Real Estate And The Aha! Principle - 11/30/07 11:03 AM
In my writings here on AR and elsewhere I tend to rely on economic analysis quite a bit.  And while I understand why some people's eyes will glass over when I start talking about supply curves and equilibrium points and such, I do feel that looking at our businesses, our industry and the economy through the lens of economic reasoning can be very helpful in dealing with the situations that we find ourselves in as real estate practitioners.
For many people economics was a class that they HAD to take and while they might have been very good memorizing the formulas and … (1 comments)

News Flash - Real Estate Values To Increase! - 11/28/07 03:05 PM
As is sometimes the case here on AR, I'll read a posting and it will inspire me to write a post of my own on that or on a related topic.  This is the case here.  
I just read a post about being careful with what you say to your buyers regarding real estate as an investment.  It's not that I disagree with Ms. Harley, I do think that a real estate or mortgage professional should be careful with the advise that they give out. However, I honestly don't think that you need to be fearful of telling people that buying a … (33 comments)

Back On The Wagon - Finally get the workout room operational. - 11/28/07 12:49 PM
As many of you know, back in September I bought a fix er upper home and ended up moving into it before it was done.  I also experienced the loss of my mother after an extended illness.  One of the casualties of being so busy was that my elliptical machine and dumb bells pretty much forgot who I was.
That's understandable, because they were still piled in a corner.  Well, that wouldn't do because if I don't exercise on a regular basis and watch what I eat like a hawk, I'm one of those people who will balloon up to epic proportions!
So, … (4 comments)

Why Housing Is Too Important To Do Nothing II (continued) - 11/27/07 01:02 PM
This is a continuation of my post, Why Housing Is Too Important To Do Nothing II.  Please click on the link to read it first, if you haven't already done so. 
So, as you would if your doctor told you that you have an infection in your heart, we as a country have a choice to make.  We can treat it or not.  It's that simple.
If we don't treat it, housing values will continue to drop.  Billions, if not trillions of dollars in home equity (the largest single source of wealth in the country, by the way) will evaporate.  Builders will stop … (5 comments)

Why Housing Is Too Important To Do Nothing II - 11/27/07 11:51 AM
Yesterday I wrote a blog called, "Home Ownership Is Too Important To Do Nothing" where I outlined some of my thoughts on the current housing and mortgage banking mess.  Today I'd like to expand on why I feel that those who say that we should simply wait for the markets to correct themselves are, if not wrong, then at least asking for some unnecessary pain for our whole economy.  In order to not run too long, I've broken this post into two posts. 
NOTE:  Please bear with the econ lesson here, but I felt that it was necessary background in order … (3 comments)

Home Ownership Is Too Important To Do Nothing! - 11/26/07 12:25 PM
Much has been written about who should bear the blame for the current real estate and mortgage crises.  Some have levied blame at the borrowers while others have levied blame at unscrupulous mortgage brokers.
I  for one have levied most of the blame on the big Wall Street Investment houses that bundled non conforming mortgages into something called "Collateralized Debt Obligations" (CDOs) and then put makeup on this pig by getting them rated investment grade by companies such as Moody's.  
Some have expressed opinions that we shouldn't be worried about who's "fault" it is, that we should worry about what to do about … (7 comments)

Got Me Some Ink! St. Louis Post Dispatch Runs One Of My Commentaries! - 11/21/07 01:51 PM
I'll be honest, I love blogging.  It's fun, it has SEO advantages and it gives me a forum to get stuff off of my chest.  The one thing that it doesn't do for me (yet) is get my message out to a bunch of people.  If my web site is the equivalent to having a bill board in the middle of a corn field, then my blogs are generally the equivalent to being a tree in the middle of the forest!
It's hard to stand out and to get your message through when there are so many other folks out there writing … (1 comments)

Man Found Frozen In South St. Louis - 11/20/07 04:47 PM
A few days ago I wrote a post where I asked if people thought that the media plays a story straight.  The over whelming response was, "No, the media does not play it straight with the public."
Frankly, I wasn't surprised.  I had seen a perfect example of how the media plays things when my father passed away 21 years ago.  I found out that he had died when the local NBC affiliate led their local evening news broadcast with the teaser, "Man Found Frozen in South St. Louis".
Having just sat down to watch the news, I waited while they broke for … (7 comments)

Buying A Home In St. Louis - Does It Make Sense Right Now? - 11/19/07 02:11 PM
Over the last couple of weeks I've had the opportunity to talk with several people who are in no way connected with the St Louis real estate market or the St Louis mortgage markets.  These were everyday people, one guy worked for the phone company.  Another lady works as a recruiter for a local college here.  Yet another was a supervisor on an automobile assembly line.
The one thing that these folks had in common was that they all asked me about the current slump in housing.  The assembly line supervisor asked me directly if now was a good time to buy … (2 comments)

Poll Question: Does The US Media Play It Straight With The Public? - 11/17/07 10:02 PM
The reason that I ask this question is that I've been following HR3915 fairly closely as it went through the House Financial Services Committee and have read up fairly well on how this whole sub-prime mortgage fiasco has come about.  In following this bill and reading up on this mess, I've done quite a bit of reading, as well as watching news and business news reports on the "crises"!  In all of this reading and watching, I've only heard an occasional murmur about the roll that Wall Street has played in this mess.
While Barney Frank, who if you watch as he … (17 comments)

The St Louis Real Estate Market, Where's The Bottom At? - 11/15/07 04:26 PM
Over the last year or so we've all watched the real estate market faltering.  Many, especially those in the media looking for a compelling headline, have referred to the housing market's woes as, "the real estate bubble bursting".  Well, I'll admit, I started scratching my head a couple of years ago wondering when the real estate bull market was going to lose steam.
I first started to wonder when my girlfriend was considering taking a job outside of San Diego and we went to look at homes within a 20 mile radius of where her work would be.  Our first search set … (1 comments)

Finally! The Real Update With Photos Of Kathy and I's Rehab Project! - 11/08/07 12:43 PM
Alright, all excuses aside I'm finally ready to give an update on Kathy and I's rehab project.  The last time I wrote about are project I mentioned that we had completed a few of our smaller projects and will wonders never cease, we actually got both cars into the garage! YEAH!

As you can see, our garage ended up serving as a staging area for the entire project.  One of my goals before we left on our twice delayed vacation was to be able to get the garage cleaned out enough to get both of our cars in it prior to … (2 comments)

 

Bob Mitchell - Realtor St. Louis

Saint Louis, MO

More about me…

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

Address: 4251 Martyridge, St. Louis, MO, 63129

Office Phone: (314) 231-5478

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A blog about St. Louis real estate and about real estate in general from a guy who has been selling real estate and doing mortgages since 1984. I'm also the owner of ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc. a discount real estate company serving St. Louis since 1995!


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