Lake Martin’s Sand Island Repaired By Russell Lands
Lake Martin’s Sand Island has been battered by erosion and losing real estate for many years. Alabama’s 80 year record drought exposed a land bridge and afforded area developer Russell Lands an opportunity to drive to it and make repairs.
I rode out there on Friday, December 14, 2007. It was pretty weird to be able to drive to an island that I have ridden past in a boat hundreds of times. I shot some video to show the repairs that Russell Lands did to stave off erosion. They created a sea wall made of rip rap similar to those found on many Lake Martin waterfront homes. To make the video play below, click on it, then click on the Play arrow in the center.
Click here for the direct link to Youtube.
Sorry for those dark corners. I used the wrong lens. FYI, if you’re thinking about driving out there, don’t bother. The road is blocked by a couple of sturdy, locked gates. Plus, it’s deer hunting season, and the area is heavily hunted.
My sincere thanks and Kudos go out to Russell Lands for repairing this famous Lake Martin / Kowaliga area landmark. They deserve a lot of credit for using this crazy drought as a chance to do some good.
Also many thanks to my friend and Salvaging Mentor Larry Bain of Lake Martin Dock Company for the ride out there.
All Real Estate Is Local (This Means You, Lake Martin)
Life as a Lake Martin area realtor means I hear (and try to answer) lots of questions. One I get regularly is:
“I saw on CNN where home prices in (fill in here with name of huge city 3,000 miles away) are down 75%. All the sellers are being foreclosed on their sub prime mortgages. It’s spreading across the nation like locusts. When will Lake Martin be on sale like that?”
My answer – probably never.
It’s because All Real Estate Is Local. Including (and especially) Lake Martin.
A couple of days ago I read a great post on the WSJ Developments Blog entitled “There Is No National Housing Market.” Also another good one with the same title on the Matrix Blog. Basically they point out that while all markets are influenced by things like the mortgage market, most pricing and activity in the real estate industry is due to local factors. What might be true for rent on the west side of Manhattan won’t set the price in the middle of a Edward Scissorhands-esque subdivision in Tampa.
The “locality truth” is especially evident on Lake Martin. We have about 770 miles of shoreline, but only about 30% of it is developed. Of the undeveloped waterfront property, 99% of it is owned by only two companies: Alabama Power and Russell Lands. They are very good at not flooding the market with too much supply, which helps hold prices up. Think the De Beers diamond cartel.
Another truth about Lake Martin real estate is that you don’t have huge developers selling 
hundreds of spec homes in one subdivision at a time. Sure, there are some builders with $5 million in unsold homes – but that amount is concentrated in 3 homes. Sure, some builders are hurting, but not enough to affect the market (yet). And they’re not hurting because of some national phenomenon, but because they themselves have raised their prices too high too quickly. Simple supply and demand. Moreover, most waterfront property for sale right now is by private citizens, not builders, whom are not under too much pressure to sell.
I agree, the sub prime mess did not help Lake Martin waterfront sales in 2007. But it wasn’t a majority player. The majority of the slowdown was due to unrealistic sellers, with a minority influence of the drought thrown in for good measure. Odds are pretty good that it will straighten out in 2008, and 2009 will be the start of the next seller’s market.
So why aren’t the talking heads reporting this? I guess media reports that are numbers based and rational don’t pull those huge national ratings.
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Lost At Lake Martin? Use Google’s Free Maps For Mobile
Ever been lost around Lake Martin? Has anyone given you bad directions to their cabin and frustrated you by relying on the term “can’t miss it?” If you were looking for 1135 Lakeview Drive, Dadeville, how would you like to be able to see this map on your cell phone:
Download Google’s Maps for Mobile on your cell phone and greatly diminish your odds of getting lost around Lake Martin.
Top 5 Cool things about Google Maps for mobile:
1. It’s free. The software from Google is free. You will pay, however, for the data that you download, so if you don’t have some sort of Internet data package with your cell phone you will be charged. If you have an unlimited data package – no worries! Even if my blackberry didn’t have unlimited data, I still would pay to download this, so I would have it in an emergency.
2. Google Maps for Mobile is accurate – even around Lake Martin. You are accessing the same data that Google Maps shows you on your PC – just in a format that is easy on mobile web surfing. Sure, it won’t have brand new roads, but it’s better than the most recent paper map.
3. It’s Searchable – let’s say you were in the Blue Creek area, riding around highway 50 by Martin Dam and were looking for somewhere to eat lunch. You can find your location and then search for “restaurant” – here’s what you would see:
You can click on any of these and be told their address and phone number.
4. “My Location” feature turns your cell phone into a GPS. This new feature uses cell phone towers to triangulate your exact location. Cool as crap. Availability and accuracy of this depends on where you are. I have not found a place on Lake Martin that it works. It works pretty well on Lake Martin. Depending on your cell coverage, it can place you from 1,000 to 5,000 meters. It works in Montgomery, though. If you think that the CIA will use it to track you, you can opt out of the My Location feature and still use Maps for Mobile.
5. No further software needed. GPS companies like Garmin etc have products that you can download for $99 and then pay a recurring fee through your cell phone provider– all to get the same thing as this. Lake Martin lovers need only download Google Maps for mobile software, that’s it. Click here and Google will send you a link to download it.
Lake Martin Real Estate Spotlight: Eagle’s Point
One of Lake Martin’s newest developments – Eagle’s Point – has a model home that is ready to see plus several other spaces for lots.
Located at the easternmost end of Coosa County Road 20, Eagle’s Point has big water views looking southeast at the junction of Parker Creek and Kowaliga towards Willow Point and Sand Island.
Density: Phase I of Eagle’s Point has a total of 11 homes planned. Each home will have and its own pier. They have already cleared out the home sites, so if you drive by boat or car, you’ll see the phase I area. The planned Phase II extends east, across the causeway towards Veazy’s Marina. There are 20 planned homes in Phase II. A Phase III of interior lots is also planned.
House Plans: Eagle’s Point offers three different house plans. There are 2 plans with 3 
bedrooms and 2.5 baths. One plan has 4 beds and 4.5 baths. All are three stories and have at least 2,500 square feet.
Builder: All the homes will be built by Lake Martin builder Sammy Ransome. You cannot bring your own builder.
Pricing: The smallest home on lots 4 and 5 go for $980,000. The 2,762 square foot 4/4.5 is priced at $1,175,000. Right now there are 2 on the MLS – lot one (a 3/3.5 and 2,762 sf) priced at $1,115,000 and lot two (4/4 at 2,762) priced at $1,150,000. Prices like these put it in a similar to other Lake Martin developments like The Ridge and Willow Point.
Amenities: Eagle’s Point will have a gated entrance, private beach, common area fire pits, community dock for guests, golf cart parking by boat launch.
Directions: Eagle’s Point is in the Coosa County side of Lake Martin, at the end of Coosa County Road 20. Google Map to Eagle’s Point
