About Laclede County, MO

Back in May of this year, the Laclede County R-1 (Conway, MO) boys baseball team did something no other team in school history had done before: A Final 4 appearance.

On May 29, 2008 our boys played in the Class 2 MSHSAA game for 3rd place. Going into the game the Conway Bears were 20 and 8, with Senior pitcher Kelby Rader 5 and 0. The boys easily won over Hallsville, 7 to 3.

I must admit, I didn't know all the particulars of the win until a few weeks ago after walking into a PACKED school board meeting. Let me say, school board meetings in Conway MO are usually a quiet affair with only a handful of the public attending. Not the October meeting - students and parents alike packed the library meeting room.

You could feel the excitement in the room - even after having time to let the thrill of victory settle in, the boys were excited and we were excited for them.

The boys were presented with their banners and it was a moment these guys will always remember - and so will I. Every day is a great day to be a Conway Bear, but this was an awesome day to be a Bear - to feel the SPIRIT of the Team, to see the PRIDE on their faces, to get a sense of real ACCOMPLISHMENT. They had a goal and they were up to the challenge! Settling was not an option.

In addition to the 3rd place win:

Kelby Rader, Honorable Mention Pitcher; Jessie Marks, Honorable Mention Infielder and Bubba McGaughy, 1st Team DH/Utility (2008 Class 2 MHSBCA All State Baseball Team)

Bubba McGaughy, 1st Team DH/Utility (2008 Sportswriters All State Team)

This report pertains to residential homes on less than 10 acres sold from Oct 24th to Oct 30th as reported by the Lebanon Board of Realtors MLS.

Over the last week there were 3 homes sold for a total of 173 thousand. The average price of these homes was almost 57 thousand with the median price at 67K; these homes had an average time on the market of 100 days. There are currently 11 homes listed as under contract in the Lebanon MLS and those homes have an average price of 96,000.

Year to date there have been 222 homes sold, that's down from last years 275 during the same time frame, the average price is 114 thousand dollars, which is just under 115 for 2007.the YTD volume of 25.3 million is under last years 31.6 million. Our average time on the market this year has been 137 days, that's almost the same as last years 139 day average.

As of this morning there were 376 homes with less than 10 acres, listed with the Lebanon MLS compared to 374 last year in the same week. The average asking price is 150k with median asking price of just about 124; these homes have an average time on the market of 148 days.

Right now our market is ripe with frustrated sellers who have homes that need to sell, this is good for buyers but bad for sellers. This is also a time where advise and guidance are needed most so here are some tips if you need to sell. Talk to a professional REALTOR, and when I say professional I mean someone who is full time and experienced, not just someone who looks and sounds good, check them out by using google or yahoo and asking them about their history and achievements, talk to someone who knows your market, someone who lives and works in your community, an out of towner will take your business but they can never know the market like your local professional, only a market expert can really help you set an appropriate asking price and stage your home so it will show it's best. Consult someone who is going to spend money marketing your home, give you maximum exposure on the internet, and who knows how to attract buyers and negotiate in your best interests. And most importantly, hire a professional with a good reputation, not just with the public, but a good reputation with other realtors as well. Real Estate is an industry where REALTORS must work well with each other and if they don't you as a seller will suffer, don't expect miracles but do expect your REALTOR to recognize, identify, and inform you of changes in the market.

100,000

100,000 points

Wow!

I knew it was coming, knew it was right around the corner.

Yet I missed it!

I have Don Rogers to thank for pointing it out to me - I had turned the corner on 100,000 points. I made it!

So... what to say in my celebratory post?

I have no idea.

Google, help me!

If you Google "100,000" all sorts of pages come up, with all sorts of articles and posts. Not all of them good. I quickly skipped over those.

But one entry did catch my attention -

The United States of America printed a one hundred thousand dollar bill!

High denomination bills were printed in the US starting in 1929. The $100,000 bill featured Woodrow Wilson and was the only high denomination bill not printed in green.

High denomination bills were last printed in 1945 and officially discontinued on July 14, 1969, by the Federal Reserve System.

These bills were commonly used by banks and the Federal Government for large financial transactions. They were not commonly used as every day legal tender. (Mmm... wonder why!)

Finally in 1969, circulation of high-denomination bills was halted by an executive order from President RichardNixon, in an effort to combat organized crime.

So... what does this have to do with my milestone?

My last post, the one that had Don Rogers offering me his congratulations, was a collection of inspirational quotes by President Richard Nixon.

I thought about coming full circle - about connecting the dots - about the road from here to there.

For 100,000 points, I have been connecting the dots, going down the road from here to there. I have made a lot of friends, I have gained business and I have gained more knowledge than I ever could have dreamed.

I have connected the last dot, to form my picture. Now, it's time to fill in the outline, to build upon what I have so far created in Active Rain.

To color my picture green. Or perhaps even orange.

This report pertains to residential homes on less than 10 acres sold from Oct 17th to Oct 23rd as reported by the Lebanon Board of Realtors MLS.

Over the last week there were 3 homes sold for a total of 310 thousand. The average price of these homes was almost 103 thousand with the median price at 110K; these homes had an average time on the market of 102 days. There are currently 11 homes listed as under contract in the Lebanon MLS and those homes have an average price of 95,000.

Year to date there have been 219 homes sold, that's down from last years 273 during the same time frame, the average price is 115 thousand dollars, which is the slightly more than 2007.the YTD volume of 25.1 million is under last years 31.3 million. Our average time on the market this year has been 137 days, that's almost the same as last years 139 day average.

As of this morning there were 379 homes with less than 10 acres, listed with the Lebanon MLS compared to 374 last year in the same week. The average asking price is 150k with median asking price of just about 123; these homes have an average time on the market of 145 days.

Well for the second week in a row I have great news to report about the Real Estate market. Despite all of the woes in the stock markets, here and over sea's, existing home sales reports were out to day for the month of September. Sales of existing homes rose 5.5 percent compared to August. This is the highest gain in 5 years; let me say that again, the highest gain in 5 years, since the 5.6 percent gain in July of 2003. It is the first year-over-year sales increase in since November 2005. Nationally the median home prices do continue to decline, down 9 percent from a year ago but the indication is that buyers are capitalizing on lower home prices. States like California led the charge in the west with 16.8 percent increase and rose a more moderate 4.4 percent in the Midwest and 2.2 percent in the South. The only region of the country which saw a decline was the Northeast, where sales fell by 1.1 percent. Locally I reported last week that our average price is up to its highest level ever and even with last years and that inventories have stabilized. I doubt that the next real estate boom is around the corner; in fact I think it will be some time before we see a market like 2005 and 2006 but these signs are great if you recognize that the decline may be over.