What's Up With Lakefront?

For the 8 years I've been reporting sales data, I've broken out "lakefront homes" as a subcategory. There have always been enough lakefront sales during each 3 month data sample to provide a reasonable guage of the lakefront market. But over the last six months, lakefront sales have been so low that I'm probably going to pull that subcategory for a while until it picks up.

How low? Since Jan. 1st, there have been only 3 sales categorized as "lakefront". Two of those, however, are only what I consider 'quasi lakefront' — one is on what could be considered more a large pond (or small lake, if you're charitable). A second is a split lakefront; the house sits down a lane off the lake and has a small lakefront parcel within walking distance for lake access. Only one, at Chapin, is actually direct lakefront. Looking through pending or in contract listings, I'm not seeing many set to close, either.

Over the past couple of months, I've gotten a lot of inquiries about lakefront houses. I gather the listings and send them out, but am not hearing back from a lot of folks to come up and take a look. One reason is certainly price, or at least a wide gap between what lakefront shoppers are looking to pay and what lakefront sellers are looking to get. The most common request I'm getting from lakefront shoppers is for a "small, modest lake cottage under $300,000". But we have very few lakefront properties on the market under $300,000, and they're almost all very small (one is 724 sq. ft.), or currently seasonal and would need some updating and winterization for year round use. If someone's looking for something lakefront with 3 or more bedrooms under $300,000, there's almost nothing.

Lakefront houses comprise a major sector of the second home market here. In 2007, there were 52 lakefront sales and in 2008 there were 32. Four months into 2009, and we've only had 3.

Comments

[q]

David, what lakes do you like and for what recreation?

[Heiman]

David won't comment on what lakes he likes and why.
He doesn't want to insult anyone especially those he does business with.

[David Knudsen]

Actually, not true. I've been slammed this week and haven't had time to focus on it.

[Nick]

Slammed is good. Congrats David. I know in the broader sense the tide has not turned, but I hope it has for you personally.

[David Knudsen]

In response to the request for my thoughts on lakes, it's important to understand that lake preference is very subjective. For example, I'm not a huge fan of White Lake, but it's a very popular lake. A lot of folks like the busy-ness, the camaraderie on the lake, and the ability to boat over to one of the lakeside restaurants for lunch or dinner.

There are some lakes that always make me happy when I show property on them. I'm very fond of Wolf Lake. Wolf just pulls it all together for that rustic mountain-lake getaway feel, even though the houses tend to be small and fairly close together. Among non-motorboat lakes with "traditional" sized lots (under 1 acre), I also like Yankee. The lake is quite beautiful. The downside to Yankee is the wide variability among houses around the lake, and no overriding covenants to maintain a feel, so you can find some really nicely set houses and others that are kind of haphazard and honky-tonk.

My other 'favorites' among non-motorboat lakes are Black, York and Devenoge. All are great for swimming and fishing. Black and York both have larger lot sizes (in the 5 acre range), so offer the privacy that many contemporary buyers want. I also have a fondness for Timber Lake. The lake isn't large — it's about 45 acres — but it's a little jewel, with good swimming and fishing.

Among motorboat lakes, you might be surprised that my favorite is Tennanah, not Swinging Bridge. Tennanah isn't that large (it's about 1 1/2 miles long), but has this old "on Golden Pond" lake feel, where everyone knows everyone else, and they wave from their docks when boats pass by. I also like Swinging Bridge, because of the size of the lake. At 9 1/2 miles long, there are places to go in your boat.

There are lots of other lakes, and just because I didn't mention them here doesn't mean they don't have appeal or there's something wrong with them. This is just a short list of my personal favorites.