From JSOnline:
Price declines reach shore
With values falling, is now best time to buy on a lake?
By Joe Taschler of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 12, 2008
Town of Oconomowoc - Although properties in Waukesha County's Lake Country have not been immune to the downturn in the real estate market, now might be a good time for savvy buyers to make a run at land on the water, area real estate agents say.
Prices have dropped after years of steep run-ups, and inventory is fairly good, they say.
In a state where there are 1.4 million licensed anglers and 617,000 boats - 37,000 in Waukesha County alone - lakes are a big deal, and land along the water has always commanded a premium price.
Prices, though, have fallen anywhere from 10% to 15% along with most other residential real estate in the region.
"Lake properties are definitely taking a hit in this market," said Paul Liebe, president of Redefined Realty, parent company of LakeCountryByOwner.com.
That's a turnaround from recent years when Lake Country property was in high demand and prices soared.
"There was a flurry. It was like there weren't enough lake properties," Liebe said.
While not coming to a halt, sales of lake property seem to have come to a crawl.
"It's been very, very slow moving lake properties compared with past years," Liebe said.
What has resulted is motivated sellers.
"If you want to sell it today, partly because it's winter and partly because of the market, you need to be willing to negotiate," said Roger Rushman, executive vice president of First Weber's Lake Country office in Delafield.
As for getting a mortgage, lenders might be scrutinizing things a bit closer, but financing is out there, agents say.
"If you have 20% (as a down payment) there's lots of money available," said Rushman, a past chairman of the Wisconsin Realtors Association.
Yes, there is money out there. It's just not the giveaway it used to be. As much as my pocketbook would love to see things the way they used to be, it really isn't good for the economy. We'd have a couple more years of boom, but then the bubble will burst and here we are again.
Later in the article, a gentleman is quoted as saying that the mortgage rates need to be lower. according to my little BankRate.com widget we are at 4.86% for a 30-year mortgage. That is lower than it has been in the last decade!
What is needed is consumer confidence. Right now people don't know what is around the corner - will their taxes skyrocket? Will they have a job? Will commodities prices shoot up? Auto manufacturers are offering 0% long term financing and/or huge rebates and their sales are down. Not because of the prices, but because of confidence.
People are sitting back and seeing what policies are going to come out of Washington. In other words, Washington is controlling the marketplace. This is not the role our Founding Fathers envisioned for government.
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