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Market Report

Recent data reveals steady sales pace


Published: 10.17.2024

Like much of the economy, the Lake Martin real estate market keeps humming along. Our recent data on sales activity for the last 12 months is tracking very closely to the sales data from one year ago. One might say, in some ways, it is virtually unchanged.

The only increases for the residential category are for average and median prices. Waterfront lot activity, on the other hand, continues to show significant growth in sales volume, the number of properties sold, and a double-digit percentage increase in average sales price. The key data points are below:

Key Data
  • Waterfront Residential volume up 3.9% to $294,543,917 from $283,563,169 last year
  • Waterfront Residential property sales down by just 1 property to 247 units from 248 last year
  • Waterfront Residential average sales price up 4.3% to $1,192,485 from $1,143,400 last year
  • Waterfront Residential median price up 5.6% to $965,000 from $913,750 last year
  • Waterfront Lot volume up 26.1% to $74,092,760 from $58,742,382 last year
  • Waterfront Lot sales up 8.1% to 93 properties from 86 last year
  • Waterfront Lot average price up 16.6% to $796,696 from $683,051 last year
A deeper dive indicates a changing market

From a practitioner’s perspective, we think the market is going through a transitional phase. From roughly June of 2020 until January of 2022 (what we call the COVID period), the market was fairly frenetic. Low inventory of existing lake homes led to what we would describe as a “seller’s market.” Newly listed property tended to sell within days, frequently above list price. (See chart below.)

 

 

Starting in spring of 2022, the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates, which has had a profound impact on the national real estate market. The increased rates have had some impact on the lake market but not nearly as significantly as the national market.

What we have noticed is that inventory levels are increasing, which gives buyers more options to consider. This has allowed for more negotiation between buyers and sellers. Last year, the average price was 98.1% of list price. This year, that ratio has dropped to 96.4% of list price. That is still a healthy ratio, but it clearly indicates a transition to a normal market.

Inventory levels are still low, currently at 164 properties listed for sale, compared with the pre-COVID period when the inventory level was 300 residential units for sale. While inventory is low by historic standards, it is nearly three times as high as in late 2021.

Those higher inventories have resulted in longer listing periods (up from 91 days last year to 108 this year) for property owners and, in some cases, price reductions to entice activity. Inventory increases for some property types or price categories are “crowding” the market to some degree. That is true for condos of all price categories and single-family detached in the $900,000 to $1,650,000 range.

Amenities make a big difference

Other price categories, such as properties above $2,000,000 and waterfront lot sales in areas like The Heritage, continued to stay consistently strong. The Ridge continues to be a market leader both in the number of homes sold and average price for existing lake homes.

The Heritage continues to lead the market both in number of estate lake homesites sold (115 over the last 3 years) and the construction of custom lake homes (over 35 currently underway with nearly 20 in design-approval stage and dozens on the drawing board).

What seem to make the difference in the upper end of the market are the amenities in or near these two communities. For The Ridge, those amenities include The Ridge Marina, The Ridge Club, gated entry and proximity to Russell Crossroads.

For The Heritage, the key amenities are Wicker Point Golf Club, designed by Coore & Crenshaw and opened for play last fall, and the owner’s Benjamin Lake Club, with resort pools, clubhouse, snack bar, tennis, and pickleball, which is scheduled to open in June of 2025.

To stay informed on the market data and our development activities, reach out to one of our Sales Executives today. They can be reached at 256.215.7011 or via email. They are your very best source of all information regarding the lake market and Russell Lands’ development activities.

 

Note: The metrics above are based on an analysis of sales information derived from data pulled from the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors® MLS for the period of October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, and compared to the same period last year.

 

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