I am proud to be a monthly contributing writer to Lake Magazine. I have been writing for them for a little over a year now, and I have really enjoyed it. One unexpected result is that I tend to write about Lake Martin real estate market reports on there a little more than I suspected, which could mean that some readers here might miss them.

Once such example is an article I wrote for the September issue of Lake, where I studied the question:

Do sellers of Lake Martin waterfront homes drop their prices after Labor Day?

I hear that question a lot this time of year and I always say, not necessarily.  If you would like to read the entire article, please click here for a link to it at Lake Magazine.

The most surprising thing to me when I wrote it was the overall rising trend in sales price to list price over the last three years.  I would like to think that this is due to a couple of factors:

1. More accurate pricing from Lake Martin realtors – Sometimes I wonder exactly where agents are coming up with their pricing for lake homes or lots. I have certainly missed my share of estimations over the years, but I do have to scratch my head sometimes when I see listings that I believe are twenty and thirty percent over priced. Maybe they know something I don’t. But one interpretation of this chart to me is that listing agents are getting more accurate to begin with when they and the seller agree on a listing price.

2. Strengthening prices in waterfront homes? Traditionally, the sales price divided by list price statistic is oft quoted by economists as an indicator of the strength of any real estate market. I do not – I repeat do not – think the above is a sign that home prices have risen. In fact, this post of market reports shows you I think prices were steady in 2010 and 2011. But I do think it is a positive sign.  I really look forward to January or February when I run the same sets of calculations for 2012.