Lake Of The Ozarks Real Estate Sales DOUBLED In Only Two Years | Real Estate News – Lake of the Ozarks

It’s one of the most common conversation topics among people who know Lake of the Ozarks: real estate is doing something no one has ever seen before.

In 2021, the total volume of Lake area real estate transactions nearly touched the $1.5 billion mark (as measured by the Lake of the Ozarks Board of REALTORS® and Bagnell Dam Association of REALTORS®). In all, the Lake saw $1,449,413,597 in real estate transaction volume.

But that number needs context. Only two years ago, total volume was less than half that number, a “mere” $713,164,686. In other words: total real estate sales at the Lake have more than doubled in only two years.

Wild Numbers

In 2020, the Lake area rocketed past prior records by cresting the $1 billion mark for the first time; that year, total volume was $1,173,070,666. That was a dizzying 64% jump from 2019’s sales volume ($713,164,686). Then, 2021 saw a 25% increase in sales volume — about $276 million.

That came from only 91 more transactions than occurred in 2020 (4,413 in 2020, compared with 4,503 in 2021).

Meanwhile, the average sale price for a waterfront home surpassed the half-million-dollar mark for the first time in 2021, and the average condo price reached $268,134, having first passed the $200,000 mark in 2020.

Million-plus-dollar homes are selling like never before. In 2019, only 26 sold, with the average sale price of $1.4 million. But in 2021, they were selling at a rate of nearly two per week, with 111 sold at an average of $1.8 million apiece.

Anyone who’s bought or sold a house at the Lake in the past two years will not be surprised by the next statistic: the average waterfront home only stays on the market for an average of 62 days. Offwater homes are only slightly longer on the market, at 72 days. But condos are nearly impossible to snatch-up, with an average of only 42 days on the market.

What’s Next?

Of course no one really knows. The Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates could slightly cool the national housing market, if those plans are enacted. But the Lake of the Ozarks appears uniquely positioned on the national stage—a stage onto which it entered in a big way over the past several years, thanks to Netflix and viral pool-party videos from the 2020 national Covid shutdowns. (LakeExpo’s article about Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani enjoying a “sweet escape” to the Lake of the Ozarks during May 2020 Covid shutdowns was far-and-away our most-read article, ever.)

Dee Dee Jacobs, of Jacobs Real Estate Partners EXP Realty, says she doesn’t expect the Lake’s housing market to cool any time soon. Compared with the rest of the nation, and even compared with urban areas in Missouri, Lake of the Ozarks homes are still comparatively cheap. The median home price at the Lake is $321,602. Nationally, it’s $408,800.

That means moving to the Lake is a no-brainer, evidenced by a conversation Kyle Kelly—of Kelly’s Port boat sales and marina—recently recounted. He says a man inquired about buying a new Bennington pontoon, and the man revealed, “I’m from Seattle… I looked at Lake Tahoe [and other lakes]… you were the cheapest!” Kelly says the man remarked, “Your condos were half of what everybody else’s were!” He explained his plans to spend more time here with his family, and then wrote a check for a $50,000 down-payment on a new pontoon.

**Ready to shop for a Lake of the Ozarks home or condo? Click here to view local listings by local real estate agents.**

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