What they are saying out there?

What they are saying out there versus what’s really happening?

A large percentage of our business at Smith Mountain Lake is primarily vacation / second homes and the retirement market. The media has created sensational commentary that is only somewhat meaningful to SW Virginia. The negative media is rough on our business. Our buyers’ are very much affected by what they hear in the media. We’re dealing expectations of “low ball” offers and a new term that was introduced to me in 2007. "Bottom feeding" which means seeking out the “deal”. Those “deals” create multiple offer situations. My clients and I got caught in that several times in 2007. (No contingencies and cash often won)


Real estate is a local activity. Transfers are happening at Smith Mountain Lake with the number of sales in 2007 increasing over 2006. Median water front home price was $650K.


The difficulty is in getting the message out to the buyers who often several hours away. Since our market is elective, our sellers have not seen the prices go down significantly because there is no urgency for them to sell. The days on market are long because many sellers don’t have to sell and the buyers don’t have to buy.