“Boomers Are Buying Second Homes”
Greetings!
Our summer continues to heat up both from a weather and real estate sales perspective; activity has been pretty brisk.
Earlier this year it was reported by a real estate trade association that American baby boomers bought a record number of second homes for vacation and investment last year, it amounted to nearly 40% of total homes sales in 2005. Interestingly about 33% of 2005 vacation home purchases occurred in the Midwest, followed by 30% in the South, 20% in the West and 17% in the Northeast.
In our local school district sales of “waterfront homes/cabins” per the MLS have increased by approximately 5% for the trailing 12 months over the previous 12 month period from ’04-’05. This “boomer trend” is unlikely to reverse soon even though there has been a broader housing slowdown; baby boomers are at the peak of their earning potential so they should continue to drive second-home sales. Part of this is due to the fact that interest rates have remained tolerable (for those of us who remember the double digit years!) and people want to diversify their investments and enjoy the use of it as well.
Have a wonderful weekend; our forecast is for more warm summer temperatures. If you are in the area the Lumberjack World Championships are being held this weekend right here in Hayward, home of ‘world class events”.
Life is Good!
Gary A. Nathan
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Summer has really heated up in Hayward; our days have had temperatures in the 80-95 degree range and not much in the way of clouds or rain. Wednesday night was the most spectacular on the lake this year, the moon was full and orange, the sky filled with stars and the lake was like glass. It was a great night for star gazing and satellite tracking. My wife commented that we live in paradise.
The real estate market has heated up as well; the phones are ringing, showings are up, deals are flowing and closings are happening. This morning I spoke with all three title companies in Hayward and two of the three indicated closings were either up or consistent with the same period last year. From my perspective I think our real estate market is steady, growing and normal for our area. In early writings I indicated that our local real estate market typically does not suffer from the severe changes one might see in the coastal areas or larger metro markets.
Most would say that the overall national real estate market is in a moderate and orderly cooling trend; in comparison and from my perspective our market is in a steady and orderly warm trend. We don’t sizzle hot and we don’t get froze out (well, in January it does get pretty cold here), our little piece of paradise has remained pretty comfortable.
Have a wonderful weekend; yours truly is going to head for the lake and a family reunion. Forecast is for sunny, hot and challenging fishing.
Enjoy, Life is Good!
The real estate market has heated up as well; the phones are ringing, showings are up, deals are flowing and closings are happening. This morning I spoke with all three title companies in Hayward and two of the three indicated closings were either up or consistent with the same period last year. From my perspective I think our real estate market is steady, growing and normal for our area. In early writings I indicated that our local real estate market typically does not suffer from the severe changes one might see in the coastal areas or larger metro markets.
Most would say that the overall national real estate market is in a moderate and orderly cooling trend; in comparison and from my perspective our market is in a steady and orderly warm trend. We don’t sizzle hot and we don’t get froze out (well, in January it does get pretty cold here), our little piece of paradise has remained pretty comfortable.
Have a wonderful weekend; yours truly is going to head for the lake and a family reunion. Forecast is for sunny, hot and challenging fishing.
Enjoy, Life is Good!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Condos
Gas prices are pretty unfriendly but it hasn’t slowed the traffic in our little area of the world; perhaps it’s our near perfect weather the past many weeks that keeps folks coming to the north woods. The weather has been friendly to real estate as well as the deal flow has picked up.
One sector that has been very good in our area is the condominium market. Sales of existing condominiums have set records throughout certain areas of the nation; regionally condo sales were relatively flat during the past year while the nationwide condominium market has kept up with record-breaking, single family home sales. While sales of condos in our area is lower than other areas of the country, their popularity the past 1-2 years has spiked up more than in the western or southern part of the U.S. Sales have been solid in our area and continue to be actively strong especially for waterfront condos.
It should be no surprise that sales are strong on the waterfront since our area is a destination for those who want a piece of the north woods and the opportunity to enjoy our pristine lakes. Condos on the water usually provide a much more affordable way to have a piece of heaven. More and more baby boomers who spend time in the warm climates during the winter months also want to continue to have their summer lake get-away; no surprise that they want it without the hassle of keeping up the yard, painting or worrying about other maintenance issues. Waterfront condos are a great solution.
There are currently six off-water condo developments in the Hayward area that range in price from $149,000 per unit to over $299,500 and several on-water condo projects that have a unit price range from $54,900 to $435,000. Last year sales of 40 condo on-water units in the Hayward School District averaged $232,228; the mean price was $210,450. The year prior there were 37 sales at an average of $183,805; the mean was $127,500. The off-water sales average and mean are very close at approximately $170,000 per unit. It will be no surprise if sales continue strong as baby boomers look to make life easier; I should know…I am one.
Have a great weekend; the forecast here is for sunny skies, warm weather and good fishing!
Life is good.
One sector that has been very good in our area is the condominium market. Sales of existing condominiums have set records throughout certain areas of the nation; regionally condo sales were relatively flat during the past year while the nationwide condominium market has kept up with record-breaking, single family home sales. While sales of condos in our area is lower than other areas of the country, their popularity the past 1-2 years has spiked up more than in the western or southern part of the U.S. Sales have been solid in our area and continue to be actively strong especially for waterfront condos.
It should be no surprise that sales are strong on the waterfront since our area is a destination for those who want a piece of the north woods and the opportunity to enjoy our pristine lakes. Condos on the water usually provide a much more affordable way to have a piece of heaven. More and more baby boomers who spend time in the warm climates during the winter months also want to continue to have their summer lake get-away; no surprise that they want it without the hassle of keeping up the yard, painting or worrying about other maintenance issues. Waterfront condos are a great solution.
There are currently six off-water condo developments in the Hayward area that range in price from $149,000 per unit to over $299,500 and several on-water condo projects that have a unit price range from $54,900 to $435,000. Last year sales of 40 condo on-water units in the Hayward School District averaged $232,228; the mean price was $210,450. The year prior there were 37 sales at an average of $183,805; the mean was $127,500. The off-water sales average and mean are very close at approximately $170,000 per unit. It will be no surprise if sales continue strong as baby boomers look to make life easier; I should know…I am one.
Have a great weekend; the forecast here is for sunny skies, warm weather and good fishing!
Life is good.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Vacant Land
The stock market last week acted pretty crazy and everyone scrambled around until a bunch of stocks got killed, for no reason from my perspective. That’s why I like real estate, especially real estate in an area that I know and have lived in most of my adult life.
Last week I talked about our unique real estate market in the Hayward area; this week we are going to take a look at the “hottest” part of the market in terms of real estate sales.
What is it? Vacant land! Both off-water and on-water lots and larger parcels have maintained strong sales in terms of numbers and dollar volume in the greater Hayward area. In just Sawyer County and the Hayward School District sales have topped $5 million for the trailing twelve months; 100 parcels with average sales of just above $49,000. For the same period last year sales on 94 parcels were slightly above $4 million for an average of about $43,000. Both years exceeded the prior year and the prior year….well you get the drift.
On-water lots for the past twelve months continues strong with sales of more that $7 million for an average of $170,000; the twelve months prior was especially good with more than $9.3 million in sales with an average sale of $155,850. Going forward there will be less and less available lake shore and prices will continue to move upward.
That said, it is easy to understand why off-water property has become a major sector, you get a good bang for your buck, privacy and the opportunity to drag your boat to any one of the crystal clear lakes of our area without paying the higher taxes. For those who do not recreate on the water or fish there are some great neighborhoods, like “The Brook”, being developed for the quiet sports folks and those who come to our area just to relax.
Next week find out about another hot sector in our real estate market.
Forecast here is sunny, warm and dry with plenty of clean air to breath and north woods to explore and lakes to enjoy! Make it a great weekend and have a Happy July 4th.
Life is good!
Last week I talked about our unique real estate market in the Hayward area; this week we are going to take a look at the “hottest” part of the market in terms of real estate sales.
What is it? Vacant land! Both off-water and on-water lots and larger parcels have maintained strong sales in terms of numbers and dollar volume in the greater Hayward area. In just Sawyer County and the Hayward School District sales have topped $5 million for the trailing twelve months; 100 parcels with average sales of just above $49,000. For the same period last year sales on 94 parcels were slightly above $4 million for an average of about $43,000. Both years exceeded the prior year and the prior year….well you get the drift.
On-water lots for the past twelve months continues strong with sales of more that $7 million for an average of $170,000; the twelve months prior was especially good with more than $9.3 million in sales with an average sale of $155,850. Going forward there will be less and less available lake shore and prices will continue to move upward.
That said, it is easy to understand why off-water property has become a major sector, you get a good bang for your buck, privacy and the opportunity to drag your boat to any one of the crystal clear lakes of our area without paying the higher taxes. For those who do not recreate on the water or fish there are some great neighborhoods, like “The Brook”, being developed for the quiet sports folks and those who come to our area just to relax.
Next week find out about another hot sector in our real estate market.
Forecast here is sunny, warm and dry with plenty of clean air to breath and north woods to explore and lakes to enjoy! Make it a great weekend and have a Happy July 4th.
Life is good!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Hayward Real Estate Market
The housing market in the US has seen its biggest boom in history; prices have been really amazing. As a nation the housing market has flattened and that is somewhat the case in the Hayward area as well. BUT, it is unlikely that we will have a severe downturn as is the case in certain other parts of the country. In my twenty-six years of living in this area I have found that this market is far more resilient and stable; we see less severe swings in pricing and it is rare to see degradation in home values, particularly lake home properties. Another reason for our market stability is due to the fact that our pool of buyers come from a 14+ million person market (Chicago, Twin Cities, Milwaukee/Madison, etc...) and that we only have 545 active waterfront listings in all of Sawyer County (vacant waterfront lots and lake homes). The Hayward area property values typically move upward over a few years, flatten out for a period and then begin to climb again; it’s a market that just has not suffered severe downturns.
We live in an area that is blessed with fresh air, crystal clear lakes and tens of thousands of acres of forest land, much of which is owned by the Federal, State and local County governments, which of course translated means we own it. Our market is unique, we are an end-user market; there is less speculation buying in our area, it is more driven by demand for lake shore properties and vacant land. People come to this area for the “experience”; a life away from the hassles of traffic, congestion, noise and the fast-paced-life that is so often a part of larger metropolitan areas. Living in the Hayward area, which includes all of Sawyer and parts of Washburn, Bayfield and Douglas counties, is like having your “up-north dream come true”. Often I feel that we sell a life experience as much as we sell real estate.
Boomers and Gen X’ers have money (they are going to inherit a bunch more wealth), they have prospered and they are buying vacation, second homes and vacant lands in increasing numbers; I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Unless the broader market collapses we should continue to enjoy a relatively stable real estate market in our area.
Next week: What’s Hot?
We live in an area that is blessed with fresh air, crystal clear lakes and tens of thousands of acres of forest land, much of which is owned by the Federal, State and local County governments, which of course translated means we own it. Our market is unique, we are an end-user market; there is less speculation buying in our area, it is more driven by demand for lake shore properties and vacant land. People come to this area for the “experience”; a life away from the hassles of traffic, congestion, noise and the fast-paced-life that is so often a part of larger metropolitan areas. Living in the Hayward area, which includes all of Sawyer and parts of Washburn, Bayfield and Douglas counties, is like having your “up-north dream come true”. Often I feel that we sell a life experience as much as we sell real estate.
Boomers and Gen X’ers have money (they are going to inherit a bunch more wealth), they have prospered and they are buying vacation, second homes and vacant lands in increasing numbers; I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Unless the broader market collapses we should continue to enjoy a relatively stable real estate market in our area.
Next week: What’s Hot?
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