Branson home sales increase

According to Cooper Appraisal's fourth-quarter 1998 newsletter, the Tri-Lakes area's residential real estate market was the best year ever with 996 sales.

Tri-Lakes Board of Realtors data indicates a 27.3 percent increase compared to 1997. 1998, in fact, was 22 percent better than the previous record year of 1994, which had 814 sales, the newsletter stated.

The second quarter of 1998 showed the largest number of residential home sales, (303) since Cooper Appraisal began tracking the data. The third quarter of 1998 has the second largest number of sales at 291.

As Cooper Appraisal has stated previously, however, the demand for homes is only half the picture. The supply of residential homes for sale dropped significantly to 1,476 in fourth-quarter 1998, with an average of 1,687 listings for the entire year. With 996 homes sold in 1998 through the MLS, the demand and supply are continuing to realign.

If this trend continues, Cooper Appraisal predicts the marketing times for homes in the Branson area should be more stable than in previous years.

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