A daily journal concerning Lake Vermilion and surrounding areas
Selected real estate, notes, stories, musings, and anecdotes
------------ Comments and links welcomed ------------
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Summer Leaves.
There's one thing you can say about Summer after Labor Day has past...
You can say "Summer is waning".
And when Summer wanes the Fall colors cannot be far behind. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants you to know when and where the Fall colors are changing with this new web page.
The Labor Day Holiday weekend turned out to be a dandy! It was like the Fourth of July without the fireworks.
Labor Day on Lake Vermilion has become the day for wooden boat owners to showcase their watercraft.
The Landing Supper Club on the west end of the lake hosts the event with ample dock space and up-close viewing opportunities. This year saw numerous watercraft sized from row boats to cabin cruisers. Enduring craftsmanship and pride of ownership were the common threads that tied these boats to the dock.
Maybe you have an interest in wooden boat ownership that goes beyond admiring someone else's pride and joy. WoodenBoat Magazine has all the stories to enhance your interest. The Wooden Boat Foundation has all the information to up your involvement in the hobby. And The WoodenBoat School will teach to build your own boat!
You catch a big fish. You catch a really big fish. Naturally, you take a photo.
On Lake Vermilion the Muskellunge has made this practice a fairly common occurrence. Big Musky fishing with big Musky catches are seen continually on the web and in the news.
And, although, we could be developing a trite attitude towards these images, it is still not uncommon for a new fish photo to produce a "That's a big fish!" response.
The Buyer Poll (see the post below) has affirmed the current low activity level in the local Lake Vermilion real estate market. The most popular response (perhaps predictably) was "When I find the right property at the right price".
No one indicated they were buying later this year. Urgency is certainly not a word to describe Buyer attitudes.
The inventory of lake shore property is at very high levels for this time of year. (This large selection of cabins and lots is a by-product of this sluggish market that Buyers might factor into their buying plans.)
And when it comes to Seller pricing pressure, the local MLS System can provide us some idea of what has happened to lake shore selling prices. It may also be true that urgency is absent on the Seller's side of the market.
This chart illustrates the trend:
"Amount of discount (in percent) allowed by Sellers from the asking price to the actual selling price"
The chart shows data over a four year period from today (August 2004-August 2008). These numbers reflect average price concessions by Sellers. Please note that there were certainly sales with deeper discounts, as well as sales, at or above asking price. (Of the approximately 250 sales included, the overall average concession for the previous 4 years was 7.1%.)
I believe the information would tell us that Sellers are, for the most part, holding firm. There is no large reduction in asking prices or selling prices.
It will be interesting to see if this trend continues. In the meantime, the selection of properties, in a market that typically does not offer a large selection, remains very high.
Here's a little poll that might give us a hint into when Lake Vermilion real estate Buyers might act on a property purchase. If there are a reasonable number of replies, maybe a trend or pattern will appear.
Let's see what the Buyer side of the market tells us!
(FYI, there is absolutely no way to track any response to this poll.)
The current Lake Vermilion real estate market has, over the past several months, accumulated an impressive number of Sellers.
I think it is fair to say that many Lake Vermilion real estate Buyers have maintained a patient attitude towards any plans to purchase. Sellers have, for the most part, also remained patient with their asking prices. Of course, some motivated Sellers have offered price adjustments but, for the most part, the downward reductions have not been significant.
There have been exceptions, of course.
For example, this west end Lake Vermilion home is an impressive property with numerous attributes that enhance it's value. In my opinion, that most recent price reduction of this property makes this lake home an attractive buy. If you are interested in a year round lake home with room for all your family and friends, you should see this Lake Vermilion home. (Note: An extensive (and negotiable) personal property list includes one of these. And one of these.)
For those of you who occasionally review current inventory via the links located in the upper right side column... I adjusted the search for the "Vacant Acreage" category to exclude waterfront parcels. This will eliminate duplication of properties already viewable in the "Lake lot" categories. (FYI, this change decreased the number of "Vacant Acreage" listings by more that 50%.)
I got invited to join a small group of local pickers the other day.
It had been a while since I was in the berry patch so this was going to be a treat.
We traveled a fair number of miles on roadways within two counties... and then, at an uncharted location, my pail and I were deposited into a Blueberry Patch that contained more juicy fruit than a Wrigley warehouse.
This remote location had berry bushes loaded with so many berries they buckled under their own weight. But the bushes were also tall enough to lift over and into your bucket so the berries could be stripped directly into the pail.
It's now quite a chore to keep up with the number of property listings on and near Lake Vermilion. I may have said it before... but buyers should remember that this market does not typically offer such a broad variety of property choices.
THAT may be the most significant advantage for anyone interested in buying Lake Vermilion area real estate.
The "Lake Vermilion Plan" has not been heard from in quite some time. St. Louis County has now scheduled several "Open Houses" on the proposed Lake Vermilion Zoning Map.
That's interesting.
Attend one of these meetings if you would like to know what is proposed and what has changed with Lake Vermilion zoning.
The local real estate market is drifting without significant activity.
One of the best indicators of where we may be headed is the amount of inventory.
Since the start of our traditional selling season, the local market inventory has continued to increase. That's a pretty good indicator the market is soft and oriented towards the buyers.
(No surprise there.)
However, the last couple of updates on inventory have shown that the number of listings may have peaked. In fact, a couple of property categories are seeing the numbers decrease. Is the trend reversing? Decreasing inventory is certainly more the norm for June/July in the Lake Vermilion area market.
When the real estate market is in flux (as it is now) it becomes increaasingly difficult for a seller to determine an appropriate asking price.
There are numerous factors to consider!
Professional real estate agents have the tools to assist with this process. Communication between the seller and the agent is the most significant part of a property value determination. The following list describes some very valid facts all sellers should keep in mind when bringing their property to market:
There is no exact price for real estate.
Agents do not determine what the house is worth.
The agent is not buying the property.
The market alone determines value.
Other agents, friends, or neighbors do not establish value, unless they intend to buy the property.
The seller controls price, product, and terms.
The agent attracts buyers to the house, buyers establish the eventual price.
The seller should recall how they first responded to their house when they were house hunting.
The seller’s competitors are other property sellers, not other real estate companies.
This ol' website is going to be content-challenged for a few more days. The problem is related to a computer failure that has resulted in a hard drive replacement.
I will continue to update the current listings links in the upper right hand side bar. Hopefully, a return to normal programming is sooner than later.
The widely known Snapping Turtle is classified as "Least Concern" by the IUCN. It's not considered threatened, vulnerable, or endangered.
This fine representative of the Snapping Turtle family was recently caught strolling across West Vermilion Shores Road. It graciously paused for a photo while simultaneously refraining from the urge to sever the photographer's shutter finger.
And then it then continued on it's worry-free way.
I'm pretty sure most viewers here have not been wondering when the 2008 version of the Cowslip photo was going to appear. Even so... the photo must appear.
The Cowslip, also known locally as the Marsh Marigold, is a very temporary resident of our local wetlands and it is our final confirmation that Spring has sprung. This year, the sprunging of Spring has nearly continued into Summer.
Just so you know... the Cowslip is a very widespread member of the "buttercup" family.
The plant is popular in England as well, where is enjoys a variety of names, such as the Kingcup, Mayflower, May Blobs, Mollyblobs, Pollyblobs, Horse Blob, Water Blobs, Water Bubbles, Gollins and the Publican.
Boats And Labor.
The Patch.
Cowslipping.
Equal Housing Opportunity