Bomb Shell

Wow, What a bombshell! Today it was announced that First Realty GMAC will sever its ties with GMAC and join Prudential Real Estate. Effective June 1st, we will be known as Prudential First Realty.

Many of you know that 7 years ago, GMAC bought out the Real Estate Division of Better Homes and Gardens. The change came with a lot of hard feelings in the Des Moines area because of our close ties to the home of Better Homes and Gardens. Many people felt alienated, but eventually realized that the First Realty family was still together and still offered the comfort of the Better Homes and Gardens name. Now we see a change from the GMAC name to another Huge name in Prudential but we are still First Realty. The same agents and staff with a new franchise.

I want your thoughts. When thinking of the two companies (GMAC and Prudential), who do you trust and why?

Another Sign that Des Moines is Growing...

There have recently been two articles in the Des Moines Register about specialty markets opening in the Metro Area. These markets are normally only seen in Cities with large populations (like Chicago, or New York) that can support such a specialty store.

Downtown Des Moines is the beneficiary of 2 such markets.

The first is the East Village market owned by the same guy that owns Basil Prosperi's Lucca in the East Village. It will be similar to the neighborhood bodegas seen in cities such as Chicago and New York. It will offer grocery staples such as milk, bread, local produce and toiletries, plus gourmet wines, cheeses and deli meats.

The other is by Full Court Press, which has developed downtown bars like the High Life Lounge, and plans a gourmet market at 208 Court Ave.

Downtown Des Moines has needed a grocery store for years. There are tons of residential developments in the area (many upscale) and the people living here need a place where they can get the quick essentials. Both of these markets should do well as they market to the exact demographic that surrounds them. Read the article from the Register here: www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703200369


Lastly, The Market at Jordan Creek is the combination of a gourmet and specialty food store, restaurant, deli, bakery and an upscale coffee shop - known as the Espresso Café. It is a much larger store and it's staff features a number of culinary professionals and it's products and services include gourmet, organic, and fresh pre-prepared foods, unique gift items and professional catering. See the Register's recent article here:
www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703210343

The Market at Jordan Creek is a "fun" place to visit, but being that everything in it is so expensive, I'm not sure it will last. I hope it does, because I love to see these types of things succeed in our great city!

Speed Networking

I recently read an article in the Des Moines Register about a group that was hosting "Speed networking" meetings at Des Moines area Coffee shops. I had heard of speed dating before and have always thought that it was a little quirky. But speed networking...something about this was intriguing to me.

So I sent in my e-mail to get on their list. I recently received a reply saying that I was invited to attend one of two sessions downtown at the "Village Bean." I am very excited about this event. Specifically the oportunity to network with other Des Moines area business professionals.

I am going into this with an open mind and a short "to do" list. I am looking for someone with more experience in blogging to help me develop this site, and I am looking to set up a Breakfast Club, possibly with folks from this meeting.

This group hosts these events on the 4th Tuesday of every month. If you would like to attend, Send Hannah an e-mail at hsteen@transcm.com and request to be put on their list for a specific month.

I will let you know how it goes and if it is worth your time...

Mortgage Rates

Here is why some economists are projecting a strong spring for the Real Estate Market. Interest Rates are still at an all time low. Rates change daily but the short term forecast is for them to stay low.
The following rates are for Monday February 26, 2007 from http://www.bankrate.com/

LOAN TYPE TODAY LAST WEEK
30 yr fixed mtg 5.75% 5.77%
15 yr fixed mtg 5.52% 5.54%
5/1 ARM 5.54% 5.56%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg 6.02% 6.02%
5/1 jumbo ARM 5.70% 5.70%

For all of those buyers out there that have been waiting to buy, there has never been a better time than now. Rates are low and home prices have leveled off from a recent decline. A Wall Street Investor (who is used to buying low and selling high) would say “BUY, BUY, BUY!”

If you need additional mortgage information visit Chad’s site at http://www.chadpeach.com/ and if you have Real Estate questions as always visit ryanpeach@firstrealtyhomes.com and either of us would be happy to assist you.

Blogging in Real Estate

Well, there is quite the buzz going on here at my office. I let the cat out of the bag about this blog. Many agents have been inquiring how I got started. Well here it is. This is my secret weapon... "Realty Blogging" by Richard Nacht and Paul Chaney.

My father-in-law gave me this book for Christmas. He is an agent in Nashville and he told me that blogging is the craze down there right now.

So I read the book and got started. I was very worried about what I was going to write about, but once I got started it is so easy to come up with topics and I am having a lot of fun with it.

I would really appreciate you leaving me your opinions on topics or just drop a note telling me what you think of my blog. If you have a blog of your own I would be happy to trackback and would love it if you would add a backlink to this site from yours.

Have You Zillowed?

I just read an interesting article in Fortune Magazine. I find it interesting that I pay for this magazine, read it and then I go online and find out that I could read it for free... (that is an entire different blog).

The article that I was interested in can be found here http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/02/19/8400262/index.htm?postversion=2007020810

It is about the website called Zillow.com that claims to assist people with pricing their homes. As you read the article note that their margin of error is 10% nationwide (a little more than I am comfortable with). The article also shows that Iowa has "Zestimates" for between 1% and 19% and their accuracy in Iowa is not yet estimated. So let me sum up this site.

I loved the assistance that both buyers and sellers will find here. They hit it right on the head from choosing an agent to prepairing your home for sale. However, contrary to the title of the 'Fortune' article, buyers and sellers should use caution when finding the home prices posted for the Des Moines Area. All properties that I pulled up from this site were Assessed Values from the County Assessors. This number is used for tax purposes (budget based) and may not be reasonable for estimating the actual value of a home.

Another problem that I found was that not all of the Des Moines area is mapped yet. My own home was not mapped correctly because there is no data for my neighborhood.

The coolest thing that I found was that I could pull up a home in Polk County and see the tax valuations of all of it's neighborhoods on one screen! At least a person could see if their home is being assessed appropriately!

I will visit again, and maybe one day Iowa will have some good data.

Strorage Storage Storage

Have you noticed any trends in new construction? When was the last time you saw a new home with less than a 3 car garage? In fact, many new home buyers are requesting 4 and 5 car garages!

This begs the question, do this many people really have 3 cars?

My own house has a 3 car garage, but we have 3 cars. All but one of the 60 or so homes in the neighborhood have 3 car garages but I know for a fact that only 3 of us have 3 cars. So how did 3 car garages become the norm?

So I couldn’t help but to notice the many open garages in my neighborhood. I quickly learned the answer to my question. In most homes two of the stalls have cars and the third is used as an attached shed. In some homes one car is in the garage, one is in the driveway and 2 stalls are floor to ceiling storage. In fact, I was amazed when I saw one home where both cars sat in the driveway and the entire garage was storage (the more kids, the more stuff one family has!).

My wife and I realized this trend with the recent addition to our family. We recognized the fact that we had just enough storage for our stuff but then began picturing all of our daughters toys, bikes etc. and knew that we would soon be one of those families with a car in the driveway.

We did some cost/benefit analysis and decided to add on a storage room off of the garage. We know that we will not recover the entire cost when we go to sell the home, but we will not have to put a car in the driveway either. I am also very confident that with the newer demand for storage, the addition of a storage room will certainly bring value to my home!