Lake Vermilion Real Estate

I can feel it.  Deja vu.  June 1st deja vu.

There’s a tipping point the ol’ brain subtly detects at this exact time of year.  It’s a predicable event for me and maybe for you, too..  It’s tied to the natural world.  It’s part deep blue water, rich green landscape, warm sunshine, dogs on the grill, and kids in the lake.

It’s the start of summer… summer on the lake.

The coming months offer the best reasons to be at or in the water.  This is the time to make that long considered decision to become a lake person.  It’s time to flip that coin.  Make that call. Throw that caution to the wind.

I know others who have decided to decide at this time of year.  And… I know they’re happy they did because I wrote about it one year ago.

Deja vu.

There are lots of numbers in real estate.  Here are a few interesting figures I found within our local 2012 year to date market.

A sample of the currently offered lakeshore properties revealed that the average Seller asking price is about 130% of the County established Market Value.  (The overall range from the selected group was a wide 69% to 213 %.)

The Market Value St. Louis County assigns to any given property is defined by the County as follows:

“Market Value is the price a willing, knowledgeable buyer would pay for your property if it were offered for sale on the open market.  The assessor does not create this value, but instead interprets what is happening in the marketplace.  Values change with economic conditions as well as changes to the property.”

Interestingly enough, the average selling price for a selected group of 2012 lakeshore property sales was right on par, i.e. 100%, of the County Market Value.  (The overall range from the selected group was a wide 53% to 165 %.)

What’s the message behind this information?  Although it’s not surprising, I would suggest it confirms that negotiation is a common element in many successful sales.  Potential Sellers should anticipate that negotiation will be required to sell in the current market.  Buyers should realize that good values are not necessarily realized in the advertised offered price but in the final negotiated selling price.

If you have questions about the numbers behind the numbers, send me a note.

Real estate is subjective.

That statement comes to mind every time I consider writing a post entitled “Why Hasn’t This Property Sold?”.

Real estate agents have the opportunity to visit lots of properties.  Most, over time, view many more listings than the most active of Buyers.  They are aware of desirable, salable, and value-oriented offerings.  Properties they, if they were interested, would buy for themselves.  These are the listings that beg the question, “Why hasn’t this property sold?”.

I have a group of Lake Vermilion area properties that are on a “I would buy that” list.  However, what catches my eye is subjective.  I know what I like but what I like is unique to me.  I have to believe the current market continues to offer “I would buy that” properties for most Buyers.

Our local market contains unique, high-quality listings at adjusted prices.

I bet there’s one that would fit on your “I would buy that” list.  We should plan to visit that property.

Here’s the April monthly installment for year to date completed real estate sales on Lake Vermilion.

(Year to date sales for 2012 are represented by the short black line on the bottom left of the graph.)

2012 now has a very slight edge in closed Lake Vermilion sales when compared to the last seven years. We are just now entering the prime selling season so current activity will have to ramp up to stay competitive with the previous years. The trend will soon provide additional confirmation (or lack thereof) of a recovering marketplace.

Year to date sales have consisted of new listings and aged listings. Nearly all successful sales have been completed via negotiating efforts of both the Buyer and the Seller.

Since I have pushed much of the content on the ol’ website to the left and right sidebars, I find it increasingly difficult to fill this center section of each page.  The Pic of the Day , Lake Vermilion Area News, and the current listing links get a pretty regular feeding.

But… this mid-section has kind of become the Rodney Dangerfield portion of Lake Vermilion Real Estate dot com.

In years past, during the months of Spring, this area would be filled with notes on perennial topics.  A few examples would include the reemergence of the Cowslips, the spawning run of the Crappie, and a chorus of the local Spring Peepers… just to name a few.

It’s time to dream up some new midsection content.  I have an idea or two.  Do you have any suggestions?