A “drive-to” vacation home market continues to show resiliency. A recent article in the New York Times showcases second-home living near Naples, Maine. This area and its lifestyle are very typical to thousands of such spots throughout the country. They continue to prosper despite overall real estate market downturn. Teardowns and major rehabs represent most of the redevelopment in these areas .
Photo by Hannah Dawes for The New York Times.
WATER WORLD Long Lake near Naples, Me., where boating, water-skiing and fishing are the prime leisure activities.
“Lake access drives the market. Serious boaters — meaning those who like to go fast — often prefer the larger Sebago and Long Lakes. That said, other buyers say they prefer the mellower and smaller Brandy Pond, which is only 733 acres.
John Chesnulevich, a retired Hudson, N.H., firefighter, and his wife bought more than an acre on Brandy Pond for $80,000 11 years ago and sold the three-bedroom house they built on it for $600,000 in 2007. “We felt Brandy Pond was a quieter body of water,” he said. “Sebago Lake is so big it’s sometimes like the ocean.”
Jocelyn O’Rourke-Shane, an agent with Coldwell Banker Lakes Region Properties, says 90 percent of second-home buyers choose lakefront property or houses with a right of way to the water. That ranges from teardowns that run about $400,000 to houses in the $1.2 million range. Teardowns are popular, she says, because you can build closer to the water. A new house on unoccupied property has to be built 112 feet back from the water, per local regulations.
The quality of the frontage is also crucial. Properties with sandy beaches sell fastest. Most waterfront houses currently stay on the market for between four and six months, agents say.
Tim Perry, an agent with Krainin Real Estate in town, says that while the waterfront market once rose by 15 percent to 30 percent annually, it is now flat. A three-bedroom house with good lake access would cost about $800,000 today, he said, while $500,000 buys a seasonal cottage with minimal frontage. Just inland, a house with no water access costs about $250,000.
There are also condominium units available — ranging from $250,000 to $350,000 — with Windsor Green Condominiums and Bay of Naples being the largest. “Most on the water come with a boat slip or mooring,” Ms. O’Rourke-Shane said, “so you have direct access on a shared beach or docking system.”
Popularity: 46% [?]
