Smith Mountain Lake Real Estate | “The Smith Mountain Lake Edge” |Insider
New Year’s Edition 2012
Author Noreen Hartkern c. 2012
“The Worst Year in Home Sales History?”
Wow! What a Year! Waterfront Continues to Amaze…
So….here we go again….the leading Housing Market Websites showed headlines like:
- “2011 Likely to Be The Worst Home Sales Yet”
- “Record Low New Home Sales 2011”
- “2011 Home Sales and Prices Likely To Be Very Flat”
And on, and on, and on……
What actually ended up happening is pretty amazing….Firstly, let me clear something up. We don’t really have new homes here at the lake….the only new homes right now are those being built by owners of lots….and trust me….we are cringing all the way. Lots are expensive and the cost of construction has not come down—at all—let me say that again….the cost of construction has not come down at all….so what does that mean for you?
Existing homes have so much bang for the buck it’s insane. Let me break it down for you:
What does it cost to build a new home at Smith Mountain Lake?
Depending on your ta$te you’re looking at $116-$200+/sq foot for just the structure. Oh and by the way…things like cathedral ceilings, open-spaced areas and layouts are all extra and a la carte. Why? Because roof lines and interior supports are expensive…think crickets and ice dams, beams, etc…
What that DOESN’T INCLUDE:
oh….gee….do you have an hour?
- The waterfront lot–if you don’t own one, you can figure $100K for a cliff and up to $1.5M for super flat estate type lot.
- a driveway (other than construction gravel)
- municipal, community water hookup or well—figure $4k on the low side
- septic tank and drainfield–figure $4k-$15K depending on the lay of the lot and whether or not you need an engineered field or a pump back septic
- finished basement–oh, figure another $60-$100/sq ft.
- a dock–figure about $35K for a single slip dock IF you can get a permit from AEP and $48K-$100K for something really fancy.
- landscaping–$1000 for just grading and seed with straw and everything else is up to you.
It ASTOUNDS ME That we can talk about a down economy all day long, and yet, NONE of the economic downturn has been passed off to the CONSUMER….Yep….Construction Costs have—if ANYTHING–continued to rise…and that’s not just materials my friends….
So where does that leave us?
That leaves us in 2012, with the knowledge that we can buy an existing home for pennies on the construction dollar…and I mean pennies…..with a simple calculator above you can do the math. I don’t know your taste or circumstances, so pardon me for not extending the numbers for you….
Now, without further ado, for those of you who love statistics and data, here were our 2011 Smith Mountain Lake Sales in a nutshell…
| 182 Smith Mountain Lake Waterfront HOMES Sold and Closed 2011 [ Only 17 Less Than Last Year 🙂 ]Click to view listing(s) |
| 33 Smith Mountain Lake Waterfront LOTS Sold and Closed 2011 [ Only 14 Less Than Last Year 🙂 ]Click to view listing(s) |
| 83 Smith Mountain Lake ACCESS HOMES Sold and Closed 2011 [ 14 MORE Than Last Year!!! ]Click to view listing(s) |
| 13 Smith Mountain Lake ACCESS LOTS Sold and Closed 2011 [ Only 3 Less Than Last Year 🙂 ]Click to view listing(s) |
| 25 Smith Mountain Lake WATERFRONT Pending and Poised to CloseClick to view listing(s) |
| 15 Smith Mountain Lake LAKE ACCESS Pending and Poised to Close [ 9 MORE Than Last Year ] Click to view listing(s) |
this data will no longer be available for viewing on 3/2/2012
THAT’S 351 ROCK-SOLID SALES IN THE MIDST OF WHAT THEY CALLED “A RECESSION, TURNED DEPRESSION”…..YEAH RIGHT! DON’T YOU JUST LOVE PROPAGANDA!???? THAT’S ONLY A TOTAL OF 13 PROPERTIES LESS THAN LAST YEAR!!!
SO…What’s Still Available?
IF YOU’RE ALREADY ON MY LIST, THEN YOU ALREADY KNOW…BUT IF YOU’RE NOT YOU SHOULD ACT NOW!
GET “The Smith Mountain Lake Edge”
SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE MLS SERVICE TO FIND OUT!
And in all sincerity….
I hope this finds you Happy, Healthy and Prosperous in the New Year!
Cheers!
Noreen
P.S. So….once again, you may be asking yourself those age-old questions:
“Did I miss the recession?”
“Are there any ‘deals’ left?”
“Can I see a whole list of foreclosures?” You could if there were any!
“What’s Left That I Can ‘Steal’?”
And I can tell you that there are a few deals left, BUT! you need to make written offers in order to get them!
Did you know that you don’t even have to be here physically to do that???
I’m not advising you to do that, but! If you found a home or lot that you absolutely didn’t want to miss out on but couldn’t get here for a week or two, here’s how you could handle that:
You write an offer “Subject To: Touring the property in person “(with your spouse, with you business partner, with your home inspector) and after a successful tour, you remove that “subject to”/”contingency” and then you finalize plans to close on the property.
In this way, if a seller accepts those terms and signs the contract, you will be first in line to tour the property and make your decision. That’s how that’s done, and believe me, it happens more often than not in resort areas because EVERYONE lives out of town before they get here!
Scheduling:
If you are thinking about coming to the lake to look at homes, I just wanted to let you know that my Winter Calendar is as follows: I am available 7 days a week, and weekdays are always easier!
Just let me know by calling or emailing me As soon as humanly possible.
email: noreenhartkern@yahoo.com cell: 540-420-1294
————————————————————————-
Financing:
So many of you can’t wait to fulfill you dream of owning a lake home, and I’m here to help you with that,but you may be wondering how much you can really afford. Contact your local lending institution or if you are looking for a Smith Mountain Lake Lender, contact one of the following reps and tell them I sent you so that you receive optimum care and guidance!
 |
Noreen Hartkern WAINWRIGHT & CO (AT THE LAKE) 16503 B. T. WASHINGTON HWY MONETA, VA 24121 noreenhartkern@yahoo.com 540-420-1294 http://www.smithmountainlakefronthomes.com/ |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Noreen Hartkern is a well-respected Zillow 5-Star Agent on Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, with over 26+ Years of Real Estate Expertise. Noreen is an Accomplished Realtor, Real Estate Consultant, New Construction Specialist, Blog Writer & Photographer. In Addition to Listings and Sales, Buyers and Sellers Agency, She has Extensive Experience as a Home Renovator, Rehabber and Flipper, and is a Published Author on That Very Topic.
Want "The Smith Mountain Lake Edge"? LOVE Super-Stealth BARGAINS on Smith Mountain Lake? Want to KNOW WHERE THE DEALS ARE BEFORE ANYONE ELSE DOES? GET NOREEN'S SECRET FREE SML REPORT The Bottom is OVER...Grab Some Deals Before they're all GONE!
See You Here Soon! Noreen Hartkern Mobile – (540) 420-1294 noreenhartkern@yahoo.com