What If You Were The Only Buyer In The Market?

What a silly question! How could that possibly happen? Is Ollie "The Dog" writing this article, too?

I've been out showing lake cabins all day today around Grand Rapids, Longville, Outing...and tomorrow I'm showing different buyers in Annandale. I know that's a pretty wide ranging area (about 200 miles from one end to the other), but I've been doing that for years. By personally seeing and understanding markets across Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, I can better help waterfront buyers (and assist my agents in helping their buyers) by giving them a perspective of the entire lakeshore market as a whole. And right now the whole market is pretty much there for the taking!

Now, I certainly don't mean that every seller is in dire straits, nor would I ever suggest that every lake property owner will even reduce their price by as much as a dollar, but I would say that prices - in general - have come back to a level that we probably won't see again for a long time. If ever.

Some properties are priced very well - according to the current market - and they will sell for prices at or close to what those sellers are asking. Others are priced too high, and may come down quite a bit to create a transaction. Some won't sell at all, and will get listed with two or three more brokers before they ever get an offer. It's really no different than it ever has been.

It's not easy to take the plunge on an investment as expensive as a lake property when the media hammers on the housing market each day. Subliminally, we are constantly receiving messages telling us to keep our wallets in our pocket because the sky is surely falling. The problem is, we just can't tell for sure when it's going to land!

If I were a potential lakeshore buyer listening to numerous news reporters each day, instead of just a Realtor who has specialized in waterfront real estate for over twenty years, I'd probably believe that the value of most real estate was going to at least zero. Why would anyone want to own anything like that? Penny stocks could be the real answer.

And what if gas goes to $10 per gallon? Who will ever go to the lake then?

One of my agents emailed me this article from Minnesota Public Radio today. It's an accurate depiction of what is going on in many areas across the country right now - and quite severely in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

I will tell you this. I do have - as many of my agents also have - very good buyers who realize that this might be a great time to purchase a lake home or cabin. Those of us who specialize in waterfront property understand the true market, and I believe our buyers will make some great purchases over the next few months because of the extraordinary hype that has gone on about the decreasing values.

By realizing that markets are cyclical, we shouldn't get too overly concerned about tomorrow's real estate news. I'm sure millions of people will see several "for sale" signs on the next "Good Morning America" broadcast, backing up the downward spiraling housing market. More agents will turn their licenses in to the state to avoid paying their ongoing dues so that they can go out and get a steady job driving truck or waiting tables. And many more buyers will put their money in 3% CDs just to have a safe investment.

But, if you take a step back and look at market trends, building costs, realistic values...and the unmeasurable family enjoyment of owning a place on the lake, you too might realize that there may never be a better time to make that purchase. However, if your only goal is to get a ridiculously low price on a property just because you might be able to do that in this market, you may not be real successful...on the good properties. However, there is always plenty of junk available out there that may warrant some hefty discounts!

Even if there were no other buyers but you out in there in the market today, there would obviously still be a limit on the minimum amount most sellers would take for their properties, just based on what they have into them and what they need to move on with the next phase of their lives. Most likey, you would do the same thing.

Obviously, you are never going to be the only buyer out there, but right now you can be one of a small number of them. There's a pretty good chance that the competition will get a little stronger quite soon!