Editor’s Note: The content from the following article is based on a recent Real Estate Matters podcast with John Coley, broker and owner of Lake Martin Voice Realty, who specializes in waterfront home sales on Lake Martin.
The Lake Martin area is in a unique part of Alabama, the Piedmont Region. The rolling terrain in the area (Tallapoosa, Elmore, and Coosa Counties) is ideal for a large man-made lake, which was created in 1926 with the construction of Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River. The resulting lake boasts approximately 880 miles of shoreline, the largest in the state.
Lake Martin is “out in the middle of nowhere” but somewhat close to large metro areas like Birmingham and Montgomery. Starting around the 1980’s, the largest contingent of out of state buyers is from Georgia, with many from Atlanta which is only about 2.5 hours away (depending) via 1-85. Real estate is all about amenities, and one of Lake Martin’s many amenities is it’s relatively undeveloped shoreline (Alabama Power and Russell Lands own approximately 70%). Georgia’s Lake Lanier, on the other hand, is almost fully developed, and many buyers from the Atlanta area find Lake Martin’s unique nature appealing.
The Lake Martin area is also home to two very different residential markets: “the waterfront” and the “off the water” markets. The off the water market includes Alexander City, the largest city in the region, and many surrounding small towns and communities (Eclectic, Red Hill, Jackson’s Gap, Dadevillle, and Tallassee, just to name a few). The off-the-water market also includes large tracts of rural land abound with uses ranging from farmland to recreational. Follow this link to read ACRE’s monthly report and related analysis for the entire Lake Martin area.
Along the waterfront, sales have been strong through the first quarter of the year, up 3.6% year-over-year. 2019 was a record year for total sales, “a classic seller’s market” and that momentum continued into early Spring. Looking forward, COVID-19 has the potential to impact sales activity from April-August, but since it’s largely a secondary home market with “buyers who don’t have to buy and sellers who don’t have to sell,” it will be hard to declare a shift in market conditions until it is reflected in closed sales data. Considering the tightening inventory, which is happening in almost every other market in the state, sales prices are likely to remain stable during the coming months.
Listen to the full podcast.
For more resources about market conditions along Lake Martin’s waterfront, visit the Center’s Explore Real Estate Today page.
