Lake Living at the Ozarks
Real Estate Is Looking Up
After months of stagnancy, buyers and sellers are getting what they want.

There’s a lot of buzz at the Lake of the Ozarks this year — and the positive energy is contagious. “Within the past few months, we’ve been getting lots of movement,” says Dennis Hansen, broker and project manager for Premier Lake Properties. “There’s been a huge influx of people wanting to see property.”

With the recent lull in sales, spec homes stopped being built and condo projects were put on hold last year, which means that potential buyers are now seeing better price points, along with added amenities as incentives. Not surprisingly, custom homes on lakefront property are a big draw for vacationers and second-home buyers, and it’s more within reach than ever. Consumers, and homebuyers especially, are smarter, Dennis says. They’ve done their research and know what they want. “With the market in general, people are taking more of a custom approach in new home construction,” Dennis says. “They don’t want a standard package home. They want to be intimate with the lake and they want outdoor living — they want something special.”

With “big excitement across the board,” as Dennis puts it, there’s no better time to get to the Lake, especially when it comes to buying the property you’ve always wanted, maybe with extra amenities, too. “Last year, boat sales were almost proportional to home sales,” he says. “All [industries] feed off of one another.” This year, since everything is on the up and up, the Lake’s proving to be a go-to hot spot in more ways than one.