I, for one, am eagerly looking forward to 2009 and a better, brighter future for us all.  We will have a new President of the United States of America—an intelligent man who is already demonstrating wisdom and common sense by the calibre of the people he will be bringing with him to Washington.  The enormity of the job they have before him is daunting, but I believe that President Obama is up to the task. 

In this small part of the world, Door County, Wisconsin, I can hardly say that our troubles even begin to compare with other places in the U.S. not to mention the world!  Here we are blessed with a true community in the best sense of the word—a place where people still care and look out for one another especially in time of need.  It’s a great place to live.

Because of my many years in the Door County real estate business, I’m constantly being asked about the state of this market and what I think the outlook is for 2009.  2008 was a bad year for sales, down considerably from 2007.  However, values are holding relatively firm, and I believe sales will improve next year.  After seeing what can happen with investments in the stock market, people will take another look at investing in real estate.  Door County shore-front property and water view property will again be recognized for the excellent long-term investments they are.  People retiring will see Door County as a beautiful, safe, clean, and affordable option.  Condominiums are especially attractive to retirees, and the selection and price range available makes them a good choice for almost everyone.  There are countless other real estate options for full time residency and vacation use in every price range including homes of every size and style, vacant land from small lots to large acreage, shore front homes and land, bluff-top water view properties, farmland, hotel condominium suites, and commercial opportunities.  You name it—it’s here!  If I sound biased, I am, and I have a good basis for comparison.  I’ve lived in Michigan, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Tennessee and can truly say Door County beats them all in my opinion!

The holiday season brings an overwhelming barrage of emotions . . . happiness, stress, loneliness, reflection, enthusiasm, depression . . . just everything one can imagine.  What should be a purely happy time can be a difficult time instead, and this year it seems like the bad news is never ending.  In the Door County world of real estate, it’s certainly a down market; but compared to other areas we should count ourselves as fortunate.  Most importantly, property values, especially in northern Door County, have not dropped drastically.  Property owners investment in Door County real estate may prove to be one of their better investments.  Although there have been reductions in the asking prices of properties for sale, those sellers are still a long way from actually loosing money.  The price reductions are great news for buyers, and now is a great time to buy condominiums, any shore or water view property, and inland homes. 

True, it is a hard time for real estate companies and agents everywhere, even here.  Some companies may go out of business, many agents may look for other work, but those of us who are firmly established and experienced will weather this storm and see sunny days again.  My company, Wilson-Shaffer, Inc., has been here in Ephraim since 1929; and I’ve been here longer than I care to reveal!  I have a great staff who have seen me through a year of personal tragedy.  

Our country will have a new president next month, and I am determined to go into 2009 with optimism and faith that our economy, our country, and the world will get better.  So, I wish happiness to all, whatever holiday you may be celebrating!

If you need a reason to visit Door County, come to the annual show benefiting the Door County YMCA in Sturgeon Bay.  You will find truly wonderful items hand crafted in wood, pottery, glass, fiber, metals and just about every other medium you can think of!  It is on November 23rd at the Sturgeon Bay YMCA which is on the corner of Hwy. 42-57 and Michigan Street.  Every year, this is one of my personal favorite Christmas shopping experiences!

In fact, you could come for the pre-Thanksgiving weekend, look at real estate on Saturday, and catch the craft show on Sunday morning on your way home!  Some of the really best values in Door County real estate right now are residential condos.  Condominiums that are in the $200,000 to $350,000 price range are the best values and there are a few exceptional ones for sale.  There are available condos in just about every Northern Door County village, so you can pick your favorite location. 

So, I hope to be showing you Door County real estate soon; but if not, maybe I’ll see you at the YMCA Arts and Crafts show!

Whether you actually celebrate holidays in November and December or simply try to get through the time unscathed, certainly everyone has memories of past holiday seasons.  Who among us would not have done something differently in those past seasons had we fully realized at the time that we’d be reliving those memories year after year after year?  For me, this will be a year of holding onto those memories, cherishing some, regretting others.  My husband died this fall, so the memories will at times seem to be all I have.  I know that’s not true, but it will seem so. 

My wish for all is that you find and acknowledge what is yours to celebrate.  Appreciate what is good, those you love and who love you, be kind, be patient, be forgiving, go out of your way to be nice.  You’ll be rewarded with wonderful memories.

This may be the best news you hear today.  Sellers of real estate in northern Door County—the areas from Sevastopol, Egg Harbor all the way north to the top of the peninsula—have received an average of 93% of their asking prices for the properties sold since June 1st.  That is very good compared to much of the country!  While it is also true that the number of sales has fallen since last year, it is encouraging that many properties are still selling and that sales are not limited to any one type of property. 

Instead of looking for desperate sellers and bargains, buyers should be glad that values are holding in Door County.  Buyers can still buy their dream vacation property and be confident they are also making a good investment.  Also, on the up side, since sales have slowed down, there is a large selection of properties for sale which means it is more likely buyers will be able to find just the right property for them.

Another silver lining in the clouds!

The saying is that every cloud has a silver lining, and in the midst of the wall street and banking meltdown, the mortgage debacle, a tanked houseing market, a contentious election, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—I’ll stop there—it’s hard to imagine a silver lining.   Well, I’m here with a bit of good news!  While the real estate market here in Door County is suffering just like almost everywhere else in the U. S., real estate values are holding relatively strong.  Why is that, and why is it good news?  Most sellers in Door County are not under pressure to sell, so are willing to wait for a sale rather than dropping their price.  But why is that good for buyers?  Because it means an investment in Door County real estate is a good investment!  So go ahead and consider buying your Door County hide-away.  It’s like having your cake and eating it too—a good investment and a place to escape all the stress and bad news! 

What properties are available?  Everything!  Every location, every village, properties on the shores of Lake Michigan and Green Bay, water view properties, condominiums, homes in every price range and every area.  Egg Harbor, Jacksonport, Baileys Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Sister Bay, Ellison Bay, Gills Rock and Washington Island—there are treasures available everywhere. 

I am a Florida girl—at least I was raised there and lived there until I was 19—so my youth was spent in perpetual summer.  Miami in the 1950’s before homes were air-conditioned is my frame of reference.  But now that I’ve made Door County my home for 29 years you would think I would be used to Wisconsin summers.  I’m not.  Not that I long for the sweltering heat.  No, no, no.  Since the gift of menopause I generate enough of my own heat.  It is just that Door County is so beautiful in the summer that I want it to go on and on.   Flowers are everywhere to the extent that it seems to be an obsession with the residents.  There is scarcely a home or business that doesn’t have patches of colorful flowers or at the very minimum several hanging baskets.  The villages—Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Sister Bay, Ellison Bay, Baileys Harbor, and Jacksonport—each have their own particular signature plantings familiar to visitors year after year.  And the wildflowers!  Every field, every roadside, every shoreline.

And it’s nearly impossible not to let the spirit of summer lighten your frame of mind.  It’s so nice to meander around the county and see so many people truly enjoying themselves.  Kids eating giant ice-cream cones on the porch at Wilson’s in Ephraim, families at the beach in Fish Creek, tourists strolling the villages discovering treasures at the little shops, windsurfers in Eagle Harbor—it’s all just nice to see. 

But Door County summers are short.  Perhaps that’s why we try to pack so much in to them.  Perhaps that is why I’ve neglected my blog?  Got to go.

I just read an article (*) in The Economist about dropping housing prices in the United States. According to the article, prices are falling faster than they were during the Great Depression. That sounded ominous and, as a Realtor, certainly caught my attention.

Of course, to dump the entire U.S. housing market into one bucket and come up with that sort of statement is, at best, a generalization. Actual markets vary tremendously from region to region. Even here in Door County there are “northern” Door County, “southern” Door County, Sturgeon Bay and countless smaller markets within those. My focus, of course, is the market in which I live and work which is broadly described as “northern” Door County and includes everything from Gills Rock at the tip of the Door Peninsula to the villages of Ellison Bay, Sister Bay, Ephraim, Fish Creek, Baileys Harbor, Egg Harbor, Jacksonport, Little Harbor, and the Town(township) of Sturgeon Bay.

Within those geographic areas are the distinct markets of types of property. There are the condominium market, the shore land and home market, the market for vacant land (lots and acreage are even different markets), inland homes, commercial properties — to name the main ones. So, are housing prices dropping in this little corner of the world? There is no one answer to that question.

Average sale prices (all properties combined) in northern Door County are actually up considerably from this time last year. As of the end of May, 2007, the average sale price was $296,909. As of the end of May, 2008, the average sale price was $323,630. But don’t jump for joy. The averages encompass a wide range of sale prices, some of which may indeed be lower than they may of been a year ago. The number of sales is down —106 in 2008 vs. 174 in 2007.

That is enough statistical info for now. The bottom line is that if you really want to know what is going on in any given market—do some thorough investigation. For the northern Door County market, call me. I have market statistics broken down in a clear way so you can really see what is selling and what is not selling. No generalizations.

(*) The Economist May 31, 2008 “The housing market — Dropping a brick” page 34

My family always called it Decoration Day and we went to the cemeteries to plant flowers on the graves of my great-grandparents. It wasn’t necessarily a sad time, just a time of rememberance. This morning I passed the Pebble Beach Cemetery in Sister Bay and saw the veteran’s service going on there. Quite a few people, a small band, and some of the vets from the VFW. Typical small town. I wish I was back in Michigan today, so I could visit my family gravesites and plant some flowers. Marigolds for Grandad, his favorite flower. But even though I cannot be there, I am planting marigolds in some planters here at my office and will remember him every day when I see them. I’ve planted geraniums for Grandma, and know she would approve.

Door County truly is “small town” when it comes to days like today. Flags are flying everywhere, yards are cleared of winter debrix, and flowers have been planted. Egg Harbor has its daffodils, Fish Creek’s streets will be lined with their traditional marigolds, the Evergreen Beach Motel in Ephraim will soon have its pink petunias lining each side of the path from the motel to the shore, Jacksonport has planters planted and ready for Maifest (this past weekend), and Sister Bay will have the light post decorated. Small town America takes its holidays seriously!

Call me if you want to live here too.

My mother lives in Sturgeon Bay in a charming little 1920’s house in the “Historic District” and loves it. That’s interesting because when she first began coming to Door County in the 1970’s, she, like many people today, didn’t consider herself to be in “Door County” until she was in the village of Egg Harbor! Anything south of that was, well, just Wisconsin.

Granted, as you go up and down the northern part of the peninsula from Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Sister Bay, Ellison Bay, Gills Rock, Baileys Harbor, and Jacksonport, you are in the more tourist-oriented areas. However, next time you visit, look around at Sturgeon Bay. What got me thinking about it was a program this morning on Wisconsin Public Radio about the best small towns (population under 12,000) in Wisconsin. Certainly Sturgeon Bay should be considered one of them. It has marinas, a wonderful diverse and thriving “downtown”, great shops, restaurants, golf courses, many yearly festivals, fishing tournaments, a state park, fantastic hiking/bike trail, and much, much more to boast about.

So if you are just visiting Door County or if you are looking for homes for sale, property for sale, or condos for sale, ask your realtor (me, I hope!) to tell you about Sturgeon Bay. You may just be surprised!