Like almost everyone else - I have been watching the 2008 Bejing Olympics every night…and while I am not trying to take anything away from the accomplishments of these great athletes - I think it is important to keep things in perspective.

The kid on the left can swim really fast. He worked very hard on his individual achievement and has been awarded 8 gold medals and enough financial wealth to last a couple of generations or more.

The kid on the right worked very hard on behalf of an entire nation. He gave both of his legs in an effort to keep his country safe - and he will receive enough financial assistance for an apartment and some food.

Again, I do not want to take anything away from these great athletes - but we should all keep things in perspective…

Is the market soft? Sure it is…but that isn’t stopping us or our clients from having a successful 2008!

LakePlace.com Fact: As of 8/12/08, LakePlace.com’s real estate sales are up 48% year-to-date.

That’s not bad considering the uncertainty of the market we are in. We may even be one of a very few brokerages in the country that can make such a claim.

If you are thinking about selling your lake property - we hope you will consider working with LakePlace.com - learn more about listing with us!

Just Listed!

Almost New! How does 14+ acres with 660′ of lakeshore sound? If you are looking for a place to retire or just get away for weekends - check out this Hibbing MN lake home listed at $479,000 by LakePlace.com! If you are interested in this area - check out all of the Hibbing lake properties currently on the market! As always, Happy Lake Home Hunting!

You may have noticed that we have completed a UI design change. Recently, we added regional maps for Michigan lake property & North Dakota lake property. Well, we just completed adding virtually all Michigan resorts and North Dakota resorts to our resort directory (if we missed something - be sure to let us know!). While we also added these states to our vacation rentals section as well - we currently have very few rentals in these additional states - but we hope that will change soon!

What is the first thing you should do when showing a buyer a property?

Stop at the gas station and fill up. This will communicate to your client that showing properties cost real money. Another great idea from bloodhoundblog.

We just re-launched the LakePlace.com For Sale By Owner section! Some people may ask why we would do such a thing - after all, we are a full-service real estate brokerage. The answer is simple. Our goal has always been to create the BEST resource for lake property buyers - we feel we cannot truly accomplish this goal if we do not make FSBO advertisements available on LakePlace.com.

We get 5-10 emails every day from people who are going to give it a shot on their own - while we have tried to explain that selling a property, especially a non-primary property, is a difficult endeveour, it is obvious that many, many people would still like to give it a shot…and now they can.

All FSBO ads include up to 12 pictures and an unlimited description. The ad runs for 6 months for $250 (about the cost of running 2 tiny Sunday ads in a metro newspaper). If the property does not sell after 6 months, the seller will have a few of options available. First, they can just cancel their ad and that’s it. Second, they can renew their ad for an additional 6 months. Third, they can list with our full-service brokerage. Once a seller decides to list with us, we will put our full 25 point marketing plan (which includes several MLS boards) to work on their behalf. Once we sell their property, we will refund the original $250 FSBO advertisement cost.

We think it is a pretty good deal for those that would like to take a shot at selling their property on their own.

LakePlace.com just got a little mention in Kiplinger’s. They called us a couple of months ago because they were doing a story on the vacation home market - and they wanted to include the Midwest. Their senior editor flew in to Minneapolis and we set him up to tour some available properties in the $250k-$300k price range with some of our star agents (in the areas he was interested in). The article just hit Kiplinger.com if you are interested in reading it.

If you are a buyer - now is a terrific time to be shopping for lake properties in the Midwest. The NAR reports that vacation home sales were down 30% in 2007, and while LakePlace.com is having a record year, we are getting reports from the field that 2008 is not looking pretty - which means you will be running into some very motivated sellers.

If you are a seller - you may want to do some deep research on the companies you are thinking about listing with. The vast majority of lake property buyers come out of the major metro areas - and with 80%+ starting their search online - it is very important to see what type of internet presence each brokerage has. If you would like to find out why LakePlace.com has listed more than 100 properties in a few short months - feel free to ask us about our 25 point marketing plan -=)

Happy lake home and land hunting!

Just Listed!

2008 Whole House Remodel! Great Bemidji lake home for sale on Hennepin Lake. Property is 5.69 acres, 276 feet of lakeshore with 3 beds and 2.5 baths (including double head shower and jacuzzi tub!) - all brand new! Huge deck off the house sits just 30 feet from the waters edge - check this one out!

As always, happy lake property and land hunting!

Two new Crane Lake Lots (Pickeral WI) listed at $215k!  These lots each feature 100 feet of sand/gravel shoreline and are heavily wooded with nice elevation to the water. Checkout LakePlace.com for all Crane Lake properties available - and then give us a call with any questions.

As always, happy lake home & land hunting!

Just listed!

Wow - one of my favorite lakes! My family and I spent a week on Pokegama Lake last summer - and we had a blast. If your a person who likes to have some fun - Pokegama is a great place to do it! Bars, restaurants, golf courses, public islands, great fishing, spontaneous partys on the sand bar - and lots of water. We fell in love with this lake!

Back to the property at hand. This is an absolutely georgeous Pokegama lake home in Grand Rapids, MN. Knotty Pine interior, guest cottage, sauna, the works - all just a few feet from the waters edge. View all Pokegama lake property on LakePlace.com and we think you will agree - this lake home is a great find!