Lake Martin December 2020 Market Update
John Coley
John Coley grew up on Lake Martin and is a 1991 graduate of Benjamin Russell High School in Alex City...
John Coley grew up on Lake Martin and is a 1991 graduate of Benjamin Russell High School in Alex City...
What corona? The Lake Martin waterfront real estate market has been absolutely scorching hot, regardless of the global concern with the coronavirus.
Let’s take a look at December 2020, waterfront home sales.
These statistics are taken from The Alabama Center of Real Estate. They represent all agents, all brokerages in the Lake Martin MLS.
If you own waterfront property on Lake Martin and are wondering what this data means to you specifically, I would love to come by and take a look. I can give you a free, no-obligation estimate of your market value.
Please call me if I may help!
Waterfront Home Sales December
31
December 2020
27
December 2019
+15%
Increase of
Waterfront Homes For Sale
77
December 2020
182
December 2019
-58%
Decrease of
Yearly Totals Waterfront Homes
482
Homes sold in 2020
369
Homes sold in 2019
+31%
Increase of
Yearly Totals Waterfront Lots
143
Lots sold in 2020
58
Lots sold in 2019
+146%
Increase of
Comments from John
2020 was a crazy year for sure. For all of the wacky things that happened, one thing is for sure- it was the best year ever for Lake Martin waterfront real estate sales.
And when I say best ever, I mean it by a long shot. It is not even close. The number of waterfront homes sold on Lake Martin was up 31% from 2019, and 2019 was the reigning champ. The G.O.A.T. The 2020 total was 482 versus 369 in 2019. Well, 2020 made the G.O.A.T. look like a chump…. a pretender …. an also ran. When you whip the G.O.A.T. by 31%, well, it leaves you in awe.
As impressive as Lake Martin home sales were, it is even crazier once you consider that these sales were achieved with about half of the normal inventory. Yes, that is correct. All through the year of 2020, our market had only about half of its average of homes available for sale. Did the huge sales and low inventory combine to create upward pressure on home prices? You bet it did.
What about waterfront lot sales on Lake Martin in 2020? Another record year. In 2020, 143 waterfront lots were sold versus a mere 58 in 2019, and versus the previous record of 96 in 2005. That means lot sales almost tripled last year and were about 49% better than the previous record.
For lot sales, 2020 actually started out pretty normal. The first 6 months had average sales. Then in July, 2020, closings of lot sales skyrocketed. Why? Well, if you think about it, it makes sense. The pandemic and all of its related hysteria occurred in earnest in March and April. If you figure the average lot takes about 45 days to close, that means that sales that are closed in July are actually negotiated and go under contract in April and May. So it took the public about eight weeks to figure, “crap, if this ever happens again, I want to have a place on Lake Martin to go and quarantine. I might not need a home now, but if I buy a lot I will be that much closer to the process.”
I also think that some of the increase in lot sales is due to low home inventory. I sometimes think of lot sales as the “Lake Martin futures” market. A barometer of optimism.
One thing is for sure, it has never been a better time to sell your waterfront property on Lake Martin. I am a full-time agent here. I would love to help you out!
On the buying side, it IS still possible to find your spot on Lake Martin. Just this week I was able to help a family from Florida successfully negotiate the purchase of their lake home. I would love to help you, too.