Sells
This time of year is pretty interesting when it comes to the commitment levels of vacation home buyers. It’s easy in September to take the view that summer is over. … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
I find it difficut to write this summer. In part, it’s because I see a dislocation in the market that I’d rather keep between me and my clients. Want to … Read more
Aloha Lodge Sells
I’m pretty happy to report my latest lakefront sale. This one is of yet another iconic property, making it the latest in a long line of iconic lakefront properties that … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
No one in their right might would ever suggest that summer is nearly over on July 11th. But here I am, wondering about my mind, thinking that July 11th might … Read more
Lake Geneva Price Reductions
The Lake Geneva market has hit its summer stride. A few sales, a few bits of inventory, a few new contracts, and a massive outpouring of constant and considerable price … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
I’m tired of the rain. It’s been sunny and then it’s been rainy and once it’s a little sunny it’s immediately a lot rainy. The rain is necessary, I suppose. … Read more
Lake Geneva Inventory Study
In the spring and early summer of 2023, the lakefront market introduced a meaningful supply of new inventory priced between $3.2M and $7M. Historically that price range would not operate … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Sales
The lakefront market has had itself a nice little week. Inside of the last seven days we’ve had two lakefront sales and another fresh lakefront contract. Spring is springing and … Read more
Another Off Market Lakefront Sale
Last year 58% of all known lakefront transactions traded off market. The reason this matters is rather simple. If you’re a seller, it’s a trend that cannot be ignored. There … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
March it says. March. It doesn’t mean stroll. It doesn’t mean you should saunter or dawdle or wander. It says March. It’s a command, dammit. March! Such an aggressive month, … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
The year is still young, but it’s March 1st and that means the year isn’t quite as young as we think. With two full months of 2024 under our belts … Read more
Stick Season
There’s a marginally popular song today where some guy whines about how it’s stick season in Vermont and that he’s sad because his friends are gone and his girlfriend dumped … Read more
Pier 501 Sells
I’m thrilled to have completed the transaction at pier 501 in Fontana. This sale is the fourth lakefront sale on Geneva to close over $9.5M in the past eight months, … Read more
2024 Lake Geneva Outlook
In early January of 2023 I wrote my market forecast and suggested that inventory would remain tight in 2023 and that pricing would be difficult for buyers. I added that sellers … Read more
Lake Geneva Average Lakefront Sales Price
Even as the market normalized during 2023, we still managed to keep our average sales price in line with the prior year. One of the many reasons I don’t like … Read more
Lake Geneva Cash Deals
While some are busy struggling to explain how property taxes work, let’s discuss the actual Lake Geneva market. Maybe someday I’ll write an article on how property insurance works, but … Read more
Lake Geneva Off Market Deals
If you pay attention to our lakefront market, you know there is a rather heated debate about the persistence of off market transactions. While many market participants decry the practice, … Read more
Lake Geneva Total Front Feet Sold
Something the market doesn’t discuss very often is the relationship between the lakefront homes sold and the total addressable market. You can see the total front feet sold tends to … Read more
Lake Geneva Price Per Square Foot
Average and median price per square foot held in the $650-800 range for the four years of 2017 to 2020. In 2021 both the average and median gapped above the … Read more
Lake Geneva Price Per Front Foot
Lake Geneva’s favorite metric continues to be one of my least favorite: The Price Per Front Foot. I generally disapprove of the importance that the market places on this defining … Read more
2023 Year End Review
After a decline in 2022 that was likely caused by limited inventory, our overall lakefront sales volume rebounded in 2023 to nearly match the cycle high set in 2021. Most … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
A long, long time ago, my wife packed her bags and I packed a huge desktop computer and we drove to Siesta Key. It was the day after Thanksgiving and … Read more
Folly Lane Sells
Did you know this year there have been three homes listed over $10M sell on Geneva Lake? Did you know that all three were my listings? I guess now you … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
As a professional over-thinker, I have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking. In a world where the top performing agents in the world say that everything is INSANE and … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
Over the past many months the market in our lakefront and lake access market has been dislocated. The dislocation, due to the absence of accumulating open market inventory, led to … Read more
999 Snake Road Sells
By now you may have heard about my latest sale. While the out of towners attempt to lecture the locals on how to market and sell properties, I’m just here … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
I have a friend who ordered a fancy new car two years ago. It was the sort that has a roof you can remove, ideally during sunny stretches of weather, … Read more
700 Club Sells
Few people know that I first sold this house in late 2021 in the high $7s. It was an off market sale that never made its way to the MLS, … Read more
Loramoor Sells
There’s a thing about a quiet sale at Lake Geneva, and that is that it’s not really all that quiet. I can try to keep things quiet, for the protection … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
At this point in the summer there are things that we all know. We know that the Harold Smith deal fell through, or at least it was under contract and … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
By now you know that Harold B. Smith’s estate, Aloha Lodge, is under contract. Find me a market in the Midwest that can sell homes over $30M that isn’t Lake … Read more
Lake Geneva Sales Update
On Twitter, I follow two particularly financial types who hold tight to diametrically opposing views. One thinks the stock market is on a fast race to the moon, and no … Read more
Lake Geneva Rentals
I can’t fully explain to you how pleased I am that the Lake Geneva lakefront market doesn’t care about rentals. What a relief that is to remove rental concepts from … Read more
Lake Geneva Off Market Lakefront Sales
If you read my winter edition of Summer Homes For City People, you know that off-market sales accounted for 0.00% of our 2017 lakefront volume. And if you know that, … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
The news from last week is that I didn’t land a big listing that I was hoping to land. I worked pretty hard to get this particular listing, as it’s … Read more
Lake Geneva Real Estate Marketing
I think maybe I’ve discovered another angle that has exposed just how terrible I am at the newly modified rules of real estate marketing. Everyone knows I’ve sold oodles of … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Inventory
Well, it feels like we’re about to see some more inventory. There’s a new lakefront listed under our MLS’s Delayed heading, which is category I’ve never used and never will … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Performance
I rather like CNBC’s Rick Santelli. He cut his teeth at the CME and CBOT, and speaks not as a refined journalist but as a sharp elbowed floor trader with … Read more
February Market Update
I guess the job of a real estate agent is to pretend everything that’s happening makes sense. Years ago I used to quietly make fun of one market participant who … Read more
Lake Geneva Seasonality
Seasonality is dead, or so I like to tell my clients. This chart below helps show the smoothing of activity for the most recent five year period when compared with … Read more
Lake Geneva Price Per Square Foot
That’s how the structure footage factors into value, but what about the price per square foot of land mass? This metric can be egregiously skewed from year to year, but … Read more
Lake Geneva Price Per Front Foot
Lake Geneva’s favorite metric is also one of my least favorite: The Price Per Front Foot. I generally disapprove of the importance that the market places on this defining metric, … Read more
Lake Geneva Cash Transactions
It’s rather obvious that Lake Geneva isn’t as interest rate sensitive as most real estate markets. I’ve been saying for the better part of the past year that I’d be … Read more
Market Fundamentals
I’ve been chewing on the recent spate of articles involving both the demise of the iBuyer and the slow down in transactions involving real estate investors, and I think it … Read more
Seasonality
Many years ago I rented a condo on Siesta Key. My son was a baby and my business was seasonal, so it made good sense to spend most of the … Read more
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
At the beginning of this year, I spent considerable amounts of time telling people that my sale of the Driehaus Estate for $36,000,000 had little to no bearing on the … Read more
Villa Hortensia Sells
One of the interesting things about cliches is that they only become cliches because they’re used very often. And one of the reasons they’re used very often is because they’re … Read more
Burr Oaks Farm Sells
In case you couldn’t tell, this was a really special property. I was proud to represent this lovely seller and their stunning farm. Sometimes selling a property isn’t an easy … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
Well, I continue to be wrong about this market. Or, perhaps, as Christian Bale as Michael Burry said in The Big Short, “I’m not wrong, I’m just early”. The market … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
I’m bored with this market. That’s why I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like to. Boredom. But it’s more than boredom, it’s irritation. That’s it, bored irritation. The … Read more
Lake Geneva IRS Auction
Well, that’s that. A decade of drama came to an end yesterday when someone paid $6,460,000 for the home at 619 Cedar Point Drive in Williams Bay. I anticipated a … Read more
Sales Trends
If a condo sells because a buyer wasn’t particularly well informed, does this mean every condo should be priced based on the cemented reality of that one sale? If a … Read more
Market Discussion
When I talk about the mood of the market, what exactly am I talking about? What is the market? The Market. It’s a meeting of the minds. A disagreement. A … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
It’s summer 2022 and the lakefront market at Lake Geneva is behaving itself. New inventory is hard to find and existing inventory has been picked over. So what’s next?
Off Market Sales Lake Geneva
The real estate world is at battle over the concept of off market sales. Things didn’t used to be this way, but like most things in 2022, things that didn’t … Read more
The Wall Street Journal
Imagine writing an article on the 1982 baseball season with a specific focus on stolen bases and not interviewing Ricky Henderson. That’s what the freelancers at the Wall Street Journal … Read more
Lake Geneva Real Estate Market Update
A market update for you to consider. The Lake Geneva real estate market has, so far, ignored the headwinds.
Lake Geneva IRS Auction
There are just two houses that get their own chapter in the book of Curry Family Lore. One of those houses is the obvious house, that old dutch colonial pressed … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
There’s no way to downplay the move in interest rates that have occurred over the past three months. I read an article this morning that cited some statistics that should … Read more
Short The Market
There are many reasons that I’m worse at my job than I otherwise could be. One reason is that I really don’t like working on the weekends. It’s a pretty … Read more
Lake Geneva’s Overton Window
The political application of the Overton Window is quite easy to understand. If you’re a mischievous politician and you’d like to raise taxes by 10%, you publicly ask for a … Read more
Lake Geneva Market Update
It’s March, and here’s your lakefront market update. It’s more of a reminder that not every house is worth buying.
Lake Geneva Lakefront Condominium Year In Review
Your 2021 Lake Geneva lakefront condominium year end review.
University of Chicago
A note to say thank you to the University of Chicago for bringing Yerkes Observatory to the Village of Williams Bay.
Lake Geneva New Construction
A lakefront inventory discussion and how the gentrification of existing inventory shapes any given market.
Glanworth Gardens Pending Sale
By now, you’ve heard the news. I have a contract on Glanworth Gardens. While the contract leaves me feeling somewhat sheepish, it’s important to realize that its impact on the … Read more
Glanworth Gardens Is For Sale
For what is believed to the just the third time since its competition in 1907, Glanworth Gardens is available for sale.
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Review
A review of the Lake Geneva lakefront market and its YTD sales volume.
South Lakeshore Drive Sells
Another lakefront sale, another lakefront transaction completed off market. If you want to know what’s happening on the lakefront, you have to work with the lakefront leader.
Bay Colony Sells
One of the things that’s fun about being in the same business in the same market for so long is that I get to see my own theories play out. … Read more
Circle Parkway Sells
Life is a series of goal settings, and when I get to play a role in the accomplishment of a lifelong goal, it matters.
Lake Geneva Fall Market Conditions
The lakefront market at Lake Geneva isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Your September market conditions update.
Lake Geneva Market Discussion
Thinking about Lake Geneva Real Estate? So am I. Here’s a Lakefront Market Discussion for August 25th, 2021.
Lake Geneva Market Conditions
The market is hot. We all know that. But the question on our minds is singular: When does it all end?
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
The Lake Geneva Market is hot, we all know that. But why is it hot and how does a buyer best maneuver inside this harried market? Well, that’s harder to understand.
Lake Shore Sells
1540 Lake Shore Drive sells. My latest lakefront sale is my ninth of 2021, and I’m pretty happy about that.
Lakeview Sells
The entry level market on Geneva Lake has shaken free of the range that once bound it.
Walcowis Sells
There’s this road on the south side of the lake whose name generates some interesting commentary and even more interesting pronunciations. Walcowis. If you think it derived from an ancient … Read more
Fair Oaks
A most exceptional new lakefront home hits the market for the first time, ever. Act quickly.
Fontana Club Sells
The Fontana Club condominiums have one double unit on the first floor. And now it has sold.
Bonnie Brae Sells
The latest lakefront sale is on Bonnie Brae. A lovely approach matters on this lake, even if some properties beg to differ.
Birches Sells
My latest lakefront sale, this one in the Birches. Proof the market tends to avoid what it would rather not understand.
Lake Geneva Lakefront Market Update
The market at Lake Geneva is doing what you know it’s doing. It’s offering very little inventory and that’s making for some very unhappy buyers.
Southland Road Sells
Every lakefront sale should teach us something. The most recent sale on Black Point does just that.
North Lakeshore Sells
569 North Lakeshore Drive in Fontana closed last week. I was happy to represent the terrific buyer in this sale.
Lake Geneva Inventory Problems
This market isn’t easy on buyers. But that doesn’t necessarily give seller’s as much leash as they might think.