absent, dead, extinct, few and far between, hallucinatory, hypothetical, illusory, imaginary, insubstantial, mythical, null and void. Pick your synonym, either way it aint’ happening.
The water level on Lake Lanier has been back for a while, but the lake buyer has been elusive. Or is it that the Lake Seller hasn’t adjusted their expectations? With nearly 500 lake homes w/ boat docks available and only 75 sales year-to-date, Lake Homes are not flying off the shelf. Take a look at the break down of price ranges in the following chart:
| Lake Homes on Lanier - with a Boat Dock | |||||
| Active Listings | Under Contract | Sold Year-To-Date | |||
| $1M + | 84 | 1 | 1 | ||
| $750k - $999k | 79 | 3 | 1 | ||
| $500k - $749k | 134 | 8 | 16 | ||
| $149k - $499k | 195 | 16 | 57 | ||
| Totals | 492 | 28 | 75 | ||
As you can see, if you are trying to sell your home on Lake Lanier for more than $750,000 the chance of getting is sold is unlikely, remote, improbable, absurd, doubtful (yes, I’m having fun with the Thesaurus today). The price ranges that are moving are under $500,000; with a handful of homes selling in the $500k - $750k range. With 84 homes available on Lake Lanier, over $1M and only one sold in the price range so far this year, it becomes way more than a long shot.
No, I don’t Want to Super-Size That!
Most of the reasons for this are fairly obvious I think. Money is harder to get in those price ranges, and disposable income is down. Many of the homes on Lake Lanier in the higher price ranges are 2nd homes and there are not many 2nd home buyers in the market anywhere right now. But what isn’t too obvious is that people are buying more modestly, they are no longer super-sizing their purchases. There are even local moves where the primary factor is “we don’t need this much house”.
In the same vein, most lake buyers are looking for a modest weekender, not a palace. The McMansion days are over and I don’t think they will be back soon. For those buyers who want to search lake lanier for that trophy lake home, it’s your market - you own it. But for sellers in that price range, if you don’t need to sell….well I think you know where I’m going…..
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