Alexandria, MN Real Estate : Lake Lot Sales

32 lake lots (lake frontage, not common or deeded) have sold in the Alexandria, MN real estate market per the Greater Alexandria Area Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service since the beginning of 2014. Compared to the same period in 2013, 17 fewer lake lots have sold. These numbers may not seem outstanding but compare them to the same period in 2007 which had a total of 15 sales and it’s an improvement. Good news is the median sale price has risen this year. During the 2013 period, the median lake lot sale price was $91,000. This year the median sale price has risen by more than 18 percent to $107,500. Looking at $100,000 or higher sales, the two time periods are almost identical. 22 in 2013 versus 21 this year. The high sale in 2013 was $355,000 for 6.14 acres at Lake Brophy. This year it was 31.78 acres for $262,500.

Lots with acreage selling at a lake aren’t normal so let’s strip out lots whose size is 2 acres or more. This puts a more positive spin on 2014 lake lot sales. The median sale price increased this year by over 20 percent to $114,000 from $94,850 in 2013.

Both years are improvements from the years during the The Great Recession. I find tracking lake lot sales useful as they are a great bellwether to rising lake home prices. During The Great Recession, buying a lake lot didn’t make much sense to a buyer that wanted to build at a lake as prices of lake lots with homes already built made the numbers hard to justify building a new home. I think most owners of lake homes in the Alexandria Area that have their homes listed for sale are still being very realistic and this is positive. In turn, the same can be said about lake lot owners and I think many are pricing even more competitively than lake home owners because of slow years and more competition. So, what’s my point? Lake lot sales have been improving but still haven’t taken off. Lake home prices are reasonable but the inventory has lessened. I think what happens next year is lake home prices rise (demand and limited supply) and the number of lake lot sales increase.