My assignment was to appraise an older home that is located next to the lake with primary lake frontage. The home has been updated over the years and offers more square footage than many of the other homes in the area.
The comparable sales were difficult to locate, as the home offered nonconforming square footage and nonconforming age. This means that there are limited sales of homes offering similar square footage or similar age.
After comparing all of the homes in the area and in every single lake that is located in the MLS, it became clear. This is one of the most sought after lakes in the entire area. The market will pay more for primary lake frontage in this area than for any other lake.
I believe the reason is because there is easy access to the lake and the surrounding area. There are many golf courses in the area. This will appeal to families or retirees that have more money and desire access to these amenities. Secondly, this lake offers one of the best locations to CDA, ID and to Spokane, WA with easy freeway access to other cities in this area.
When comparing homes on any other lake, it makes it extremely difficult. It is clear, that value of primary frontage located at Liberty Lake, WA should not be compared to any other Lakes unless the appraiser explains exactly why. Even if they do use other primary lake front homes located on different lakes, the appraiser should lean heavily on homes sold in this area, even if they are older sales.