Lake Homes Realty expands into beach homes market

Lake Homes Realty, a Hoover-based company that markets lake properties across 34 states, today announced it has expanded into a new line of business — beach homes.

The company about four to five weeks ago did a soft launch for a new website called beach-homes.com that lists more than 68,000 coastal properties across 14 states, from Texas to New Hampshire.

The idea is to simplify the process of searching for beachfront, beach view and beach access homes and lots by putting them all in one place instead of buyers having to search separate websites or navigate through non-coastal properties, said Glenn Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty.

Expanding from lake homes to beach homes was a natural progression, Phillips said. The company actually thought about beach homes before it even started Lake Homes Realty, he said. The move into the beach market has been in the works for a couple of years, he said.

“Our company has been a leader in niche real estate for more than 10 years and specializes in helping connect buyers and sellers with dream homes on or near the water,” Phillips said. “From coastal lots in quiet beach communities to spectacular multimillion dollar estates in Miami, beach-homes.com has something for anyone who has dreamed of living the beach life.”

Florida dominates the website’s current listings, with nearly 42,000 homes or lots across 185 beach communities.

Here’s a summary of how many listings and beach communities are covered in each state:

• Florida – 41,603 listings along 185 beach communities
• Texas – 7,448 listings along 41 beach communities
• South Carolina – 4,553 listings along 22 beach communities.
• North Carolina – 3,509 listings along 96 beach communities.
• Mississippi – 2,267 listings along 10 beach communities
• Maryland – 1,696 listings along 46 beach communities.
• Massachusetts – 1,658 listings along 63 beach communities.
• Alabama – 1,647  listings along 13 beach communities.
• Delaware – 1,455 listings from 12 beach communities.
• Virginia – 987 listings from 14 beach communities.
• Connecticut – 542 listings from 25 beach communities
• Louisiana – 428 listings from 10 beach communities
• Georgia – 402 listings along 18 beach communities
• New Hampshire – 72 listings along 6 beach communities

Beach Homes Realty, a division of Lake Homes Realty, accesses Multiple Listing Service data from 14 states every day and updates its website, the company said. The plan is to expand into more states in the future, Phillips said.

Here are the top five beach communities with listings on beach-homes.com:

1. Hollywood, Florida – 1,503 listings with an average price of $1,045,460
2. Fort Lauderdale, Florida – 1,325 listings with an average price of $2,228,455
3. St. Petersburg, Florida – 1,178 listings with an average price of $1,017,607
4. Naples, Florida – 1,138 listings with an average price of $4,462,421
5. Sarasota, Florida – 1,125 listings with an average price of $2,098,983

“As of now, the Miami area is clearly the most expensive area for beach homes and lots among our 14 states,” Phillips said. “For those wanting the ultimate beach home experience, Miami’s Star Island offers the most expensive property - a 9,747-square-foot home with six bedrooms and nine baths for $37.5 million and a .92-acre lot next door for an additional $37 million.”

Here are the top five most expensive beach home averages by community on beach-homes.com:

1. Miami – Palm Island, Florida - $28.96 million (eight listings)
2. Nantucket, Massachusetts - $17.79 million (six listings)
3. Miami – Hibiscus Island, Florida - $14.47 million (11 listings)
4. Tierra Verda, Florida - $14 million (one listing)
5. Chilmark, Massachusetts - $12.99 million (one listing)

Lake Homes Realty and its sister company, RealSource Title Insurance and Real Estate Closings, in March relocated from the Southlake community into almost 55,000 square feet of newly renovated office space in the 500 Building at Meadow Brook Corporate Park.

The companies have about 80 employees (including about a dozen who work remotely) but have big growth aspirations. The plan is to add 400 new jobs over the next four years, with 300 of those jobs at Meadow Brook Corporate Park, Phillips said.

Lake Homes Realty has 203 contract real estate agents working exclusively for the company in 36 states. The office at Meadow Brook will handle back office operations for the agents spread across the country, including accounting, marketing, social media and a call center (to be called a care center) for phone support, Phillips said.

At some point, employees may be split between the Lake Homes Realty and Beach Homes Realty divisions, but for now, it makes more sense for the same employees to serve both companies, Phillips said.

“We’re lean right now. Our people are very busy,” he said.

As word gets out about the new beach-homes.com website, the company will develop its own group of beach home agents, Phillips said. The website will help with recruiting, he said.

To learn more about the beach home market, visit beach-homes.com. To learn more about the lake homes market, visit lakehomes.com.