RIchland Chambers Lake Summer Market Makes a Splash!

 Whoa Nelly!!  The best way to describe the last few months for us and this market is Richland Chambers Lake Mania. 

As on August 10, 140 sold lake lot listings. And  53 pending lot listings  in last 60 days.

We have never seen anything like it and I am not sure if we ever will again! 

The amount of inventory built up over the last 10 years, quickly dissipated 

In a flurry of Covid 19 motivated escapes from the City and the perceived dangers there.

The travel challenges imposed on the masses have motivated buyers  to rethink a lake place,

A place away for the city….a place to go where they can work in a peaceful setting with an alternate reality.

Due to inventory shortages, and low mortgage rates, prices are up. Yet sellers are not selling and reluctant.

We are now in the dog days of summer(August) which has traditionally been a slower month to sell.  But not the case now! 

With the number of homes that went into forbearance for the Covid 19 Crises, we will begin to see foreclosures as early as next year.  This is will change our market.  But  for now, and for the lake area, traditionally foreclosures have not been

Part of our market and I hope it remains that way.

What does this mean for us?  Our lake is a changing.  Construction starts are way up!.

Boat traffic is up and we are seeing the changes before our eyes….

Richland Chambers Lake is no longer “The best kept secret in Texas”  

It is the place to go to escape!

If you need to buy or sale during this flurry of activity, there are a couple of things to remember.

If you are a buyer, it is important to research agents and hire someone that has local market knowledge.

There are many pitfalls that can be avoided by shopping with a a lake area expert that is in tune with the 

Ins and outs of all the different areas and subdivisions. 

If you are a seller, NOW  is  the best possible time to put your best foot forward and grab a buyer. 

 

We can help you navigate the process as painless as possible and help you in getting the best return 

For the investment you have made in your lake area property!

Call us if you are just tinkering with the idea, it may just be the time to make the move you have been contemplating!

According to Zillow, we have seen 25% less inventory the summer.  Some are thinking not a good time to sell..?

Julie Teel 8/2020

 

 

Richland Chambers Lake Level Nerd Alert!

If you've been on Richland Chambers very long you've seen  ups and downs, highs and lows and in-betweens.  Some folks came here and built just in time to see 5 tough years. While some have been here only long enough to enjoy very good years. One thing for sure, fluctuation is a part of life on RC Lake. Actually folks on pretty much every Texas lake experience fluctuation. When we have normal rainfall, lake levels are good.  Less rainfall means lower lake levels. It's really pretty simple. The Great State of Texas could not support even close to today's population without man made reservoirs catching the rainfall. The ability to store water in many places in the United States allows large populations to thrive. Our modern standards and lifestyle require vast amounts of the most precious natural resource we have, water.  Richland Chambers lake, like most every man made lake, has had its ups and downs depending on water falling from the sky.

Time on Richland Chambers can be measured by pre-March 11, 2015 and post March 11, 2015.

March 11, 2015 was the day the lake hit 315' and stayed after almost 5 long years of Texas drought. During the period from late 2010 to March of 2015 we experienced 3 of the lowest lake levels in the 30 year history of Richland Chambers. Then a lot of water fell from the sky and regularly continues to do so.
So here comes the nerd part... The average lake level during that time was 309', 6 feet low. Since March 11 2015 the average lake level has been 313', a level we can all appreciate. But,

Half of the time for the last 30 years Richland Chambers Lake has been less than 1 foot below Full Pool

The chart above is made up of 11,003 daily lake levels, dating back to Jan 1st 1990. The average of all of those levels is 313.01'. So can we say these last 4 years or so have been normal?
Since Jan 1st 1990 we have experienced 3274 days above 315' (full pool) and 5526 days above 314'.  
So half of the time for the last 30 years Richland Chambers Lake has been less than 1 foot below full. Think about that! 
313' and above - 6893 days and one more just for fun: 
Less than 3ft down, 8134 days or 74% of the last 30 years. 
So yes there have been and will be ups and downs in the life of the lake but remember, They built the lake here for a reason!

#richlandchambers. #richlandchamberslake  #richlandchamberslakelevel

Richland Chambers Market Update Jan 2020

Reflecting on 15 years of Market data for Richland Chambers Lake Property, we have survived Market Melt Downs, droughts and recessions.  We have thrived in a growing and budding community and have seen many changes in the Lake Area landscape.  New businesses and developments are popping up here and there around the lake. 

Three take aways stand out below:

•           The Waterfront home market has been improving in recent years.

•           The Waterfront lot market is on the same trend. 

•           Lake Area Inventories are falling and prices are rising.




There have been many changes but the one thing remains constant when looking at historical data, the market always rebounds.  Interest rates are predicted to remain stable in 2020, the economy is booming and with that, the market will continue to improve this year. 

 Beginning in 2015, we began seeing improvement in the Lake Market coinciding with the increase in average lake levels. During that time, our average sales price around the lake increased from $387,500 to $503,681.  The average price per square foot has increased by as much as 20 percent.

This Chart is Waterfront Homes on Less than 5 Acres

Inventories have declined in that time period which have caused prices to increase. 

There are currently only 16 waterfront homes active Lakewide!  

We should see new listings hit this Spring and that number will increase

as we go into the active season.  This is the lowest amount of inventory we have seen in many years. Simple economics tell us that when supply is low and demand is high, prices increase. And demand is at an all time high!

The Absorption Rate, the number of homes flowing through he market in a given price range, are at a record low in the under 500k range indicating it is a Seller's Market.  


What about Lake Lots?

Viewing the Richland Chambers Lake Lot market trends, they are consistent with the Lake home market trends.  There are currently 145 waterfront lots on the market.  There were 350+ waterfront lots for sale in Jan of 2015.  As you can see, we have moved quite a bit of waterfront dirt in the last few years. The average sales price for a waterfront lot in 2015 was $52,587.  In 2019, it was $76,899. The absorption rates are trending lower than in previous years but the inventories are adequate to prevent huge increases in lot values at the present. 

The future of the lake lot market will depend on the influx of new listings and the number of future developments.




Overall, this is great news for our Lake Community.   We are looking forward to an active Lake Market in 2020.

We want to help families make their waterfront dreams a reality as well as transitioning sellers to the next step for them.  Most of our Sellers are folks who have either retired here or had second homes for a Lake escape. The average time at the lake is 10 to 12 years for a family before transitioning away from the lake to get closer to medical or family members. Our goal is to make that transition as easy as possible. 




Give us  a call at (903) 874-0001 if you have questions about the information here or if you are interested in buying or selling at Richland Chambers Lake.  Have a great Spring!!  
See you on the water!