January 09, 2009

Keefe Real Estate Outsells the Competition Again for 2008

Posted to Bob Webster, Geneva Lake Area

The real estate business was down in 2008 for many real estate companies, but Keefe Real Estate, Inc. outsold all of the competition in Walworth County again last year.  Even though the total amount of business was less than previous years, the chart below shows that Keefe Real Estate once again maintained its dominant position as the leader in Walworth County, including the Lake Geneva Area.


Click here for a larger view.

If you have any questions about Lake Geneva Real Estate, Email Bob Webster or go to www.LakeGenevaProperty.com for an easy way to search for all types of properties including Lake Geneva lakefront homes and condominiums.  You can call Bob at 262-348-3233 or 800-364-7579.

Posted By: Bob Webster



January 04, 2009

What Does 2009 Look Like for Lake Geneva Real Estate?

Posted to Bob Webster, Geneva Lake Area

What does the New Year look like for Lake Geneva real estate? What’s going on in the market right now? Is this a good time to buy? Are there any really good deals out there? All great questions. I wish my crystal ball was a little clearer than it is right now. I think some of the answers are a function of what the stock market and financial markets will do as we head into the first few weeks of January. If there is optimism about the future and what the new President and new administration will be able to do with some of the tough issues ahead of us, that will definitely help. The direction of interest rates will also be a very important factor. The second home market can be kind of fickle whenever there are uncertain times, be it related to the stock market, jobs, bailouts or global issues. It is not uncommon for many potential Buyers to be lulled into a “wait and see” mode, even if they are not directly negatively affected by what’s going on. It’s just human nature. Good or bad markets can sometimes be a self fulfilling prophecy, depending on what is being said and what people hear with regard to predictions of the future. But the savvy Buyers know there are some outstanding values available in the market right now and if past history is any indication of the future, we should see a marked increase in the calls and Emails in the next few weeks. That should translate into more showings and some offers being written and coming together. All of which is just the momentum we need to get things moving again after what is traditionally the commonly occurring, end of the year Holiday lull in the market. It appears there will be a continued push to lower interest rates as a way to stimulate and “prime the pump” for the real estate market. We continue to hear lots of doom and gloom from the media but in these days of 24/7 news, it’s really hard for anyone to explain in a 30 second sound bite, the intricacies of the various markets, how they got there and how they differ from each other. We did not experience in our market the bizarre run up in prices that some markets did over the last few years. Ours has always been more of a gradual rate of appreciation and consequently we have not seen some of the dramatic downturns in values that you hear so much about in places like California and Florida. Understanding that markets are different and will respond in different ways in these uncertain times is one of the biggest jobs we have today. We are fortunate to be within 2 hours of much of Chicago and the suburbs where there is a high concentration of folks who have the financial means and desire to find that second home get-a-way. And 2 hours seems to be the magic number that most of them want to stay within for the drive to get there. The idea of driving 5 or 6 hours to northern Wisconsin is just not realistic for active families today with busy schedules. Many do not want to head toward Michigan and deal with the traffic and congestion and there just aren’t a lot of other alternatives for a place to go. That has been the draw to the Lake Geneva area for the last 100 years and will be a major reason why our real estate market will be able to “weather the storm” and will outperform many of the areas around the country that are struggling right now. At least that’s what my crystal ball tells me right now. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted as we progress into the New Year. Feel free to Email Bob Webster at Keefe Real Estate with any questions about the local real estate market in Lake Geneva. You can go to www.LakeGenevaProperty.com for an easy way to search for a home or condominium in the Lake Geneva Area. Or call Bob Webster at 262-348-3233 or 800-364-7579 toll free.

Posted By: Bob Webster