Auburndale, Florida.

Auburndale sits between Lakeland and Winter Haven with lakes on nearly every side, and its market runs on that water. Lake Ariana, Lake Van, Lake Whistler and Lake Lena all carry frontage, and the town's position between the two larger cities means a buyer can have genuine lake living within a twenty minute drive of either. That combination, water plus a real small town centre plus a central commute, is the argument a listing here should lead with.

Frontage is the premium and it is an aerial subject without exception. From a back garden a lake is a band of water past a hedge. From a hundred feet it is immediately clear how much frontage the property holds, whether the shoreline is usable or marshy, whether there is a dock, and how large the lake actually is. Buyers paying a lakefront premium are paying for specifics, and only altitude supplies them.

The stock spans a century. There is period and early mid-century housing near the old town centre and around the established lakes, a great deal of solid postwar block construction on generous lots, and a rapidly growing band of new subdivision building along the Berkley Road and US 92 corridors. Those three want different treatments, and the new construction in particular is where elevations repeat and a twilight pass earns its place.

On a lakefront house the rear elevation is usually the primary one, because that is where the glass and the porch and the view are. Those rear-facing interiors need blending so the lake survives the exposure instead of burning out to white behind the sofa.