Surging temperatures = surging interest in lakefront. It's an equation that's holding true, recession or no recession. Over the past month, at least half of the inquiries I'm getting are about lakefront property. The lion's share of those inquiries are about properties at the low end of the lakefront price spectrum, under $200,000 or $250,000. Sure, we have lakefront properties on the market in that range, but most have some downside that limits their appeal (and thus the lower price.) Most commonly, the lowest priced lakefront houses don't have great lakefront. They might be on small, shallow or murky lakes --- possibly great for fishing, but not as appealing for swimming. The house may be on a busier road side of a lake, and pick up more road noise. It might be seasonal, only usable during the warm weather months and not during the winter. In a few cases, there are "lakefront" houses that seem well priced and look great online, but don't actually have legal rights to use the lakes they front on.
Some of these houses can be great options if you just want to be on water at a lower price point, and are willing to accept some tradeoffs. However, most of the folks I show these properties to really want something a little more "perfect" — a larger lake, a quieter setting, a clearer, more pristine swimming lake, a bigger house. Those are all possible, but at a higher price point. I'm finding that a lot of the $200,000 to $250,000 range lakefront shoppers I'm talking with are more likely to find what they'd like in the $300,000 to $350,000 range. In that range, houses are still modest, but generally have lake frontage that is much better.
In the $199,000 to $299,000 range, there are 11 lakefront houses on the market that are interesting. I've pulled them together in this link. There's a drawback or two to some of these, like the $199,000 cottage on Yankee Lake that's a seasonal, only usable during the non-freeze months, or the $239,000 house on Bodine Lake, which is quite good for fishing or canoeing, but not one of the top swimming lakes here. Push up into the low $300's, and there are 4 modest houses on the market (in this link) with some really nice lake frontage. MLS 28966 on Yankee Lake (our largest non-motorboat lake) has a killer lake setting with a very dramatic, straight on lake view. The house is in good condition, in contrast to many lower priced lakefront houses that can be pretty rough. The one drawback on this one is very small bedrooms, in the tradition of many older lake cottages. But you can't beat the view.
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