Joan's Blog: November 2009

Bold Leadership - When The Tough Get Going

 

 

Bold leadership seems to exist rarely these days, but I am grateful to work for a broker with these qualities.

  • So we're in a recession - right?
  •  Real Estate Sales are down - right?
  •  Commissions have shrunk - right?
  •  Some agents are finding supplemental income - right?

 So what Broker in their right mind would choose to move into beautiful new, larger offices and expand their agency? Tri-Lakes,REALTORS!

 

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Shell Knob Bridgeway Plaza Office                                                 Reception Area

 

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Tri-Lakes, REALTORS relocated  the Shell Knob, MO office this past week.  Tri-Lakes has four offices surrounding Table Rock Lake and plays a strong role in market share for the Table Rock Lake area. 

The move into a more prominent location in Shell Knob, has generated attention and admiration from passers-by, but  more importantly, has given  agents a big zing of enthusiasm, optimism and pride in their company.  This is sure to translate into additional sales for our Buyers and Sellers.

 

Call Joan at the new office for all your real estate needs.  417-846-7128

Tri-Lakes Office 417-858-3344

Honey They've Shrunk The Signs

Thought I was seeing things recently when I pulled up to a local stop in Shell Knob, MO and the actual "STOP" sign looked smaller!

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We know the recession and subsequent belt-tightening has affected all aspects of spending,  including state and county road departments, with tax dollars getting scarce. The transportation department, Mo-Dot in Missouri, I found  has the authority to decide what size sign a corner warrants.

On lesser driven roads, which we have many of in the Ozarks, they can place a "low volumn" road sign!  The signs may be 24", 30" or 36" wide.

Remember when you were a teen and it was cool to 'liberate' a road sign to decorate the wall of your bedroom?  The current trend  here in the Ozarks  is to use roadsigns for target practice - both  shotgun and paintball .  The MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) estimates that it costs approximately $300 to replace one of those signs.  It is not as easy as washing the paint off the sign, because in the process it removes the reflective material to assist night drivers.

As a result of cost savings, we can expect to see more of these smaller signs.


Call Joan for all your Shell Knob & Tablerock Real Estate Needs 417-846-7128
Tri-Lakes Realtors  417-858-3344

How Do You Counsel Stagnant Home Sellers?

 

How do you counsel sellers in today's stagnant market?  They've done everything HGTV suggests to make their home appealing to the drive-bys.  They have cleaned or replaced worn carpeting, painted purple walls  shades, put cookies in the oven, turned on the lights and disappeared for showings.  Yet still no offers in Shell Knob, MO.

Worse yet, after 6 or 7 months on the market, and all the big ads in Homes Magazines, personal web pages, etc

..ZERO SHOWINGS!..........ZERO SHOWINGS!house

In our SW Missouri area our MLS has 1,712 single family homes for sale.  Of that number, there are 457 properties priced over $300,000.

I have shown a few homes this Fall over $300,000, but my buyers stayed under that number when they purchased.

What do you say to the $598,000 seller?  Cut the price in half to get into the current market?  Dropping the price by $50 or $100,000, still won't make it that much more appealing to the budget minded.

This may not sound like a serious problem to individuals facing loss of their home, or bankruptcy, but to the elder seller with  health problems, it is every bit as serious.

Should we keep it on the market over the winter, or  wait and renew the listing in the spring?  We currently have 10 beautiful waterfront homes available in Shell Knob, MO for sale and priced $500,000+.

 

Call Joan for all your real estate needs in Shell Knob or Table Rock Lake area.  417-846-7128

Tri-Lakes Realtors 417-846-3344

 

 

 

October Sales Hold In Shell Knob, MO

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The Housing Market continues to inch along in our portion of the Ozarks -  Shell Knob, MO -  leaving many real estate agents looking for supplemental income.



Here in Shell Knob, MO, we repeated our previous month's sales, for a total of 3 homes sold each month.  The average sales price was down to $75,633 in October.

 There were also 6 pieces of land sold for an average sale price of $23,500.

Shell Knob is a recreational or lake oriented community, attracting many second home clients and retirement or families looking to retire. It is known as the quiet end of the lake.  This is our normal start of 'Off' Season, but not normally 34% off.

My broker, Tri-Lakes Realtors, has four offices surrounding Table Rock Lake, and we continue to hold our position of Number One company in our MLS Board with 14.49% of board sales last month.

 

Call Joan for all your real estate needs in Shell Knob or around Table Rock Lake.  417-846-7128

Tri-Lakes Realtors  417-858-3344