Remember when I said I liked the Aspen Lane sale at $498k? Remember when I said that the main reason I liked it was because the location afforded privacy, and that sort of privacy isn’t generally available in a $500k type boat-slipped property? I know I do. I said those things because I meant those things, which is why the sale that I just brokered yesterday is another winner. If Aspen Lane is private, then Alta Vista is that much better.
To own 1.65 acres is to own a lot of land, depending on where you own it. 1.65 acres in London would be worth seventy-nine bajillion dollars. 1.65 acres of Kansas dust would be worth $12.20, depending on the market value of tumbleweed. 1.65 acres of frontage on Geneva would generally cost you $2MM or more, and 1.65 acres on Alta Vista just cost $870k to a customer whom I was very pleased to work with, and a client I was pleased to work for.
This home sold in 2012 for $800k. The buyer then set about fixing some obsolescence that existed at the time of their purchase, and when they approached me earlier this year about possibly selling it was obvious to me that the home would have no trouble finding a suitor. The home was a tudor, in the same way that the home in Cedar Point was a tudor, which is to say the siding pattern screams TUDOR, even if nothing else really does. Even so, this tudor was a nice home in 2012, and it was a nicer home in 2014.
The sales price this time around was $870k, a figure that represents a nearly 10% paper gain for the home, and if this were any HGTV show we’d flash $70K PROFIT!!!!! on your screen many, many times. But this is not HGTV, and I’m not wearing a suit, nor is my twin brother alive and in the business with me. So we’ll have to understand that a figurative gain of $70k amounts to a literal break even number, and in that the market should be pleased. Prices are up from 2012, but modestly.
This price fit the market correctly, and a buyer who had found himself in the market for several years finally found what it was he was seeking. And what was that? Well, it was privacy, a boatslip, a nice, attractive home, and some add ins that mattered but not entirely- an in ground pool, a really sweet storage barn, and a Snake Road location that shines no matter the weather.
There have been a lot of sales this year priced between $800k and $1MM in this off-water market. I would gladly admit that I would have rather bought this home than any of the other homes that sold before. The Sidney Smith sale that I brokered was a close second, as that location offered similar privacy and fundamentals, but this Alta Vista location is special.
To the buyer of this home, well done. It’ll be a fantastic experience as long as you follow my rules of ownership, which aren’t rules at all but suggestions. Granted, they are suggestions that will lead to vacation home utopia, but still, suggestions. To the seller, a big thank you for letting me help with this sale. Whatever comes next should be better than what came before. To a buyer reading this thinking, “Geez Dave, I didn’t even know that place was for sale“. Well, no one did, except for a buyer working with me. Best remedy your representation situation.
A most Happy Thanksgiving to all. I’m assuming if you’re reading about Lake Geneva vacation homes, we all have plenty to be thankful for.