Whiteboard Topics: Lake Real Estate: Seller’s or Buyer’s Market?

The lake real estate market is an interesting one. Unlike your typical market for real estate, this market is more niche. You also might be wondering if it is a market for sellers or buyers. Questions like these are very typical when it comes to this market specifically. Luckily, Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, has the answer to this question.

  1. Seller’s Market: Command Higher Prices – Typically, a seller’s market means that the seller can command this higher price. When this occurs, there is usually limited inventory and a high volume of buyers. With this type of market, the seller has more of an advantage.
  2. Buyer’s Market: More Options – Opposite of the seller’s market, the buyer’s market has fewer people looking. During this time, a lot of sellers are wanting to appeal to the buyer. When this type of market happens, the buyer has the ability to offer a lower price with more options.
  3. Pricing: Supply and Demand – The main factor in determining which market we’re in comes down to supply and demand. Is there a higher number of houses with fewer buyers, or less inventory and more buyers? In more recent years, there has been a decline in inventory. This was around the Covid-19 years, which created a seller’s market. Things have begun to change due to less demand. That’s not to say it isn’t still there; it’s just not like the frenzy that it once was.
  4. Increase in Inventory (Sort of) – In the past couple of months, there has been an increase in lake real estate and primary residential real estate.
  5. “Phantom” Inventory – There are still sellers today who think we’re in a strong seller’s market. This has caused them to overprice their homes, leading to the homes sitting on the market.
  6. “Stalemate” Market – We’re not technically in one market or the other, more so this “stalemate” market. This ultimately means there’s an equilibrium between supply and demand.

It all boils down to: which market are we still in? Truth be told, neither. We’re in an area where the sellers can have a little bit of an advantage if they price their homes appropriately. If you’re still curious about the market or have other real estate questions, head over to LakeHomes.com. You’re bound to find an agent in your area who is happy to help out.

Zac Parnell

Alumnus of The University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in Digital Marketing. Currently a Social Media Specialist at Lake Homes Realty.