Lake Of The Ozarks, Missouri Thrives As Resort Community
by Blanche Evans
Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri is a resort community of second-home and year-round homeowners, say local Realtors. "Lake of the Ozarks is a growing community," says Realtor Donna Schrimpf-gum, "both in second homes and retirement and what I call pre-retirement homes. The market is very diverse, with everything from multi-million-dollar dream homes to small fishing cabins. The last few years has seen a large expanse in the number and types of condos available at the lake. It is hard to pigeon hole the market at Lake of the Ozarks. We have such a broad range of properties. Schrimpf-gum advises, "Waterfront homes under $400,000 that offer good features and value move quickly and sometimes over list price. The beautiful homes in the $500,000 to $2,000,000 price range, although continuing to grow in the market place, are not selling at the same fast pace. Condominiums are springing up everywhere! Buyers that were once in the main stream of our homebuying market have switched over to condos. This has occurred as developers realize there is a marked shortage of waterfront lots and have improved the floor plans. Now they are mostly three-bedroom or larger." Says Realtor Michael Elliot, "The past year has shown record sales in all property types at Lake of the Ozarks. Commercial development is strong, new homes and condos sales are booming, and resales are selling quickly and gaining rapidly in value. We are seeing an average of seven percent increase per year in property values. The sales for 2004 are strong and all indications show that this will be another record year." | 
