unimog1300

i was wondering if the cost of gas today & in the forseeable future has made anyone rethink their lake front property wherever it might be located. if you already own[we have a condo @ LOTO & are looking at a lake front house in addition to the condo], thinking about buying or whatever. are you concerned with your investment? are you going to go ahead as usual if you are looking right now? will the cost of gas as related to the boating side of the economies of these lakes affect property values? i really don't see gas prices coming back to what we would consider normal or what we are used to. just was wondering what you guys thought. we bought our first property for an investment as well as for enjoyment. we got tired of looking at our investment statements with the negative signs all over. we went to the lake & bought. so far the first one got us $25,000 profit in 6 months. we would like to repeat this cycle!! are these days over because of the gas prices? thanks for any thought you might have, steve

woogie

Maybe the price of gas is making the 2nd home market even stronger. There are already so many nice boats sitting in marinas on the best days of summer ever since gas hit 2 a gallon. Some people figure they can make a house pmt. on what a fill -up costs and have an appreciating asset - then just buy a smaller boat they can keep on hoist or trailer. Don't see as many performance boat people downsizing because its more of a in-the-blood at all costs thing , but the cruiser people are hitting the fence. If you can see,smell,or hear water values will keep going up ...non- renewable resource.

Zudnic

I must have at least see,smell or hear water for any house that I buy. Very true about non-renewable resources that will keep these homes going up.

Due to my water needs I've thought about living on a boat because houses in the area that I've looked are about the same size and twice as much!! Looked at a nice mid eighties 65 Hatteras motor yacht there prices are really falling. Its $310K or so for the boat plus moorage or $800K plus for the same size house!!!!

dave911

I don't mind putting gas in the boat. I just hate putting gas in the truck for the 5 hour trip to Havasu. For me, a dock at my house would mean no towing, and no diesel rig needed for hauling. Big bonus when fuel costs rise.

Dean Ferry

Bingo!! And all we do is take our (6) 6 gallon gas can down to the Racetrac station, .9 miles from house (Which they don't have E85 gas either) and fill them up and lug them down to the dock to fuel the boat. Went boating yesterday, had a great time, took the kids tubing, (Behind a 35' Nordic Flame)!
NO boat ramp to hassle with, and in Florida, alot of the marinas are being bought up and turned into Condos, so in Florida it's becoming an issue of WATER ACCESS! Plus the fact that most counties in FL. won't or can't ($$) build new boat ramps to replace the marina that were turned into condos!
If you have your own dock/lift, then it becomes more valuable everytime another marina is bought for a condo conversion!
Waterfront property will ALWAYS appreciate, IMO and according to my realtor friends too!
Dean

clearcut3

I can't see lakefront property values taking a hit anytime soon. There are plenty of people like me who refuse to live off the water...there is only so much water available.

Coastal property in the SE US is a different story. Some of the recent hurricanes and thoughts of rising flood insurance is scaring people away.

mr_velocity

I don't know the percentage but we are probably close to 50/50 from those who have waterfornt prop and own boats vs those that just like the view.

Blue by You

Nope!

Dean Ferry

[Coastal property in the SE US is a different story. Some of the recent hurricanes and thoughts of rising flood insurance is scaring people away.[/QUOTE]


I don't know about being scared off, we get letters every couple of weeks from realtors, private individuals, asking if we want to sell our house or our rental, (also waterfront, on a canal, dock/lift, pool , etc), so the demand in our area is still very high. It helps that we are ~ 8 miles from the ocean, we aren't even in a flood zone.
Dean

clearcut3

I probably generalized a little too much. I don't doubt demand is still there. I am basing my comments on the fact that property values on this lake have risen 20% in the last 6-months and realtors in this area are saying that there have been a large number of buyers and potential buyers moving here off the coast of Florida.

In my opinion there are a lot of areas that are in danger of price corrections in the market now. I think inland lakes are the least vulnerable to this now.