So one of my favorite blogs is slowly, but most likely, coming to an end. Found Read is/was a blog in the GigaOm network. It features/featured advice for Internet startups, by Internet startups. Unfortunately, the blog did not gain enough traffic in its 12 month run to remain a stand alone site - so Om has moved it to the mothership and is calling it a category.

The “category” has not been updated for a while (it was usually updated once a day) and I am guessing it will slowly fade into the rss graveyard.

It was one of my favorite reads and Im sad to see it go.

Every now and then I like to publish LakePlace.com statistics so our clients (and everyone else) can see the numbers. Most companies keep this information classified as “Top Secret” - but we don’t really see the point of that. We do like to keep some information confidential…but our web traffic does not fall into that category.

So - here is the pitch - if you are thinking about selling your lake property - and you can find another real estate company that can put your property in front of more MN/WI lake property buyers than LakePlace.com (no matter what they spend on advertising, no matter how many agents they have, no matter how long they have been in business) - GO WITH THEM!

LakePlace.com is able to offer sellers something no one else can offer - the largest group of buyers.

Without further ado - here are the April Stats (straight from our server):

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JUST LISTED!

Wow - a wonderful Side Lake MN log home for sale - priced at $625,000. If you are not familiar with this area - you really need to take a weekend to check it out. It is one of my favorite spots in all of Minnesota. McCarthy Beach State Park really does take you back in time. Old logging camps, huge pines and probably the best sand beach in Minnesota - the park is truly amazing.

This gorgeous lake home is a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from the state park. If you have been looking for something in this neck of the woods - this could be the one.

Check out the rest of the pictures and contact us with any questions - as always - happy lake home hunting!

We get a lot of emails - last year, 19,000 email requests went through LakePlace.com alone. When we see trends - we do our best to address them. One of the big advantages of real estate investing is the 1031 exchange which allows you to save thousands of dollars in capital gains - if you are interested in learning more - visit the forementioned articles on LakePlace.com (which were contributed by attorney Stacy Johnson of Heartland Exchange LLC - thanks Stacy!). When we launched LandBin.com - we immediately noticed a lot of people asking if a contract for deed was available on several properties - so we posted an indepth article on that subject as well.

If you have some interest in a subject - and you think there is a good chance that someone else out here in cyber space may have the same interest - shoot us an email and suggest the topic…we would love to hear from you!

Have a great weekend - and as always - happy lake home hunting!

So it has been about 2 months since we officially launched LandBin.com. For those of you who are not familiar with it - LandBin.com features the internets largest database of Minnesota land for sale and Wisconsin land for sale. Currently the site is displaying 49,000+ land, acreage, lots and farms for sale - with 246 new listings today!

Since the launch - over 100,000 people have visited LandBin.com and they have viewed 788,000+ pages. The record day so far is 6,367 visitors and 15,326 page views. So far, this month (as of 04/23/08) LandBin.com has had 58,017 visitors and 245,316 page views.

While the site is currently #1 on Y! for a couple of key phrases like mn land for sale & wi land for sale - we have not been seeing great results in The Big G…that is…until yesterday. Cameron and I were pleasantly surprised when we caught a glimpse of what could be the future. LandBin.com was ranked very highly on the Big G yesterday for some very competitive keywords and phrases. Although these rankings have disappeared for the time-being - we think we somehow ended up connecting to an updated G server and we are hoping (and keeping our fingers crossed) that those results are currently propagating through the massive system. Time will tell. If the results we found yesterday do happen to stick - it will be one of our greatest accomplishments since getting into the internet marketing business 10 years ago. It took years and years to get LakePlace.com to its current position - and if we cut out 4 years of heavy lifting with LandBin.com - we will be very pleased.

Land prices are going crazy right now - the demand is super high. The big players in the online land market (currently) are LandsofAmerica.com, LandandFarm.com & LandWatch.com - they are all great websites..but down the road, LandBin.com will display more land listings than all of these websites combined - which we believe will drive traffic and offer buyers and sellers the same advantage LakePlace.com currently offers.

If you plan to buy or sell land in the near future - we hope you will consider LandBin.com. Have a great day!

So yesterday I posted that LakePlace.com has taken some listings in a couple of new states. We listed some North Dakota lake properties and Michigan lake property for sale…so yes - we are finally expanding - but the beautiful thing is that the market made us do it (more on this later). Cameron and I have been very careful about growth. Growth is a great thing - but if it is not managed properly - it can be a disaster. The website is finally in a position where we feel we can start to move outside of the invisible borders of Minnesota & Wisconsin - and bring this little site we call LakePlace.com to new markets.

A world-wide audience.
While the vast majority of our current visitors come from the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Chicago & Madison (in that order) - It is amazing to see how many visitors and emails come from around the world. Soldiers in Iraq planning a vacation when they return home (frequent), buyers in Dubai setting up appointments to view properties, etc…it is truly amazing to see the reach and potential of the internet and LakePlace.com.

The market made us do it.
We have a list of emails a mile long from cabin owners, vacationers, buyers and sellers that have requested we add additional markets. Most of these requests have come from Michigan. We listed a couple of Upper Peninsula (UP) lake properties late last fall - but we snuck them into our mix of Wisconsin lakeshore property listings. Yesterday we listed 15 Devils Lake ND lake property listings - a great development for those looking for excellent fishing at an affordable price. We added North Dakota lake property and UP lake property maps to our For Sale page - and we are now open for business in these states. In short - the market made us do it - the market demanded we spread our wings and we are excited and looking forward to working with an entirely new, additional group of great people!

For the record, we are now officially accepting real estate (waterfront, water view or deeded water access) listings in North Dakota and Michigan’s UP from this point forward and will be adding more listings soon. We plan to offer buyers, sellers, rental owners and vacationers the same great resources we currently offer in Minnesota & Wisconsin. We will be offering cabin rental and resort advertising in these markets. If you are a seller, agent, cabin rental owner, or resort owner/manager in Michigan or North Dakota - and you would like to team up with LakePlace.com (or if you have any questions) - please contact us online or give myself (Dave) a call at 612-366-4457 or my partner Cameron a call at 612-366-4454.

We look forward to working with you - and as always - happy lake home hunting!

Calling all serious Walleye Anglers! LakePlace.com just listed Devils Lake ND real estate - 15 lakefront lots on infamous Devils Lake in North Dakota - where WALLEYE SEASON NEVER CLOSES!

Devils Lake offers 122,000 acres of water with some of the best walleye fishing in the country (rated a top 10 walleye fishery by Field & Stream Magazine). These lots offer 100′ of lakeshore. Check out the listing to get a taste of the fishing (all walleyes pictured were caught at one of the lots on a single day - over a dozen 6 lbs and up.) Hunting is also awesome here!

Priced at only $99,900 - North Dakota is a great option for those who love the outdoors and love getting a bang for their buck! To schedule a showing - please use the contact form found at the bottom of the listing page.

As always, happy lake home hunting!

P.S. You may notice that we changed the maps on the LakePlace.com “For Sale” search page. You can now view our available North Dakota lake property & our Upper Peninsula lake property - we plan to add more listings soon!

New Listing! Take a look at this 2001 built Trade Lake WI lake home for sale - the property features 250′ of sandy shoreline on a great, spring-fed, 600 acre lake (Spirit Lake) in Burnett County. Offered by LakePlace.com at $399,900.

I just got back from the Sportsman Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I bumped into a friend who has been selling resorts for 20 years. Word on the street is that Izaty’s Resort was sold for $2.8 million (free and clear) at auction today. A steal. It had been listed for sale at $11M and I believe the debt on the property was in the $5M - $6M range…this final sale price number knocked my socks off.

Izatys Resort features two (2) 18 hole championship golf courses, hundreds of acres of land, a huge marina on Mille Lacs and the list goes on and on. Visit their website here.
For all of you out there sitting on $2.9M - you missed out today!

Update: More info here & here.

CANADA TO PURCHASE ELY, MINNESOTA
Deal Could be Final by Early 2009

Official press conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU

ELY, MINN. — April 1, 2008 — Today it was announced that Canada has made an unprecedented offer, as a boost to tourism, to purchase the famous Boundary Waters town of Ely, Minn., and relocate it north of the U.S./Canadian border.

In a prepared statement, the Premier of Ontario pledged Ely will retain its worldwide reputation as the entryway to the Boundary Waters, though now from the other side, as well as its legendary lakes, resorts, restaurants, gift shops and museums, including the world-famous International Wolf Center.

Reportedly, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has entered into negotiations with the Minnesota DNR and the Governor’s office to arrive at a satisfactory price. Sources close to the deal say that Ely will become Ely, Ontario as early as 2009.

Minnesota residents are left wondering if this might be the last summer to enjoy the one million acres of unspoiled wilderness Ely is known for worldwide.

“It’ll certainly be the last summer we can spell neighbor without a ‘u,’” says Ely mayor Charles Novak. “And all the schools will have to start using zed instead of ‘z’ when they teach the alphabet, and we’ll all have to learn the value of a loonie, I guess.”

Outraged Minnesotans have launched a counterattack and are petitioning the state and considering a protest at the capitol. Interested citizens can visit ely.org or call 1-800-777-7281 to sign the petition or to volunteer for the protest, or just to book one last summer fling in Ely.

[note: please notice the date. tks to Voyageur North Canoe Outfitters for the email]