2008 Lake Lanier sales statistics reveals great news.

I have the news on Lake Lanier Listings and Sales for the second half of 2008. These are based upon FMLS stats for homes that were coded as being Lakefront or Lakeview properties with at least a single slip boat dock in place. Figures will not be exact, but they are a good representation of activity on Lake Lanier.

I have the news on Lake Lanier Listings and Sales for the second half of 2008. These are based upon FMLS stats for homes that were coded as being Lakefront or Lakeview properties with at least a single slip boat dock in place. Figures will not be exact, but they are a good representation of activity on Lake Lanier.

Listings:

1. There are 394 CURRENT Listings with an Average Listing Price of $722,000. This is a 13% decline in average list price since first half of 2008. The number of listings was 368 so about a 7% increase in number of listings.2.

There are 11 pending properties with an Average List Price of $447,300. There were 12 pending sales first half of 2008 but average was much higher at $870,00. This number is really not as significant as this number is much smaller and you cannot control which homes happen to go under contract at a given time.3.

Out of the 394 listings, 181 properties were listed from 7/1/08-12/31/08 with an average list price of $895,000. This is up just slightly from the fist half of 2008 of $870,000.

Sales:

1. There have been 31 closed sales. The average sales price is $671,000 with the average Days on Market at 107 (Listing prices range from $152,500 to a high of $2,350,000). The average list to sales price ratio was 6.7%. The average sales price is 22% higher than the first half of 2008! Days on market was essentially the same (109 first half of 2008). This sales price average brings us closer to the average sales price we saw in the first half of 2007 at $623,000. So great news here!

** In the second half of 2007 there were 72 closed sales with an average sales price of $681,000. Average list to sales price ratio was 9.4% and average days on market was 117. So we are not far off other than number of sales from these figures.

Please Note: There are many homes that have been on the market much longer than this. The days on the market number is skewed if the home was listed for many months and then relisted after the first listing expired, with a new FMLS number and date. The days on market is only calculated from the last time the home was placed on the market with a new listing number and date. Many homes fall into this situation, so in reality days on market is likely much higher.

**This has been our experience when appraising lake property and checking to see how many times the home was listed with new dates and FMLS numbers.

Expired and Withdrawn Listings:

In 2008, there were 531 homes that had expired listings with average list price of $847,000. Average Days on Market was 145. Again this number may be skewed. Many have been relisted and currently back on the market. The number of expired listings is 38% higher compared to the first half of 2008. The average list price is 13% higher.

There were 127 withdrawn listings in all of 2008. Average list price was $1,086,000. Many of these were relisted.

What does all of this mean?

The bad news is there are loads of listings for more competition between properties and the number of sales is less than the same time last year. The GOOD news, there were more sales in the second half of 2008 than the first half of 2008 and the average sale price is 22% higher bringing us closer to sale averages of the first half of 2007! Fantastic News!

Also, the average list to sales price ratio has decreased by 1.3%.Other than the over abundance of Lake Lanier Listings, if the average list price stays stable, then it would stand to reason that our average sales price for the first half of 2009 will increase. It did the second half of 2008 so we expect that trend to continue.

**What appears to be happening here is that people are reducing their listing prices and there is a narrowing between the average listing price and the average sales price. The home sellers are getting realistic on the current market of their lake homes and the buyers are starting to increase in numbers, exactly what we need to start turning this market around!

The average sales price was only slightly lower than this same period last year.

Also the other great news is that the lake is just over 14.0 feet below full pool which is 4 feet higher than it was this time last year.....

With all the doom and gloom in the news about the real estate market, we have something to celebrate here! It may not feel that way to many lake home owners trying to sell, who have had to reduce their prices to remain competitive, but we are heading back in the right direction and that is a good thing as Martha Stewart would say.

Enjoy the good news and I will be back with you in the summer for the first half of 2009 Lake Lanier Sales Stats. In the meantime subscribe to my blog and you can stay abreast of the Lake Lanier News on a regular basis.

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's a new year and time to review your marketing plans. Times have been tough and that is an understatement. But when times are tough you have to get out there ahead of your competition and be seen.

Many have cut back on their advertising and marketing budget in 2008, but did that really help you make money or get more clients? You really have to analyze this for yourself.

The other question you have to ask is should you specialize in something this year, pick a niche market and go with it? If you ask anyone who has focused on being an expert in any field AND advertised themselves as such, I bet they will tell you it has worked for them.

So why not specialize in high end properties like lakefront homes? We specialize in lakefront homes as appraisers and I can say without a doubt that we are considered lakefront experts, however a large part of this was because we decided years ago that lakefront was going to be our specialty, we learned it and we advertised ourselves heavily as such.

Go ahead and Google Lake Lanier Appraiser...I dare you! If Mary Thompson Appraisals is not all over the 1st page of the search results, I will pay for your first year of advertising on this site.

This is exactly what we can do for you and your business! There is no other directory out there on the Internet that only spotlights lakefront professionals. So go ahead, make your new years resolution to come out ahead of your competition.

Sign up today and we will give you your 2nd year free!

Let's see if you are really reading this all the way thru...your 2nd year is free if you sign up in the Month of January 2009.

Contact us today and may you prosper in 2009. Happy New Year!

LakeFront Pros is adding new members regularly now

Lakefront Pros is ON FIRE... We are adding members regularly to our one of a kind Network on the WEB. The recession is nearing an end in many places and people are putting advertising BACK into their budget!

Check out our most recent members noted in our BLOG. We have some fantastic, impressive businesses in our Network of Lakefront Pros.

Don't miss out on the networking possibilities with these businesses and of course the exposure for your own Lakefront or Lake Related business.

So join today and get the chance to spotlighted on the Lakefront Radio Show, also getting GREAT exposure. Check out the write up in our local paper about the show.
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/archive/7440/

Lakefront Pros is a sponsor of Lakefront Radio and is noted during the show as a sponsor, so this mean even more exposure for YOU!

Lakefront Pros Welcomes Pete Edwards-Remax Realtor

We are happy to announce the addition to our Network of Pete Edwards with Remax Real Estate in Georgia.

Pete and his team specialize in Lake Lanier Real Estate. Lake Lanier Real Estate can be tricky, especially with the drought that we are experiencing. Peter knows Lake Lanier well and has all the stats on sales, listings, etc. on the Lake in his annual marketing reports on Lake Lanier

http://www.lakelanier.bz/ Check him out here at his website. His banner ad can be seen on our website at: http://lakefrontappraiser.com/georgia_lanier.php

Again, we welcome Pete Edwards to our Network, Where all Lakefront Pros converge and network. http://www.lakefrontpros.com/

LakeFront Pros Welcomes Teresa Smith to Our Network

We are very happy to announce our newest member, Teresa Smith of Keller Williams Realty on Lake Lanier in Georgia. http://www.livingonlakelanier.com/

Teresa specializes in Lakefront property on Lake Lanier and now more than ever, in this market, you need someone who knows the lake.

Lake Lanier is experiencing the worst drought ever and you need the expertise of a Lake Realtor to navigate through these rough waters....PUN intended.

Check out her ad on our site http://lakefrontappraiser.com/georgia_lanier.php

Again, we welcome Teresa Smith to our Network, Where all Lakefront Professionals converge and network.

http://www.lakefrontpros.com/

LakeFront Pros Welcomes Marge Beaver -Aerial Photographer

We welcome Marge Beaver to our network. Her story is quite interesting. She is a 73 year old Aerial Pilot in Muskegon, Michigan. She covers the Great Lakes Region in the Midwest and the photos she takes are stunning.

Check her story and interview out at http://marytt.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=353656

Her website is http://www.photography-plus.com/

If you need any kind of aerial photo, be it real estate, piers, harbors, commercial projects, etc. Marge is your "Gal".

Her banner ad can be found here: http://lakefrontappraiser.com/illinois_michigan.php

Again, we welcome Marge to our Network, Where all Lakefront Pros converge and network!
http://www.lakefrontpros.com/

LakeFront Pros Welcomes Navy Pier to our Network

We are very pleased and honored to Welcome Navy Pier to our LakeFront Pros Network. http://www.navypier.com/

Check out their banner ad on our site. http://lakefrontappraiser.com/illinois_michigan.php

If you live in the Chicago, IL area or are thinking of visiting this great City in the Midwest, you cannot miss visiting Navy Pier. Free Admission and they have everything you could want for the entire family. Shops, entertainment, Ferris Wheel, restaurants, IMAX theatre, etc.

Click on this link to hear Navy Pier being interviewed by LakeFront Radio and the very cool story that unfolded about the Pier, A 25 year wedding anniversary and a Clipper Ship.

http://marytt.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=362518

Once again we welcome Navy Pier to our Network, Where all LakeFront Pros converge and Network! http://www.lakefrontpros.com/