What is the definition of a lake home? Keep that question in mind when you see statistics for real estate sales in the Alexandria Area reported. Unless I make a different specification, I am referring to homes, cabins and cottages sitting on a lakefront lot when I refer to a lake home. Don’t get me wrong, a townhome or condo at a lake association is fantastic and is a “lake home” but for clarity I will refer to them as lake townhomes and condos.
When I pull data from the Multiple Listing Service in Alexandria there is an option to filter results by whether the properties are waterfront, a yes or no answer, and another option for water access type. So unless myself or another Realtor member of Alexandria’s Multiple Listing Service specifies in a search the access type and that the properties have to have frontage on a lake, the statistics will also include homes that have a creek or stream, deeded access, shared access, channel access or be located on a river. Also included in the results will be properties that are in an association and share access such as a condominium at Blakes by the Lakes. Sales of homes at Blakes or other association such as Baywood on Lake Darling, Maple’s Edge at Lake Lake Miltona and Frenchman Cove at Lake Le Homme Dieu won’t skew the results too much but sales at RV associations will alter the view of the lakefront real estate market quite a bit.
The correct number for lake homes sold in Douglas County, Minnesota for 2012 is 104 with an average sale price of $296,876 with a median sale price of $270,000. If the type of water access isn’t specified the total sales rises to 150 with an average sale price of $272,1000 and a median sale price of $250,000. Or, if a report is generated for single family lake homes in Douglas County the number of sales reported is 128 with an average sale price of $276,566 and a median sale price of $253,000.
