Lake of the Ozark real estate continues to and grow, despite what is happening in the National Market. What once was a sleepy fishing lake, has turned into the second home and retirement mecca of the Mid-West. Lake of the Ozark is often referred to as the Magic Dragon, due to its unique shape and enormous size; 1,150 miles of shore line. It is also known as The Mid-West Coast, due to the fact it has more shoreline than the state of California! Lake of the Ozarks is centrally located half way between St. Louis and Kansas City, on the Osage River was created with the construction of Bagnell Dam by Union Electric Company. When built, it was the largest man made lake in the world.

By being a private endeavor, the Lake of the Ozarks is one of the very few lakes in the entire nation where you can have your boat docked right at your door. This creates an atmosphere very similar to the Florida Gulf Coast and has lead to some absolutely gorgeous developments like Four Seasons, Porto Cima and the Villages. The towns around the lake are beginning to flourish as well. Camdenton, Laurie, Sunrise Beach and Osage Beach are going through tremendous expansion in order to keep up with the growing population. From the 110 store Factory Outlet Mall to nearly every restaurant you can think of to Target, HyVee, Marshalls, Home Depot and Lowe's.  Every day, the Lake of the Ozarks has more to offer.

If you are into golf, there are 17 premier golf courses around the Lake of the Ozarks to challenge any skill level, featuring courses designed by Jack Nicholas, Arnold Palmer, Tom Weiskopf, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Bruce Devlon and Robert Hagge.

If golf isn't your game, there is plenty to keep you and/or the children busy. Whether it is hiking the state's largest park, fishing, going to the water parks, riding go carts, playing miniature golf, dinner cruises, or just going for a leisurely boat ride, the lake has it all.

Needless to say, the Lake of the Ozarks area is thriving and so is the real estate market. Both the condominium and housing markets are strong. For 2007 the median home list price around the Lake for all homes was $184,900 So far in 2008 it is $169,900. In 2007 there were 1,604 home sales, with average Days on Market of 120. The Average Days on the Market for 2008 is at 121 days. The highest priced home in 2007 sold for $4,200,000. So far the most expensive home sold was $3,300,000. One the Donna Gum Team sold in Osage Beach.

There were 621 lakefront homes sold in the first nine months of 2007 compared to 406 sold in the first nine months of 2008. The median list price for '07 was $294,900 and for '08 it was $275,000. The average sales price in 2007 for a waterfront home was $277,750 and for 2007 it is $260,000. As you can see, the number of units went down and the median list and sales price went down, but the list to sale for both years averaged 93%.

Condominiums project are finally slowing down in growth after what seems like an explosion on new projects. In the first nine months of 2007 there were 709 condominiums sold with an average Days on Market of 164. The Average List price was $193,757 with the Average Sales price of $198,393. The 2008 condominium sales for January through September are as follows. 491 units sold, DOM of 204. Average sales price of $200,130 and an Average Sales price of $198,640. As you can see, the number of sales has gone down dramatically, but the average sales price has remained virtually unchanged!

There are still real estate deals in this great mid-west resort area, but you need a local market expert to help you. The Donna Gum Real Estate Group has over 50 years of home buying and selling experience, in new condo construction and development, private resale condos, or foreclosure condos at the Lake of the Ozarks area; last year alone overseeing $25 Million of real estate transactions. For professional, experienced and knowledgeable service in the Lake of the Ozarks, Osage Beach, MO real estate market, contact the Donna Gum Real Estate Group at 888-DONNA-66 today!