Podcast: Real Estate Brokerage CEO Talks About Selling Waterfront Properties

Serving a niche market on scale is the secret to success at Lake Homes Realty and Beach Homes Realty.

Lake Homes Realty is a tech-enabled, full-service real estate brokerage operating in 39 states. Beach Homes Realty has brokerages in 14 states. And the company’s newest addition, Mountain Homes Realty, covers 21 states and featured more than $100 billion in available mountain properties when it was announced in June.

“By using and aggregating data from across the country and limiting it to specific types of property, it makes a totally different experience trying to find a lake home if you’re looking in multiple states,” CEO Glenn Phillips said of the experience they offer buyers.

Sellers like using the company’s websites because they get a greater range of exposure, Phillips told Editor Kimberley Haas during an interview.

“If I’m selling a home at a lake in Tennessee, most agents would struggle to advertise that to buyers coming from California,” Phillips said.

Phillips said that experienced local agents are available to help buyers and sellers with their listings. These people are well-versed in the discretionary housing market.

They also understand the nuances that go into buying or selling a home in their particular market. For example, they can navigate permitting requirements for a dock or pier and have a sense of how busy the boat traffic is near different waterfront properties.

They can also answer all the questions buyers might have, as well as the things they will need to take into consideration.

“Are there access questions? Is this a public beach? Is it a private beach? Is it part of a condo association? Is it a club? If you’re buying just off the beach, which can be a better price point, how can I get to the beach? Or are your pets allowed on the beach?” Phillips said.

Phillips said there is no price point associated with the properties they help people buy and sell. Their websites feature vacant lots all the way up to multi-million dollar properties.

The market for these types of properties has changed in the last five years. Phillips said that during Covid, they had between seven and eight million people using their website. That drained inventory and increased prices.

Now, inventory is back as sellers come to grips with the fact that buyers are holding off on discretionary purchases and are not willing to overpay for these types of properties. Phillips said they are advising listing agents to price things appropriately so qualified buyers will move quickly and offer the asking price or better.

Phillips said that with all three websites, the company currently has about 350,000 properties listed for sale.

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