Branson real estate attracts investors

Many see the area as an investment opportunity.

Mike Strouse, owner of Kansas City-based The Strouse Group, purchased a cabin in Thousand Hills, a golf resort near Branson’s Highway 76 strip.

While Strouse, who is originally from the Marshfield area, said he wanted a place to take his family on vacations, he said he will only occupy the cabin for personal use a few weekends a year once it is built.

He is taking advantage of the nightly rental program, through which cabin owners can rent out their properties when they’re not using them.

“The cabins … are almost continuously rented up through Christmas,” Strouse said. “They appeal to people who want to relax and see the shows, but even when the shows were not going on the cabins were still being rented. That interested me from an investment point of view.”

He added that many of his associates in California have expressed interest in the area as well, a point echoed by Thousand Hills owner and developer Dan Ruda.

“Over the last five years there’s been a steady increase in interest in Branson,” Ruda said. “I’d say the interest from the West Coast in Branson has probably doubled if not tripled – and I’m talking primarily California.”

He cited a wide variety of factors: national interest in the area as a result of the Branson Landing development, escalating California real estate prices, many West Coast residents’ Midwestern roots and the area’s name recognition.

Marian D’Ambrosio, a real estate agent with Century 21 in Las Vegas, recently purchased a condominium in the Branson Hills development. She said the area’s real estate is on the way up.

“I’ve been a Realtor here for Century 21 for almost 19 years – (investment property) is going to excel there,” she said. “If you’re smart enough to buy now while it’s still affordable, you should go for it.”