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!

Recently I and one other Sturgeon Bay Realter were quoted in an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and caused a minor uproar among some of the other Door County Realtors. Apparently it is taboo to even insinuate all might be less than perfect here in Door County. Well, here is the reality check—we simply told it like it is — sales are down and the inventory of homes, land, condominiums, and all Northern and Southern Door County real estate is up. Is this a shock or even news? Real estate sales and mortgage foreclosures have been in the forefront of the national (and international) news for months. Google “The Economist The American economy” and read the article “The long hangover.” The Door County real estate market is simply a very small part of the big picture.

All gloom and doom? I don’t think so. Sales are down but have not stopped. Values will decrease somewhat, but perhaps an adjustment was in order. The more stagant inventory of properties on the market may discourage some developers from starting new projects—in my humble opinion that would be a good thing. As for buyers of vacation properties—second homes and condos in Northern Door County—the choices and opportunities couldn’t be better. Sellers who are serious about selling are realistically pricing their properties (without “giving them away”), and the increase in buyer activity in the last month is the result. It remains to be seen what the rest of the year will bring.

What do “cabin” and “cottage mean to you?  To me a cabin has to be small and simple, fairly rustic inside and out, preferably knotty pine on the inside with pine floors and a stone fireplace (maybe the only source of heat).  The bedrooms (no more than 2 of them) usually didn’t have any closets and maybe there was a sleeping loft. The kitchen was basic and not a separate room—a stove, refrigerator and sink with little storage because you didn’t need it.  The furnishings were hand-me-downs from home—”comfortable”.  There was one bathroom.  That’s a rule, hard and fast.  If it has more than one bathroom it cannot be a cabin.  You went to your cabin to do as little as possible, so there was no landscaping, just woods, and the hardest work was cutting firewood.

In my mind, a “cottage” can be a bit more—they were the “cabins” of the more well-to-do.  They could be larger, but still exuded a “lodge” atmosphere (think Adirondack aand wicker furniture and Pendelton blankets).  Some of the Door County cottages still exist in areas like Cottage Row in Fish Creek, Point Beach in Egg Harbor, Beach Road in Sister Bay, Chapel Lane in Baileys Harbor, and North Shore Road in Ephraim.  Cottages were a place to vacation with your family and friends, but in a more elegant manner. 

Cabins, on the other hand, tended to either be tucked away in the woods or on small lakes like Kangaroo Lake in Baileys Harbor and Clark Lake in Jacksonport.  Since they were so insubstantial to begin with, now they are usually considered tear-downs.  Some have survived, ironically, by being turned into condominiums.  There are several examples of that on Kangaroo Lake where the little cabins that were small resorts have been sold as separate condominium units.  Happily, they retain their cabin character. Cabins are great precisely because they are small and force their inhabitants to interact in close quarters talking, playing games, and just having fun together!

So, if you end up calling us to buy a cottage, cabin, condominium, land or any other Door County real estate, think about what you really want to do in Door County.  Will it be a simple get-away, an investment, your year-around home or your home for retirement? Just maybe an old-fashioned cabin would be right for you! 

A POST SCRIPT: Yesterday I was showing homes to a lady and lo and behold, we found an actual cabin that fit my definition of “cabin”! It is a cute little place actually on the shore with two bedrooms (no closets—on of my requirements) and only one bathroom. It’s down south of Sturgeon Bay on the shore, so is much, much more affordable than shore properties, even vacant one, in the northern part of the county, and it was really fun to see it.