Merry Anne Robinson

Last week, I closed on a great house for a gentleman who'd relocated to the Lebanon area for work...I wanted to take a minute to thank ALL of the wonderful people who helped make his move as smooth and easy as possible...

1. Ed Lowther from Wells Fargo
2. Tim Ray with CBI Home Inspections
3. Chris Williams - appraiser
4. Jeffries Abstract and Land Title in Lebanon
5. Debbie DiFonzo - the listing agent

I LOVE working with all of these folks and would gladly give you their information if you are in need of their services!

Each day, I travel 45 miles from Lebanon to Osage Beach to get to work. It's a pretty drive - but a LONG one! So no one could be any more excited than I am that a small 1 mile stretch of the new highway between Lebanon and Camdenton is now open! And I'm here to tell you that that one mile stretch of open road is the BEST part of my daily commute!!! New blacktop with brand new - bright white stripes, new road signs and a new landscape to see... I'd always wondered what the back of Camdenton High School looked like. This new road is a thing of beauty...until you get behind or alongside an 18 wheeler that is throwing rocks from the newly graded shoulder on your recently replaced windshield.

The newly open section actually runs from just south of Camdenton to Sunrise Beach (or so the sign says), and the rest of the proposed highway is really beginning to show some progress! I have never seen such big pieces of heavy equipment! They make the things we have at or house look like "Little Peoples" farm toys! There's this one thing with giant claws on the front that they use to pick up and move 5+ downed trees AT A TIME! It's all so orchestrated...firstthey go in and knock the trees down, then they move them and burn them while more people come in and begin to flatten out the landscape, then - well, I haven't seen what comes next. It's only been a couple of weeks now that they've been working on my stretch of the new road.

I'm amazed at the changing landscape - but saddened to see the loss of trees and grass - the pastures where the Decaturville horses have been something my children have looked foard to seeing each and every time they go with me to the lake. Gone too are the wild blackberry bushes that gave color to the tall grasses alongside the shoulders. So many things have to change to make way for new growth.

Our area is continuing to grow. This month, I've worked with 3 families who will be making Missouri their new home. With wonderful schools, a low cost of living, and a high potential of gainful employment - it's no wonder so many people think that Central Missouri makes sense. And with the new Highway 5 nearing completion..getting around will be that much easier!

It has been a BUSY couple of weeks here at RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks and Pat Welch Realtors. Spring is usually a busier time in Real Estate, and this year is proving to be the same.

I'm SO GLAD that people are acting on the government's "gift" to them as first time home buyers! BUT... the word is NOT getting out as much about the fact that there are WONDERFUL programs available for people who already own a home and are planning on selling it and buying another, or are purchasing a second home or vacation home! REGARDLESS OF YOUR SITUATION, this may be the best time to buy in our lifetimes!

We've all been showing more homes, working with more buyers, and talking to more sellers about wether or not this is the best time to sell. I think that half the sellers in Missouri and across the country have wondered the same thing, and I wish there was a clear cut answer...but there's not. You really need to talk specifics with your agent, and together decide what the best course of action should be for you. Just this week, I was working with 3 of my clients...potential sellers. For two of them, we decided that this was a GREAT time to sell because they are looking to purchase another home. But the third client bought his property as an investment a couple of years ago, and because the market for that property is down a bit and he doesn't need to sell, we've decided to wait and watch the market.

So if you're wondering about what YOU should do....talk to a realtor. If you don't have one, contact me and I'll set you up with someone GREAT in your area.

Well, things are moving right along with the new Highway 54 and Highway 5. They are scheduled to open in about a year, making the sometimes crazy summer traffic here at the lake a lot more manageable. I snapped a couple of pictures on my way to show property today....please forgive the fuzziness and the dashboard you see in some of them. Apparently, according to the honks and people flying past me, I should've pulled over somewhere to take my pictures. LOL.

THE FIGURES POSTED BELOW WERE TAKEN FROM OUR LOCAL MLS BOARD and show that our local market has NOT seen the decline that some national and regional markets have seen. The Lake of the Ozarks continues to be a good place to purchase real estate, operate a business and invest your money. For more information on this report or any other real estate topic or need...please DON'T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME. I'D BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE!

Market Activity Report for RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks board 2-1-09 through 3-23-09

There are a total of 1242 active residential listings on our board during this time period

for a total of $562,412,999

at an average price of $452,829

and an average of 153 DOM

There were a total of 72 closed listings during this time period

Listing Price Average $211,022

Selling Price Average $198,920

Selling Price Total $14,322,249

List-to-Sell Percent 94.3%

with an average of 120 days on market

Market Activity Report for RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks board for the same period in 2008

There were a total of 1241 active residential listings on our board during this time period

for a total of $560,158,399

at an average price of $451,377

and an average of 153 DOM

There were a total of 91 closed listings during this time period

Listing Price Average $248,136

Selling Price Average $233,187

Selling Price Total $21,220,048

List-to-Sell Percent 94.0%

with an average of 124 days on market