INTEREST RATES ON THE RISE - SOON!

Last week the New York Times reported that Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan offered his first hint that the era of rock-bottom interest rates may be drawing to a close. This was in a speech to the Securities Industry Association. On November 15th, the New York Times reported that Brian Williamson, an equity trader at the Boston Company Asset Management, said that investors were concerned that interest rates could go up faster than expected after a government report suggested inflation was on the rise. The Labor Department said wholesale prices were up .8 percent in October, the largest increase in seven months., Economists forecast a rise of just .2 percent. A turnaround in inflation could motivate the Federal Reserve to raise rates. The full article can be found here.

If you don't have a search set up to find your next home, fill out the simple form at Your Dream Home so you can get into your next home before the rates go up. If you're already receiving listings, now's the time to go shopping! Call us at 314-772-HOME (772-4663) to make an appointment to find your next home.

A SELLERS MARKET

What’s happening in real estate? This is really a big question. The answer is a lot.

What most people mean by this question is whether it's a Buyers or Sellers market. The answer today, 11/19/03 is that it is a Sellers market but not as strong a one as 3 months or a year ago.

There are other things that are going on which may be just as important to consumers because real estate is an industry and one that is undergoing tremendous change. Years ago the industry had hundreds of small brokerages and each one specialized in a small area.

Computers and the MLS have made it possible for larger brokerages to have more agents and cover a wider area. This means that there were economies of scale which led to lower cost and these were passed on to the consumer. The cost of selling/buying went down from 10% to current rates which are 6.5% and falling.

Now that the bigger companies have eliminated most of the competition they feel free to change our practices and Code of Ethics. Once it was considered unethical for a Realtor to have an exclusive relationship with any lender and more unethical for the brokerage to benefit from that relationship. Now the largest brokerages own their own lenders and require their buyers to apply at their lenders. Once it was considered unethical to have hidden fees but now the largest brokerages have transaction fees.

The large corporations have taken over but now even larger corporations are attempting to move in. The Community Choice in Real Estate Bill is an attempt by Realtors to keep banks out of our business. The fight has been ongoing for two years but it is not settled Soon the titans may clash and consumers will face a new market place.

Honestly I do not know if things will be better or worse but they will be different and consumers should be informed and perhaps participate in changes which affect their greatest investment and most basic need.

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SEARCH FOR HOMES ONLINE NOW

We have a new feature on our website. Now YOU can search all homes - existing homes, condos, lofts and new construction - in St. Louis County and City and much of the surrounding area. You can choose the price range, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms and the school district. You can see the results within seconds - with a description and a picture of the home.

Each page has just five listings so it loads fast - but your search results might have more than one page. It's easier than ever to get more information on homes you're interested in - just click the link below the picture and send us that email: the ID Number's already filled in for you.

Try it out! If you're already registered, login here. If this is your first time to search homes, register here.

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COMMUNITY FORUM - TalkStLouis.com

We'd like to invite you to spend some time on our new Community Forum Website - www.TalkStLouis.com We launched this website as a community service to offer a place for everyone in the St. Louis area to speak their mind - about their neighborhood, community, city and the various issues that concern us as residents.

It's organized by area and there are some common sections as well. The website also has a calendar of events - and you can add your own events. There's also space for you (or neighbors, friends, family) to post your ads for lawn mowing service, yard sales, baby-sitting and the like. If there are other features you'd like to see, let us know.

Here are links to some of the more popular threads:

Carondelet - Stop Sign

Fall Decorating Ideas

Guns in Our City

To register, go to Register. Spread the word and visit www.TalkStLouis.com - Talk... Listen... Improve...

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"OUR OLD HOUSE"

I have lived in Saint Louis City about five months now and I received my first communication from the City this week:

“Dear Property Owner:

Thank you for choosing to live in the City of St Louis. We appreciate your care and interest in your property and your neighborhood.”

Wow! Isn't that nice!

“The violations found at the time of inspection are listed on the attached sheet…” Oops, maybe it is not so nice.

Well it seems I will soon be tuck pointing my rear wall. It was on my list after sealing the cracks between the slate roof, tuck pointing the interior wall in the living room (long story) and finding that leak in the upstairs shower. Of course I like it when they nag other people but this is ME!

In other news we finished the air-conditioning on the second and third floors and Penny reassembled the drop ceiling. Of course we did not want to put the drop ceiling back but one only has so much money. So I tried. I placed brackets and found the correct tiles and THEN .. It fell on my head. Then I did it again and …THEN it fell on my head. I wanted to destroy it! Throw it away and then maybe for good measure really destroy it. But Penny got out her handy glue gun and she and Jen patiently glued each connection one at a time until the whole thing was once again a ceiling.

Well, that is this month's rehab news. I have no idea what will happen next.

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WE HAVE THREE NEW AGENTS

We introduced you to Rhonda Lemmon in our last newsletter. She's already sold her first home!! Congratulations, Rhonda! Rhonda's enhanced her website - check it out at RhondaSellsStLouis.com Call Rhonda at the office or send her an email. 

Now let us introduce our newest two agents:

Neal Harris has been a friend for many years and has helped us grow our business with numerous referrals. So Neal decided to join in on the action. You can learn more about Neal on his website - www.NealSellsStLouis.com. You can reach Neal at the office or send him an email.

Jackie Martin is our newest agent. Many of you may already know her and/or have talked to her - she's Penny's Mom and loved by all. Jackie's "retired," but those of you who know Jackie know that she just can't keep still. More about Jackie at her website - www.JackieSellsStLouis.com. Jackie's email is (you guessed it!) Jackie@JackieSellsStLouis.com

Please join us in welcoming all three of our agents by sending them an email and/or visiting their sites.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We have much to be thankful for... A new home, a new office, a growing team, booming sales, and - most of all - customers like you!

Our Thanksgiving would not be complete without a word of appreciation to you. Thank you for all you've dome to help our business grow.

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