September Lake of the Ozarks Real Estate Update

      While the summer’s peak season is winding down and we head into the beginning of our fall market we are seeing a 2% overall increase in the number of properties closed.  However there is a decrease in closed sales for most property types year to date compared to the same time in 2015 with just a couple of categories making up the difference.

     My first thought was that this was due to the summer season coming to a close.  So I looked to 2015 sales and checked them against 2014 sales and found the sales during that time frame had increased across all property types for an overall increase of 8.7%. 

     Reviewing additional sales factors I find that the average sales prices on most property types continue to hold steady.  Lakefront homes showed a 2.5% average sales price increase but the number of closed homes fell 12%.  In addition to this, the average time on the market dropped across the board.  My conclusion, as it has been most of this year, is that the inventory is simply so tight that many buyers have yet to contract a property. 

     The properties that saw gains in the number of closings were non-lakefront homes and non-lakefront land.  The sales of these homes increased by 8.6% and the sales prices remained unchanged.  Non-lakefront land sales increased by 46% with sales prices decreasing 15%. 

     September usually sees many houses become available with owners moving on to what the fall season holds for their lives and families.  It will be interesting to see if this lends any relief to our tight market.  I report more in October and let you know what happens.

     Lake area sales data has been obtained from the Lake of the Ozarks MLS and the Missouri Association of Realtors based on all property type sales over the time frame from January 1, 2014 to August 29, 2016 and all other times represented in the data.

    Michael has been selling real estate at the Lake of the Ozarks since 1981.  He is one of the most respected brokers in the area.  If you would like to work with Michael in the sale or purchase of property, contact him at 573.365.SOLD or cme@yourlake.com  View thousands of lake area listings at www.YourLake.com $1 million plus homes at www.LakeMansions.com   You can also view each months’ article, ask questions and offer your opinion on Michael’s real estate blog, www.AsTheLakeChurns.com

August Lake of the Ozarks Real Estate Update

Last month I shared with you the 2016 local area sales numbers showing the changes in the Lake of the Ozark’s real estate market compared to 2015 and 2014 sales.  The Missouri and national real estate markets each are experiencing strong increases in 2016.  Sales data from the Missouri and National Associations of Realtors indicates continuing recovery and increasing consumer confidence.

     The number of Missouri homes sold year to date in 2016 rose 9.7% since 2015.  The 2^nd quarter of 2016 saw an increase of 60% in the number of homes sold compared to 2016 1st quarter sales.  The average time on the market fell by 14.8% while the average sales price increased 14.1% in Missouri’s 2016 2^nd quarter.  The 2016 average home sales price in Missouri is $189,060.

     Locally, the number of sales are still holding fairly steady however the number of new listings coming on the market have decreased by 2.5% in 2016 while the number of sales have increased slightly by 1.5%.  The 2016 average sales price is increasing across all property types with the exception of Lots and Land which has decreased by 21.9%.  Average sales price of Residential Homes has increased 5.5%, Condo average sales price has increased ½ percent, Commercial property average sales price has increased 36.5% and the average Farm sales price has increased 48.4% compared to 2015.

     While some property types did see large swings in the average selling prices, those categories represent a small portion of lake area sales.  Farms represent just over ½ of a percent of all sales, Commercial accounts for 2.7% of sales and Lots and Land are 11.6% of sales.  Residential sales are the largest category at 60% followed by condos at 24%.

     Lack of inventory is still the biggest hindrance in the market at this time.  Nationally, there was an increase in new home sales of 10.1% year to date.  As more new homes are built and sold, the tight inventory will begin to ease but I feel we are still a couple of years out before we see a real difference in the lake area.   

     Lake area sales data has been obtained from the Lake of the Ozarks MLS and the Missouri Association of Realtors based on all property type sales over the time frame from January 1, 2014 to July 20, 2016 and all other times represented in the data.

    Michael has been selling real estate at the Lake of the Ozarks since 1981.  He is one of the most respected brokers in the area.  If you would like to work with Michael in the sale or purchase of property, contact him at 573.365.SOLD or cme@yourlake.com  View thousands of lake area listings at www.YourLake.com $1 million plus homes at www.LakeMansions.com   You can also view each months’ article, ask questions and offer your opinion on Michael’s real estate blog, www.AsTheLakeChurns.com