Aquapalooza 2009 at Lake Martin proved to be a huge success.

I will admit to some head scratching in the time leading up to the event.  How would all those people be shuttled to boats?  Would there be enough anchor room? Would there be enough police?

Russell Marine, Sea Ray, the Marine Police, and Alan Jackson all delivered on a great Lake Martin experience.  It truly lived up to the hype of the biggest party ever on the water at Lake Martin.

Sure, the lines were long for the shuttle boats. Sure, there were hundreds of swimmers in the way if you were boating up and down the lanes.  Towards the end of the afternoon you needed someone in the front of the boat to yell “Move!”  Sure, traffic was congested when everyone left after the Alan Jackson show.  But all in all, it was very well done, and very safe considering the huge numbers of people that showed up.

Big Thanks To Lake Martin Dock Company

As I said above, Russell, Sea Ray, and Alan Jackson deserve a lot of credit.  But I will submit that Lake Martin Dock Company should be right in there deserving some praise, for three reasons:

1.  They worked (almost) round the clock for weeks setting up the intricate anchor system that literally kept the flotilla together.  They also supplied much of the barges, marine equipment, and infra structure.

2. The Love Shack! – see the above pic.  Larry Bain and Sharon Johnston had the most creative and festively decorated spot to watch the concert.  They had an old covered floating dock that they transformed into a fun, shady party structure.  The Love Shack was complete with plants, Smith & Hawken lounge furniture, a gas grill, and a port o potty (with shoji-esque modesty screening).  It was a watermark for everyone at Aquapalooza, as in “go to the Love Shack, hang a right, and we’re the fourth boat on the right.”

3. Hospitality – Larry and Sharon and family were kind enough to have my wife and I on board for the day.  It was so nice! We are in their debt.

The Music At Aquapalooza Lake Martin 2009

We had to leave before Alan Jackson played. We were sad to go but didn’t want to burn our kid sitters out.

I must say that my favorite act was Jypsi.  They were a young band, were yankees, and looked like the B-52s mashed up with the White Stripes.  Looks deceived.  They played some mean, fast, crisp bluegrass. I was loving it. When they cut into Muleskinner’s Blues, I got chill bumps in the ninety degree weather.  I think even my Kentucky buddies would have approved.

More Lake Martin Aquapalooza / Alan Jackson Pictures And Video

Professional:

At the risk of hurting Sea Ray’s feelings, I submit that the best professional pics of Aquapalooza were taken by Kenneth Boone. Kenneth (known around town as “Mr. Perfect”) is the newspaper baron in Alex City, and is one of the best photographers I have the pleasure of knowing.  He has outstanding aerial photos, band pics, and the best collection of crowd photos that I have seen. See below for the link, sorry I can’t figure out how to embed the slide show:

Link to Kenneth Boone’s Lake Martin Aquapalooza Photo Album

Amateur:

There are tons of amateur photos of Aquapalooza on the web.  More being added every day.  The best collection of them that are outside of social networks are posted on Bruce Pate’s Lake Martin dot com.

Aquapalooza Lake Martin Video:

Here’s a quick link to the search results for Aquapalooza Lake Martin on Youtube

Also below here is my video from the Love Shack:

and also one that Palmer (you can hear her laughing at me) shot of me getting interviewed by CMT. My (dwindling list of) friends are already sick of hearing about it, and I am sure that I will not make the final edit, but here it goes:

By the way, if you still have not totally lost respect for me from that goofy interview,

and you are interested in Lake Martin waterfront real estate- please contact me.  I would love to help you!

Here’s what the Lake Martin Aquapalooza  / Alan Jackson stage, boat anchor lines, and swimming area looks like on Friday July 24, 2009.

The music schedule is:

• 11am – Nationwide Coverage
• 12:45pm – Jypsi
• 2pm - Caitlin and Will
• 3:15pm - Matt Stillwell
• 4:30pm - Carter Twins
• 6pm to 7:30pm – Alan Jackson

PLEASE NOTE – the entire area west of Kowaliga / Highway 63 Bridge is a IDLE SPEED only.  The police WILL pull you over and give you a ticket.

The stage:

More Pictures: Slideshow of Lake Martin Aquapalooza Pictures

Also: Pictures of I Love Lake Martin Flickr Group

Notes to the wise: PLEASE make sure that you have at least one sober assistant to help the designated driver (who also should be sober). Make sure that you comply with all Alabama boating laws and regulations.

The best way to get pulled over is to drive recklessly or above idle speed in the concert area. In the 10 minutes while I was taking the above video and pictures, I saw 3 boats / sea doos get pulled over for going too fast. I have also heard of several (deserved) arrests in the past couple of weeks, so be warned, the police will take no guff from wise cracking hoolligans. Have fun, but be safe and be respectful of the law. They are trying to save our lives.

Lake Martin waterfront real estate sales had another great month in June 2009.  Defying most national trends, we have seen a modest rally this summer at Lake Martin.

According to the Lake Martin MLS (comprised of all Lake Martin realty offices, brokers, and agents), 24 waterfront homes and condos sold and closed in the month of June 2009.  This is the best month of sales since March of 2007, when we sold 25.

We also DECIMATED June 2008 – when only 7 sold.  I guess my headline could have read:

LAKE MARTIN SALES UP 342%

While it’s accurate, it is not very intellectually honest to focus on one month, I think.

The recent sales trend is even more impressive (statistically) to me to look at the above graph, which shows total sales for the year to date.  Through June 30, we have sold 77 homes on Lake Martin in 2009, as opposed to only 57 in January – June 2008.  That’s a 35% increase!  To me, that is significant.

We Lake Martin realtors are on track to sell more homes in 2009 that we did in 2008.  Will we beat 2007?  I think we have a decent chance.  Will we beat 2006’s total of 235?  Doubtful. But to put the current month’s sales of 24 in perspective, the most waterfront homes that have ever sold (as far as I can tell) was 37 – and that came in the seller’s market peak year of 2005, in April.

((Sidebar: Study the above MLS sales history for Lake Martin.  How many people do you think realized in 2004 that they were experiencing the second best waterfront sales market, and that 2005 would be the peak? Not me.  By the time we figured out how “hot” the Lake Martin market was, it was 2006, and already headed down.  How long will it take for us to properly interpret 2008?))

So what’s selling?

A natural question. I think the above chart shows us that in 2009 the Lake Martin sales are slightly more heavily weighted at lower prices, with the bulk at $200k – $399k.

The Crowne Pointe Effect

The Crowne Pointe condos have been selling well this summer. In fact I have been and am helping several buyers here (disclosure, I’m not the listing agent, ERA Lake Martin Realty is).

Have these condo sales unfairly inflated 2009’s numbers?

Not really. Through June 30, 2009, only about 29% of the waterfront sales on Lake Martin were condos as compared to 21% last year. However I do think that July 2009’s numbers will be affected by Crowne Pointe sales. Give them credit, Crowne Pointe is a great example of a seller that has adjusted their price and the market has reacted. Sure, current sales prices are half of what was offered at the peak, and people that paid over $500,000 for one might be wistful. But buyers of 2 bedroom units for $199,000 and 3 bedrooms for $319,000 are snapping them up.

My advice is to make your move now on Crowne Pointe, call me if you are interested.

Looking Forward

I predict that Lake Martin real estate sales will be strong again in July 2009, judging by what has already closed at this writing, and knowing what will close in this month.  Every month we have of strong sales increases my confidence that we might be at the bottom, and looking up.

For Every Post I Have Written On Sales Statistics, See:

Lake Martin Market Statistics Category

(*)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.

Here are pictures of the exact locations for the anchor buoys to tie up your boat for the upcoming Alan Jackson concert at Aquapalooza 2009 at Lake Martin, Alabama.

View from the water at Sinclair's looking at Aquapalooza stage

looking from stage site (end of Sinclair's dock on left)

Mooring buoy - anchor lines will be attached to these

From Sinclair's dock looking east toward Kowaliga bridge

More anchors - this will be a no wake zone

Cement anchors that hold mooring buoys.

The anchor lines will be in concentric U shapes around Sinclair's dock

from stage looking over swimming area

from Kowaliga Bridge looking at Sinclair's dock

When: July 25, 2009

Where: Here is a google map to Sinclair’s Restaurant on Lake Martin, Alabama. But please note you can’t get there by car.  You can only boat up to this free concert. That’s why they will have all the anchors out.  The nearest boat ramp is on the north west side of Kowaliga bridge – directly across from, and in plain view of, the stage on the south west side of Kowaliga (aka AL Highway 63) Bridge.

How Much:   FREE

More info: My Alan Jackson Aquapalooza Lake Martin post has more info and links.

What else: Alan Jackson himself has said that they are filming for a TV show I think on CMT so – will you get discovered?  Also there is supposed to be a dancing barge, and swimming area.

Need a Lake Martin real estate intervention?

I really like idea behind the HGTV show, Real Estate Intervention.  It’s real.  It’s practical. And like a lot of these real life intervention shows, if I had any sense I would buy copies to make my kids watch when they become teenagers.

My wife and I were joking that we could make a show about Lake Martin waterfront home sellers - The Lake Interventionist: Helping Sellers Get Rid of Their Unsold Properties By Any Means Necessary. I could be the interventionist, the one that sits down with the sellers, holds their hands lovingly, with dewy eye, and tells them that they need some help.

We could sit around the living room of their Lake Martin house, and instead of friends and family, I could bring with me some local “experts” to address the holy trinity of real estate:

1) Staging.  Bee Little could pat them on the back and encourage them to de-clutter and remove their yard gnomes.

2) Pricing.  My dad (Walter Coley) or Ron Morgan (Lake Dog Appraisal) as appraiser could give them the hard news:  “It ain’t worth what it was in ‘06.” If they’re a spec builder, this might include a (loving) slap and a stern “I don’t care what you’ve got in it.”

3) Marketing.  Pan back to me and I’ll explain that no matter the bad news, there is a way out!  There is a path to success.  Market hard – with first class videos and online marketing.  Forget billboards and newspapers. (Print advertising is as dead as the Boston Globe.)

Sure – I’m farming out the tough love and I get to be Mr. Cool.  But what’s the point of having your own show if you’re not the hero of every episode?

Lake Martin is like any other real estate market: we are seeing an uptick in foreclosures and short sales.  Since Lake Martin is full of vacation and second home property, most of these are spec homes or flips gone bad.

I am helping many buyers right now who are focused on foreclosures and short sales.  I even have a few listed for sale (that are waterfront).  Naturally, I’m getting a lot of calls and questions about the foreclosure/short sale process and how Lake Martin is reacting.

One of the most interesting comments came came from a man who was talking to another guy about buying a boat. (Please note – this boat was a FSBO.  This was NOT a dealer.)  Anyway, the boat seller informed the other guy that

“There are about to be 600 foreclosures hitting the Lake Martin market.”

Is Mr. Boat Seller correct?  I give him about the same odds as my poodle running in the Kentucky Derby.

Can I prove it?  NO.  But the reasons I can’t are the same reasons why I’m pretty sure Mr. Boat Seller is wrong.

1) Lake Martin covers three counties: Tallapoosa, Coosa, and Elmore. When a lender forecloses a home on Lake Martin, or anywhere in Alabama for that matter, they must record the proceedings at the court house.  That means a Lake Martin foreclosure has to be found at one of three court houses.  Since no one (to my knowledge) puts any of this online, it means you must physically go to each courthouse, and physically search deed by deed. Good Luck.

2) Lake Martin does not have one paper of record. Any foreclosures must be advertised in “the paper” right? The Alex City Outlook is by far the biggest paper closest to the lake.  But there’s also its sister paper, The Dadeville Record, also in Tallapoosa County.  In Elmore County you have The Wetumpka Herald and The Eclectic Observer.  Coosa County?  Good Luck.  Therefore, it’s impossible to gauge Lake Martin foreclosures accurately by looking at physical papers or online.

3)   These catch-all foreclosure websites are incomplete and just plain wrong. Maybe sites like Foreclosures.com and FreeForeclosureReport.com work for metro areas with one dominant paper and fully web enabled county courthouse. Like I said above, Lake Martin is made up of 3 rural counties. Those aggregate sites don’t know Walnut Hill from Red Hill.  Most of the information I’ve seen out there is a year old, at least.

So where can you find the most current info on Lake Martin foreclosures?

Call or email an agent like me.

Sorry, but that’s still the best way.

Yep, you heard it right.  The organizers of Aquapalooza 2009 are building a stage on the edge of Lake Martin for Alan Jackson.

And the only way to see the concert is on the water, by boat.

It’s an all day event on Saturday, July 25, with music starting at 11:30 AM and Jackson headlining at 6:00 PM.  Since safety is an issue with an event this size, the concert will be over before dark.

According to The Wetumpka Herald, the stage will be built at the water’s edge, over on the western side Kowaliga Bridge near Sinclair’s Restaurant. There will be a swimming area and dance platform directly in front of the stage.

Click here for a Google map of the Aquapalooza 2009 Lake Martin location.

If you want an upclose view of Jackson, get there early (boats can begin “rafting up” on Friday at 2:00 PM Central).  And please, have at least one sober driver and one sober first mate per boat.  The driver will need to be alert to maneuver, and the mate will need to be the extra set of eyes and help fend off other bumping boats.

There will be mooring buoys with lines in Kowaliga Bay. Attendants on Sea-Doo® watercrafts will direct traffic and helping with boat mooring, and a shuttle service will help you to and from your boat.

Questions about this concert?  Here’s a link to the offical Aquapalooza 2009 website FAQs.

Have fun and be safe.

Lake Martin Voice is proud to give the Reader of the Month award to Robert M for his timely, well captured pictures of Elvis’ performance at Jim’s Bait Shop on Highway 50 on July 3.

Knowing what a huge fan I am, Robert M acted fast on Friday when I sent out this post about The King’s upcoming appearance.  When I realized I could not be there in person, I sent out an impassioned plea for anyone to take some pics or video.  Al Gore’s “internet” did the job, spreading the word far and wide.  They say that Twitter has proved its chops with the Iranian voting scandal, but I say that Elvis at Jim’s Bait Shop trumps that.

Elvis is patriotism in a white jump suit.

I bet he was singing Burnin Love right here.

The King.

On behalf of all Lake Martin Elvis fans, thanks to Jim’s Bait Shop for making this happen.

If you would like to see a slideshow of these, click here.

Do you have any pictures of Lake Martin: wildlife, scenery, people? Add them to the I Love Lake Martin group on Flickr.  It’s free to join, and fun to share photos.

Or do you have any ideas or submissions for stories? If you do, send them to me on my contact form, and you could be the lucky recipient of the next ROM Award.

As a Lake Martin blogger, and huge Elvis fan, I must say that the above was my favorite headline I have ever written.

For those of you that are hip to the Lake Martin Voice Twitter stream, you have already heard the news.

Tonight, July 3, 2009, the King of Rock n Roll, Elvis “The Pelvis” Presley, will be appearing at Jim’s Bait Shop, on Highway 50 in Walnut Hill, Alabama, just south of Lake Martin.

I am going to try to be there to get some video – but if anyone else can get pics or video – PLEASE send it to me.  Or better yet upload it to the I Love Lake Martin group on Flickr. It’s free.  Or you can use Twitpic or Flickr 2 Twitter to upload pics and video, just make sure to type in #lakemartin somewhere in the description so the rest of us can find it!

And yes, the above is a picture of the back of the self car wash & and vacuum area at Jim’s.  The King will truly be amongst the people.

And, as E himself said in King Creole, “Crawfish!”