I look forward to reading Smart Money magazine and Wallstreet Journal writer, James Stewart’s column each Wednesday when it comes out in the Journal. The June 30, 2010 column had some very good comments on home ownership and buying a home.

Mr. Stewart talked quite abit about people with means to pay walking away from their mortgage just because the value of the house had declined. That is a point of discussion for some other time but in talking about this he says “walking away from a mortgage now is like selling at the bottom of the market”. He went on to say “houses that are underwater now may not be for long once housing starts to appreciate. And despite a recent slump in the number of home sales, home prices are rising in most areas and have been for the past year.” He also says “home ownership is a long term committment and people that are going to move in a year or so should rent instead.” The last thought I liked was “anyone forced to sell at a loss now, may also buy another home in a depressed market at lower prices unless they are moving from Las Vegas to Manhattan.”

Now my thoughts, the Grand Lake real estate market peaked in 2007. We have not seen the huge price drops in home prices that other areas of the country did. We have seen prices lower in 2009 than 2007 and 2010 has been a mixed bag. Lately we have sold two homes for a few thousand dollars more than was paid in 2009 for the homes. One was a waterfront home in the $800,000 plus range and the other was a rural home on a few acres. Grand Lake waterfront homes have held their value very well. We have more inventory of unsold upper end waterfront homes than we have had in several years, prices are flat, you might get a deal, interest rates are low, and now should be a time to buy with what looks like a nation wide bottom in home prices. Grove subdivision homes off the water have lost about ten percent of value on average from the 2007 peak. If you did not buy at the peak you probably still have price appreciation but the ones that did buy at the peak are suffering just like stock market losses but just not as bad. We have some nice selection of off water homes in Grove with great prices. Again, now should be the time to buy at the bottom. We have not seen but a very few new spec homes being built and the inventory is a long ways from the peak. We still have several nice homes to pick from but as one sells, it is one less on the market. If you are thinking of buying a retirement home on Grand Lake and the Grove, OK area, I would not tarry. This is sale time with low borrowing rates. Neither will last long.

You can search the Grand Lake / Grove area MLS at the button above. For personalized service call the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove. Call Aaron Hughes at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net or Joe Neill at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We hope to hear from you soon.

Grand Lake real estate sales have had a nice spring, not robost, but several nice sales. Our Grand Lake Team had 7 properties ready for closing at one time a short time ago. We have closed these seven out including an $800,000 plus Buffalo Shores South waterfront home yesterday. We now have two new homes awaiting closing, one in the gated Monkey Island community of Newport Village and the other in a small subdivision just outside Grove, Rainbow Bend. Properties priced right, not at give away prices but on the market, in good shape with odds and end repairs done, and home decluttered so people can look at the home and not the owner’s stuff will sell in good time. On the other hand properties priced too high, not show ready, or full of stuff seem to just set and never sell. This should tell seller/owner’s something.

Sometimes we see deals on homes priced too high to begin with and they will see huge price reductions of maybe $100,000 on a $600,000 home but in reality the home was overpriced by a $100,000 to begin with. Moral of this story is do your homework and let your realtor give you comp sales in an area you are interested in so that you can buy a home at market value and not a home with a $75,000 price reduction and still $25,000 too high.

Now is a good time to buy. Interest rates at all time lows, a good selection of properties in most price ranges, and you might find a deal if someone has to sell right now. You can see all the Grand Lake MLS listings at our MLS button above. Our featured listings are at a button above also.

For assistance in buying or selling Grand Lake waterfront homes, Grove subdivision homes, retirement homes at the lake, commercial property on Grand Lake, or any other real estate need call the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove, OK. Aaron Hughes can be reached at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net or Joe Neill can be reached at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We hope to hear from you soon.

Monkey Island Waterfront Homes are a popular location for that second home on the lake. There are many nice communities on Monkey Island. Many are gated and take care of your yard so that you can just enjoy the lake. Others, let you spend less but do more work. There are choices for everyone.

You can select homes in the ultra-luxury Chateaus or the stately and timeless Shangri La Estates. You might like all the ammenties in Newport Village or perhaps Brighton Bay. Port Duncan, the original gated community offers inexpensive homes. You can enjoy Grand Lake to the fullest on Monkey Island.

The pictures above are of two homes with ocean like views. One is in Port Duncan and listed at $239900. The other is in the golf course community, Shangri La Estates also with an ocean like view and listed for $335,000. We also have other listings you will like and have full access to the Grand Lake MLS.

For your second home at the lake, retirement home, or full time family home on Grand Lake at Monkey Island, Grove, or on the South Grand Lake area call The Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove. Aaron Hughes can be reached at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. Joe Neill may be reached at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We hope to hear from you soon.

Summer is here and now is the time to be enjoying family and friends time at Grand Lake in NE Oklahoma. Now is also a good time to be buying that second home on Grand Lake, a retirement home on the lake for family to come see you at, or a family home on the lake to live and work in paradise. We have a good selection of waterfront homes in our listings as well as the Grand Lake MLS listings. Prices are good and interest rates are low, so why tarry?

If you want a waterfront home on Monkey Island in a gated community or in Grove at Patricia Island, Buffalo Shores, Governors Retreat, or Lighthouse Harbor we have it. If you like South Grand Lake, there are nice listings in The Coves or The Points as well as other neighborhoods around the lake.

Call The Grand Lake Team for information on Grand Lake Real Estate and waterfront homes. For Aaron Hughes call 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe Neill call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. You can find us at RE/MAX Grand Lake 2330 South Main, Grove, Oklahoma. We hope to see or hear from you soon.

We have just listed a very nice 6 bedroom, 3 bath home in Grove, OK on beautiful Grand Lake. This home has 3874 sq ft m/l with 3 bedrooms upstairs and 3 downstairs. It sits on a very park like private setting about a mile from downtown Grove, OK on 1.2 Acres m/l with 125′ of waterfront in a narrow but deep cove. The home was built in the mid nineties but has had extensive upgrading over past few years. It has a combination of wood, tile, and carpet covered floors. Downstairs in the game room is a terrific bar area you can see in the pictures above. The home would make you a great retirement home on Grand Lake with room for family to visit or a wonderful home to raise a family in at Grove, OK. This home is offered at $425,000. It is Grand Lake MLS # 10-1420.

For Grand Lake and Grove, OK area real estate call the Grand Lake Team, Aaron Hughes and Joe Neill at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove. You can reach Aaron at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net or Joe at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We know the Grand Lake MLS listings and pride ourselvas in listening to the buyer and then offering options for their consideration. We can make buying real estate less stressful, more inclusive, and fun. We hope to hear from you today.

We just listed a very unique and high quality waterfront home on Grand Lake. This has to be the best priced, best value waterfront listing on Grand Lake. You will have to see it to fully appreciate the attention to details both inside and outside of this terrific home. Grove’s Patricia Island Estates and Golf Club is the location of this waterfront home on Grand Lake. No homeowner dues here. Dues are paid if you elect to join the golf club or swim/tennis club.

You will find this home in the Grand Lake MLS listed two ways. MLS # 10-1399 is the 2886 sq ft m/l home per county records (owner feels it will measure out more) with 262′ waterfront, 2 Acres m/l land, and a two slip boat dock with swim deck. It has a retaining wall on lakeside, many fine trees in yard, a fenced backyard around the home, and a protected cove location just off the main lake. This listing is priced with 2 waterfront lots for $675,000.

Grand Lake MLS # 10-1400 is the home as above with only one waterfront lot. It will have about 1.3 Acres of land and 149′ waterfront and the home. The boat dock will become a shared dock with one 30′ slip each for this home and the other for the owner of the adjoining lot. Each owner will share use of the swim dock and upkeep of the dock. This listing is priced at the unheard of price of $525,000. You just cannot get a waterfront home of this calibur in Patricia Island Estates on Grand Lake at this price. You do not need the extra lot to have a terrific and very enjoyable waterfront home.

The home has a unique blend of brick, stacked stone, and siding on the exterior. The interior uses stained wood trim throughout the home. Two fireplaces, one a gas fireplace with stacked stone in the den and the other in the family room, a wood burner with stacked stone and brick set this home off. The master bedroom is on the first level and has patio access and lakeviews. Upstairs are 2 bedrooms and one bath plus a flex room that can be the fourth bedroom or a game room, theater room, or kid’s room.

This is just a one of a kind home with timeless features on a terrific lot with the many trees and the long winding driveway from the street. It is a home to enjoy for years to come as your Grand Lake retirement home, second home, or family home in Grove.

Call Aaron Hughes at 918 801-5645 or arronhughes@remax.net or Joe Neill at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net for more information or to schedule your showing. We are the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove, OK.

Memorial Day weekend 2010 will go down in the books as one of the best if not the best 3 days of weather you could ask for. Many people came to enjoy the lake and fun they had. Eating establishments were packed and C-Stores did thriving business. Marinas were selling gasoline for boats and lodging was full around the lake. You could not tell the economy was soft being here over the holiday.

Saturday, I had lunch at the new Aqua Grill on Monkey Island. This new marina with grill on the marina deck was booming with business. My Angus Burger and fries were excellent, just like a gourmet burger should be. Watching the boats on the lake and coming in/out of the marina was fun and the cool breeze off the lake made it a very enjoyable lunch.

Last Thursday I had lunch at the new resturant at Honey Creek Landing in Grove, The Lazy Parrot. My fish sandwich and fries were very good. We ate inside but enjoyed the lake view at the Honey Creek Marina in Grove.

Soon Grove will have another new eating establishment at the North end of town, just South of Sailboat Bridge. Broklee’s Grill will soon open. The owner is a former manager at the local Rib Crib. I would be that Brok will do well in his new venture as well.

Millie’s Gifts and an RX Shop will be opening soon on Grove’s Main Street. Millie has been a fixture for years in Grove and we are all anxious to see what she will be offering in her latest venue.

Come enjoy your part of your summer with us on Grand Lake. You will not be disappointed. You may even catch the real estate bug. If so, we have the cure! Call the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake. Aaron Hughes and Joe Neill, for Aaron call 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We have mighty nice waterfront homes on Grand Lake to offer as well as lakeview homes, or golf course homes. You can dream alittle by going to our Grand Lake MLS button above. We hope to see you soon.

Retirement homes on Grand Lake are very popular. Grove is the largest city on the lake and features nice shopping, good places to eat, churches and civic clubs as well as many places to volunteer. Integris Grove Hospital is brand new and offers state of the art health care like the big cities in a small town. We have a lakeview home listed for sale just outside of Grove that is affordable, has a nice lakeview, and includes the hobby shop many retirees enjoy.

Grand Lake MLS number 10-1032 is listed at $172,000. It includes the 3 bedroom/2 bath home that is very stylish and has 1448 square feet m/l plus screened in porch and the two car garage has a screened option to use as a summer room if you wish plus there is a strong steel 2 car carport. The shop is 30′ x 40′ and set up very nicely. There is room for more storage buildings if you wish as well as a nice garden spot. You can retire here and enjoy the Grand Life on Grand Lake. You need to see this home to appreciate all it offers.

Call The Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove, OK for more information. For Aaron Hughes call 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe Neill call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net We hope to hear from you soon.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010 is almost here. The weather forecast looks good, the lake is in great shape, the scenry around lake is green and pretty, all that is lacking is you, your family, and friends. Plan now to enjoy Grand Lake and all the fun water activities this weekend. It is the official start of the summer season.

I must warn you, however, that the lake can be addicting. If you don’t now own a lake home you will want one after spending time here. Grand Lake is one of the few lakes you can enjoy without terrible restrictions right down to the water. We offer wonderful gated communities on the lake for a hassle free lake ownership experience or a golf course home with waterfront nearby for a golf and lake lifestyle. There are many fine subdivisions to pick from. South Grand Lake offers The Coves and The Points, both gated communities that offer so much. Monkey Island has several gated communities including Brighton Bay, St. Andrews, The Chateaus, The Estates, Newport Village, Beacon Hill, White Chappel, and St James Place. All of these communities are gated and offer many family activities to enjoy. The Grove area has Meghan Coves, a value priced lake community with many ammenties. The Preserve is the newest gated community in Grove with every lot having the opportunity to purchase a community boat slip. They offer both lakeview and waterfront lots. Patricia Island Estates is not gated but is an elegant golf course community. You can purchase lots with boat slips at Patricia Island also.

Call The Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove to learn more about Grand Lake real estate opportunities. Call Aaron Hughes at 918 801-5645 or email at aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe Neill call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. Go to our featured buttton above to see our listings or the MLS button to view all the Grand Lake real estate listings. Look, dream, plan, and call Aaron or Joe for help in making those dreams come true. We know the lake and the Grand Lake MLS listings and can make the buying or selling experience less stressful and fun. We hope to hear from you soon.

Grand Lake real estate sales have been picking up slowly but surely. Sales prices vs list prices are still all over the board but if a property is priced on the market correctly, the sales price will be 90+% of the list price. There are properties listed way over the value in the peak year of 2007 and they either do not sell or the list price is discounted to get to a real price. Fire sales like you read about in Nevada or Florida are not seen on Grand Lake. Prices even at the peak in 2007 did not skyrocket here as did Nevada and Florida.

We had three properties go under contract yesterday, which is a great day for us. The first is a luxury Grand Lake waterfront home priced in the $750,000-1,000,000 catagory. The home is not closed yet so I will not disclose the selling price but the home went under contract for more than it did one year ago by several thousand dollars. The next home in the $150,000-175,000 price range also sold for a few thousand dollars more than one year ago. The year ago sale was after the home had been on the market over a year with a highly inflated asking price and the home did not sell until price got right. This time the home sold in 43 days. The main difference is the home was priced right this time and the current owners had shined up a few spots in home to make it show better, decluttered the home, and brightened the rooms with lighter colored paint. It is unusual for a home to go back on the market in such a short time but for family reasons the two homes just wrote about did.

The third home yesterday was a fixer upper in the less than $50,000 catagory that was on the market less than a week.

One of the agents in our RE/MAX Grand Lake office had an unusual experience last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He had three different home buyers come on the three different days and all three picked out homes and bid them at 65-68% of list price. The homes were not priced sky high. The result, all three sellers merely laughed at the bids and did not respond. They told the listing realtor to pass the word to the buyers that when they got serious they would talk to them. The moral of this story is, do your homework on the market. Your real estate agent can give you comp sales in the area for the home you wish to make an offer on. Use this information and bid the market. If a home is grossly overpriced bid accordingly, if it is priced right be happy you can get a nice home priced right without a lot of hassle.

For information on buying or selling Grand Lake real estate whether it be a waterfront home, lakeview home, golf course home, investment, or commercial property call the Grand Lake Team, Aaron Hughes or Joe Neill. For Aaron call 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We hope to hear from you soon. To search our Grand Lake MLS go to the button above. Also check out our featured listings button above.