Lake Lanier Blog

You may have heard WGST AM radio yesterday 10/8/08 and seen the AJC article about Lake Lanier Drought. While there are some grim facts about this lake and values CURRENTLY, during these interviews I did also state there is alot to be hopeful about and the future of Lake Lanier is all BUT dim.

Of course since news likes to be NEGATIVE all the time and sensational, none of the positive outlooks that I discussed with these news folks was broadcast or published. The news is part and parcel of the problems.

The good new is I called WGST on the carpet about this negative reporting, when I told them they must report all of what I say not some of it and they are going to do a follow up interview with me in the coming week or so and report some of the other things I talked to them about...namely:

Once water returns and it will....Please see my previous post about Lake Lanier Levels going all the way back to the early 1980's. The water has always returned. Once the 160 boat dock permits that are left are issued, once the election is behind us, the bail out shakes out and the stock market returns to some sort of normalcy, we WILL see increases in Lake Lanier values. We just have so many things working against us right now, that is is no wonder things are looking grim.....in reality it should look alot worse, but lake values have a way of hanging on tight!

So look for that more positive report on WGST as it relates to Lake Lanier Values, what positive things have come of this drought and how many businesses are working together more than ever to keep their heads above water and stay in business on this lake.

If you are a homeowner on the Lake, hang tight, things will get better and your equity will return and continue to grow....of this I am certain!

Thanks for stopping by.

Had an exciting day today, The Weather Channel interviewed me about the Lake Lanier Drought and its affect on Home Values. While it may not be pretty as far as Lake Lanier Real Estate is concerned, they asked me if I am optimistic about the future of this Lake and I hope they air this part because...

I said : Absolutely I am optimistic because many times this lake has been 10+ feet below full pool and it has ALWAYS, I repeat ALWAYS come back to full summer pool! In the early 80's when it was 18.0 feet below full pool, in the 90's and the early 2000's when it was 15.0+ below full pool, it has returned.

Yes the market is slow, yes people are having to come down on their prices especially if they have low or no water at their dock and because of the overall slow market that has hit the entire country for the most part.

However, WHEN not IF the water returns and the 160 or so boat dock permits that are left are issued and the market turns itself around, we will again see the great annual increases on this Lake that we saw in the hay days of the early to mid 2000's.

Thanks for stopping by!

Please visit our other sites www.lakefrontradio.com where we interview lakefront professionals from across the nation. We have had some pretty interesting guests including alot of Lake Lanier Businesses back in April and May of this year.

Also www.lakefrontpros.com If your business revolves around the lake in any way....You will want to be spotlighted on this national site.

We Need your help! http://www.supportlesli.com/

A very special Realtor in this area Lesli Smith (Lake Lanier Realtor) needs your help and donations. She and her husband own Lake Lanier Lodges just outside of Aqualand Marina. She has been battling Inflammatory Breast Cancer and it has spread to her brain. She had surgery at MD Anderson and is doing well, but she has a long road ahead of her. Please click on the link above to find out how you can help and PLEASE, PLEASE spread the word.

Also please note: Aqualand Marina http://www.aqualandmarina.com/ is having a "Day at the Lake" for Lesli. There will be Food, Music and a Boat Show. You can come and enjoy the day from Noon to 6:00 pm on Saturday October 25th, 2008 at the Marina. Please, Please pass this word along to all you know.

Thank you!

We have 80 lake homes that are sold or pending since 1/1/08. Wide range of prices from a low of $215,000 to over 2 million (all with boat docks in place).

Of these 80, there are 47 that have closed or have pended since May, 2008. It is not earth shattering, but lake sales are happening and they are happening NOW. During this same period last year, there were 98 homes that sold, just about 2 times more homes last year than this year.

There are 404 Lake Lanier home listings with individual boat docks, from a low of $214,000 to a high of $7,500,000.

Remember when there were NO homes to be found in the $200,000 range and very few in the $300,000 range. Well there are plenty now. The water may be low, but the prices will not be this low forever.

The average listing price of all the listings is over $800,000 so that has not changed much since my last post on the Lake Lanier Stats.

We have loads of inventory for buyers to decide upon. So get out there now to get the best possible deal you are likely to get on this Lake. Prices MAY go lower, but do not count on that. You must decide what is most important for you....Location, water depth, style of house, etc. Then narrow your search to include those things that are most important to you.....

Once you decide on your dream home....then let us appraise it for you BEFORE you sign on the dotted line to see if your investment is a good one. Then you are good to go....

I know there is so much indecision in the market, in the industry as a whole, in the economy with the bail out underway, elections just around the corner, stock market volatility, but if you find what you are looking for, don't take that chance of losing it forever. Sometimes in life you just have to go for the gusto!

Have a great week everyone and remember to stop and smell the "roses" along the way! Enjoy yourself and be safe on the Lake!

Active Rain is a website all about Real Estate, it is the place where all kinds of real estate professionals go to BLOG about what is happening in the real estate world.

www.activerain.com Check it out, you can find out just about anything you need to know from experts across the country.

Yours truly is in the top 15 of all Appraisers Nationwide who are registered on this site of which there are thousands! It is based upon the amount of content that the members contribute via blogs and responses to Blogs.

I am working on moving up the ladder to top 10 in the next month. I will keep you posted. I am number 1 in Georgia. Just thought I would pass this along to my viewers.

Thanks for stopping by.

The answer is, who the heck knows! Once again we are fighting court battles about our Lake Lanier Water and the situation is not getting any better.

Drinking water was not an original planned use per the Corps of Engineers. Click here to hear our interview a few months back with Michael Lapina about how the Lake Started and what the purpose for this lake was: Very interesting indeed. http://marytt.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=332761

But the reality is the population in and around the Lake and the Atlanta area grew in leaps and bounds since the Dam was built and the Lake was filled and things change as do the needs of the people. Read the story here: http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/archive/7823/

Where we have failed in is our water conservation policies so that we would not be in the current mess we are in today. Well as they say this is all WATER (pun intended) under the bridge or Dam!

What I will say is don't get alarmed over something that may not come into play or reality. Who knows how long it will take to decide the fate of the water in Lake Lanier. It has been going on for almost 20 years, so what is a few more at this point.

The good news is that there are plans underway to extend 4 boat ramps into Lake Lanier so that they can be used as long as we do not drop below 1048 level. Read story here: http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/archive/7801/

Beaches are being cleaned up of debris as is the lake itself. All we can do at this point is hang tight and pray for more rain and for a compromise on the releasing of water from the Buford Dam. Plus we need to be thinking as a State about Reservoir building to hold water for the future.

All of this is easier said than done, but we need to let our congress men and women know that this has gone on way too long.

What I do know as an appraiser is that people are losing their equity in their Lake homes as they have no water at their docks and this has a huge financial impact, with ripple effects from Atlanta to Lake Lanier and beyond. Millions of equity dollars are being lost and many people need help NOW!

So, do what you can to make this known to those who really can make a change. How about our local MEDIA.....Get them on the bandwagon. Instead of them talking about how low the water level is and how terrible the market is, maybe they can put pressure on those in power to do something about this once and for all. This in my opinion is putting media to good use, instead of just making the situation worse by reporting nothing but negative news about Lake Lanier, what good does that do people, nothing and it really is NOT all negative.

Okay, I am off my soapbox now.....

Need an appraisal of your Lake home? We can give you a FAIR and ACCURATE value of your Lake property so you know what your next move is....

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by my BLOG Page. Don't forget to subscribe for updates.

If you are not familiar with Active Rain www.activerain.com it is the largest real estate based networking, blogging website out there. There are over 95,000 members across the country and it is a wealth of information for both real estate professionals and consumers who want to know more about a given area and their real estate issues, values, etc.

Yours truly has made it to the TOP of Hall County and Flowery Branch on the Active Rain Network http://activerain.com/states/GA/counties/Hall+County

http://activerain.com/states/GA/cities/Flowery+Branch

How did I get there, I actively BLOG about real estate appraising and the overall market, etc. The more you are ACTIVE in the RAIN so to speak, the more points you get.

I was also graced with the honor of being on the Active Rain Wall of Fame and invited into the exclusive group known as THEMTHEM. Only 900 members made it to the Wall out of 95,000+, so I am quite humbled and honored. You are invited into this group if you post alot of positive "pay it forward" type posts spotlighting others aside from your own business.

So yes, I am blowing my own horn here here on my blog...what can I say! LOL

Thanks! Have a great weekend everyone!

We were very sad to hear that Tim Russert died of a heart attack at age 58 on Friday, June 13th, 2008.

He is a great man, a reporter that no one could replace. He was one of the most sincere and trustworthy people in the media.

We pray for his family.......He will be sorely missed!

Okay, so I am blowing my own horn here. There are over 1,200 appraisers as part of the 89,000 members on the popular real estate related networking website known as Active Rain...  www.activerain.com

In Top 25 of Appraisers on Active Rain  Yours truly is in the top 25. Click on this link to see!

This is a fantastic website for real estate professionals and consumers alike. You can search this site for realtors, appraisers, builders, lenders, marketers, etc., or for information on any issue that these members may have blogged about.

Check it out!