View the newest and latest Baton Rouge Real Estate Website!

My new website is up and running and I would love your constructive criticism!

The site was built with the help of z57 using their new 'Lead Generation' template.  I have added my own personal touches with additional pictures and information so it isn't too run of the mill and bland.

The new site allows visitors to sign up for FREE daily listing alerts, FREE Personalized Real Estate Tips, and search all Baton Rouge Homes for Sale plus surrounding areas!

Please give me your constructive criticism on how I can make this site even better!

Did you make a New Year's Resolution this year?  How is it working out for you so far?

Although I have made a Personal Resolution, this year I thought it would be a great idea to make a Professional New Years Resolution. 

What better way to hold myself to it than to share my goal with all my colleagues and friends on ActiveRain? 

My Real Estate New Years Resolution for 2009 is to keep track of prospecting tools that work and those that don't.  If something doesn't work it will be eliminated or less time/money will be spent putting it into action.  After reading Shift (in which the above is one of the points the book makes) I decided I needed to put this into action. 

I probably spend way too much money one thing, too much time on another, and have completely overlooked what is best for my business.  This resolution will help me figure this out and I'm heading into 2009 with an open mind.                                     

How do I plan on keeping track of what works?  With Top Producer of course!

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” -Oprah Winfrey

Image via New Voices of Philanthropy Blog

Did you make a Resolution this year (Professional or Personal)? If so, what is it?  If not, why?

I first noticed eHow.com when the site continually showed up in my search results on Google for various topics.  It caught my attention how they have such powerful SEO.

Sometime last week I finally decided to visit the site and not just the results page from the search engine... I was definitely surprised!  They pride themselves on knowing 'How to Do Just About Everything' and they are correct!

Here are just a few of the wide range of topics you can find on eHow:

• How to throw a New Year's Eve Party on a Budget
• How to open a Frozen car Door
• How to Live within your Budget
• How to Throw a Baseball
• How to Start a Real Estate Newsletter
• How to Create SEO Content
• How to Develop a Successful Blog

You can even earn money by being a contributor on eHow... Learn How Here!  Also be sure to check out the How-to videos (they have 605 results when searching for Real Estate Videos!!).

Have you discovered eHow.com?  What are your favorite topics?

Best Wishes for a warm and relaxing holiday season!

37246 Prairie Drive
4 bedroom, 3 bath beautiful home in Prairieville.  Perfect in every way!  This home was originally builder's personal home and all the extras are located here.  This three way split open floor plan includes amenities such as slab granite, wide-plank brazilian cherry hardwood flooring, 11 foot ceilings, triple crown in living areas, crown molding in all rooms, large gas fireplace, large covered patio with tv that remains, fountain, and rock garden.

19020 Wildlife Way
4 bedroom, 3 bath warm and cozy home located in The Lake at White Oak Subdivision.  Special touches include: Beautiful parquet and brick flooring, Granite counter top in mother-in-law bath, transoms throughout, abundance of lighting with lots of windows viewing side garden and beautiful rear yard with fountain and concrete benches, master bath with three vanity areas, huge walk-in custom shower and oversized jacuzzi tub,  and the "perfect" pantry with floor to ceiling shelving is next to oversized garage with workshop area. 

38035-14A  Post Office Rd
Feel like you are on vacation while living at home in this peaceful lakefront floor unit. This 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath condo features quality handcrafted finishes and is centrally located for perfect access to New Orleans or Baton Rouge. All electric for low utilities and the new refrigerator is to remain! Near I-10 and Airline Hwy. Perfect for your home or investment property.

5942 Glen Cove
This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home is a custom built home with an open floorplan!  Owner is a master Venetian painter and the quality of fine craftmanships shows throughout this home!  Enter home through stoned garden sitting area and small pond with front flowerbeds have a sprinkler system to ensure easy maintance.  There are many special features which include Custom "Old World" cabinets, European Plaster Murals, Custom Cast stone F/P, Vaulted 12′ ceiling in the kitchen, & slab granite.

10434 Springbrook Ave
Pleasant and inviting home in great location! Exceptional Millwork and updated colors throughout home! Home features large laundry room, separate walk-in pantry, wood-burning fireplace with gas starter, and built-in entertainment center.  Great neighborhood with a clubhouse, neighborhood pool, playground, and tennis courts! Easy access to LSU, Bluebonnet, Shopping, and Entertainment!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season!  Visit ToniHouse.com for the lastest in Baton Rouge News, Real Estate Market Updates, and Featured Listings. 

Seller Reports are an easy way to keep your sellers informed and impressed!

Realtor.com makes this easy by creating a Email and Printable version of a Seller Report to send to your clients! 

This includes a great, detailed graph and table with monthly and weekly property views on Realtor.com.  You and your clients are sure to be impressed!

((Screenshot of one of my reports))

I discovered this the other day and most of my listings had gotten 600+ property views in one month!

What a neat way to say 'We're actively marketing your home'.

Viewpoint: Louisiana's real estate market is healthy

While the nationwide economic picture is less than encouraging, Louisiana has been fortunate to avoid most of the difficulties that many parts of the country are experiencing, particularly in real estate. Our foreclosure rate is among the lowest in the nation, employment numbers are strong, and real estate values are being sustained. In working with our local boards of Realtors across the state, we are encouraged by the fact that our residential and commercial markets are holding their own.

This is especially true along interstates 10 and 12, where economic growth continues to flourish. Of the twelve parishes in Louisiana with population expanding at or above the national average, eleven are along the 10/12 corridor. The Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Northshore areas, bolstered by high-tech industry and an expanding retail sector, are experiencing job growth and maintaining strong real estate markets.

An important thing to remember is that real estate is highly localized. While we are seeing homes staying on the market longer than usual in Louisiana this year, properties are retaining their value very favorably compared to 2007, and in some areas, such as Lafayette, values are increasing. This is counter to the national trend.

Louisiana’s lending institutions did not widely engage in the subprime mortgage free-for-all of the past several years, and as a result, solid financing options remain available for our state’s homebuyers. Buying a home in Louisiana is as good of an investment as ever, and over the past 40 years, no other investment has delivered a more consistent positive return than real estate.

Our association will continue to work with lawmakers, state agencies and economic development groups to help keep the state’s real estate market moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, our 13,000 Realtor professionals statewide remain committed to providing buyers and sellers with the knowledge, experience and expertise to make informed, smart decisions.

Mark O. Rodi is president of Louisiana REALTORS. Reach him at info@larealtors.com.

We all know how much information is available on the internet these days but sometimes it's hard to find.

Peekyou.com allows you to search for someone by name or username.  As well as searching for a company or school. 

You will find TONS of information at Peek You ranging from a persons blogs to news stories to social-networking sites.  Even their twitter feed! 

From celebrities to politicians to everyday people Peek You can help you out! 

Watch out there's an entire section dedicated to Real Estate Agents!

My favorite part of the site is Peek Google... this allows you to see who the contributors are for your search results!  This can be very interesting.

We have great news for residents in the Baton Rouge area regarding real estate news no matter what the local and national news media is telling you! We have graphed each neighborhood we have homes listed in.  The data from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors tells us we are currently selling at 2007's statistics and 2007 was a very good year!   2008 is by far the best year we've had to date! 

It always surprises me how corporate agenda can manipulate data to "sell papers" since we all know - bad news sells!    When we read the headline - "Baton Rouge Real Estate Sales Down 44%" - we started researching for ourselves.  The only thing we can figure is they took 2007 September sales and compared to September 2008 sales - which were all delayed because our title attorney's offices were closed from the hurricane.  But, it sold papers....

Also, the new about not being able to get loans is just wrong!~  All of our lenders have money and I have yet to have one client not be able to obtain a loan because of a new restriction.   The larger banks and our mortgage brokers have money to lend and in Baton Rouge a minimum of 10-20 homes go under contract every day!  

Now more good news!

1.  I'm sure everyone know News Week's prediction that Baton Rouge and the New Orleans surrounding areas are the in the top five cities to best survive the pending recession.   New York City and California's markets are already turning to the good - business is picking up in both areas and deals are coming together again!

2.  Baton Rouge ranked near bottom for foreclosure activity nationwide!   We ranked 99th of the nation's top 100 largest housing markets to have an increase in foreclosure activity!  We only had.12% in the 3rd quarter of this year!  

3.  Baton Rouge is drawing new residents from all over the country.  Ask anyone who is renting there homes.  The majority of the new renters come from out of town and are renting before purchasing their new homes to get used to the area. 

4.  Audubon Alive Project - If Mayor President Kip Holden's tax package is approved, we will have a new project that involves the Baton Rouge building the next major museum in the United States with a combination zoo, aquarium, & nature center.  

5.  New "Square" proposed for Downtown - much like the Savannah Georgia look!    We are so glad the "new" younger generation is NOT giving up on Baton Rouge, but staying to revive our downtown.  They believe in downtown and support the restaurants and outdoor activities. 

6.  Emerging Green Builders in Baton Rouge.  Yes!  Baton Rouge is finally going Green.  Mayor President, Kip Holden is doing his best to have all our new projects GO GREEN!   LEED Certification is primary on his mind!  Several developers and architects have received their LEED Certification and now our new architects graduating form LSU are pushing to get certified by year end!  They know how important this is for our city to move forward.  If our outside air can't be that great, we can at least do what we can to improve the quality of life around us in our workplaces and in our homes!  

We have a lot to be proud of and we have rapidly moved forward from where we were in 2005!