Lake Martin Voice Realty
Lake Martin Waterfront Lot Sales 2011
Waterfront lots sold well at Lake Martin in 2011. We the members of the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors MLS* reported 39 waterfront lots were sold, which was 44% better than 2010 and more than double the total sold in 2008.
If you missed my Lake Martin Year End Review 2011 post where I covered the basics of homes and condos sold last year, please click here. Back to lots …….
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Last year when I covered Lake Martin’s waterfront lot sales for 2010 in this post, I called 2010 the comeback year for lot sales. Any time you have a 42% increase (19 to 27), that’s a comeback. 2011 posted another huge gain – 44% – over last year. I guess that is a Secretariat-eque, shut the competition down, stretch run.
Lake Martin Waterfront Lot Prices
The next thing I wondered about Lake Martin’s lot sales was the price distribution. What are lot prices like? The careful reader knows that I confess an almost prideful love of the lovely bell curve that the line chart of homes sales prices makes. Does the phenomenon repeat itself with lot sales?
Sadly, no. I tried for like 2 hours to make an informative yet pretty and easily readable chart to display Lake Martin lot sale price distribution. I could not make it work. My chart skills with Apple’s Numbers program are lacking and I just don’t think such a small sample works. I guess maybe I have to break the sales bands down to a very small increment, say $20,000. But that felt like I was imposing a result on the chart, instead of just following where the numbers led me, so in the end I decided to merely post the chart with the source data. It is pretty easy to read, anyway.
I also think that when you have a small sample pool as we do with waterfront lots, it makes better sense to drill down to examples rather than looking at macroeconomic trends.
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Lake Martin Lot Sales Trends
When I look at the sales results since 2008, I think that I see the greatest change in the price range of $150k – $199k, and then also in the $350k – $449k range. Those price bands jump out at me as the ones with the most relative increase in sales.
The $150k – $199k range didn’t really surprise me. That is the meat of the market and one would expect good sales there in any good year. The spurt of 9 sales in the $350k – $449k range is interesting and worth a closer look.
It turns out, as I expected, that all nine of them are in deed restricted neighborhoods with covenants. That is not too surprising in that most people that buy a high end lot on Lake Martin would like the protection of neighborhood covenants. True, there is a fair contingent of lot buyers who chafe at the yoke of Architectural Review Committees, but apparently at this price range most prefer it.
Also, of the nine waterfront lots sold in this range, seven were in neighborhoods developed by Russell Lands. Does this mean lot buyers seek out their lots? I can’t tell for sure, but I doubt it. I think it is simply a function of numbers. Most Lake Martin lots above $200,000 are in Russell Lands neighborhoods, so odds are that they will show up in the sales results. For this particular range of $350k – $449k, four were in The Ridge, two were in Willow Point, and one was in River Oaks to round out the seven. The two that were not in Russell Lands developments consisted of one in Marina Marin and the other in a small neighborhood called The Overlook on Lake Martin. It is off of Old Tree Road near Martin Dam.
Effect Of Neighborhoods On All Lot Sales
Next I began to wonder about all of the waterfront lot sales on Lake Martin. How many of them are in deed restricted neighborhoods? How many lot sales were the quintessential quaint country lot, free of covenants, where every man is his own master?
The answer is –> not many. Of the 39 waterfront lots sold on Lake Martin in 2011, only 9 of them appear to be free of covenants and are outside of neighborhoods. Now, I must alert you to a huge warning – I am only guessing at their restrictions here. Of those 9, maybe some do have restrictions and I just can’t tell from the MLS or from prior knowledge. But of the 30 that I counted as having covenants, those I am positively sure that they are in neighborhoods.
Interestingly, the highest price lot sale that was outside of a neighborhood was $300,000. There were two in the $150k – $200k range, but the rest were under $150k.
A last thought - being inside a neighborhood doesn’t guarantee a high sale price. The lowest priced lot sold in 2011 was in River Oaks, a Russell Lands development, and sold for $45,000. Before you ask – yes, it was in the back of a slough and had minimal waterfront and minimal water depth. I referenced it when a builder called me yesterday. He wanted to spend $50,000 for a lot, but it had to have year round water, a good view, and over 100 feet of shoreline on a private lot. Sorry, I said. Not going to happen.
Effect of Foreclosures on Lake Martin Lot Sales
How many of the lots sold on Lake Martin in the last two years were bank owned, REO, or foreclosures? Was this responsible for the sales increases?
I think the answer is not so much. Sixty six waterfront lots were sold from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2011. I searched the owner name on all of these and eleven appeared to be foreclosures. The reason I had to make guesses on owner names is that in our MLS, we didn’t have a field marked “Foreclosure” until 2011. Going forward we will be able to search by that field. But since this included 2010, I had to guess at the owner name and trust that the listing agents had them right.
Eleven foreclosed lots out of 66 gives us about 17%. While that is higher (I think) than the percentage of foreclosed waterfront homes that were sold, it’s not that much higher. My gut tells me that only about 10% of homes sold in 2011 were foreclosures. If we reduced the foreclosed lots down to 10%, it would only be a 5 lot reduction, moving the sales totals to 34 for 2011. Still an excellent year.
Verdict: foreclosures affected lot sales only a little. I was surprised on this, I thought it would be more.
Do You Have Any Questions?
As I continue to break the numbers down for waterfront real estate sales on Lake Martin, please feel free to email with this form or at [email protected] with questions. I get my best ideas from my readers and clients so please feel free.
I think next I will look at residential sales again, and study the effects of foreclosures and condo sales.
Related Posts:
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2011 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2010 – Lot Sales
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2010
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2009 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2008 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2007 – Year In Review
All Lake Martin Market Reports
(*)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 waterfront sales on Lake Martin, Alabama.
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2011 – Year In Review
Lake Martin waterfront home sales finished 2011 in style, selling 207 waterfront residences on the entire lake.
This total gives Lake Martin the highest home sales since 235 were sold in 2006. That’s not bad once you think about it. We posted the highest sales in five years. The statistics I quote are taken from Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors’ MLS*, and represent all real estate agents, all brokerages, over the entire lake.
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The significance of this strong year of home sales cannot be understated for Lake Martin. I have said it many times here on this blog, but it bears repeating: the Lake Martin waterfront real estate market is at least three and a half years past its bottom. Since July of 2008, everything has been uphill with regards to numbers of homes sold.
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Lake Martin Waterfront Home Sales By Month
If you would like the source data for the chart above, here below are all waterfront home, condo, and town home sales on Lake Martin, broken down by month:
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Below please find a line chart showing the same data for Lake Martin homes sold, I just removed 2005 through 2007 since I was getting too many lines on my chart and it was becoming hard for me to read. I feel that 2008 is an appropriate year with which to start this chart since it was the bottom.
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I think it is also notable that 2011 is the year that the market once again broke the 200 homes sold barrier. This is the first time we have broken 200 since 2006. Back then, Lake Martin was still firmly in the sales boom, although numbers of waterfront homes sold were dropping, prices were still rising. We didn’t quite realize that it was turning down. Those trying to sell their Lake Martin homes should have gotten out then if they wanted to perfectly time the market.
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This year, I think that Lake Martin is in just as pivotal a year. Sales increased by about 6%, but I think that prices still have not risen at all. I think that may change in 2012.
Lake Martin Waterfront Home Pricing Trends
I only look at prices of homes sold once a year on Lake Martin. This is because we have such a small number of homes sold, relative to large metro markets. It doesn’t make sense to look at it monthly because two or three abnormal homes can skew it too much. You sometimes see a 100% increase or decrease from month to month. Too volatile. Similarly, I do not track Lake Martin home prices by calendar quarter because we are a seasonal, second home or vacation home market. Check out the monthly sales chart above and you can see that the bulk of home sales happen in warm months.
I attempt to solve our small market problem by breaking the homes sold into categories, in increments of $100,000 to start with, and then observing what percentage of the total sales that each $100k band represents.
Without further ado:
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I think the above chart shows very clearly, and confirms my gut’s suspicion, that waterfront home, town home, and condo prices did not decrease on Lake Martin in 2011. They held steady with 2010 and 2009. While some sellers may interpret this as bad news (no sales increase) I think they should count their blessings.
At least there was no dip or decrease in prices. I would be shocked if there were. After all, Lake Martin is in a rising sales environment and has been for years.
So What?
So what does this chart mean? I think it means that once again, as in 2009 and 2010, the largest percentage of homes sold on Lake Martin were in the $200,000 – $299,999 range. Right at 25% of the waterfront home sold in 2009, 2010, and 2011 sold in that range.
If we had seen the entire bell curve shift forward towards the blue line of 2008, we could say (in my opinion) that we have evidence of price increases. But it didn’t.
I am tempted to say a price increase shift is starting in the way the $300k – $399k and $400k and $499k bands are bulging out a bit, straining in the chute, if you will. 2011 had a lot more sales in the 400s than did 2010, but the prior year beat 2011 in the 300s. I will call it a draw.
Why do I think there is a chance that we might see price increases in 2012? Because the home sales results keep chipping away at inventory. At the end of December, there were about 359 waterfront homes and condos for sale, after 207 sales in 12 months or a ratio of 1.73. Sure, December is the lowest listing period. But in December 2010 that number was 394 / 195 = 2.02.
Sellers - please hear me out. It is NOT time to raise prices like it was 2006. I am just saying that I can see the easing of downward pressure if sales continue.
Please stay tuned, I plan to write a lot more about 2011 Waterfront real estate sales on Lake Martin.
Related Posts:
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2010 – Lot Sales
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2010
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2009 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2008 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2007 – Year In Review
All Lake Martin Market Reports
(*)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 waterfront sales on Lake Martin, Alabama.
Lake Martin Waterfront Home Sales Beat Prior Year
It’s official, Lake Martin waterfront home sales in 2011 will be better than 2010.
Through October 31, 2011, 195 waterfront homes were sold on Lake Martin. If you check the Lake Martin real estate market for the entire year of 2010, you see that it took the full 12 months to reach the 195 level, and 194 were sold in 2009.
Since unofficial November 2011 results show that at least a few waterfront homes sold, one can confidently say that we beat the prior year of 2010.
My conservative guess is that the Lake Martin real estate market will finish 2011 with about 205 waterfront home sales. That equals an approximate 5% jump from 2010, and about 49% up from the post bubble low in 2008.
Lake Martin Waterfront Home Sales By Month
The below chart shows Lake Martin waterfront property home sales by month. It is from January 1, 2008 to October 31, 2011. You can see that 2011, at a monthly level, beat 2010 at almost every month. Please keep in mind that these numbers come from the Lake Martin MLS*, and reflect only waterfront home, condo, and town home sales by all members of the Lake Martin MLS, all brokerages.
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Cumulative Lake Martin Waterfront Home Sales
If you take the monthly sales numbers for the Lake Martin real estate market and add them together, you get the cumulative sales results. To me it is a bit easier to judge at a glance on this chart to tell how the year in total is trending versus prior years.
Please see the below chart. Here again I start at the post bubble low year of 2008 and bring it through October 31, 2011.
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Lake Martin Home Sales Versus Same Month Prior Year
Of all the numbers I crunch, of all my nerdly charts, the below one is the one I watch the most. It tracks how each month fares versus the same month in the prior year. For example, in October 2011, 15 waterfront homes were sold on Lake Martin. October 2010 saw 13 sales, all agents, all brokerages. That gives us a +2 rating for the current month.
Any positive number here is good. If I see several months in a row of negative numbers, I know that Lake Martin is in danger of stalling again. If we had been watching closely in 2006, we could have seen this coming.
The second home market here at Lake Martin has been on a win streak since since mid 2008. Has 2011 kept it rolling? The answer is yes.
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Lake Martin Waterfront Lot Sales
Has the momentum in home sales been mirrored in Lake Martin lots?
The answer for 2011 has been yes.
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While October 2011 itself racked zero waterfront lots sold, the year in total has been a runaway success. Through October 31, thirty three lots have sold in 2011. Compare that to 27 for all of 2010, and you see a hefty gain. Consider that 2010 was the lot comeback year, and you can appreciate the gravity of 2011′s success.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that 2008 and 2009 represented a two year divot for Lake Martin lot sales.
I like lot sales because they are a general barometer of construction potential. Let’s hope that our construction industry feels the trickle soon.
Related Posts:
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2011 – Through May
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2010 – Lot Sales
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2010
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2009 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2008 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2007 – Year In Review
All Lake Martin Market Reports
(*)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 waterfront sales on Lake Martin, Alabama.
Lake Martin Waterfront Lot Sales: 2010 Year In Review
2010 proved to be a pivotal one for waterfront home sales on Lake Martin. But what about waterfront lot sales? Would they follow the pattern set by homes? That is, would our real estate market see an increase in number of lots sold, then finally a halt to the drops in prices?
Well, first we have to see an increase in the number of waterfront lots sold on Lake Martin in a year. Prior years have seen that number slide. So what happened in 2010?
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2010 was a great year on Lake Martin for waterfront lot sales. Lot sellers saw that the number of lots sold jumped from a bottom of 18 in 2008 and 19 in 2009 to a healthy 27 in 2010.
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Market Shift in Waterfront Lots
I think that this increase signals a market shift for Lake Martin waterfront lots. Tracking the number of lots sold should tell us that changes in prices are not far behind. We have studied this theory, and now seen it in practice with waterfront homes on Lake Martin.
While waterfront home sales bounced back in 2009, it took until 2010 until prices quit falling, as we saw in this market report.
Similarly, I think that 2011 lot sales will display that same trend. I think that if – that’s if - we see continued strong lot sales, prices will stop declining in 2011. Therefore my best guess is that it will be 2012 before we have any real chance of seeing lot prices of up. Obviously, 2011 sales will dictate that.
At the end of December, 2010, the Lake Martin MLS showed that 162 waterfront lots had the status of “Active” – aka are for sale. That means that at the sales rate of 27 per year of 2010, it would take 6 years to sell all of the lots. That’s 72 months of inventory. Tons. That’s my one reservation for predicting too quick a stop of slide on prices. The “months of inventory” number needs to be drastically reduced before the market will exert any upward pressure, in my opinion.
Waterfront Lots Sold: Price Distribution
It’s always interesting to see how the prices of lots sold on Lake Martin look.
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A Word On Price Per Waterfront Foot
In my opinion, the single BIGGEST screw up that Lake Martin buyers, flippers, appraisers, real estate agents, and bankers made in the “boom times” was estimating a lot’s worth at price per waterfront foot. Maybe it didn’t hurt the average lot buyer too bad but I can think of 3 or 4 specific incidents where people bought, say, 1,000 feet of Lake Martin shoreline and applied some vague price per square foot to it, and assumed they made money when they bought it.
Wrong.
Many of those parcels of land are in foreclosure now, but they are in the form of failed subdivisions. This method IS WAY TOO INACCURATE to be used. To wit:
In 2010 the least expensive waterfront lot was sold for $30,000 – a 100 foot lot north of the 280 River Bridge. Yes, $300 / waterfront foot.
One of 2010′s most expensive lots sold was one in the Russell Lands development of Trillium. The Lake Martin MLS stated it had about 427 waterfront feet and sold at $900,000 – or about $2,100 per waterfront foot.
$300 to $2,100 – that’s a pretty wide spread. Don’t be tempted to dumb things down and use averages. Avoid that method all together and use the comparable sales method like we do for homes.
Do you own a waterfront lot on Lake Martin and are wondering how this news affects you? Or maybe you are looking for one. We can help. Please contact us here or at 334 221 5862.
Related Posts:
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2010
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2009 – Waterfront Lots
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2009 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2008 – Year In Review
Lake Martin Real Estate Sales 2007 – Year In Review
All Lake Martin Market Reports
(*)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 waterfront sales on Lake Martin, Alabama.
Lake Martin Lot Buyers – An Interesting Trend
I 
am about to list a new waterfront lot for sale on Lake Martin. In the course of researching for every new piece of real estate, I run the numbers on similar sold property to see if I can spot any trends. I must admit I was surprised to realize that:
Lake Martin Waterfront Lot Buyers Are Sticking in the ‘Hoods
From January 1, 2009, to June 20, 2010, 23 waterfront lots have sold on Lake Martin. Of those, 14 are located inside the higher end neighborhoods, mostly those developed by Russell Lands. Check it out:
6 – The Ridge 6/23 = 26% of total sold
4 – The Preserve at Stoney Ridge (not Russell Lands) 4/23 = 18% of total sold
2 Trillium 2/ 23 = 9% of total sold
2 – River Oaks – ditto
If you add those up, that’s about 61% of lots sold are in these formalized neighborhoods. Before you are tempted to think “big deal” – consider this: as of this writing, there are 179 waterfront lots for sale on Lake Martin through the Lake Martin MLS. At our current sales rates, that is about 11 years’ worth of inventory.
The Ridge 31/179 = 17% of total for sale
The Preserve at Stoney Ridge (not Russell Lands) 11/179 = 6% of total for sale
Trillium 6/179 = 3% of total for sale
River Oaks 14/179 = 8% of total for sale
Did you see that?
These Lake Martin developments are selling at at least double, sometimes triple of their expected rates from the sales pool. Hey, no one should be bragging at these slow sales numbers overall. But let’s at least acknowledge who is getting it done.
If You Own a Waterfront Lot – 2 Things to Take Away From This Post:
1. 11 years’ worth of inventory is still an extreme buyer’s market – that means, at current sales rates, if nothing else came on the market, it would take 11 years to sell all that we have for sale on Lake Martin right now.
2. You must know your competition – if you are outside of a Russell Lands neighborhood – you must market to those who are more likely to buy your lot. We have over 700 miles of real estate around Lake Martin and only a tiny fraction are inside The Ridge, Trillium, Willow Point, etc. In other words, there are great lots inside their neighborhoods, but there are also tons of great lots outside them. You (or your agent) must be able to verbalize the selling points of your specific lot to find your perfect buyer.
If you need help, please contact us at this form or the email address at the top of the page. We would love to talk to you about your lot.
2 Ways Creative Marketing Sells Specialized Real Estate
Are you selling “specialized property” on Lake Martin?
If so, you need to 1) lead with creativity, then 2) knock ‘em out with information.
Let me explain . . .
In mid 2009, a regional bank foreclosed on a waterfront home on Lake Martin.
I was honored to be selected as the listing agent. But as soon as I walked through it the first time, I knew it would be a special property that would take some ingenuity to find the right buyer.
Let’s face it – vacation homes on Lake Martin, or anywhere for that matter, are pretty specialized properties. Each one is unique, with its own set of selling points and challenges.
But the home on Castaway Island road was doubly so. First, it was a leased lot home. Secondly, its location in the Castaway Island community might seem awkward at first glance.
1. The Lead – Creativity
I knew I had to get some attention to the property fast, so I turned to video. I love video as a medium to highlight the Lake Martin area and my listings in particular.
Normally my listing videos are pretty formal. I move slowly through the property, with narration and soothing music playing in the background. But I felt this wouldn’t do for the Castaway home. Check it out:
As you can see, I went with a more avant-garde, home movie feel. I offered to buy someone flip flops. I felt this captured the feel of the community. That’s what is so fun about having a home there: being able to walk to the marina, the restaurant, everywhere, with your family. I knew this from growing up nearby, and visiting friends there now. I knew that the eventual buyer would be someone that would appreciate this.
Hey, I’m selling lake homes! Can’t I just let loose and have fun sometimes? Now that I had the market’s attention, I went for the:
2. The Knock Out Punch – Great Information
Let’s face it, fun might get you to splurge for a pair of goofy flip flops, but creativity alone won’t spur you to make the investment of a lake home for your family.
Especially this one. It’s affordable price was explained by the fact that it is a leased lot home. This means that you own the bricks and sticks, but pay a modest monthly lease amount to Alabama Power for the lot.
For people that are new to Lake Martin, the concept of leasing dirt, and buying the home that sits on it, can be puzzling. Let me be plain, I have talked to many long term lakers that have no clue about it either.
Solution? Information. I wrote and researched about leased lots on this blog. I talked to Alabama Power leasing representatives. I reviewed the current lease, and proposed lease renewals. I talked to lawyers. I interviewed people that have been leasing for years and years.
The result was I was able to help the buyer get educated on the process, thus removing the uncertainty of the unknown. Voila.
What about you?
Do you own a waterfront home, lot, or condo at Lake Martin that is highly specialized? Concerned that you can’t find an agent with sufficient creativity to market it properly? Contact us, we would love to take a swipe at it.
Or are you a buyer, and have you been told you are too picky? Can’t find what you want? Have you made offers, but have been told you’re crazy? Call us, we may be just crazy enough to take on the challenge.
Best Buy List: A New Lake Martin Voice Tool
Our Lake Martin waterfront foreclosure list continues to be hugely popular with home buyers or people just curious about Lake Martin real estate.
This spurred an idea for a new tool: Best Buy Lists.
Our Best Buy Lists will be like the foreclosure list in that it will be made up of properties that we think are worth attention. Some might be our listings, but most will be other agents’ listings.
We think we have great waterfront homes and lots for sale, but hey, so do other agents. This tool will hopefully help you cut through the noise and chatter and focus on the most promising deals.
Click here to fill out the Best Buy List – Under $350k request form.
Best Buy Lists FAQ:
Why make me request the list? Why not just publish the homes and lots here?
Most will not be our listings, so we don’t have permission to advertise them on our site where consumers might be confused that they are ours. But we are members of the Lake Martin MLS, and therefore have authority to share in information that a person to person fashion.
Where do you get your info?
We are members of the Lake martin Area MLS and the Montgomery MLS. They will likely all be from the Lake Martin MLS as the Montgomery has only a handful of homes that aren’t already in Lake Martin.
How are they organized?
By price. Our first Best Buy List is for properties (waterfront lots, condos, and homes) that are under $350,000. Future Best Buy Lists will be at other price levels.
Any disclaimers?
Plenty. Just because something’s on this list does not mean that we think it is tremendously under priced or structurally perfect. Do not take this list as any statement of value or statement of property or title condition. Do your own due diligence. However, we do think that these properties are worth checking out.
Can you help me with one I like?
Of course. Please contact us if you see anything interesting on this list, or anywhere on Lake Martin for that matter. We seek to be your guide in all things Lake Martin real estate.
What Does A Lake Martin Lot Cost Per Waterfront Foot?
The LakeMartin.com forum is a treasure trove of good discussion about Lake Martin real estate and lifestyle. The title question was posed by member Hero.
It is an excellent question, so I hopped online to try and help with an answer.
Here is his entire question:
“I have read and heard over the years that lake property value would average $1,000 per foot of shoreline. Now, I assume if it’s a really great lot (flat, point lot, nice area, etc) it could be more however if it’s not so great (steep, bad view, little water, etc.) it would be less
Example – if it’s a flat, large point lot with a really nice view, yard that included a nice seawall around the pennisula, a nice (but not great) house, boat house and pier in a nice (but not great) area would it be valued around the $1,000 per foot of shoreline? (more or less???)
I’m thinking about putting one the market but have no idea how it asses the value.
Any thoughts?”
Many forum members chimed in with answers (and I’m not just saying that because they recommended me:)). Read the entire post here.
My answer:
“a link below that may help. I wrote this post way back in February of 2007, during, granted, a different market, and geared to buyers. But the concepts are still the same and apply to sellers.
In fact, I would argue that the per square foot (for a home) or per waterfront foot (for a lot) approach is what doomed many flippers and builders on Lake Martin during the real estate bust. They sold a 2,000 square foot home on a 150 foot lot for $500,000 in 2007, so in 2008 they built a 4,000 foot home and tried to sell it for $1 million, and it didn’t sell. Hence the foreclosures.
Naturally, as a realtor and not an appraiser, I would disagree with the above and would advise talking to a realtor before an appraiser. It’s free, and no commitment is necessary.
However I agree that in many instances you get a bloated amount from the realtor. Whether you chalk this up to the agent trying to “buy” the listing with the intention of talking them down later, or attribute it to many sellers that say “I want your honest opinion” then get their feelings hurt when you give it – I don’t know what the answer is.
From years of experience and many, many, many Comparable Market Analyses done for people, I can tell you that when I don’t get the job, the far and away #1 reason I don’t get it is that my price was too low. I see it on the MLS for a price that I looked them in the eye and told them I thought was unattainable.
Let me tell you, it is a tough part of the job. Many times you are sitting knee to knee, eyeball to eyeball with a crying, grieving wife who just lost her husband, a couple counting on cashing in for their retirement, or someone who just lost a job. It weighs on my heart. But I figure it is more cruel to blow smoke up their skirt and string them along for two years and then say “see? we need to lower price.”
What’s even more remarkable to me is when the house has been for sale before, at a too high price, and they end up going with the original agent, at the same high price. I can never figure that one out.
Let me be the first to say, I am not perfect. I miss prices. But hopefully only by 5% or so, not by the 20% I think some things are still overpriced by. But I do back it up with numbers. Scads and scads of numbers and examples.
(you have mail)”
Thanks, Hero, for a good discussion question!
Now that I read it back, maybe I got a little dramatic on the tough part of the job. I am not saying I should be patted on the back for helping in the right way. I am just saying it’s easier to tell them what they want to hear.
FOR A LOW PRESSURE, ACCURATE ESTIMATION OF YOUR HOME’S VALUE, EMAIL US at info [at] lakemartinvoice [dot] com.
Just as important as price is the marketing plan. Are you tired of the same old approach to sales? Do you want to hear a plan that works with today’s buyers?
Related Posts:
5 Mistakes Made When Buying Real Estate On Lake Martin (from Feb. 2007, I was but a baby blogger).
Proof of End of Seller’s Market On Lake Martin (July, 2007)
Lake Martin Open House Video – Mariners Road
My listing videos of Lake Martin homes have proved so popular that this year I have decided to come up with a new series of videos and blog posts:
Lake Martin Open House Videos!
These will (mostly) not be my listings. I thought it would be fun to tour through open houses at Lake Martin and video them for viewers and buyers. Since we are in a rural area, and since most people work during the week, I figure that there are a lot of folks that would like to see inside some of these lovely homes. So stay tuned for more open house videos!
Also, please keep in mind that, as a member of the Lake Martin Area Assoc. of Realtors- I can help you if you are interested in this or any other home, even though I’m not the listing agent.
The listing agent on this home is my friend and office neighbor Becky Haynie with RealtySouth. Their office is right next door to mine (Lake Martin Voice Realty) in the Nail’s commercial mecca, downtown Kowaliga.
This was a fun open house. The weather was beautiful (if not a little windy) and clear. I knew these particular sellers to be excellent cooks. I was not disappointed! They had some tasty sausage balls and coffee to fight off the cold, plus some strawberry cupcakes and some sort of raspberry-esque fruit juice to cleanse the pallet.
Their home is on a point, almost an island, in the Real Island area of Little Kowaliga Creek on Lake Martin. From the water, if you are riding west with Real Island Marina on your right, after you pass the marina, this home is on the next point on your right. The lot and the home design make it very distinctive.
Also – it’s a leased lot. If you are unfamiliar with how leasing waterfront lots from Alabama Power goes, please click here to read more about Lake Martin leased lot homes.
Stay tuned to Lake Martin Voice for more open house video tours!
List Of Lake Martin Waterfront Foreclosed / REO Property
If you want a list of Lake Martin foreclosed waterfront property – including homes and lots – for sale, please use the form that is linked below.
Click here for Lake Martin Waterfront Foreclosures
Thanks to reader K.L. that requested a list like this today. It caused me to go into the Lake Martin MLS and update my list of foreclosed (REO) property. It might not be a perfect list, but it’s the best one I’ve got. So if you would like to see it, please fill out the form above and I will email you a link to a report I have created on the Lake Martin MLS.
FAQ About Lake Martin Waterfront Foreclosures List
Q1. Why can’t you just post a list here of what lots or homes are foreclosed? Why are you making me fill out a request form?
A1. OK but that’s really 2 questions. A few reasons:
a. These homes and lots are from the Lake Martin MLS and are not (necessarily) my listings.
b. This list constantly changes and it would be a hassle to update and edit an HTML page. It would be wrong almost as soon as I hit “Publish.”
c. The Lake Martin MLS allows me to create a “Listing Cart” to house them all, and I can add and subtract as I see changes within the MLS.
Q2. What will you do with my email address after you send?
A2. I will keep it and send you a monthly (or so) email about Lake Martin, unless you tell me you don’t want that. I do not spam nor do I give, sell, buy, or receive email accounts from anyone or any other company. My poodle will steadfastly guard your address; any trespassers will receive the full wrath of the horrible breath inexplicably produced by his 6.5 pound body.
Q3. Are Lake Martin foreclosures so special? Do I really need you? Why can’t I go to the huge sites that show the entire country’s foreclosures along with ads for lifestyle meds and “secret” celebrity diet plans?
A3. Yes, we’re special in that Lake Martin is made up of 3 rural counties in east central Alabama. There is virtually zero online newspaper coverage of legal notices or foreclosures. The huge aggregator websites pick up information that is old, inaccurate, and many times, not waterfront. More Lake Martin specific foreclosure explanations here.
Q4. I’ve seen your list and it’s wrong. I know for a fact my [neighbor, friend, relative, insert any noun] had their waterfront home foreclosed on Lake Martin, and it’s not on your list. Why?
A4. This list only shows you what is actively for sale right now. If a waterfront home was foreclosed last year, and sold three months ago, it won’t be on the list anymore. Similarly, if the foreclosure has gone through, and the lender has not placed it with a real estate agent yet, it won’t be on the list (yet). Let me know if you see any errors, I will be happy to correct.
Q5. Do you sell Lake Martin foreclosures?
A5. Absolutely. If you would like me to send you only my foreclosed waterfront listings, let me know. If you are a lender or some other institution that needs help selling, please contact me and I would be delighted to help and tell you about the specific program I have set up to help lenders manage their foreclosed properties.
Q6. Where do you get your information?
A6. The Lake Martin MLS, mostly. You can search it for free from my blog. I am also a member of the Montgomery Area MLS which occasionally has one or two in there. All Multiple Listings Services are run by humans and therefore contain errors. The listing agents for each property are the only ones authorized to input info about that property.
