GUN BARREL CITY - Cedar Creek Lake's commercial real estate market tanked during the economic downturn, but that has produced the type of land bargains that developers and speculators often dream about coming their way. Although many residential property owners who want to sell have delayed listing their residences and vacation homes because of lower appraisals, there is an abundance of commercial properties listed for sale in the lake's business districts. Many of the properties became available after banks foreclosed on investors, resulting in land and buildings that went for top dollar three years ago now being offered for half or less of what was expected in better times. In addition to vacant land, there is an abundance of developed property available for sale in the greater Cedar Creek Lake area, including restaurants, nightclubs, a used car lot and retail sites where the former businesses failed. Curtis Webster, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent and Gun Barrel City councilman, notes that the property bargains would likely appeal mostly to financially secure developers and investors who can afford to take their time after they make the purchase. The Texas heat wave and drought created havoc on Cedar Creek Lake this summer, chasing away weekenders and tourists as it turned lakefront residences into beach properties. "If you have the holding power to wait a couple of years until the lake comes back, then you will get a better price when you buy," said Webster, who noted prices are expected to rise again when the lake level rises and the economy improves. "The prices are more negotiable now than they were three years ago." U.S. commercial property prices dropped to a post-recession low this year to 47 percent below the October 2007 peak, according to a Moody's Investors Service report. The decline was attributed to the sales of distressed properties. Webster said he recently sold a 16.7-acre tract on Highway 198 on the Mabank side for $315,000. It was originally priced at $900,000 and re¬¬-listed at $399,000 before its eventual sale at the bargain price. The unidentified purchaser who bought the land through a third-party reportedly has no immediate plans for it, he said. "I'd like to see a shopping center with a Payless shoe store, a cafeteria like a Luby's and a Braum's come into the area," said Webster, who before his retirement was a senior vice president for Guaranty Bank and an executive for Pacific Realty managing shopping center development. "People have wanted a Target for a long time, and I think it would do real well." Several prime Cedar Creek Lake commercial properties remain available on the market for development, Webster said. A 130-acre tract in the highly-desired commercial area near the intersection of Highway 198 and Highway 334 is being offered at $1 million, and a 20-acre tract on Highway 198 on the Payne Springs side has a $490,000 asking price, he said. The Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corp. owns 92 acres that are available for development in another prime area, and low-interest loans, land deals and infrastructure assistance are part of the incentive packages offered in connection with the property, Webster said. Although the economy of the lake is suffering, more is going on in terms of development than many people realize, Webster said. Two new assisted-living centers near the East Texas Medical Center and the intersection of Highway 198 and Highway 334 are going to be constructed in the near future, he said. Webster said Cedar Creek Lake is one of the most popular lakes in Texas, and that he knows once it is brimming with water again the real estate market and the rest of the area's business climate will recover. But it's hard to predict exactly when that will happen, he said. "I don't have a crystal ball with me today," Webster said. "It will come back." The lake's water level is now down an estimated seven foot, but it's been down to that depth in the past at least two times previously since its completed construction in 1965, according to old timers in the area. "It always fills back up," Webster said. "The water always comes back. A heavy three-day rain would fill it back up." Until that time, it apparently will remain a buyer's market on Cedar Creek Lake, especially for commercial land developers.