Midsummer Mania

Each year around the beginning of July, we end up with a huge spike in the visitors on our website at Lakehomes.com, and it lasts for about a month before turning back the other way to its low point a couple days before Christmas. The same thing happens on our sister sites at LakehomesUSA.com and other waterfront portals across the country. Buyers seem to choose this time of year to be the most interested in thinking about purchasing a lake home or cabin, and then they start drifting away slowly.

Selling lake properties is quite a bit different than working in general residential real estate. Waterfront buyers typically aren't moving from one home to the next, but are instead looking for second homes and vacation getaways. And even if they are thinking of moving to the water for their full time residence, they may not be your normal relocation buyer who has to make a move. So it is entirely in their court whether they make the decision to purchase or not.

After doing this business for as long as I have, I've found that if I can help these buyers understand the market quickly, it will be better for them...and for me. The lakeshore market is not an area of real estate where an agent should decide which three properties might fit a buyer's needs best, at least not until they get a good understanding of the reason why that buyer wants to be on the lake in the first place. And you aren't going to know that until you show them about twenty other lake properties so that they can get a reasonable feel for the current values and what types of structures, lots, lake sizes and lake qualities are available in their price range.

But midsummer is when lakeshore buyers are the most active in their searches -- both online and off. And they aren't out there just for the fun of it. These buyers -- perhaps you reading this article -- are actually ready to purchase a lake cabin, lot, or home...if you get the right assistance and education from your agent.

But if you choose the wrong agent -- one without the abilty to give you the proper education and direction -- you may very likely end up in the largest group of lakeshore property buyers. Those are the ones that never end up having a lake place at all!