Lake Martin Voice Realty
Archive for the 'Market Statistics' Category
Lake Martin MLS Sales – Second Quarter 2008 Results
The numbers confirm what we all felt in our guts – according to the Lake Martin Multiple Listing Service – in the second quarter of 2008, sales were down compared to 2007. Also, just as importantly, the number of active listings was up, therefore keeping a lot of pressure on sellers.
If you recall, in 2007 by June we really had a pretty good idea that we were in for a miserable drought. I would have thought that meant June 07 waterfront sales would be a lot lower than 2008 (drought tempered). But I was wrong. The year to date numbers get even uglier. If you read my post about the first quarter sales results, you may remember that we had sold 17 waterfront properties through March 31, 2008 versus 43 through March 31, 2007.
If you add the first and second quarters together, I guess someone revised a few sales because the year to date totals at June 30 are 93 for 2007 and 57 for 2008. Here is a graph to show it:
This graph shows the waterfront sales, through the entire Lake Martin MLS, through June 30 of each year. Each month is cumulative. E.g. through May 08, 50 had sold on the entire lake. 7 were sold in June, so at June 30 the Year To Date Total is 57. Again, I am just trying to show the cumulative effect.
Maybe we have more water in 2008, but Lake Martin also has another thing that is equally potent: more listings for sale. See the below graph. Note that in 2007, the total number of waterfront listings for sale peaked at around 450. Through June 30 we are way past that, at over 500:
I hate to keep beating this drum, but it always comes back to supply and demand. We have 10% more for sale this summer than we did in 2007. This is why sellers must be absolutely focused on their pricing, staging, and marketing. If we continue to have more overpriced and undermotivated sellers on Lake Martin, look for the “days on market” stat to climb even higher.
(*)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.
Related Posts:
Lake Martin Is High, But So Is Real Estate Inventory
Lake Martin Waterfront Sales: April 2008
Lake Martin Waterfront Sales – April 2007 vs April 2008 – A Photo Finish
Lake Martin real estate waterfront sales showed some signs of improvement in April 2008 as compared to April 2007.
In April 2008, there were 18 waterfront homes and condos and 1 lot sold through the Lake Martin MLS.* Compare that to 2007 when 17 homes and condos were sold and 2 lots. Combine them together, and you’re at a dead heat of 19 properties in each year.
For those keeping a running tally, and don’t feel like clicking back to the post where covered Lake Martin sales for the first quarter of 2008, that makes a total of 35 residences sold through the MLS the first four months of 2008 and 50 residences sold in the first four months of 2007.
While it might not represent the explosion of waterfront property sales that sellers were hoping for, it does show a potential for Lake Martin sales to be better in 2008 than they were in 2007.
First of all, in March 07 there were 25 sales, and then in April 07 it dropped to 17. In 2008, we had 11 in March and 18 in April. In fact, sales through the Lake Martin MLS in April 08 matched the sales in the previous 3 months combined. So at least we are on an upswing in 2008.
Interested in buying Lake Martin property? Email me or call me at the number at the top of this page. I’ll help you sort through all of the choices and help you get the best deal for the home or lot of your dreams. All realtor fluffery aside, this summer truly is a great time to buy. Don’t wait until next year.
Related Articles:
Lake Martin Is High, But So Is Real Estate Inventory
Lake Martin MLS Sales – 2007 Year In Review
(*)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.
Lake Martin Is High, But So Is Real Estate Inventory
Spring rains have filled Lake Martin faster than almost anyone expected “ in the first 3 months of 2008 we went from bone dry to runnething over. Will the waterfront real estate market bounce back in three months, too?
Not likely. There is still a lot of inventory to sell which I think will continue to make 2008 a great time to be a buyer. To wit:
A comparison of the first quarter sales in 2008 shows that in the entire Lake Martin residential waterfront market on the MLS(*), there were fewer sales this year than in 2007.
If you look back to the post where I reviewed Lake Martin waterfront sales in 2007, you will remember that January “ March 2007 saw 43 waterfront properties sold:
The same statistics in the first three months of 2008 in the Lake Martin MLS shows sales of only 17:
Is it time for sellers to to give up? Will 2008 see only 58 waterfront homes (17 * 4) sold? Of course not. History shows us that the four months February “ May of every year counts for almost 50% of residential waterfront sales on Lake Martin. We still have half of that critical period to go before we get a better prediction on 2008.
Also remember “ January and February 2008 sales were also affected by the drought. Just look at news reports from that period “ they were dire. Some people openly wondered if the lake would EVER come back. The water level really didnt start shooting up until the last week in February “ when it rose a whopping 4 feet in 7 days. Since then, spirits have been buoyed and more buyers are crawling the coves.
So can sellers relax? Will Lake Martins water level comeback springboard the real estate market back into the raging sellers market of 2005?
Not likely.
There is still a lot of inventory. There is a lot of competition for the buyers attention. It is still very possible to sell in this market (the fact that my lights are on testify to that fact). I am telling all of my sellers that we must continue with intense focus on the golden trinity of real estate: pricing, marketing, and staging. As a seller, you must do all 3 exceptionally well in order to sell on Lake Martin right now. The sellers who get overconfident now will be the last to sell this year, guaranteed.
Are you considering selling your waterfront property now that Lake Martins water is up? Or maybe you just wonder how the last 24 months have affected its possible value? Call or email John for a no guilt, no hassle, pain free Comparable Market Analysis. See the contact info at the top of this page. If you dont want to sell after we talk, no hard feelings “ I promise.
(*)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.
Lake Martin Real Estate MLS Statistics – 2007 In Review
The Lake Martin real estate market suffered a major slowdown in 2007 for a variety of reasons. I dug through the sales results in the Lake Martin MLS to attempt to cut through the gossip and analyze the numbers.
In 2007, the number of Lake Martin waterfront homes sold was about 35% less than in 2006. 2006 was about 17% less than the peak of the sellers’ market in 2005:
Witness the Transformation From Sellers’ to Buyers’ Market:
In 2006 and 2007, the number of Lake Martin waterfront homes that were added as new listings to the market out paced those that were actually sold every month. Therefore sales inventories ballooned, and this 24 month period proved crucial:
More Analysis Of Waterfront Homes Sold in 2007:
153 Lake Martin homes sold in 2007. Of those, 114 were homes and 39 were condos. Of the 153, 142 were deeded lot homes and 11 were leased lot homes.
Prices of Homes Sold in 2007:
Of the 153, 13 homes were listed as having sold at $0. This happens sometimes. Most of the time it is at the request of the seller. A minority of people don’t want “their business” on the MLS. Sometimes it is a builder that doesn’t want to publish how far he dropped the price. So the below statistics will only deal with the 140 that sold and published prices:
The most expensive home sold was for $3.88 million in The Ridge. The lowest was a manufactured home on a leased lot in Pleasure Point for $25,000.
LOTS:
Sales of waterfront lots on Lake Martin were also affected in 2007. In total, 37 lots were sold in 2007, as compared to 55 in 2006. The monthly sales numbers are:
As the numbers point, out, now is a great time to buy Lake Martin waterfront real estate. Do you need help finding the best deal? Let me show you around..
Or do you own Lake Martin property, and are wondering how all of this news affects your particular situation? Call me, I will be glad to give you an idea of how the changing real estate market will translate to your bottom line. No cost, no pressure, no kidding.
Still curious about Lake Martin real estate statistics? Leave a reply below and suggest how you would like me to slice and dice the numbers.
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.
