Discussion on Lakefront Values

Assessment

Ryan — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:44:00 GMT

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the update!...and all the info to date...

This year looks like a good time to buy anything in the US because of the exchange rate.

The summer rental market looks solid from the info you sent....does the winter rent as well?

Do all property managers charge as much as you quoted?

Another question...in 2009 the taxes went up 92%.

Did all properties go up that percentage when the values were not changing? Did something trigger it? It just seems odd that in the middle of a huge recession the taxes would go up as opposed to down?

Cheers

Personally, I think the management fees seem high. My wife's aunt is a manager of House Keeping at Veranda Beach and she tells me the tenants that rent these lake front high-end rentals are very clean and respectful of private property. I think a good website or a paper ad with a message phone and a great house keeper is all that someone needs to be their own property manager with 5 night minimums, you would probably see a lot of two week tenants.

The situation with taxes is interesting. In mid 2008 I sold a 1/3 acre lot with no improvements for $890,000. to a very wealthy couple, this one sale story went like wildfire across the lake and a lot of people listed their properties at an inflated price (to compare to the town of Osoyoos), this house went on the market for $1,100,000. and was not over priced compared to other inventory prices. We went from having 4 listings on the whole lake to 34 listings. But nobody sold all of 2009 and 2010 except for one home. It was sold last summer for $850,000. This year people are getting real with their prices and we are now seeing activity. I have already sold 3 Osoyoos Lake properties this year at prices that make more sense. I sold 1/3 acre of a lot to some Canadian folks for $277,000 with no improvements. I sold a Cottage at Veranda Beach for $470,000 and I have an inferior home on Lake Osoyoos "Pending" for $469,000. Sales are being made and prices are going down... Assessor reassess annually. Some of these people's taxes will naturally go down with reassessment, some people should appeal their assessment by using sales that have recently occurred in the county. It is a really easy process called Appealing through the Board of Equalization. I did it last last year on some of my lake front properties. Here are some pictures of the beach:

Private cove stays calm ideal for boat storage and swimming! Looking north with excellent exposure.

Great neighborhood

View out the living room window, notice the see-through hand railing to not obstruct the view.

With windows across the front of this home, a two car garage, two separate quarters, this is just what you described.

Hot tub in the ground floor patio.

Open kitchen with lake views through the dinning area. Great storage.

As a disclosure, this is not my listing so I would be able to represent you through any negotiations. I have represented Mr. Fisher in the past with two other lake front properties on Sidley Lake, but as a surveyor he is always spreading around his property listings to all of the agencies trying to be fair and non-partisan, but in this scenario, I do not represent him.

-Ryan

Ryan Milligan

Agent for Oroville Realty,
Okanogan County Health District Board Member,

Notary Public
Office: 509-476-9578
Cellular: 509-429-8567

WWW.FINDLAKEFRONT.COM

WWW.RYANMILLIGAN.COM

Lakefront sales are moving back on track!

Ryan — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:15:00 GMT

It has been a long recession. For myself it seemed to start in November of 2007. Sales were consistently made but it was clear the buyers had changed for me from luxury secondary property buyers to remote survival 20 acre land buyers. Unfortunately for me, I specialize in the Lakefront market in my area.
Just since Jan 1, 2011 did I see that pattern begin to shift back. It may be that the sellers have reduced their sale prices (which they have dramatically in my area) or that there is begining to be some consumer confidence build back up with the secondary residence buyers. Either way, I feel 2011 will be a come back year for lakefront sales in the Okanogan and I am looking forward to it! Check out my lakefront properties at: Ryan's Listings

If you are looking to sell your lakefront property in Washington State, give me a call for a consultation!

-Ryan Milligan
(509) 476-9578

Canadian Exchange Rate

Ryan — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:13:00 GMT

Here we go again! The Canadian currency rate has made it more affordable to purchase properties on the US side of the border! As if there needed to be another reason! Prices have consistently been lower on Lakefront property on Lake Osoyoos on the US side of the border as apposed to the Canadian side of the border.Check out the inventory that we currently have at:

FINDLAKEFRONT.COM

Comparable Market Analysis

Ryan — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:44:00 GMT

I recently had a client interested in finding out how I valued property on Lake Osoyoos because all of the other agencies had priced the properties with no continuity. So I showed them the correct way to value properties on a specific body of water. This is how I do it, first I locate the three highest valued comparable sales. (Here are the highest sales as of 09/14/2008)

Comparable #1

Sale Price: $999,900.00
Sales Date: 07/15/2008
Improvement Sq Ft: 1622
Acreage: 0.08 acres
Address: Undisclosed
Tax Parcel ID #Undisclosed
Amount of Lakefront: 75'

Comparable #2

Sale Price: $890,000.00
Sales Date: 06/06/2008
Improvement Sq Ft: No Improvements
Acreage: 0.50 acres
Address: Undisclosed
Tax Parcel ID #Undisclosed
Amount of Lakefront: 140'

Comparable #3

Sale Price: $750,000.00
Sales Date: 07/16/2008
Improvement Sq Ft: No Improvements
Acreage: 0.16 acres
Address: Undisclosed
Tax Parcel ID #Undisclosed
Amount of Lakefront: 72'

In this example here is a property we will value based on the above comparables:
Subject Property
Sale Price: To Be Determined Below
Sales Date: Not sold yet
Improvement Sq Ft: 3500
Acreage: 0.70 acres
Address: TBD
New Owner: "Alex"
Tax Parcel ID #TBD
Amount of Lakefront: 100'

New construction value on Lake Osoyoos is currently running $200.00 per square foot. I am assuming your property improvements have depreciated approximately 50%.
The depreciated value of the home separately would be: $350,000. (3500 sq ft home)
All other comparable properties have water and sewer so we won’t adjust for these improvements.

Comparable #1 Improvements: $324,400.00 No depreciation (brand new house) leaving Land value at $675,500.00

Comparable #2 Land Value: $890,000.00

Comparable #3 Land Value: $750,000.00

The first thing we do with valuing land is to give the non-lakefront portion of the land value. Based on comparable sales we would give the non-lakefront portion value at $125,000. per acre.

Comparable #1 Land Value Non-lakefront: $125,000.00 X .08 acres = $10,000.00 Then you would subtract $10,000. from $999,900.00 leaving $989,900.00 then subtract the improvement value (above) $324,400.00 equals $665,500. to calculate lakefront value. Then $665,500.00 divided by 75’ equates to $8873.33 per lineal foot.

Comparable #2 Land Value Non-lakefront: $125,000.00 X 0.50 = $62,500.00 Then you would subtract $62,500. from $890,000.00 leaving $827,500.00 to calculate lakefront value. Then $827,500.00 divided by 140’ equates to $5,910.71 per lineal foot.

Comparable #3 Land Value Non-lakefront: $125,000.00 X 0.16 = $20,000.00 Then you would subtract $20,000. from $750,000.00 leaving $730,000.00 to calculate lakefront value. Then $730,000.00 divided by 72’ equates to $10,138.88 per lineal foot.

Taking these three per-lineal-feet figures and adding them together then dividing them by three gives us an average per-lineal-foot figure.

The average per lineal foot price is $8307.64 based on these figures.

Now we reconstruct the subject property as follows:
Non Lakefront land value: $125,000. X .70 acres equals: $87,500.00 We have already established the improvement values at: $350,000.00 The per lineal lakefront value is $8307.64 per foot X 100’ equals $830,764.00 Leaving the actual Value based on Comparable sales in the last 6 months at: $1,268,264.40

I specialize in Lakefront sales and I would love to market your property for you, let me know if you would like to list your property! To see the properties I have sold in the last 3 years go to:
Ryan's Sales

To see the properties I currently am actively marketing go to:
Ryan's Listings

To see information on the lakes in our area go to:
The Lakes of Okanogan County
-Ryan

What makes waterfront so valuable?

Ryan — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:35:00 GMT

There are obviously several factors that come into play when valuing Lakefront property.

The first and number one amenity is the waterfront itself How many feet of waterfront is there?

Number two is going to be access to the water, how easy is it to get down to the water from an access point, or more importantly, how easy is it to get down to the water from the nearest buildable site? Lakes are naturally located in a cup, so-to-speak, the topography on most lakefront is steep down to the water. Occasionally there will be a bar on a lake that produces nice easy access and easily buildable sites on the water, lakefront is rare and this is even more rare property, thus the price increases.

Location of the lake to the nearest shopping, schools, and medical facilities is also a great factor. Pricing on vacant land on Lake Washington, just out of Seattle starts now at $9,000,000.00 because of it's location. Access itself is very important when pricing property, is it year around access? It the roadway wide and easy to pass another vehicle? Is it steep? Is there a homeowners association that maintains the roadway and/or common areas and are there protective covenants that will continue to allow the surrounding property to have a good, clean appearance to maintain value?

Set backs to the high water mark are an important factor, most lakefront property owners want to be able to build as close to the water as possible to take in the whole experience of the water and wildlife into there homes. New developments on waterfront are now required to have a shared common area 200' from the high watermark to the actual property line in my county! In my opinion this drastically reduces the value of the property making it as common as having a park between you and the waterfront.

The size of the body of water will make a difference. How many homes are already on the water? How many will be there in the future? What kind of traffic is on the water now? In the future? Does the Lake dry up in the dry season, how far is the low watermark in relations to the high watermark?

Trees on the water and on the property make a little difference, but because you can create your own dream through landscaping this is lower on the list of issues that impact value.

Amenities on the property make a difference. Does the property have power and phone? Does it have a well or are we taking a chance on getting water? Does the soil have the ability to maintain a septic system?

My partner and I, through years of experience with waterfront properties, took all of these issues into mind when we purchased Pine Ridge at Blue Lake. We then created 10 separate exclusive properties. We had a county equivalent road installed. We installed underground power and telephone and we supplied domestic water and an approved perk test to every property to allow for our purchasers to easily roll right into a building permit to begin building their dream. I have closed the sale of 6 Lots on Blue Lake. Lots 10, 8, 7, 6, 5 and 2. Lot 1 is currently "Pending" as of 11/30/2010.

I believe lot #9 will fill your requirements to a tee. This lot has the most Lakefront of any of the other lots, 269'. The north part of the lakefront will be easy to develop. There will need to be sand put on the shore to meet the one requirement that you mentioned. This can be done through a J. A. R. P. A. permit process (Joint Aquatic Resource Permit Application) On the south part of the Waterfront the water drops deep and is easy to fish right off the shore. (this is the lot that I fish from)

There are some large Pine and Douglas Fir trees right down to the water, together with any trees you plant on this property it could be just what you have in mind.

This property is a gated community, we keep the gate locked to allow for privacy for all of our prominent owners. The well for this property is located on Lot #10 and is shared with only this lot. It produces 30 gallon a minute! There will need to be a driveway and building pad installed by the purchaser. I have discussed the possibility of selling an adjoining 20 acre parcel that my partner and I own with this property for more play area. You can see more of this property at www.lfr123.com/bluelake/lot9

Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

Lakefront Property for sale

Ryan — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:41:00 GMT

People are always asking me, "briefly, what Lakefront properties do you have available right now?" In a nut shell here is what is for sale right now in Okanogan County that is Lakefront:

Lake	Price	Acreage	LK amt	website
Osoyoos	$825,000.00	.39	123'	www.lfr123.com/hallauer

Osoyoos	$795,000.00	.70	85'	www.lfr123.com/swanton
Blue	$279,000.00	3.24	236'	www.lfr123.com/bluelake/lot1
Blue	$314,000.00	3.42	200'	www.lfr123.com/bluelake/lot3
Blue	$300,000.00	3.64	240'	www.lfr123.com/bluelake/lot4
Blue	$286,000.00	5.76	266'	www.lfr123.com/bluelake/lot9

Wannacut	$189,000.00	5	206'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot3
Wannacut	$209,000.00	5	239'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot4
Wannacut	$129,000.00	20	349'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot5
Wannacut	$169,000.00	5	239'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot6
Wannacut	$169,000.00	20	201'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot7
Wannacut	$185,000.00	5	229'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot8

Wannacut	$229,000.00	5	220'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot9
Wannacut	$199,000.00	5	203'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot11
Wannacut	$199,000.00	5	214'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot12
Wannacut	$179,000.00	20	222'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot13
Wannacut	$169,000.00	20	273'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot15
Wannacut	$194,000.00	5	200'	www.lfr123.com/wannacutlake/lot20

For all of the other listings go to www.lfr123.com/listing