The Valleys Million Dollar Homes

Greatland

Dear Bill, well yes and no, so there are properties that are coming up for sale that are now worth $1,000,000, but as far as “getting more”, I don’t think that’s quite accurate.  Builders build what people want.  The Valley has certainly become a mecca for outdoors enthusiasts, vacationing as well as just a quality place to live.  So naturally, with our current increase in property values, some of those existing homes are going to head toward the million-dollar value.  Builders are building more expensive homes, and there is some new construction out there that is over a cool mil, but those are more than likely presold homes, not homes that are going to be going up for sale.  It’s a big chunk for a builder to take on a million-dollar speculative build (non-presold) home.  Most builders need a relatively quick sale on a home for that expense.  But as you know, I love statistics, so let’s look at a few stats out there and see what’s happening.

According to my stats, we have 12 months of inventory for homes $900,000 to $999,999.  Anything less than six months of inventory is considered a sellers’ market.  We currently have 8 homes in this price range for sale and out of the 8, three of them are pending (meaning it’s under contract and waiting to close).  The offer price as compared to the listing price is 97%.  That means that if you have a home that is currently for sale at $950,000 most likely, it will go under contract for $920,550.00.  But the interesting thing is that just 4 years ago, there were very few homes in the valley for sale over $900K.  Today there are 26 and 8 of them are pending status!

Now this is a little different in say the $250,000 to $300,000 price range which is selling at 99. % of asking price. So, your $275,000 home is actually selling for $278,575.  But we are talking about million dollars plus homes now, but keep this info in your back pocket and when all your friends start talking about real estate, you can through that tidbit of useful information in there and your real estate savvy! 

So, what does a million dollar and over home in the valley look like?  It can have many things, but usually it could have acreage, or lakefront, or large and in charge, or on an airstrip, or have a hangar and on an airstrip, or midsize and be on a canoe lake, or large on 1 acre with an amazing view or small on 10 acres and private, or large and on a recreational lake with a fast boat!  You see, it can be anything, a combination of things or just one fabulous thing. There have been many custom homes built in the last 4 years that are well over the million-dollar mark.  Is that because of inflation? Yes and no.  Inflation has caused the price of homes to rise, which creates opportunities for home sellers to perhaps “move up” in the market.  Some homes that were $800K 4 years ago, my have pushed up over the million mark today.

The point is that values have gone up in the Valley, people have discovered our little oasis and want to share it with us.  When this happens, all those older homes built on desirable lots become more valuable.  Remember “location, location, location?”  Homes that were built on these lake lots that were built 20 or 30 years ago, get a facelift and they become the next million-dollar homes.  Homes that were built on airstrips with hangars that get new kitchens, flooring and master bathrooms, yup, now are your million-dollar babies!

Homes that have generational living are on the rise too and those are getting right up there in price as well.   Let’s go over how this works; You own a home on several acres, mom and dad are needing to live closer to family.  You decide to build mom and dad a place right there on your acres (if your CCR’s allow you to do so of course). You now have what is called a “generational living” home.  Some people finish a basement and put in what we use to call “mother-in-law” apartments, but we can only call them “In-law” apartments, I think father in laws were feeling slighted! Anyway, once you have created potentially “income property” your value goes up.  As our population ages, these types of homes become more and more valuable.  And it’s not just aging parents.  Many families are choosing to live together.  Couples that both work are choosing to live with mom and dad in a separate part of the home.  Then Gramma and Gramps are close by, to help with kids and to share the costs of home maintenance etc.  These are becoming extremely popular.  It may not be for everyone, but the demand is there. 

So yes Bill, there are many homes in the valley for over $1,000,000.00 and some are for sale! Now, you can watch for these properties, and you may even home one yourself and didn’t even know it!  If you want to list your home or just want the value of your home, please give me a call! 907-982-5700