PRESERVING
WALLOON
DEMAND CONTINUES TO BE STRONG!
Waterfront Property Sales The permanent shift toward working from home has forever changed the way people work and is giving second home buyers more flexibility to spend time away from their primary home and office. Coupled with rising home price appreciation, demand for second homes in destinations like Walloon Lake is gaining popularity. As a result, we have seen a dramatic rise in prices. And since properties on Walloon are within a short drive from major metro areas like Detroit, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis, demand for properties on the lake remains strong.
AVERAGE SALES PRICE OF WATERFRONT HOMES 2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0 Ease of access, proximity to outdoor recreation, and 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 desire for community connection remain key drivers in the home-buying decisions on Walloon Lake. Even with the recent economic changes, I am confident that property values on the lake will remain steady. We may not see the continued increase in values that we have experienced lately, but I don’t believe we will see any significant reductions either. In my opinion, Walloon will continue to be some of the most sought-after real estate in the country.
Do you ever feel like you might be turning into your parents? Well, I have for sure! My dad, Jack Kidd Sr., instilled in me a passion for all things Walloon, but most importantly, a passion for protecting our beautiful and fragile lake. In this issue of “Preserving Walloon,” I’ll share with you the history of our commitment to the lake, as well as an update regarding Walloon’s current real estate market. The events of the past couple of years have dramatically reshaped Walloon Lake’s real estate market. Waterfront home prices reached record highs, inventory levels are at record lows, and the average number of days a property is on the market... also a record low. Yet, despite the uncertainty in the world, the rise in interest rates, soaring gas prices, and a cooling housing market, Walloon Lake demand continues to be strong...for now. The average sales price for a waterfront home on the lake has risen exponentially in the past two years. For example, in 2019, the average price of a home on the lake was $1,616,000. As of December 2021, the average sales price was $2,380,000... that’s a 47% increase! And while prices continue to show promise in the first half of 2022, I sense that we may be at, or are close too, the peak in rising values. Depending on the location, vacant land on Walloon has risen from $6,000 to $11,000 per-front-foot since 2019, to a new all-time high of $9,000 to $16,000 per-front-foot today. As Walloon’s #1 Broker, I continue to have no shortage of buyers wishing to call Walloon home. The first step to selling your home is to know its worth. Now is the time to give me a call and allow me the opportunity to discuss options available to you. Any conversations we have, are held in the strictest of confidence. Walloon Forever, *NMMLS STATISTICS
Our mission is to conserve, care for and enhance the connection of people to Walloon Lake and its watershed, now and forever.
WALLOON.ORG HELP PROTECT WALLOON , NOW AND FOREVER. Meet the Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy team that works to preserve and protect Walloon Lake and its watershed for the future generations. From left to right: Josephine Roberts, Executive Director; Connor Dennis, Director of Conservation Programs; Eden Haven, Director of Finance; Amy Klein, Director of Development and Communications; Louise Mooradian, Development and Office Coordinator, Jac Talcott, Watershed Stewardship Coordinator.
PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION 231.535.6112
A WALLOONER’S COMMITMENT TO CONSERVATION We are blessed in our Walloon Lake community to have a long history of champions to protect this special place. Standouts in their commitment to conservation count Wally and his father, Jack, before him, among the top of this notable list. In 1994, a young “Walloon Wally” and his wife Margy volunteered to chair Walloon Nite, a long-standing fundraiser for the historical Walloon Lake Trust. A first in the many ways, Wally and his family, would continue the legacy of supporting the efforts to keep Walloon Lake pristine for the next generation. Soon after this event, Wally was tapped (or trapped!) to join the land preservation committee, for which he still holds a seat and is incredibly active today. While some may view the business of real estate as contrary to the work of conservation, Wally has found a way – a balance – to both. In his over 20 years of volunteerism with the Conservancy, Wally has helped protect hundreds of acres around Walloon Lake and puts preservation above profit in his generous contributions to every land project. In 2019, long overdue, Wally was awarded the MVV – our Most Valuable Volunteer. Over the years, Wally has given the organization unlimited access to his real estate expertise. He is there to help strategize the tough projects and is the first to celebrate each land protection victory. Wally has the ability to strongly suggest you join the WLAC membership and yet is all of our office pups’ favorite human. If you can’t find Wally at his office, he is next door at ours, helping us work through the latest project (and eating the chocolate). A lot has been said about being in the right place at the right time – a relatable notion to the many generations of Walloon Lake’s storied past. But, as it relates to conserving Walloon, I would add, that having the right champions makes all the difference. JOSEPHINE ROBERTS – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WA LLO O N LA KE A S S O C I AT I O N A N D C O N S ERVA N C Y
MEET THE TEAM: LAUREN SIMON B U S INES S DEV EL O P ME NT M A NA GE R F OR WA LTER J. KIDD
Many of you know my Business Manager, Lauren Simon, but for those who don’t, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce her. When she’s not adding unparalleled service to my clients by handling all the details of a listing or sale from start to finish, she’s spending time with her husband, Evan, and two children, Daniel, 3, and Amelia, 18 months. Born and raised just outside the Village of Walloon, Lauren is a true local and Wallooner at heart. As a young teen, when Lauren wasn’t cleaning boats during the day for Mike and Laura Strobel at Triton Marine (where Barrelback is now), she was filling water glasses at the Walloon Lake Inn during nightly dinner service. Shortly thereafter, it was off to Stafford’s Hospitality in Petoskey, where for the next 12 years, she did everything from washing dishes to serving as a line cook to working the front desk. Ultimately, Lauren became an integral part of the Stafford’s sales team and was promoted to Event Services
Manager. Then, in 2015 Hotel Walloon brought her back to the village to oversee the grand opening of its world-class hotel as its Sales & Marketing Manager. Lauren’s hospitality experience, incredible work ethic, and insider knowledge of the Walloon Lake marketplace made her the perfect addition to the Wally Kidd Team when she joined me as my assistant six years ago. Today Lauren serves as my very capable Business Development Manager, and together, we make an unbeatable team or, as you know us, Walloon’s #1 real estate team...
Team Walloon.” *NMMLS STATISTICS
A PROMISE TO PRESERVE WHAT YOU LOVE Since the early 1900s, the Kidd Family has enjoyed everything Walloon has had to offer. Its crystal-clear waters and rolling hillsides have offered us a reprieve from the pressures of everyday life for many years now. If you’ve been in Walloon Lake for any length of time, then you probably knew my dad, Jack Kidd. He was a down-to-earth guy and a walking encyclopedia of Walloon’s history. Jack was also a dedicated volunteer in the early days of the Walloon Lake Association. Because of his fond memories of growing up on the lake and all the wonderful family traditions developed from his time here, he felt strongly that it needed to be protected.
JACK KIDD, SR.
My dad, along with some very dedicated Wallooners like Bill Hiesel, Bill Fairhurst, Al Damschroder, John Bowers, Tom Walenta and many, many others too numerous to mention here, saw the handwriting on the wall early on. They knew the 1970s and 80s were bringing new pressures to the lake’s watershed and shoreline. They knew the lake needed protection. Forty-two years later, their vision to protect the lake has become more critical than ever. Today, the lake is under enormous pressure. Increased boat traffic and invasive species are just a few of the lake’s water quality threats. Fortunately, the passion for protecting Walloon is alive and well today. Through the efforts of a terrific group of dedicated staff and volunteers, the “new” Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy is a well-oiled and effective machine, taking new initiatives to protect this precious resource. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a sincere heartfelt thank you to everyone, past and present, who has, and continues to contribute to the efforts of protecting our beloved lake. I would also like to thank my dad, Jack, for sharing his passion for all things Walloon and the desire to see that it is protected now and forever.
SOLD ROBERT AND MARY GUENTHER N E W H A R M O N Y, I N D I A N A
“Wally knows Walloon! Rarely have we been involved in a business transaction that has moved as effortlessly and efficiently as we experienced with the sale of our Walloon Lake cottage. Wally accomplished the sale in a very short window of time. He did what he said he would do, period.”
7457 INDIAN GARDEN POINT, PETOSKEY 4 bedrooms · 2 baths · 1,700 sq. feet · 200 waterfront feet
WALLYKIDD.COM
231-838-2700 4060 m-75, walloon lake, mi 49796
IF YOUR PROPERTY IS CURRENTLY LISTED FOR SALE, THIS MAILING IS IN NO WAY AN ATTEMPT TO INTERFERE WITH THAT RELATIONSHIP.