Having had spent a lifetime building golf courses around the world I have seen a few ups and down in the economy. Golf courses generally were the center of big housing developments with the intentions of selling lots and building homes. Of course there were many more amazing things these developments had to offer. For the intent of this Deep Creek Lake property update, I will keep the fluff out of the conversation!
Let’s start with Lodestone Golf Club and the surrounding real estate and how they came to be. Let’s look back in time and quickly review what happened here on the mountain bordering Wisp Resort and how it affects purchasing property now. Basically, in the late 90’s when development was red hot the then owners of Wisp mountain decided to build a golf course and develop the mountain with home sites. Understand that during this time, this was a very successful endeavor and it seemed very unlikely that things would ever go sour as an investor. So you have the support of partners and the banks but now have to enter the planning and permitting part of the project. This process can normally take 8-10 years depending on any environmental or local objections/concerns.
After lots of time and money, you are finally ready to begin the expensive construction process which may cost 35+ million dollars. The architects come in and do a few promotional launches and the marketing people reach out to people that want to invest in a golf course and community, and a way of life for their families and friends. People invest in lake view and golf course fronted home sites, paying the appraised value at the time. These sales feed the machine of financing for the project and pay for calculated project stages, specifically neighborhood infrastructure and golf construction. Everyone is now committed to moving forward and finishing the project…then the economy crashes. Through time, the value of the lots slowly decrease until the owners cannot fulfill their obligations with the bank and the project goes bankrupt. So now everyone is now left holding property that is worth 75% less than they paid for it.
Bright side to the story…the mountain real estate was sold a few years back to a land company at basically auction prices and the lot/construction prices have been adjusted according to current market value. What this means for some is losing money in an investment. I bought a second home in the Outer Banks during the height of the market and know all too well how it feels to be upside down in an investment. What it means for buyers now is that you can buy great getaway homes and home sites at fairly affordable prices. I have lived on the mountain at Sandy Shores for the last 10 years and can tell you there was a time when we never thought we would see neighbors.
The construction over the last year has been very encouraging up on the mountain. I cannot share any specific stats because the company that owns the property does not share their property sales via the MLS. What I can report to you is what I see happening on the mountain daily, which is contractors everywhere working building houses. Most of them that I talk to say they cannot keep up as the demand on building has increased significantly. This “boom” is not limited to only the mountain but has shown its presence throughout the lake’s footprint. I encourage you to call me at 301-616-5022 and discuss any questions you may have regarding buying or building here at the lake. There’s a new found confidence in investing again and a huge surplus of home sites, which equates to a great opportunity to again invest in our beautiful area.
