On the  Waterfront

On the Waterfront

  • Bonnie Spindler
  • 04/27/22

There is something so evocative about bodies of water of all kinds. From your earliest memories of a childhood cabin on a lake, to vacations on beaches anywhere in the world, just naming the body of water pulls a real visceral reaction out of us.

Hollywood knows this. That's why their movie titles often reference bodies of water. Just the mention of a body of water creates an instant affinity for the picture in the viewer's mind. This affinity sells tickets and tips viewers off about what kind of movie will be. “A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT,” “ON GOLDEN POND,” and as I mentioned earlier, “ON THE WATERFRONT” are just a few examples of movies that instantly bring emotions to mind, not in small part due to the body of water mentioned. Many movies don’t take place on the water, but specifically mention water in the title. LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is such an example.

Many people have to take a vacation to sit on the beach or a dock, sipping a drink. Others make it a lifelong goal to live on the water so they can enjoy the view every day.

In general, waterfront properties sell for more than the surrounding area, depending on the type of water and access to amenities. Sea Ranch sticks out as a prime Californian example of living next to the ocean, relatively affordably.  Like most real estate, Sea Ranch was up 20% last year and the median sale price was $2,100,000.

There are places in the United States where a lake home can be purchased for under $300,000, but there are also lakefront and ocean homes that can run into the many millions. A Lake Tahoe home just sold for $47.5 million, the third-highest price recorded for a lakefront property in the region. The “Spirit of the Lake” property on 859 Lakeshore Boulevard was built in 2005 and sits on 1.39 acres; it has 4 bedrooms and 4 full bathrooms. Higher sales were recorded in 1998, for the Thunderbird Lodge — also known as the Whittell Estate — and its 140 acres of private land were sold for $50 million to developer Del Webb. He has broken the property up into condo units. The Tranquility estate of Tommy Hilfiger co-founder Joel Horowitz sold in 2013 for $48 million. Clearly, these homes were someone’s dream.

 

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