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Florida Waterfront Property
 Lake
County contains more livable lakefront property than any other area
in Florida. The majority of the 76,000-acre Harris Chain is located
within our borders including Big and Little Lake Harris, Lake Dora,
Lake Eustis, Lake Griffin plus over a thousand smaller named and
unnamed lakes.
With all of these
lakes available, one would think that our area is covered with
inexpensive and plentiful lakefront home sites. Unfortunately,
this is not the case and demand far outstrips supply, making
lakefront property some of the most desirable and quickly
appreciating real estate in Florida.
Many factors have
contributed to the increase in lakefront property values. Strict
environmental regulations have excluded many lakes and wetland areas
from development. Fifty years ago clearing lake shorelines,
filling wetlands and dredging canals were commonplace in Florida.
Today, laws to protect wetlands are strictly enforced along with the
protection of shoreline plants such as cypress trees and aquatic
foliage. Many of our lake shorelines have been declared
conservation areas where no clearing or pruning of any kind is
allowed.
Another reason for
the high cost of our lakefront property is the fact that Central
Florida was settled long before the rest of Florida was even
explored. The vast majority of our lakefront lots already have a
home of some kind on them, which means that to purchase a nice
lakefront lot you must buy the home along with the property even if
you do not plan to utilize the structure. In addition, many of
these homes are handed down from generation to generation and are
not for sale. For example, it is a common occurrence to purchase a
Harris Chain lakefront home for $400,000-$600,000 and knock down the
house to build a new home.
The final reason for
the high cost of lakefront property is purely demand. For many
baby-boomers, retiring near the water in Florida is a life-long
dream. Some had the foresight to purchase this property years ago
when prices were low. Others have sold homes or businesses in
other states or countries where the property values are much higher
and find our real estate a bargain even at today's high prices.
With all of these
facts in mind, what is the current cost and availability of
lakefront property? To answer that question, we will break these
properties down into the following categories.
Category #1 - Chain
of Lakes True Lakefront
This property is the most desirable, the most costly and the hardest
to find. To be considered in this category the property must have
actual frontage on either the Harris or Clermont Chain of Lakes.
There are only a handful of vacant lots available at any one time
with prices currently starting around $400,000 per lot assuming you
can find one for sale. If you can find a home for sale on one of
the major chains, prices currently start at around $450,000. Many
older lakefront homes are being purchased and demolished to create
new home sites.
Category #2 - Chain of
Lakes Canal Front
These homes and lots are defined as having frontage directly on a
canal, river or bay leading into one of our major lakes. The most
important factors when considering canal front property are the
depth of the canal and the distance from the lake. Many canals are
extremely shallow during times of drought. This is normally not a
problem to the owner of a small boat where the motor can be trimmed
up, but inboard boat owners should use caution. Also, some canals
have long idling distances before you can enter the lake and get on
a plane. Currently, a few buildable canal lots are still available
starting around $150,000. Canal front mobile homes on the major
lake chains start around $150,000 and traditional canal front homes
start around $250,000.
Category #3 - Small
Lakes
There are three factors that influence the value of smaller lake
properties; the size of the lake, the surroundings and the size of
the lot. It is very common in Lake County to find a lake near the
center of a town, an industrial park or a working farm. Many
people are surprised to find a multi-million dollar home sitting on
property directly adjacent to a lot with a 75 year old wooden
structure or a mobile home park. Desirable lots on our smaller
lakes without any serious negative factors can be bought for around
$200,000 if you are lucky, with $250,000 and up being more common.
Category #4 - Lake
Access Property
"Lake Access" is a term used by Realtors which means that the
property is not true lakefront. A lake access property is a
property that does not have its own dock or boat ramp, but has
deeded access to a common dock or boat ramp that is shared by the
home owners only in that community. The most desirable lake access
property has a shared boat ramp allowing access onto a private lake
where public access is not available. This type of access could
easily add $75,000 in value to a property. A shared dock is
normally not an asset that greatly increases a property’s value
unless it also has a private shared boat ramp.
Category #5 - Lake
View
A lake view property is a property that does or does not have a
shared ramp or dock, but has a significant view of a lake from the
property. The lake view could add an additional $50,000 or more
depending upon the lake and particular aspects of the view. Some
people consider this more desirable than actually living on the lake
as public boat ramps in our county are plentiful. For example, our
own home sits on a high hill overlooking Lake Eustis. The boat ramp
is 2 blocks away giving us almost all the advantages of lakefront
property without the high cost.
We invite you to tour
this website in detail, especially taking the time to browse and
view our property database. If you would
like more information about Lake County real estate, please contact
us.
Call Toll Free:
800 260-2829
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