Lake Wedowee Market Update

Posted at 7:09 AM, Jul. 26, 2007

The good news… There have been more lakefront home sales so far in 2007 than for the same period in 2006. Since May 1, 17 lakefront homes have sold on Lake Wedowee compared to 11 in 2006. However, there has been a shift in the market.

More than half of the lakefront homes sold this year have been new construction with nine selling in the last 60 days. 

The not so good news… With all the new construction, existing homes sales has plummeted in the last 60 days. Since June 1, only one existing lakefront home has sold and only four are currently under contract. 

It is hard for individuals to compete with builders. Usually the builder has more than one home under construction and therefore can “wheel and deal” a little bit more than the average home seller. Plus, home buyers typically prefer new.

However, there are ways for the individual home seller to compete with the builders. Price, of course, is the best way to compete, but there are other methods.

We are seeing more and more homes sell furnished or with other incentives such as painting allowances and dock allowances.

The bottom line is to make your property more attractive than its competition. As of July 25, there are 93 listings for lake property on www.ezMLS.com, more than half are less than two years old, 20 have been built this year. For the lake as a whole, this is a great news, new construction is good for the economy, but it gets tricky for the existing home sellers who need to sell.

A REALTOR® can help you decide the best plan for you, if you are an existing home seller. There are a variety of ways to make your home stand out not only to prospective buyers, but area real estate agents as well.