Welcome to our new monthly web series! The Lake Scene will feature news, updates and topics of interest presented by special guests, including FLG Sponsors, Members and experts in particular topics relevant to the lake.
Our first Scenester is a familiar face both around town and at FLG. Deborah Hattler and her husband Dick are long-time members and Supporting Sponsors of FLG, but she is perhaps better known as the face of Hattler Properties and Mountain Lake Rentals. This winter, Debby merged her real estate business with Sotheby’s International Real Estate. She now serves as Broker-in-Charge for Sotheby’s Highlands new Cashiers office. We here at FLG wish her the absolute best in this new endeavor, and appreciate her enthusiasm, love and care she has for Lake Glenville.
A Look Back at 2018 Real Estate
Winter in our area is a good time to stay inside and reflect on the year that’s just past. This is especially true of real estate, since sales and listings tend to drop off pretty dramatically once the winter sets in. So what did we learn about real estate during the main selling and buying season of 2018? Let’s take a look.
First, though, if you’re a buyer OR a seller, don’t be discouraged by what appears to be low inventory. Many sellers remove their listings from the market during these very slow months, only to relist them when the both the weather and the prospective population of buyers perk back up in the Spring.
Back to the numbers. The books have officially closed on October 2018, so we’ll use that as our basis of comparison.
First up, residential home sales:
- Homes Listed: 863
- Homes Sold: 82
- Average Unit Sales Per Month/1-Year Average: 60
- Average Days on Market (DOM): 195
- Median Sales Price: $500,000
- Average List/Sell Price Ratio: 93.12%
- Percentage of Home Sales per List Pricing Segments:
- 44%: $200,000 – 499, 999
- 18%: 500,000 – 749,999
- 18%: $750,000 –$1,000,000
- !5%: > $1,000,000
Next, vacant land sales:
- Lots Listed: 1107
- Lots Sold: 22
Lake Glenville properties specifically stayed roughly the same in 2018 as in 2017.
The big difference going into the 2019 selling season is that, currently, there are only a handful of homes for sale on the lake. While the inventory may be lower, due to the tendency of sellers to remove listings during the Winter as mentioned above, signs still point to 2019 being a Seller’s market.