Lake Lanier Blog

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.

Check out the news release about the new coalition to fight back and save Lake Lanier from further low water issues, water flow down south, etc.

http://www.1071coalition.org/press_2008-10-28.html

As we all know Lake Lanier is a HUGE financial engine and we need to fight to save Lake Lanier from continued drought impact.

The media has been part of the problem as I have talked to many people who think there is little to no water left in Lake Lanier....Far from the truth. However, that being said, we need to be proactive and this group has formed for this very reason. They want to take action now to make things happen instead of waiting for others to do something about this issue. The 3 State water wars has been going on for almost 20 years, it is about time!

This is FANTASTIC news. Finally we are getting together to fight hard for this lake with some pretty heavy hitters on the Board of Directors.

Some of you may have read that Obama sides with Florida and Alabama on the water release issue. This is a real problem as he clearly has no clue about Lake Lanier, if this story is indeed true.

Check out this link to the 1071 coalition site, become a member and while you are at it, I have requested to be on the Board of Directors. Somehow they do NOT have a Lake Lanier Appraiser on their Board. One of their initiatives is to show the impact of the Lake Lanier Drought on property values and economy, so who better to give them this information....right?

I have already requested to be added to the Board of Directors but feel free to contact them to ask them to add me to the Board. I am a strong advocate for Lake Lanier and anyone who has followed my blogs and business, knows this to be true.

Thanks for stopping by and spread the good word around and also send this link to everyone you know today!

http://www.1071coalition.org/press_2008-10-28.html

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.

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!