Geneva Lake Market Update

20140801-lv1.jpg

In my mind, I develop all sorts of patterns. I think, this blog should be market updates on Monday, huge departures into gibberish on Wednesdays, and market recaps on Fridays. That’s what this blog should be. Fact, fanciful fictiony fact, Fact. That’s what I think I should do. I also think I should exercise and stop eating sugared Rice Krispies with half and half, but I haven’t done either of those things in a long time so perhaps this blog pattern is best left like the rest of my personal disciplines; haphazardly erratic.

Today, there is an update to be given. The market remains hot, with no July fade as we might typically encounter. There is activity in all segments, with only one missing contracts. Recently, there have been closings. A home in Somerset closed for $793k, while the home next door was reduced to a price that represents almost half of a prior list. My listing on Sioux in Indian Hills has a fresh contract, even as the home next door succumbed to a price reduction in recent weeks. The cool old house with a pier on Linden in Glenwood Springs has a contract on it (to a buyer of mine), while the cool old house with a pier on the other side of Linden has reduced its price as it hunts for its own personal buyer. The market is hot, yes, but uneven as always.

The lakefront is active, though only the naive and uninitiated among us would so it is exceedingly hot. There are contracts on three homes in the Birches, as that association continues to play musical chairs in a way that most lakefront associations do not indulge. There’s a fresh contract on the South Shore Club lakefront home listed at $3.799MM. I can only speculate that the sale there may have something to do with my dead deal on my old Loramoor lakefront listing. Anyway, there’s another pending lakefront for $1.595MM in Cedar Point– My mistake, that one is just priced like lakefront but is, indeed, off-water…

The only segment of the lakefront that’s currently a bit slow is the upper bracket, those homes priced over $5MM. We have plenty of them for sale today, and while there are buyers, those buyers seem to lack the motivation owned by the rest of the market. Perhaps they’re waiting for fall, and if that’s the case, the sellers will be waiting for them in the same way they waited in July. Upper bracket lakefront sellers, save a very select few, are not a rushed bunch. If you’re buying a $7MM lakefront home, you’re not doing so with your last $7MM. On the flip side, if you’re selling your $7MM lakefront home, it isn’t because you’ve spent all the rest of your money. The upper bracket is a grudge match between well-healed citizens, and the only winner in that stare down is the one who gets to sit on that white pier this weekend. If you’re a buyer of an upper bracket lakefront, and you’re sitting at home this weekend so you can attend some gala with a tuxedo on, you’re not winning this game.

There’s a pending sale on Beach in Lake Geneva Beach Association, that sale being just the latest in that association that I’d rather not talk about all that much. My short sale on Conference Point that everyone wants to buy is still under contract, so there’s no opportunity there. A pretty normal ranch in Academy Estates in pending sale priced at $695k, as is a home in the Geneva Manor priced in the six hundreds. There are deals, plenty of them, and the very entry level of our lake access market is participating as well, with a pending sale in the Loch Vista Club under $300k and one in Country Club Estates under $150k. There is activity, yes, but buyers needn’t fear- there is still plenty of value to be had.

What’s happening now is what I told you about last week. Some sellers are selling, and they’re happy and glib. But the other sellers that aren’t selling are growing increasingly interested in doing so. I’m seeing price reductions daily, as sellers try to cling to the last six weeks of actual summer. The fall market here is robust, so they needn’t worry too much, but although I’ve been telling everyone for seven years that our fall market is just as active as our spring market, no one seems to be listening. Sellers, fear not, September offers you liquidity.

The reductions in the market are varied, as properties in all segments are undergoing these adjustments. The lakefront will not be immune to this, which is why I just brought to market the lakefront on Lakeview Road that you see above. The property is well known, and the price has been much higher up until now. At $1.749MM this lakefront offers tremendous square footage (5000-ish), wide water views, five cars worth of garages, and a most unique layout that plays very well with guests and owners who both wish to have their own lakeside privacy. I’m showing this house this weekend, so if you’d like to see it, just let me know. I’ve heard the knew word for showings is “tour”, but I only go on tours if I want to be talked at for an hour. I go on showings when I want to look at something at my pace, which is how I handle showings.

This weekend promises to be an epic Lake Geneva weekend, and a glance at my calendar tells me that it’s the first weekend of August. If your summer hasn’t started yet, it’s time.

About the Author

I'm David Curry. I write this blog to educate and entertain those who subscribe to the theory that Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is indeed the center of the real estate universe. When I started selling real estate 27 years ago I did so of a desire to one day dominate the activity in the Lake Geneva vacation home market. With over $800,000,000 in sales since January of 2010, that goal is within reach. If I can help you with your Lake Geneva real estate needs, please consider me at your service. Thanks for reading.

Leave a Comment