St Louis Real Estate Blog

Interest Rates Nudged Higher

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 22:53:57 -0600

For the first time in several weeks interest rates nudged higher (albeit slightly). Freddie Mac reported 30 year fixed rates climbed .03% to 5.74%

Although not a significant increase, there is some uncertainty as to the overall future of interest rates. Many expect the Federal Reserve to raise short term lending rates which would eventually raise mortgage rates- although the fallout of Hurricane Katrina could alter their plans.

So what does that mean to St. Louis? The Post Dispatch reported this week that St Louis area housing prices had risen 9.2% over the past year. That’s one of the largest one year increases St. Louis has had in the past 20 years- and that’s because of the record low interest rates that have kept home sales brisk. (Read the full Post-Dispatch article here.)

Katrina Shockwaves Affects Real Estate Industry

Sun, 11 Sep 2005 22:18:19 -0600

Realty Times reported this week that Hurricane Katrina will likely cause a slow down in the near-term economy while causing new housing costs to rise by 3-5%. This is based on a Freddie Mac report from earlier in the week. However most real estate experts tend to be in agreement that the worst of this storm, for those of us not living in the Southeast, won’t be felt for months to come.

New Agent to the STL Agent Team

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 20:25:55 -0600

We're pleased to announce that Darin "Sid" Cameron, Marketing Director for the STL Agent Team, has received his real estate license and will be broadening his work on the team.

Blog 2.0 - We're Back

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 18:31:29 -0600

On June 22 we suspended our blogging activities. Today, it has resumed.

Get Reports on St Louis School Buildings

Fri, 24 Jun 2005 21:57:45 -0600

Want to know how St. Louis area public and private schools compare and rate against each other? Well now you can do just that right here on STLagent.com.

Where has the STLagent Blog gone

Wed, 22 Jun 2005 00:00:23 -0600

No, we have not given up on our blogging. We are, however, in the middle of a painful blog software upgrade and it appears we might not be able to transfer our older blogs- so we've temporarily stopped writing. Hopefully we'll be writing again soon.

14 Month Low for 30 Year Mortgages

Fri, 10 Jun 2005 23:58:19 -0600

The Associated Press this week announced that rates on 30-year mortgages fell to their lowest point since the spring of 2004. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were down to an averaged 5.56 percent, stated loan giant Freddie Mac.

Using Good Etiquette when Looking at Homes

Tue, 07 Jun 2005 23:58:44 -0600

There was an article on STLtoday.com that I wanted to pass on. It's titled, "Home buyers: Do not disturb home seller without an agent," by Dian Hymer.

The Safety of Your Home when You Open it Up to Buyers

Fri, 03 Jun 2005 23:46:23 -0600

I just read a pair of article by David Lazarus from the San Francisco Chronicle on the dangers of virtual tours, open houses, etc. They can be found here:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/27/BUGLHCVL1K1.DTL
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/03/BUGF9D2MK51.DTL

Deep Throat Says to Refinance

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 23:48:06 -0600

It�s not quite as earth shaking as this weeks news that Deep Throat has finally been revealed, but the continued downward spiral of mortgage rates the past few weeks could probably provide a much greater impact on your life if you�ve been thinking about refinancing or buying a home.

Making Your Home Safer

Sat, 28 May 2005 23:49:57 -0600

Great article from Realty Times called, New Home Safety Technology Without Computers, by Broderick Perkins. Broderick discusses some of this years new product Home Safety Award winners- from simple solutions that make it easier to change batteries in smoke detectors, to electric candles and shatter proof doors.

Finding a Home on the Internet

Tue, 24 May 2005 23:55:03 -0600

Saw an interesting real estate news story from Inman News this week. It quoted a realestate.com survey of new homeowners- 40% of which said they started their home search on the internet and 27% of which said they found their agent on-line as well.

Update on New Listings and Internet Video Home Tours

Fri, 20 May 2005 17:55:51 -0600

Sorry for the long delays between blog entries. Sid is working on an upgrade to the blog software that will give us more features (but it's been time consuming). At the same time, I've been busy with all of our new listings- which is a good thing!

House Bill 174 and Discount Real Estate Brokers, Part 2

Wed, 11 May 2005 23:54:59 -0600

Yesterday I mentioned the Missouri senate passed a bill that specifies services that real estate brokers must perform (House Bill 174).

As I've been surfing the internet, I've seen several postings from agents who work for discount brokers claiming that they are being unfairly punished by "traditional" real estate brokerages who want nothing more than to keep real estate commissions high.

Here is my perspective...

House Bill 174 and Discount Real Estate Brokers, Part 1

Tue, 10 May 2005 23:45:15 -0600

On May 5th the Missouri senate passed a bill that among other things specifies services that real estate brokers must perform. This is similar to a law passed in Illinois and several other states.