Lakefront prices are down right now but could they be higher in the Spring? No one has a crystal ball but if we look at history, some lakefront properties will cost more in the Spring.
Recently, in response to a blog posting, Brad Johnson, a reader, asked whether a presently listed property could command a higher price in the Spring. The reader had recently been told by a seller’s agent that the asking price on a particular listed property will be $50,000 higher in the Spring. My blog reader wanted Mr Lakefront’s opinion. Was the seller’s agent full of blarney, simply employing a sales technique, or could it really be so?
The truth lies in understanding the seller’s motivation. Some sellers will take less now as they face almost six months of winter. Some out of state sellers want the property gone rather than worry about whether the pipes will freeze or whether the snow pack will collapse the roof or whether some frozen hunters will break in to get warm.
Sellers also know that what they can expect to realize from the sale of the property is based on demand. Usually, there is more demand for waterfront property in the Spring, on the brink of summer, than there is in late fall, on the brink of winter.
Lakefront real estate buyers want to buy now, but wonder whether they can buy it in the Spring for less. Mr Lakefront’s opinion, based on experience, is that sellers are more inflexible in the Spring, but loosen up as the season goes on. They become more motivated as they approach season’s end.
Sellers are looking for the best price they can get. If they’ve held on to a property all winter, they don’t plan to give it away in the Spring. Sellers believe that market conditions are more favorable for them in the Spring.
Is it unreasonable for lakefront real estate buyers to expect end of season prices in the Spring, at the beginning of the season? Some sellers would say so. Buyers have all the leverage right now. Prices are low, interest rates are low, demand is low. Sellers are motivated. Can one really expect a seller not to try for a better deal for themselves in the Spring?
Sometimes there is an advantage in waiting. Sometimes there is not. Buyers needs to ask themselves whether their own position will be as good or better in the Spring. Expecting the seller’s position to stay constant for six months is not folly but, let’s just say, you’re asking for a lot.