March Market Update

Inching Closer To Spring

Inching Closer To Spring

This March Market Update is a lot like the winter weather has been up here in the Northwoods.  Every couple of weeks we see a few signs that winter might be ending.  But then another snow event or deep freeze hits.  Similarly, we keep waiting for that Spring thaw to hit the real estate market when inventory ramps up and we have more properties to get excited about.  A lot of the quality listings come and go like a couple of days of sunshine.  For now, we’ll keep monitoring and looking for value. 

February Sales
In February, 23 lake homes sold, with a median sales price of $440,000, down from $570,000 last month.  But don’t mistake that for prices decreasing across the board.  With so few sales, the median will be volatile. 
 
In February, 5 vacant lake lots sold, with a median sales price of $410,000. That’s up from $199,000 last month.  That increase is also due to low volume of sales. But it does make sense that buyers are looking at nicer Vacant Lots to build on, given the lack of housing inventory.  We’ll have to see if that persists.
 
The volume of sales overall was flat for Vacant Lots, but ticked down again for Homes and Condos.  The biggest reduction in sales was in the $600,000 to $1,000,000 range.  Buyers must not be finding value in that range – more on that below.
 
March Pending Sales and Inventory:
Currently there are 45 lake homes and 10 vacant lake lots under contract (pending sales).  Both of those numbers are in line with last month.
March Home and Condo inventory is once again down compared to February.  There are a total of 73 homes and condos for sale, down from 81 last month.  If you’re looking for a silver lining, 46 of the houses are on lakes with Clarity over 10’, which is actually up from last month.  And while inventory is down across most pricepoints, I found it interesting there was an increase in inventory listed between $600,000 and $1,000,000.  So while we noted above there weren’t many sales in that range, there are houses for sale.  It makes me think some of those properties might be a bit overpriced, but the prices haven’t come down.
 
Vacant Lot inventory hasn’t decreased as much.  In February there were 78 Vacant Lots for sale, and in March we’re down to 72.  The current mix of lots is a bit more affordable than last month.  
 
If you remember from last month’s update, less than 10% of vacant lots for sale were on lakes with greater than 10’ of clarity.  That number increased this month, to 11%.  So as always, remember to check out our lakes page before making an offer.
As always, give Adam or me a call if we can be of help with your property search or with the sale of your property.  Here is a quick link to Adam’s email.