First time in 5 years - home sales rise

For the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors®..... so it is true - things are picking up! Existing homes sales rose 7.2 percent.

And new home sales are crazy too - i have 95 homes listed with Builder Realty Services here in St. Louis - and I have a hard time keeping track of the homes going under contract - 90% of them are not home sale contingent either.

The monthly sales gain was the largest on record for the total existing-home sales series dating back to 1999. ... Makes you want to list your home, doesn't it?

Sales on the rise

Everyone I have talked to in the last few weeks is more positive about the economy and real estate sales. I have personally seen the rise in sales - the number of people viewing the properties and the number of contracts in is encouraging --- we have even had multiple contracts on the same property..... been along time since that has happened.

Homes sales on the rise?

Are homes sales on the rise? From the business we have with our two companies - the answer would appear to be yes - 2 accepted contracts in with lauralei properties and about 10 with builder realty services in the past week or so.

On some days over this past summer, I would twiddle my thumbs and wonder what to do next - but this week (and last actually) I have been under a mound of paperwork.... and faxes.... and emails.

I am not complaining, however. We still have the 3 homes of our own to sell - the one is rented already and should stay that way thru the winter months.

To rent or not to rent

To rent or not to rent..... the answer is getting closer and closer to rent for all four properties.

In fact, we just last night signed a rental agreement to rent out the three bedroom ranch in the city - the new renters are so happy and were busy cleaning as we left - the only thing we have to fix for the occupancy permit with the city is to spruce up the back yard - a small tree had fallen over ---- and the new tenants are going to take care of that too!

The remaining 3 homes are still listed for sale.........

Maintenance on the 4 homes

One of the hardest aspects is keeping up with the yard work in the summer for the 4 homes (5 if you include the primary residence).... sure you can pay a company or individual to cut the grass, etc., but you still have the problem with newspapers, flyers, leaves, and general yard waste.

90 + degree days sure don't add to my motivation...

Calls on our homes

We have been getting a few calls on our homes for sale - I got one today on the city bungalow - they drove down the street and saw the sign - they are looking for foreclosures - wonder what that says about that house :0 - maybe it's time to spruce it up just a bit.



Surprisingly the most calls come from the river house - in Cedar Hill on the Big River - I wouldn't think that house would get that much drive by traffic. It is a cute home and would be great for the first time homebuyer or the river lover, ie fisherman.

The one with the fewest calls is in Maplewood.....

Renting

So it seems that we are going to rent the 3 bedroom in the city - one of the neighbors who was renting needs a house - I really wonder if this will happen to all of the houses -
i was doing the math and if you rent a home ($130k) for $600 for 18 years you will have your money :)

Of course you still have to pay taxes, insurance, water, sewer and upkeep on the home.

I guess the goal is to rent the house for awhile and wait for the market to get better and then sell. It would be nice if at least one of the homes sold..... the saga continues

Our 4 homes - selling or not?

Our 4 houses:
1- 2 story maplewood house
2- small city shot gun house
3- 3 bedroom ranch city house
4- cedar hill river house

Sunday afternoon and we are not having any open houses - last week we had one at the maplewood location and had no one came till the last 30 minutes and then 2 couples came thru - they didn't look in the basement - so there you have it - if they don't open any cabinets or look in the basement, things aren't looking good - no closet lookers!

The smaller city house did have a looker yesterday morning with an agent - we keep saying "it only takes one." This is the one I was hoping someone would latch on to because of the tax credit of up to $8,000 for first time-home buyers.

(The specs: The tax credit is equivalent to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home--which must be a principal residence--but is capped at $8,000. It applies only to first-time home buyers, who are defined as buyers that haven't owned principal residences for three years before making the purchase. The credit only applies to those who buy a home on or after Jan. 1 and before Dec. 1, 2009.)

My homes for sale in St. Louis

For the first time since i have be a real estate agent/broker - i have homes of my own to sell .... and it is an eyeopener for me. So my plan is to jot down how things progress from the seller side - more for me than anyone else - but maybe someone else will find it interesing too.

2 of the houses are in south st louis, in the city by Carondelet park - they have been on the market for about 4 weeks and the smaller, cheaper one (around $70k) has had 14 showings and over 200 client hits on the mls (buyers who have opened up the listing on the internet) - the 3 bedroom, 60's ranch ($130k) has had only 2 showings and about 30 client hits on the mls.