Lake Martin MLS* waterfront home sales did not match the sun and fun for August 2008.
July 2008 waterfront home sales turned in a winner, beating 2007’s mark and giving us hope of the start of a rally.
Unfortunately, August did not repeat, turning in a lukewarm 20 sales, about the same amount for August 2007.
Once again, the old supply and demand thing continues to nag Lake Martin just like the rest of the country. It was heartening to see the first reduction (from 527 to 518) in active listings since November of 2007. The overall active waterfront listings did dip, perhaps (hopefully) beginning its annual cold weather slide:
Another interesting thing to note is the amount of waterfront lots that are for sale right now on Lake Martin. I must admit I was surprised, and triple checked this number. Would you belieive that in August there were 152 lots for sale, and only 2 sold? Check this table:
This confirms the c-store talk among real estate agents. Given these numbers, and scanning the MLS, I think that any buyer looking at Lake Martin as a pure investment play needs to consider a lot. Especially if you don’t want a lot of upkeep. Lots are low maintenance. If this applies to you, let me know, I have a new lot listing that you might like.
I will wait another week or so to post results for 3Q08. I try to give it several weeks after the calendar end date to post results, as a lot of agents lag behind a bit in entering their results into the Lake Martin MLS.
Are you thinking about selling, and would like to know how I would use the above information to sell your property, despite all of the doom and gloom? Contact me. It can be done! Let me share some success stories with you.
Related posts:
More posts on Lake Martin MLS Statistics
(*)Disclaimers: All of the above info was taken from the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. Accuracy is not guaranteed but deemed reliable. The above does not include sales by FSBOs or developers that sell privately and not through the MLS. But, I do think that the above represents a very large majority of all sales on Lake Martin.
John…you need to start using moving averages… and use the listing volumes and sales volumes as trading items.
First off, I want to say that I enjoy keeping up with the market and your summaries are interesting. I could only agree with your conclusion regarding the investment potential of lots if the prices have fallen dramatically. With 3+ years worth of finished home inventory on the market, I would assume that it would push out even further the demand for lot only real estate. The ROI, after carrying costs, would be abysmal unless prices had fallen enough that price appreciation would be huge over time. For the time being, the market is so illiquid, I just don’t see it. I don’t follow it really closely, so I could be wrong.
Ric – sounds interesting – can you send me a link to a site that uses that? I know what you mean by listing volumes and sales volumes, but what do you mean by trading items?
Hamstonian- I see your point. Maybe that is why there is even more months’ inventory of lots than there are homes. I just meant that since the category of lots has the highest months’ inventory, sellers SHOULD be more aggressive. As an investor, it is easier to carry a lot (less upkeep, lower insurance, etc) for the long term. But you are right, in some cases I think you can buy a spec house for cheaper than you can buy a lot and build a house. Illiquidity – well, everything is pretty illiquid right now. I don’t recommend that anyone should buy and flip in the short term (<18 months or so).
Thanks to you both. Excellent comments! Very insightful. Comments like these help us all and make us think, and it’s great to get takes other than mine. I welcome them.
Anyone else out there with some ideas about what the above data means?
John, That makes sense. I would imagine that motivated sellers will start cutting prices (assuming there are some) to move some of that inventory. There has to be a little pent up demand from some buyers at some point.
On a little brighter note and a personal aside. I just rented a Russell cabin a little while ago. A couple of years ago, I probably would have bought something in the middle range of the market. It didn’t seem like a good time to do so right now. Russell has increased their rents by 33% in the last couple of years – 3 bedroom anyway. We are paying 2K a month. I love the place. The fact that they can get higher rents right now probably points to potential owners waiting out the market while enjoying the lake. Even with their rent increases, it is pretty hard to justify not renting right now. There will be plenty of buyers showing up when people feel like there is a bottom to the market. I can not believe how much I enjoy being down there. I can’t imagine that it will stay down too long.
Hamstonian- that’s great news! I am glad you got a Russell cabin. I am sure that you and your family will enjoy it. I totally understand where you are coming from. I prefer the rustic end of the spectrum, myself. I don’t know when your lease period is, but I would encourage you to come during the off season. It is a totally different place. You feel like you own the lake. And with all of the off water places to hike and ride bikes (Russell trails, wind creek, Cherokee ridge) there is plenty to do.
I agree that long term we are still sitting on a gem here. This downturn will hurt for a while, but we’ll be through it soon enough and it will weed out the garden. All the people that I talk to that made a lot of money in real estate (not politicians, professors, or TV hosts, mind you, but people that MAKE money) say that times like these make you rich if you have the cash and discipline to make the right moves.
looking forward for more information about this. thanks for sharing. Eugene