By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 July 2nd, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County Real Estate, Uncategorized, Wisp Real Estate

If you are thinking about buying or selling a house at Deep Creek Lake or in Garrett County Maryland - one real estate statistic you may want to pay attention to now is known as the Absorption Rate - a market indicator that hasn’t been used much locally but should get some consideration to get a better feel for current conditions.

Absorption Rates at Deep Creek Lake and Wisp

What is the Absorption Rate? Basically, it’s the amount of time it will take the current inventory of homes on the market to sell based on the most recent pace of sales. For example, if 5 lakefront homes sold on average per month for the past year - and the current inventory of lake front homes for sale is 100 - then the current absorption rate would be 100/5 - or 20 months. In other words it would take about 20 months to deplete the current inventory based on the recent sales pace. Since we have many specialized segments of real estate in the Deep Creek market - here are the current absorption rates for the most popular segments;

Lakefront homes with private Type A boat docks - 89 currently on the market divided 2.5 average sold per month (30 sold in the past 12 months) = 35.6 months of inventory…or in other words there is around 3 years of inventory on the market at this current pace.

Lakefront homes with single slips -  38 currently on the market divided by .4 average sold per month (5 sold in the past 12 months) = 95 months of inventory.

Lake Access homes with single boat slips - 72 currently on the market divided by 1.33 average sold per month (16 sold in the past 12 months) = 54 months of inventory.

Lake Access homes without boat slips - 39 currently on the market divided by .58 average sold per month (7 sold in the past 12 months) = about 78 month of inventory.

Wisp Real Estate (residential atop Wisp Mountain) - 37 currently on the market divided by 1.25 average sold per month (15 sold in the past 12 months) = 30 months of inventory. Includes Villages of Wisp town homes.

Lake Area homes (meaning not “water oriented” - just homes in the general Deep Creek Lake area) - 71 homes currently on the market divided by 1.66 average sold per month (20 sold in the past 12 months) = 42 months of inventory.

Please keep in mind the absorption rate statistic is somewhat flawed by it’s own nature - it only takes into consideration recent past performance - it only looks backwards. It tends to underestimate the market going forward and the quickness of how fast things can turn around. Use this statistic carefully when evaluating your real estate opportunities.

However, this number does have some significant meaning for both potential buyers and sellers.

For buyers - a higher number means inventory is up and serious sellers will be competing for your business - thus your chances of getting a “better deal” increases.

For sellers - a higher number usually means more competition and you better make sure both the price and condition of your house compare favorably to your competition! - especially if you want to sell your house to sell in a normal marketing time frame.

Selling a house is both science and art. It’s part science because numbers and statistics are used to come up with a value based on recent selling prices of comparable homes, days on market, absorption rates, number of homes currently on the market, etc. It’s partly an art  because in a specialized resort market like Deep Creek each vacation property is unique in it’s own way - whether it’s the topography (steep vs. flat), orientation (northwest for late afternoon sun or east for morning sun), views (filtered lake views or wide open expansive lake views), boat dock (private Type A vs. single slip), condition of the house (newer vs older), etc…the list can go on and on. It’s extremely hard in this market to find two properties that are nearly identical so rarely can your compare apples to apples - except for town homes and condos.

Whether you are buying or selling Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake real estate - give us a call or drop us an e-mail - we are the experts on the local resort and vacation home market - we can guide you thru the entire process. Nobody has helped more buyers and sellers than us over the past 30 years!

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 June 24th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County News, Garrett County Real Estate, News, Wisp Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

Yesterday we had a meeting with Karen Myers, one of the owners and developers of the Wisp Ski Resort. She gave us an update on the Wisp Ski Resort, the new Hale Irwin Lodestone Golf Course, and other real estate developments atop Wisp mountain. Here are the highlights of the meeting;

Contrary to any rumors the Wisp Ski Resort is NOT in any type of financial trouble! And they don’t intend to get in any financial trouble in the future by utilizing a plan to be fiscally responsible going forward. This plan includes delaying some of the proposed projects until economic conditions improve and expansion is feasible. The Wisp finished this past ski season (2008-2009) with about 185,000 skier visits - which was slightly ahead of the previous winter season - even with a slumping economy and an unusually warm March which forced them to close earlier than normal for the season. Some in the ski industry have heard reports that most of the other mid-Atlantic ski areas were down significantly in skier visits - if that is true this once again shows the overall strength of the Deep Creek Lake area as four season resort area that can still draw people and tourists even in tough economic times!

Hale Irwin Lodestone Golf Course

First and foremost the Wisp plans on finishing the Hale Irwin Lodestone Golf Club. The first 10 holes have already been “plated” and their is some additional rock blasting to be done on the final 8 holes. Hale Irwin toured the site last week and the course is on target to be done and playable by September 2009. The Wisp is currently pre-selling memberships - full memberships are $40,000 for non-lot owners and $20,000 for a sport membership for those who plan on playing less golf. This golf course will be a private, membership only course and won’t be open to public play.

Wisp Lakeside Club

Second on the priority list is to complete and open the Lakeside Club on Deep Creek Drive with a temporary building. The permanent $7 million building has been put on hold until the economy improves. The location is 1077 Deep Creek Drive which is the site of the old S&H Marina on Deep Creek Lake. The temporary location will have a bar, lounge, pool, TV’s locker rooms, and game rooms.  This club is targeted for property owners in some of the neighborhoods atop Wisp Ski Resort - such as Kendall Camp, North Camp, or Highline - that don’t have access to Deep Creek Lake. The target date for opening the Lakeside Club is July of 2009.

North Camp Ski Slope Expansion

Eventually, as economic conditions improve, the Wisp plans on constructing another Chair Lift and increasing the number of ski trails and ski-able terrain in the North Camp area of the ski slopes. The new Chair will be #8 and will meet at the top of North Camp near Chair #7.

Wisp Mountaintop Village

Lastly, the proposed Mountain Top Village near the ASCI White Water course will be developed. Proposed is a 100 unit residential building that will be ski-in/ski-out along with various retail and food shops. The mountaintop village already has ASCI (Adventure Sports Center International), The Pumphouse Cafe, and the Wisp Outdoors Center.

If you are interested in any real estate opportunities at Wisp Ski Resort or in the Deep Creek Lake area please give us a call or drop us an e-mail. We’ll be more than happy to show you any building lots, residential homes, or townhomes atop Wisp mountain and provide more details about all the happenings at Wisp.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 June 19th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County Real Estate, Uncategorized, Wisp Real Estate

Just recently, our local MLS (multiple list service) that serves the Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Maryland area added the ability to search for foreclosures, potential short sales, and bank owned (REO) properties. These types of properties are often referred to as “distressed properties”.  Most real estate buyers and investors looking for bargains often target these distressed properties first.

As I have wrote about in previous posts - our local real estate market here at Deep Creek Lake doesn’t have a significant amount of these distress sale opportunities - and this is still the case. This is unlike what is happening in other resort markets and is testament to the overall strength of our market!!

As of today here is a summary of the total number of distress sales in Garrett County;

Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Short Sales

Potential Short Sales - 10 active residential properties. Only 1 of the 10 is currently under contract or sale pending - an Overlook Villas townhome atop Wisp Mountain listed at $649,000. Of these 10 - 5 are located in the general Deep Creek Lake/Wisp Ski Resort area;

• - Red Run lakefront townhome listed for sale at $299,950.
• - Lakeland Estates lake view townhome (across from The Creamery) listed for sale at $220,000.
• - Lake access home on Brenneman Lane in the Summit subdivision listed for $649,000.
• - Lake access home on Glen Cove Road in Swanton listed for $549,000. No boat slip with this one.
• - The Overlook Villas townhome currently under contract.

The other 5 properties are located in the outlying areas of Garrett County - most in the Oakland, Mt. Lake Park and southern Garrett County area.

A short sale is basically a situation where the current homeowner owes more to the bank or lending institution than what the property is currently worth.

Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Foreclosures

Foreclosures - 12 active residential properties currently for sale in Garrett County. Nearly all have already gone thru the foreclosure process and were bought back by the bank at the public auction. The various banks are now offering these REO (real estate owned) classified assets for sale thru local real estate brokers. Of the 12 foreclosures, 6 are currently under contract. Only 2 of the 12 are located in the Deep Creek Lake area - a split lakefront home on State Park Road with a Type A dock listed for $428,601 and a house located on Route 219 near the Deep Creek Bridge.

As a member of MRIS (the name of our local mls), we at Railey Realty can provide you a complete list of these distressed properties along with additional details and photos - and we can even set you up to receive automatic e-mails when any new distressed properties hit the market. If you are looking for a bargain or a great deal - give us a call or shoot us an e-mail - we’ll be more than happy to help you search for these types of properties or any others that may interest you.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 June 18th, 2009 Category: 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges, Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Vacation Rentals

Railey Mountain Lake Vacations, Deep Creek’s largest vacation rental company, is reporting that the vacation rental market at Deep Creek Lake is faring much better than other resort areas around the country.  With the slumping economy, vacation rental bookings are down nationwide about 18% from last year. In the Deep Creek Lake area rental bookings are only down about 10% from last year.

Other current happenings in the local vacation rental market include;

• - A positive sign is that 40% of all Railey Mountain Lake homeowners are ahead o f last year’s numbers. Not everyone is feeling the pain of this current slowdown. The other 60% are at the same level or down slightly.
• - On average each rental home is down about a week and a half of bookings this summer season.
• - The larger homes - the 9 bedroom and 8 bedroom homes - are still going strong. The 5 bedroom and 6 bedroom homes are currently lagging.
• - Renters are booking later and willing to sacrifice amenities for a lower price. Price is trumping everything right now to get bookings. If a property is priced properly compared to its competitors it will rent!
• - Some homeowners are being more flexible on restrictions to attract renters as well - such as allowing pets.
• - One of Railey Mountain Lake’s 9 bedroom pool houses set a record and went over $200,000 in gross rental bookings for the year.

In other positive news, future bookings for the 2009 fall season are already up 15% over last year. This may be due to the lower rates in the fall season and the fact the weather at Deep Creek in September and October is still very pleasant although certainly not hot by any means.

If you are thinking about renting your house or purchasing a vacation rental as an investment in the Garrett County area - give us a call at (800) 544-2425 or drop us an e-mail - there are some well performing rental houses currently for sale in the Deep Creek Lake area - as well as some houses that could be excellent rentals with some slight modifications. We’ve helped many clients over the years buy rental homes - we’ll be more than happy to get the buying process started for you as well. For those of you considering or in the middle of a 1031 tax deferred exchange this is one of the better performing resort markets in the country. Now is a great time to consider investing in real estate at Deep Creek Lake - inventory is up, interest rates are down, and there are some deals to be had.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 June 9th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Garrett County Real Estate

Click on the link below for new real estate listings and homes for sale in the Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Maryland area offered by Railey Realty - Deep Creek’s leading real estate brokerage.

New Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County, and nearby West Virginia real estate listings - the week of May 25-June 7, 2009

The residential properties are denoted with a push pin and the building lots and acreage are denoted with the balloon graphic. Clicking on the property marker will give you a brief description and a link to additional information and pictures.

Please contact us if you are interested in any of these new properties - or any others listed for sale in the area. As a member of MRIS, our local MLS, we can assist with any property listed for sale - even those listed with other area real estate brokerages in Garrett County Maryland.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 May 26th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Garrett County Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

Click on the link below for new real estate listings and homes for sale in the Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Maryland area offered by Railey Realty - Deep Creek’s leading real estate brokerage.

New Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County, and nearby West Virginia real estate listings - the week of May 17-24, 2009

The residential properties are denoted with a push pin and the building lots and acreage are denoted with the balloon graphic. Clicking on the property marker will give you a brief description and a link to additional pictures.

Please contact us if you are interested in any of these new properties - or any others listed for sale in the area. As a member of MRIS, our local MLS, we can assist with any property listed for sale - even those listed with other brokerages.

By: JonBell jbell@railey.com 301-501-0735 May 13th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Interest Rates and Loans, Obtaining a Mortgage

My friend and fellow real estate agent emailed me a link to this recent Washington Post article titled “Want a Second Home? Save Up.” Unfortunately, she didn’t read the whole article before she sent the email and assumed that it was all bad news for the Deep Creek Lake area real estate market. She should have read the article and not just the title.

In my opinion this article is very positive with some great success stories! I encourage all potential or prospective second and vacation home buyers who are attempting to time the real estate market to “actually read it”. I will provide a link to the full article at the bottom of this post.

Several points of interest should be noted:

1. Dudley Dworken of Potomac, MD had been searching for the perfect Ocean City, MD beach front condo for over 2 years and recently purchased because he thinks the market has bottomed out and he found the perfect property at the “right price”. Dworken is quoted in the article stating ” I think we bought at the perfect time.”
2. Kathy Panco, Dworken’s real estate agent, notes that the large housing inventory has begun to shrink “possibly due to increased demand.”
3. Tom and Johanna Wells got creative with financing and were able to purchase a second home in Virginia Beach, VA. The buyers had to overcome a few obstacles to make their purchase a reality but Tom is quoted in the article noting that “in light of what’s happened with the stock market and my IRA account, I’d rather put the money into this condo, something that will appreciate and that we can enjoy.”

The Deep Creek Lake area is blessed with several great banks and mortgage brokers. Buyer’s credit history, savings and monthly income are strongly evaluated during the loan process (which they should be) but most local lenders have 10% down or better second home loan programs and mortgage interest rates that are still at historical lows.

What Are The Current Deep Creek Lake Second Home Mortgage Rates?
Rate’s below provided by Deep Creek Lake BB&T as of 4/28/09

• 30 year fixed purchase under $417,000 - 4.875%
• 30 year fixed purchase over $417,000 JUMBO- 5.625%
• 15 year fixed purchase over $417,000 - 4.500%

Contact: Jerry Merrick of BB&T for more information. Office phone: (301) 387-3219
Email: JMerrick@BBandT.com

How is the Deep Creek Lake Real Estate Market?
Real estate sales in the Deep Creek Lake Area and Garrett County seem to be improving. Reports show that Garrett County, Maryland residential sales volume has almost doubled in the past 2 months.

• On February 28th 2009 there were 27 houses under contract (sale pending) and 9 building lots.
• On April 30th 2009 there were 46 houses under contract and 7 building lots under contract (sale pending).

How is Railey Realty Doing?
Of the 36 sale pending properties as of February 28th 2009, Railey Realty represented 17 of the sellers in these transactions. Of the 53 sale pending properties as of April 30th 2009, Railey Realty represented 25 of the sellers in these transactions.

*Real Estate Market Statistics provided by MRIS the Deep Creek Lake Area MLS service provider.*

Read “Want a Second Home? Save Up.” on the Washington post website at the following link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041701646.html?referrer=emailarticle

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 May 1st, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County Real Estate, Wisp Real Estate

Almost daily I get asked the question “How is the real estate market doing at Deep Creek Lake?” - and then most times the discussion eventually turns towards the national economy.

I certainly don’t claim to be an expert on the national economy but like most people I try to educate myself and learn as much as I can. Recently I ran across an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that is very well written, easy to understand, and seems to suggest we may have just “hit the bottom” from a national economic perspective and how we might be turning the corner towards a recovery.

As for the real estate market here at Deep Creek Lake and the rest of Garrett County most of the buyers we work with these days seem to waiting until someone in the national media proclaims that we’ve “hit the bottom”. I can tell you over the past month things have picked up in our market. As of today there are 45 residential properties currently under contract. A few months ago that number was in the teens!  Now does this mean sales activity will pick back up again to the 2001-2005 real estate boom levels?  I doubt it - but this is a nice subtle, positive trend to see right now.  And maybe it’s a trend that we’ll be able to look back on in a year or two and say - “that was the bottom”??

If you are an investor or someone buying long-term for lifestyle purposes there are some good deals and great properties very much available right now at Deep Creek Lake. That may change if the pace of sales continues to improve like it has recently.  As history has shown those people and investors that buy near the bottom usually do much better than those who wait until the media proclaims we’re in a recovery. By time the media reports we’re in a recovery it’s usually too late to still get a good deal!

If you’re thinking about buying a vacation home in the Deep Creek Lake area and want to work with the area’s most experienced and knowledgeable Realtors give us a call at (800) 544-2425 or drop us an e-mail at info@railey.com. We can expertly guide you through the vacation home buying process.

By: DebraSavage dsavage@railey.com 301-616-4085 April 18th, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County Real Estate, Interest Rates and Loans, Obtaining a Mortgage

Why is now a good time to buy a house for sale at Deep Creek Lake or in Garrett County? Whether you are looking to purchase a vacation or second home at Deep Creek Lake, a cabin retreat in the woods, or if you are first time home buyer - there are two reasons that now may be the right time to buy real estate;

• Sellers now understand that we have not only have moved into - but are now lodged in a ‘Buyer’s Market’ and they must now properly and realistically price their home if they desire to sell in this current market.

-and-

• Interest rates are at historically low levels.

EXAMPLE; An $800,000 jumbo loan or mortgage on a vacation property at Deep Creek Lake at 6 percent on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage will cost you $926,717 in interest over the life of the loan.  If interest rates increase just 1 percent - that same loan will now cost you $1,116,025.  That is an additional $189,308 in interest paid over the life of the loan!

A $400,000 conforming loan for a primary residence at today’s current rate of 4.75 percent on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage will cost you $351,164 in interest over the life of the loan.  Once again, there is a tremendous amount of additional interest to pay if the rate rises just 1 percent. That 1% rate increase will cost you an additional $89,180.00 in interest over the life of the loan.

So, negotiate your best possible contract price and then take advantage of these historically low interest rates.  The current buyer’s market and low interest rates won’t last forever!

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 March 3rd, 2009 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Garrett County Real Estate

Distress Sales at Deep Creek Lake??

Since the end of last summer we seem to get many potential buyers contacting us wanting to know about all the foreclosures and short sales currently happening at Deep Creek Lake. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but our real estate market just hasn’t experienced many foreclosures to date - maybe that will change in the future but compared to other areas of Maryland (and the rest of the country for that matter) we are nowhere close to what is happening in other markets right now. But before you bargain hunters looking for that great deal lose interest and click the back button in your browser - please keep reading below - you may want to look beyond the numbers and look at the bigger picture instead.

According to the Circuit Court of Garrett County there have been a total of 35 open foreclosure cases filed since August 1, 2008 - or about 5 per month for the past half year.  According to the Garrett County Tax Assessment office there are currently 28,130 taxable properties in the entire county and 991 properties that are exempt (churches, schools, government property).

35 foreclosures spread over 28,130 total properties gives Garrett County a rate of around .0012 - or in other words- only a little more than one tenth of one percent of all Garrett County properties have been in foreclosure over the past 6 months! I have no way of easily  knowing how many of these 28,130 properties actually have mortgages against them - even if we assume just half of them have mortgages the loan delinquency rate would still be a minuscule .002. And if you dig a little deeper and cross reference these 35 cases against the tax records you’ll find that only a few are in the Deep Creek Lake area (aka Tax District 18). The lake district has about 5,500 properties in it - therefore 2 foreclosures spread over 5,500 properties yields a rate in the lake area so miniscule that I don’t even know the wording for that small of a number! Most of the current foreclosures are either in the northern part of Garrett County by the towns of Grantsville, Accident, or Friendsville and in the southern part of the county near Oakland and Mt. Lake Park.

(And for those of you doing any research the only reliable source of information you can rely on is the Circuit Court of Garrett County - call the Clerk of Courts at (301) 334-1937 - they’ll be more than happy to fax or send you a list of all the foreclosure cases recently filed with active open case numbers. Be very wary of any websites that list these foreclosures - most are very inaccurate and just bait you in to signing up for their services.)

For you bargains hunters out there try not to get discouraged by the numbers above - the odds are stacked against you that you’ll find a vacation home on Deep Creek Lake that is a foreclosure or a distress sale - but here is something to think about - “Where would you rather buy now after going thru the real estate boom and bust of just a few years ago?”

(1)    An area with thousands of foreclosures and supposed “bargains” now (like Las Vegas or Florida) that has shown a recent history of wild up and down property value swings;

-or-

(2)     a four season resort area in western Maryland that is just a 3 hour drive from where you live, currently doesn’t have many distress sales, has historically shown steady and stable property value appreciation over time (even during the bad times like now), and most importantly is an area that your family can enjoy for many years to come?

If you like up more than down - and the words “steady” and “stable” instead of “wild” give us a call - we can help!  Don’t miss your opportunity while interest rates are low!