THE FOURSOME AT LAKE OCONEE - SUMMER 2008
Download PDF

Musher, Kristin and I are alive, well and "enjoying the dream" as one of our best friends puts it. Believe it or not we have had the best six months in real estate sales that we have ever experienced here at the Lake. The market and local agents have not faired as well according to our Multiple Listing Reports.

We find that the prime locations and the properly priced properties are selling. And we have been very fortunate

The prime locations are the lake and somewhat the lake access properties. Both lots and homes are selling at close to the same ratio. Golf course homes and lots are selling at a much slower pace. Proper listing price seems to be related to sold prices for the last six months rather than listing prices for that period.

I have been involved in Real Estate related businesses for over thirty-five years. I feel that this is one of the most difficult periods that I have ever . Buyers are very uncertain about the future but financing rates are still good. All businesses have cycles but successful professionals succeed through any market condition.

Why are Musher, Kristin and I (as well as The Foursome at Lake Oconee) doing so well in this down market? We know we are working in an area that has a very good location. We know how to market the properties that we represent. We know how great the opportunities are with prime, well priced real estate.

We have, over the years, met and regularly communicated with a huge amount of interested buyers. From this group we regularly receive appointment calls to show real estate. When we produce a mailing, a new on-line marketing piece or a print ad more calls and e-mails come to us even in difficult market conditions.

Today is July 4 and Musher, Kristin and I are at the office on duty. The phone rang at about 10:00 A.M. asking for Kristin. The call was from a customer that she toured about six years ago who wished to see some lake homes. We made an appointment this Sunday to try together, to find a great opportunity for them.

MARKETING, KNOWLEDGE, HARD WORK AND TIMING = SUCCESS!

The lake front properties at Lake Oconee are always in demand. Consequently, the inventories never increase to a point of outpacing demand. Currently we have a great selection of lake front lots and homes with greater choices than in the past few years. The weather is wonderful this summer and our lake is full!
Thanks, Andrew

 

Andrew, Musher and I proudly present our NEW AND IMPROVED FOURSOME NEWSLETTER for Summer 2008! The biggest change you will see is that there are no listings included. We have 129 of them now! Because of the outstanding efforts of the members of The Foursome, we represent an incredible variety of properties and it is very easy to view them all on our website, TheFoursomeatLakeOconee.com. Just click on the tab that says VIEW OUR LISTINGS and you will see them all. There is plenty of info on each one and plenty of pictures, too. You can also check out the other tools we have on our site including a LAKE AREA MAP and NEWSLETTERS from Ed and Louise Louden, Mandi, and Jon and Jennifer Higham.

We hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July and are well into summer vacations, weekend barbecues and plenty of hammock time. For those of you who are out of towners we wish you could spend some time here. We think you would love it - especially in the summertime. Lake Oconee sparkles in the summer sun and glows under the light of the moon and the stars. Our only traffic noises are low hums of motorboats and the buzz of jet skis with occasional peal of laughter from someone skimming along behind a boat in an innertube.

Everyone who comes to the lake in the summertime is bound to have loads of fun. Come hell or high water! By the way, high water is what we have! The lake has been at full pool since early springtime unlike many others in the region that have suffered from our serious drought conditions. Thank you Georgia Power and Mother Nature!

So what’s up with the market?!

It is no secret that the buyers have largely stayed away from Lake Oconee (and just about every other market in the universe) over the past 12 to 18 months. There are considerable macro economic woes that have created this bleak market. More significantly we have seen an utter disruption of the financial services sector that buyers of second homes and homes in upscale markets have historically relied on to make purchases possible. Motivated buyers are slowly working through the roadblocks these issues have thrown in their way. And they will persevere. Property at Lake Oconee is still and will continue to be extremely desirable. As buyers become confident again with their personal economic pictures they will slowly overcome these and other setbacks of the recent past. And those that have to finance any real estate purchase will slowly gravitate towards traditional lenders who are ready to lend. Buyers will be back. Our best kept secret while we wait is the phenomenal inventory of homes and lots. There is SO much to choose from and many of the sellers are VERY motivated!

We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of buyers and doing everything we can to keep all of our listings in front of them during the lull. We know they are out there because we have the ability to track how many people check out our listings online. Those numbers are on the rise. Potential buyers are not out here driving around as much as they used to. Gasoline prices have made everyone rethink a road trip or another full day of boating. But they sure have been looking at property all over the world wide web.

And of course there are those that live here or have a connection to Lake Oconee. They know the area well and are starting to take advantage of a cosmic combination of extravagant inventory and very motivated sellers. We are consistently reaching them with a variety of print advertising such as The Golf Issue of “Our Magazine.” It is currently on 52 racks around the lake area and those racks are restocked weekly.
Thank you and have a terrific summer!
Kristin