Pete Spencer

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.

This report pertains to residential homes on less than 10 acres sold from Oct 3rd to Oct 16th as reported by the Lebanon Board of Realtors MLS.

Over the last 2 weeks there were 6 homes sold for a total of 715 million. The average price of these homes was almost 119 thousand with the median price at 122K; these homes had an average time on the market of 89 days. There are currently 12 homes listed as under contract in the Lebanon MLS and those homes have an average price of 102,000.

Year to date there have been 216 homes sold, that's down from last years 267 during the same time frame, the average price is 115 thousand dollars, which is the same as 2007.the YTD volume of 24.8 million is under last years 30.6 million. Our average time on the market this year has been 137 days, that's almost the same as last years 140 day average.

As of this morning there were 386 homes with less than 10 acres, listed with the Lebanon MLS compared to 370 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 143 days.

Well for a few weeks now there have been a lot of indicators pointing towards a turn around in the local Real Estate Market. Since July our market has seen inventories stabilize, albeit at a higher level than last year the number of homes for sale no longer seems to be rising. After a low of 100,000 the average sale price is back up to last years level of 115,000 which is an all time high, and the average time on the market for sold homes is going down and is now below last years level. The average price of a home per square foot had dropped drastically in the first 2 quarters but in the 3^rd quarter it has come back up to the same level as last year. Another indication of a more stable market is the number of foreclosures for sale in our market. I keep a list of current bank owned properties that are for sale, I have maintained that list for some time, and the numbers have consistently been between 20 and 24 bank owned properties up until about August when the number of foreclosures for sale began to drop and have stayed at around 10 - 14 for close to 2 months now. One thing I don't see is an increase in the number of buyers coming into the market yet, but it is encouraging to see that values may stabilize. There is no way to predict what will happen in the future but all signs are good that here in Laclede County we have reached the bottom.

This report pertains to residential homes on less than 10 acres sold from Sept 26th to Oct 2nd as reported by the Lebanon Board of Realtors MLS.

Over the last week there were 8 homes sold for a total of just over 1 million. The average price of these homes was almost 130 thousand with the median price at 140K; these homes had an average time on the market of 94 days. There are currently 9 homes listed as under contract in the Lebanon MLS and those homes have an average price of 111,000.

Year to date there have been 208 homes sold, that's down from last years 253 during the same time frame, the average price is 115 thousand dollars, which is the same as 2007.the YTD volume of 24 million is under last years 29.2 million. Our average time on the market this year has been 139 days, that's almost the same as last years 140 day average.

As of this morning there were 379 homes with less than 10 acres, listed with the Lebanon MLS compared to 360 last year in the same week. The average asking price is 149k with median asking price of just about 122; these homes have an average time on the market of 138 days.

Well like many other Americans I was happy to see our government come together finally and pass a substantial economic recovery bill. I believe we are all taking this with a grain of salt hoping that our nation will quickly begin to recover. Locally I believe we should all be grateful that our housing market continues are relatively stable in comparison to the rest of the country. Yes the total number of sales this year is down close to 17 percent but average values have recovered to the same average sale price as last year. Our inventories have stabilized over the last few months and there are still people buying. The biggest difference in our market today is buyer perception and seller motivation. Buyers are looking for a deal and there are some to be found, the smartest buyers are hiring a Buyers Agent and taking their time looking for a home that meets their needs and has a seller with the right level of motivation. Seller motivation is the other big factor, Serious sellers are also Hiring experienced full time realtors who are capable of exposing their homes to the largest number of qualified buyers in the market. Although the average sale price is the same as last year, we are seeing more sellers having to reduce their asking price. In fact, in looking at the list price to sale price ratios based on Original asking prices, our average is 91% this year compared to almost 95% in 2006. Regardless of the averages a good Realtor should be able help you overcome those numbers and sell your home.

This report pertains to residential homes on less than 10 acres sold from Sept 12 to Sept 25th as reported by the Lebanon Board of Realtors MLS.

Over the last 2 weeks there were 12 homes sold for a total of 2.1 million. The average price of these homes was almost 176 thousand with the median price at 105K; these homes had an average time on the market of 122 days. There are currently 10 homes listed as under contract in the Lebanon MLS and those homes have an average price of 100,000.

Year to date there have been 199 homes sold, that's down from last years 247 during the same time frame, the average price is 114 thousand dollars, which is barely down from 07's 115.5K; the YTD volume of 22.8 million is under last years 28.5 million. Our average time on the market this year has been 140 days, that's almost the same as last years 141 day average.

As of this morning there were 391 homes with less than 10 acres, listed with the Lebanon MLS compared to 350 last year in the same week. The average asking price is 149k with median asking price of just about 124; these homes have an average time on the market of 138 days.

Once again the US economy has been the hot topic in the news, and over shadowing everything has been, what is referred to as the "700 billion dollar government bailout". One of the largest mortgage holder in the country, Washington mutual, was scooped up today by giant JP Morgan Chase and it wasn't even headline news. I have heard lots of comments about the bail out over the last few days, from community members, from colleges, and even this morning from the National Association of Realtors, and it seems to me that there is very little understanding about what this bailout is and what it would mean. There seems to be a perception that the government is going to hand out 700 billion dollars of taxpayer money and get nothing of monetary value in return. I am not an economic expert but I do know this, the bail out is not a charity, regardless of all the details congress is still working out, the bail out is meant to actually purchase assets. These assets are projected to be purchased at around 29 cents on the dollar and over the long run should be liquidated at a profit. To put this into perspective lets just say that John Doe loaned Jane Smith 100,000 to buy a house and after a while Jane wasn't paying john, so then john couldn't pay his bills or loan anyone else money. So along comes Uncle Sam and says hey john, I'll give you 29,000, and when Jane pays up or sells her house that money is mine, actually sounds like a decent deal for Uncle Sam even if the house is only worth 60,000. In the end the money should come back with interest. The intent is to free up struggling lenders capitol so that they can again loan money to business owners, and home buyers in turn re-stimulating the economy. I don't necessarily think all this is a good idea, but I do understand how it's supposed to work; in the end I believe we live in country where capitalism will always rule and economic balance is a matter of going through the cycles.