As a Realtor on Lake Martin, I get asked about foreclosures a lot.  Lake Martin’s waterfront real estate market seems to be a little different from other second home markets, and that is currently creating a unique spot in the market cycle for buyers and sellers.  Watch this video, and I’ll try to explain:

Basically, I think the Lake Martin waterfront real estate market bottomed in 2008.  Numbers of waterfront homes sold were up about 40% in 2009, and steady with that in 2010.  2011 seems to be trending above 2010 for numbers of homes sold.  Prices stopped dropping in 2010.  You can say what you want about the economy, the President, the Congress, or the price of tea in China.  If this isn’t a clear sign of recovery for the Lake Martin market, I don’t know what is.  If the dreaded double-dip happens, you will hear about it here first, but it’s got to start dipping to be a double-dip.

I also get asked a lot about specific homes that are on other websites and are listed as foreclosures.  People ask me, “Hey John, why isn’t 123 Main Street on your list?  I see it on McHuge McForeclosuresite.com.”  The answer is, 99% of the time, by the time they get to McHuge, they have already been foreclosed, listed with an agent, and sold. McHuge is way, way slow.

Why?

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.

So, I make my own list of foreclosures, and am glad to share it.  If you’d like to request a current list of waterfront foreclosure properties, just fill out the form (I do not spam, nor do I give, sell, buy, or receive email accounts from anyone or any other company.  Read more about why you need to fill out a form).

Here’s a tip:  If you’ve requested it before, THERE’S NO NEED TO RE-REQUEST to get the latest list. Just bookmark or “favorite” the page on your internet browser, and you’ll get the most recently updated lists.

Send your request, check out the current list, and call me if you see anything interesting! (334 221 5862)