July 2012 Lake of the Ozarks Real Estate

Lake Market Continues Upward Trend We all watched as the lake area market rose to record sales from 2004 to 2007 then began to decline in Fall of 2007 slightly behind the rest of the country. Hard to believe that’s been 5 years! Sales continued to decline until 2009 then remained even in 2010. Basing information on data from the Lake of the Ozarks MLS system from January 1 to June 15 of each year reported; the lake home market saw a sales increase in 2012 of 19.9% above 2011 and an overall increase of 36.6% above ’09 & ‘10. 2012 Condo sales have followed suit with a 22.4% increase over 2011 and a 33.3% increase over ’09 & ’10. Days on the market are down considerably for both lake homes and condos to a six months average. I feel foreclosures have played a part in our market more based on perception of the national news and what has happened in other markets but as they say, perception is reality. The fact is that only 1.9% of all lake homes currently on the market are foreclosures and just 3.5% of condos listed fall in that category. Lake lots have taken the biggest hit due to a number of reasons. The availability and pricing of homes made it much easier and more affordable to purchase an existing home than to take on a custom build project. Financing has also made lot purchase and home building more difficult. Building permits for new homes in Camden County has been almost non- existent the past 2-3 years. That being said, there has been an increase in lot sales this year; 25% if you want the stats, but the fact is that just 20 lake lots have sold so far this year compared to 15 during the same time in 2011. This is a step in the right direction but far from the glory days of the initial 6 years of the new millennium. On the plus side, I sold 3 lake lots in June, all cash transactions scheduled to close early July. Two of these lots were located in The Villages at Shawnee Bend subdivision which has not seen a lake lot sell in the past year. The other was in Four Season’s Porto Cima which saw 6 lot sales in the past 12 months. The buyers each plan to build a custom home which is even more good news for the local economy. The buyers got excellent buys on these lots and I have every confidence that these will hold their value and even increase over the next couple of years. Was I lucky or smart? The next 2-4 months will tell as to whether I was just fortunate or if the lot market is picking up momentum. I feel the declining home inventory; particularly of desirable, well priced homes along with price adjustments in the lot market will drive lake lot sales. If you would like a detailed sales report on your specific property type or neighborhood, or would like information on the best buys at the lake, contact C. Michael Elliott & Associates at866.Your.Lake or cme@yourlake.com View thousands of lake area listings at www.YourLake.com. You can also log your opinions on Michael’s real estate blog, www.AsTheLakeChurns.com

June 2012 Lake of the Ozarks Real Estate Update

Where the Sales Are This month I’m going to review a breakdown of the property sales so far this year. This will include property types as well as location. Obviously within any given property type there are still a lot of variables so if you have questions on how a specific property fits in the whole scheme of things as far as what is selling, please contact me with the details. Through May 15, 2012 there have been 657 properties sold via the Bagnell Dam/Lake of the Ozarks MLS system. 63.9% Homes, 25.4% Condos, 7.7% Lots/Vacant Land, 1.9% Commercial, .9% Farms. As you can see, almost 90% of sales were residential dwellings. The home sales breakdown is as follows: 46.2% lakefront homes, 16.2% lakeview and/or lakeaccess homes, 37.6% offwater homes. Almost half (47.4%) of the lakefront home sales were located in the Horseshoe Bend and Shawnee Bend areas of the lake including Four Seasons, Porto Cima and The Villages subdivisions. The balance was distributed fairly evenly around the lake with the Gravois Mills area seeing the next highest amount at 10.8% of lakefront home sales. Osage Beach and the Linn Creek area were home to the highest number of lakeview/access homes with a combined total of 39.7%. The leaders in the non waterfront home market were Eldon and Camdenton with 20.8% and 14.6% respectively. Horseshoe Bend/Four Seasons and Versailles areas both tied for 3rd with 10% each. Lots & Vacant Land Sales: 31.2% lakefront lots, .6% lakeview and/or lakeaccess, 63% offwater lots. I was surprised by the number of offwater lots sales. In reviewing the individual sales I did find that the majority of these were small acreages ranging from 5-40 acres but sales also included small building lots and a couple of larger tracts (up to 160 Acres). Condo sales were concentrated in the Horseshoe Bend/Four Seasons and Osage Beach areas totaling almost 2/3 of the market with each area accounting for 30.5% of total condo sales. The rest of the market was fairly even with the Camdenton/Greenview area in 3rd place at 10.8%. In general, I am seeing a lot of activity. Buyers are making offers but I am finding as the market strengthens that sellers are holding firm or close to their list prices and many of the negotiations are ending in stalemates. I feel this is a natural transition as the market makes the slow swing from buyer’s market to recovery however it does make for a lot of frustrated parties on all sides of the deal. Hang in there and make sure you are working with an educated, experienced and patient negotiator. If you would like a detailed sales report on your specific property type or neighborhood, or would like information on the best buys at the lake, contact C. Michael Elliott & Associates at 866.Your.Lake or cme@yourlake.com View thousands of lake area listings at www.YourLake.com. You can also log your opinions on Michael’s real estate blog, www.AsTheLakeChurns.com