There have been times throughout the years, where I've sat here and regaled you with Lake Geneva tales. I've delved deeper into associations and market trends than any other agent has ever dared to go, but there is still more to discuss. Yes, at times, I've been a little ambitious in my approach. I've been labeled an idiot, and a moron. I've been told I would best be served sitting at a news desk at Fox News. I've been decried as a bank lover and a humanity hater, and yes, I've even been on the receiving end of a verbal chastisement from the previously great state of Michigan. Thankfully, as I sit here this morning, I have also been heralded as a guiding light, shining brighter than ever before, illuminating the shoreline of Geneva Lake, and the fortunate homes that surround it. While much has been discussed before, there is still much more left to be dissected and critiqued and revealed, and that is a call that I am more than capable of answering.
I come to you today, not as a Wisconsinite among Illinoisans, not as a Bears fan isolated in a land of green and gold, but rather as a lover of all things Geneva, and a beacon of relaxing, water splashed hope in an otherwise desolate world. As we gather this morning, and throughout today, at our PC's and our Mac's, I am glad to report that the state of our Lake Geneva market is strong. (pause for rousing applause)
For many would be vacationers, this is a difficult time. Unemployment is high, and portfolios remain depleted, yet the desire to vacation on the shores of our peerless lake is higher than ever, and for those fortunate enough to have weathered this economic storm with both rudder and mast intact, the opportunities available in this great land of plenty are plentiful. Our market here has a long way to go before Felicia Middlebrooks might consider it "back to normal", but with bold decisiveness, and patience, the Lake Geneva vacation home market is on the rebound.
With this rebound in mind, I would be amiss not to point out the value in our market, and present to you a two point approach for capitalizing on the great American desire to vacation. For those among us, blue staters and red, willing and able to approach the dream of vacation home ownership with a wallet in one hand, and a hammer in the other, and a paint brush in our back pockets, there is opportunity in this utopia that has not been apparently visible in nearly a decade. Value exists in our entry level lake access market, but only for those with a classically American vision, and a desire to capitalize on the generosity of others.
A thousand points of light have cast their luminescence out onto these reflective waters for more than a century, but these thousand points of light are not figurative, instead they shine from inside the porches and living rooms of the homes that dot this magnificent shoreline. The same lakefront market has been a bastion of relaxation and launching point for all things water based is now poised to deliver value once again, after a decade long hiatus where high prices and limited inventory ruled the day. We stood our ground and broke the shackles that deemed this market only suitable for the truly elite, and as a result of our hard labors, those thousand points of light have become cheaper to attain, but the lights shine just as brightly as they did before, the waters as refreshing as they were when John Brinks first dipped his weary toe into them.
One could sit in isolation and ponder this great nation of ours from coast to coast, awash in disbelief at the myriad vacation home options that are available to those who can afford to spend their weekends and their Holidays in a different state of mind. From the frigid mountains, to the dust covered prairies, to the oceans white with sodium induced foam, the plethora of options that exist are truly mind numbing. Other peoples might be lost in this sea of confusing options, but not us. My friends and fellow Americans, for those willing to engage in analytical and emotional thought, there is no better vacation home option than that option that exists a mere 90 miles from the Chicago city center. A vacation home option so tantalizing close, yet a vacation home experience so enticingly unique.
After a bleak 2008, we persevered and found a way, in the most American of ways, to press on and put aside the fears of yesterday in hopes of embracing a brighter, more water splashed tomorrow. The challenge facing us today is to recognize value, and recognize the life shaping, future altering option that rests gently at our 53147 loving feet. If we take that first step, a step made no less bold by the obvious benefit it affords, our children and their children alike will one day thank us for our financial sacrifice. If we do this, our future will shine with the light of a cheerfully lit screened porch, and our evenings filled with the sound of rolling waves, not just for this summer and the following year, but for decades and generations beyond.
Thank you, and may God continue to bless Lake Geneva.
