Sunday, March 29, 2009

Lakefront Rentals

Over the years we have had a considerable amount of requests for information on lakeshore properties that are available to rent in various areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is quite common for potential waterfront buyers to try out the area first by staying for a short time to see how they like it. And some people need to make a quick move with the intention of buying a lake home in the next several months to a year, so renting on the water for six months or more is very attractive to them.

But until now, we have not made lakefront or riverfront rentals a major focus of our business. We try to help out when we can, but we have generally worked with properties that are for sale instead.

With the recent redesign of our website, we are now able to tie available waterfront rentals in with our Featured Listings in each waterfront region. Lakeshore property owners who are interested in renting their places - for any period of time - can now add them to our site in the exact locations that these people are searching. What better way is there to get your lakeshore rental seen by this highly targeted group?

But...there is more!

Besides just putting your listing on Lakehomes.com, you will also be able to add it to two of our other waterfront websites...giving you an even better chance to find the best potential renters for your lake home, lake cabin, waterfront townhouse, or resort property. And with thousands of waterfront prospects combing these sites each day for properties, there is a pretty good chance you will be found!

If you have a lakefront or riverfront property that you would like to add to our site, just email rentals@lakehomes.com for more information, or call 866-327-9889.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Are We Bottoming Out?

One of the the key indicators of a bottoming real estate market is when the number of active listings is less than it was the year before during the same time period. Generally, this occurs when less sellers are willing to put their homes on the market at the going prices, combined with a few more buyers starting to take action on the listings that are available. Basically, buyers who have been holding off, and waiting for the most appropriate time to act, become a little more motivated so that they don't miss out on the best opportunities.

Last week, while I was in White Bear Lake chatting with Dwight Zaudtke of Keller Williams Realty - in his typical overly caffeinated state - he was quick to point out that there are noticeably less active listings right now than there were a year ago in the Twin Cities metro area. And he had some other statistics that were quite promising, which showed an increase in pending sales and a lower amount of available inventory based on how quickly it was being absorbed.

Although the Zaud Squad will always back up any real estate services with their hallmark guarantee of stopping their coffee consumption for any unhappy customers, Dwight was not willing to go quite that far on his assurance that the market had totally bottomed out. However, I do think I heard him mention something about quitting donuts for the week if he was wrong.

In any case, these tidbits of market information from various parts of the globe could be your crystal ball when considering the best time to get back into the market - especially the lake property market! It just may be now.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Making Choices and Changes

Winter in Minnesota is a good thing...for awhile. But then, about mid February, it seems like we have all have enough. We're tired of hauling kids to hockey, early darkness, and wearing coats and gloves; we just want it to end!

So sometimes we get to go on vacation and get away from it all. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that with my family and some friends last week in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I guess that was about the same time my cabin got twenty inches of snow dumped on it, but I didn't really watch the weather a whole lot down there.

What I did watch were the people. I guess I am always interested in how others live, and that is why I generally enjoy traveling by road rather than air. No one really "lives" on a plane; they mainly sleep, read, and make odd noises now then.

On the other hand, it was interesting to me to find out more about the people who worked around Cancun, Playa and Cozumel. Although it is almost an obsene disparity between the majestic resorts along the water and the barely habitable hovels on the other side of the highway, these people work with a non-ending conviction and no obvious complaining. Perhaps because there are so many others to take their place, or because they are striving to get ahead.

Tips are a big thing in Mexico. Wages are quite meager, so those that have worked their way up to a job that pays tips can do quite well. There are over 1,000 taxis just in Playa alone, and each of them is white. Coincidently, there are also 1,000 different prices to get to the same location, and unlike up here where you have to wave down a taxi - and get one if you're lucky - the drivers down south are out on foot tracking down business...and making deals in hopes of better tips.

Long hours are common in Mexico. Our shuttle driver had 62 trips lined up for Saturday, from 4:00 AM until 11:00 PM. He probably makes several hundred dollars or more per day and does OK. He also works six days a week, as do most of the people around there - except the ones who work seven days. He was talking about taking a vacation to Minnesota, but thought it would be a bit cold yet.

But the guys in the restrooms impressed me the most. They weren't handing out woven towels with refreshing fragrances like you might see at a fancy hotel here in the states; they were in bathrooms barely large enough to turn around, and tearing off chunks of brown paper towling while they pointed out the soap dispenser and hit the handle on the faucet. The tip jar was right there so it was kind of hard to avoid, and I guess if someone wants to stand there for sixteen hours doing that job I can flip them a buck. Those dudes may bring in $1,000 a day since some of the drinks are quite large in the bars and restaurants where they worked.

Many of the people in Mexico don't have a lot of choices - it is obvious they do what they need to for survival. Even though our economy has been tough, we in America still have so much more opportunity that any place else on earth...if we allow ourselves to make seemingly difficult choices, and changes now and then.

Sometimes it just takes getting a break from our everyday normality - and The Weather Channel - to realize it.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Where Have All the Agents Gone?

If Pete Seeger were to write his song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" today, it might be focused on the changing real estate climate and the economy. I've noticed that there are a lot less real estate agents in the business these days, and many of them have had to look for new jobs, instead, due to the sluggish market.

Quite a few of these agents are the same ones who jumped into real estate during the last few years when they thought this was easy money, with little more invested in their business than a few weeks of real estate classes. Instead of getting rich quick, some of these "newbies" helped perpetuate the escalating prices, often willing to list properties at any amount just to beat out the competition for the listing. And many sellers chose those inflated numbers over realistic pricing and the experience of more seasoned agents...in hopes of hitting the jackpot.

Soon, neighbors also wanted a piece of the action and put their homes on the market at prices even higher - justifying those values with the rationale that their property was much better than the one down the street for sale at 25% over value. It became a crazy time, where pricing was set by prices on properties for sale, rather than by properties that had actually sold. Although, there were still enough buyers in the market so that a property here and there would actually sell at those false prices, and lenders could find enough comparables to support loaning money on them.

But because a lot of these newer agents didn't have as much to lose, they could jump out of the business just about as easily as they jumped into it. And many did.

And now, due to an increasing array of factors, many of the experienced agents - with vast knowledge of home values and strong representation abilities - are also having to look for other jobs to survive the slowdown. Because of this, there will almost definitely be some dramatic changes in the industry going forward, and other concepts may emerge.

Sellers will still sell, and buyers will still buy, but many of the agents who put all of their effort and expertise into helping these two types of clients - with no upfront fees - may have a harder time committing those long hours of playing tour guide without some assurances of income. Besides that, some will have to juggle their time with other employment, and will not be available on the 24/7 schedules that they have advertised in the past. So we'll have to see where this all shakes out.

But those other jobs are getting hard to come by, as we see on the news every day. And it's not just the agents who want them; everyone seems to be looking! So Pete's song may now go something like this:

Where have all the agents gone, long time selling.
Where have all the agents gone, who sold those homes.
Where have all the agents gone, gone to good jobs...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have all the good jobs gone, long time supporting.
Where have all the good jobs gone, that paid the bills.
Where have all the good jobs gone, employers cut them...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have the employers gone, long time hiring.
Where have the employers gone, who we counted on.
Where have the employers gone, the banks have closed them...every one.
Oh when will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

Where have all the bankers gone, long time lending.
Where have all the bankers gone, who financed homes.
Where have all the bankers gone, to get a bailout...everyone.
Oh when will we ever learn, oh when will we ever learn.