One of my listings for sale is 302 Villas On The Harbor, a 1 bed 1 bath condo in Lake Martin’s Stillwaters Community.  The Villas On The Harbor sits right next door to Harbor Pointe Marina, and Harbor Pointe Condos.

I got a challenging email the other day from Ron Botterbusch, Broker of RB Commercial Properties in Montgomery.  He said:

“I read your Lake Martin Voice from time to time and enjoy your insights and
“take” on things.  I sometimes browse your listings and today I viewed the
above and was curious about your statement “at a price that makes sense”.
$304.95 per square foot for a 1/1 condo??? Wow, even with a boat slip, that
price seems sky high. If you sell it for anywhere near that amount there
is reason to be optimistic…good luck!”

<<Here is the video tour>>

Here was my response:

Hey Ron- thanks for the email and the kind words.  You may have read elsewhere on my blog that I almost never pay attention to per square foot pricing on the Lake Martin.  Too much of the value of a property is in the lot.  Big exception – condos.

Even then, I am careful to compare condo to condo, because a lot of them have different amenities.  As to the condo pricing in this case – you’re right, at PSF level, it looks a bit high.  When pricing things, I advise sellers to place their price based on SOLD properties, not what is for sale, or what they are hoping to get.

Another 1/1 unit in there recently sold for about 170k.  This particular unit is being sold with a deep water boat slip.  (I say deep water because it had plenty of water left at the height (or valley??) of the drought.)  Anyway Harbor Pointe is selling boat slips (some of which do NOT have year round water) for around $40k. So that’s why I think that price makes sense.  Plus at Villas on the Harbor, you can rent out the unit and make a little money to dampen the total ownership expense.

Again, taken at a PSF perspective, I agree, it may seem high.  But where else on Lake Martin are you going to get a waterfront property for the low 200s?

Hey – do you mind if I use this email as an “ask the broker” post like this one I did a couple of weeks ago?  I can use your name or you can remain anonymous.  I think your question is a great one and could spark a lot of discussion.

What do you say?

Ron: “Feel free to use my name and thanks for the reply.  I’ll be famous!”

Thank you, Ron, for the great question.  I must admit, it made me triple check my numbers!

What do you think, reader? Am I crazy? Despite everything, I think there is value here.  Reply and comment below to let add your voice to the topic.