Sellers, Keep an Eye on Your Competition

Sellers, Keep an Eye on Your Competition

Sellers, if you don't think you have competition out there, think again.

Start by taking a look at your price bracket.  This season we have seen a significant number of homes enter the market priced between $500,000 and $750,000 on Madeline Island (and elsewhere).  Yet showing traffic is down in the over half-million price range. 

There's competition in your neighborhood.  For example, the 2013 sales season brought a number of homes on the South Shore Road area of Madeline Island into the market. This year, the majority of homes for sale appears to have shifted to the northwest side of the Island, from Sunny Slope Road and Sunset Bay north to Steamboat Point.

We advise our sellers to take a second look at listing prices of comparable homes.  If your property is priced at the top of the range among listings in your immediate vicinity and with comparable square footage/amenities/features, it needs to be in superb condition, with little or no deferred maintenance.  Buyers need to see the value in order to take the step of buying an upper-bracket second home, particularly at a top price.

Homes located closest to the Town of LaPointe appear to be increasingly popular.  This is a recent phenomenon which leaves some sellers scratching their heads.  Ten years ago, the north end of Madeline Island became a magnet for buyers who truly wanted to "get away from it all".  Now that dynamic has shifted a bit, particularly among younger buyers who want the convenience of being closer to the Island's commercial district. 

Price, condition and location are all serious factors which may determine whether you sell this year or not.  And competition between listings based on those factors will be crucial to your success.  Obviously you cannot do anything about your location, but you can certainly make good decisions regarding the price and condition of your property.