Tell me your St. Joseph story!

OK, just fyi. I'm not Catholic. I'm Lutheran, it's not part of our religion to pray to the saints. We just go straight to the source. But lots of my clients do have quite a thing for St. Joseph and who am I to tell them what to do. It seems that with the tough real estate market, the purchase of St. Joseph statues is up 25% in St. Louis!

Many years ago, a client of mine placed a statue of St. Joseph in their yard and sure enough the house did sell. Afterward, I dug up St. Joseph and kept him to give back to them, but in his place I put a different object. When they went to dig up St. Joseph in his place they found he had materialized into the Incredible Hulk!

I hope that's not sacra religious, but we all did think it was pretty funny. So I thought it would be fun to hear if any of you out there in Blogland, had a St. Joseph story. So send me your stories! I'd love to hear them. anne@stlouishome.com


CNN) -- With home sales falling to five-year lows, homeowners desperate to sell their homes are looking for a little divine intervention.

Retailers report statues of St. Joseph are selling briskly.

Dawn Hoernemann of Minneapolis, Minnesota, had her one-bedroom home on the market for four months. Every weekend there was an open house. But there were no offers. That's until she took her mom's advice and buried a statue of St. Joseph upside down in her front yard.

The next week, she had three offers and her home was sold. "I couldn't believe it. I don't know what it is about it. It worked. It's some sort of a miracle," says Hoernemann.

This "miracle" has it roots in Catholicism. According to the tradition, burying St. Joseph began hundreds of years ago in Europe. St. Teresa of Avila, a nun in the 16th century, buried a medal of the saint and prayed to St. Joseph to help secure land for a convent. The ritual is said to have worked, and so the trend of burying St. Joseph has caught on.

Just ask Phil Cates of Modesto, California. His online retail site, StJosephStatue.com, offers the "Underground Real Estate Agent" home-selling kits. For $9.95, the 4-inch statue comes with a burial bag and a burial instruction booklet. There's even an 8-inch version of the statue for larger homes.

Sales have increased 100 percent in the past two years, according to Cates.

Robert Malhame, who runs Malhame & Co -- a Catholic supply company on Long Island, says sales of the St. Joseph Statue spiked last year. And he expects the trend to last. "We're probably going to sell over 100,000 this year," he says. The biggest demand is coming from the Northeast and the Midwest, he says.

Jan Wheelehan, the store manager at a Catholic retail supply store in St. Louis, Missouri, says the statues have been one of the better sellers, with sales increasing 25 percent this year. "People seem more panicked and there is a hurried-ness to their expression when they come in," she says.

St. Joseph is even on the auction block. There are dozens of St. Joseph home-selling kits on Ebay. From glow in the dark St. Joseph statues to mini pocket shrines, St. Joseph has a whole new following.

Burying St. Joseph statues has its own set of rules, too, although they can vary.
Home sellers are instructed to dig a hole near the "For Sale" sign. The hole should be three inches taller than the statue itself. The saint should then be facing the direction of the street. Then prayers to St. Joseph should be said before the saint is covered with dirt.

Once the house is sold, St. Joseph should be dug up and put in a place of honor in the new home.
Some renters have even cashed in on St. Joseph's divine intervention in hopes of getting a break on rent or to have their application accepted. They buried St. Joseph statues in flowerpots. The statue's feet should either be facing the street or in the direction you want to move, according to Cates.

The whole statue-burying process was a bit hard to swallow for Joe Iannacone. His Dallas, Texas, home was on the market earlier this month. Iannacone first heard about the ritual from his godfather.

"I looked on the Web. It was less than $10. So, I said why not?" recalls Iannacone. Six hours later a young woman walked into the house and made a bid. "I'm not very religious," says Iannacone. "But that was pretty amazing. I was shocked."

St. Joseph may have made a believer out of some sellers, but for some real estate agents, selling a home isn't the work of a higher power.

"What a crock!" says Connecticut real estate agent David D'Ausilio. "As a Realtor I think it's ridiculous. The business has always been simple. If a house is properly priced and properly exposed, it'll attract buyers and it will sell -- St. Joseph or no St. Joseph."

Cates says the statue is more than just superstition. "It's the idea of getting beyond yourself. It's about hoping and praying for something that is bigger than you are," he says.

And these days, maybe just a little hope for home sellers isn't such a bad thing.

Now for the Good News--Jobs Looking up in St. Louis

A strong economy always helps the real estate market...so it's great news that 4th Quarter job market looks strong in St. Louis!!!

A Manpower Employment Outlook Survey predicts a strong job market for St. Louis during the fourth quarter of 2007.

From October to December, only 3 percent of companies interviewed plan to reduce their payrolls while 28 percent plan to hire more employees. The remaining 69 percent of companies expect to maintain their current staff levels.

St. Louis companies' planned staff reduction levels are far below the Missouri average of 9 percent of companies who expect to reduce their payrolls. Statewide, 30 percent of employers expect to increase the number of employees

Is St. Louis getting cool again?

Is it me? or is St. Louis getting cool again? For a long time, I wondered where are the cool people in St. Louis? I mean don't get me wrong, I love our stability. I love our midwestern values. I love that the more things change, the more they stay the same in the big things. But I like change. I like fun. I like fun people. And for a long time, I couldn't find the fun people. At least, the big people that can change a city. The big movers and shakers. Our big moves and shakers were, well, dull. The movers and shakers we had we stable...that's good. That's why our housing market isn't as bad as other places. But I felt we were standing in place. I always said if I ran the city...I'd do...but of course, I didn't do anything either.

But now things are changing...improving...getting cooler...or cool again. I mean we were once really cool. Jazz got a lot of cool right from St. Louis. Before Chicago, we were the place to be in the midwest. But we lost it somewhere along the way.

Former Mayor Clarence Harmon, I have to give you a lot of credit. I don't know why or what you did, but after you came into office, city housing sales starting picking up again. Before 1997, the city wasn't selling. But after he came into, office, our buyers were flocking back to the city. The city was cool again. Young people wanted to buy their again. They appreciated the value of the city. They loved the gingerbread, the brick, the charm, the hardwood floors, the parks.

Now I know the schools still stink. Trust me I'm a product of the city schools and it's taken me a long time to learn to say Highway 44 right and I still can't quite get Sophomore pronounced correctly...which is really bad since my daughter is a southmore...I mean 10th grader...

But still the city starting turning after Mayor Harmon took office and Mayor Slay is surging it ahead onward and upward. We have cool nights on the levee...fireworks on Friday nights without it even being the 4th of July. I love that...fireworks just for me without 500,000 of my closest friends. We cool lofts and young and old that want to live downtown...what's that all about? Never 10 years ago. Too risky! Now risk is good again. We have young people and singles parties. WE have great downtown restaurants. We have the very cool St. Louis City Museum.

St. Louis is coming back. Watch out Chicago...Maybe we'll take you on again...unless it's the Cubs year. But come on, the Cubs? winning the whole thing...that would be the miracle my Pastor has been long, long praying for.

But either way, I'm excited to see all the fun stuff happening in and around St. Louis. Cool people, keep it up!

PS Jobs are up...which will definitely boost the local economy (micro economics) which will help the suffering housing market. Stay tuned! Take heart Sellers!

Anne

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A Manpower Employment Outlook Survey predicts a strong job market for St. Louis during the fourth quarter of 2007.
From October to December, only 3 percent of companies interviewed plan to reduce their payrolls while 28 percent plan to hire more employees. The remaining 69 percent of companies expect to maintain their current staff levels.

St. Louis companies' planned staff reduction levels are far below the Missouri average of 9 percent of companies who expect to reduce their payrolls. Statewide, 30 percent of employers expect to increase the number of employees

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in non-durable goods manufacturing, transportation/public utilities, wholesale/retail trade, finance/insurance/real estate, services and public administration. Employers in construction plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in education is expected to remain unchanged.

When the market gets tough, the tough start remodeling? Count me in!

This article below says lots of us baby boomers are staying put rather than sell in this tougher market and personally I have to say that's true for me and my hubby...I'd move...I'm a realtor...I love moving even thought I haven't in 17 years, but that's because we still hadn't finished our lower level.

But where's there's a space to finish, it just cried out to my husband to finish it...so off we went...adding a family room with stone fireplace and a media room and another full bath. And all this at a time, when 2 of my kids are off to college and the baby is 15...yeah, we really needed more space now?!?

Of course, the media room was first designed for me as an exercise room, but then when we all thought about it...

Let's see, exercise in that big ole room a mere a hour a day 3 times a week at the most and the poor thing just sits there not be fully utilized vs. cathcing up on all those movies we've never had the time to watch, watching the Cardinals in living color, watching the Rams, having the SuperBowl party...gosh is was a no brainer...gee...sitting on the couch somehow won out...

I logically justified it though because I still have my exercise equipment in the smaller space where I exercised before...so I'll still exercise...right? and then I'll have somewhere really cozy to flop down when I cooling down!

Well anyway, if you are remodeling rather than moving like us put in spaces that are great for resale like an extra family room, an office, a media room, an extra bedroom and for sure an extra bath...no house can have too many baths.

Of course, how did we grow up without 1 bath per person? My kids just don't get it. My husband was one of 10 kids...that's right 10 kids and they aren't even Catholic...but thanks for asking.

He grew up in a 2 bdrm home with 1 bath and then that wonderful open air toilet in the basement and the shower..you know right by the pipes with the curtain around it onto the concrete floor...but they made it. And they also walked 10 miles in the snow to school...ok they really didn't do that.

But when I first met my husband at 17...and crossed the threshold into his house...the first thing I saw in the tiny entry hall was a bed. That was different. And after that, more beds. The Dining Room...beds...

But my favorite bedroom was my husband's. Well it wasn't exactly a bedroom. His little corner of the world consisted of a cot in front of the big old silver boiler in the basement. Maybe that's why he is such a great guy, he knows enough to be grateful for all we do have now.

So when we all talk about the market being bad...just remember if you have a roof over your head, you're going to be just fine.

And when the going gets tough...the tough remodel. So fellow baby boomers...if you want to sell, I'm your girl to list and sell your house

...but if you want to remodel...invite me over for a movie and I'll bring the popcorn!

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With the housing bubble popped, credit tighter and baby boomers getting up in years, home remodelers find themselves with more than enough work to keep busy."When people aren't able to move, they start remodeling," said John Shea, of Callier Thompson Shea Construction & Design in Manchester.Shea ticked off a list of reasons that he's seeing the local remodeling business doing quite well, despite the slump in sales of new houses.There are fewer places for new houses short of the outer suburbs such as Wentzville, he said, which means more homeowners are choosing to live closer to work and shopping centers. And more residents, especially those empty-nesters with kids who have finished college, are deciding to stay right where they are.

Inner-ring suburbs like Maplewood, Richmond Heights, Clayton and University City have many older houses, some dating back nearly a century, that are ripe for remodeling, said Shea, KTRS radio's Mr. Fix It.Moreover, those cities are doing a better job of holding onto their residents by providing better services. Even MetroLink, in Shea's mind, gets credit for helping residents to decide to stay where they are.This trend, sometimes called "aging in place" in the home-remodeling business, means more homeowners, especially those in their 60s and late 50s, are starting to change the interior of their houses so they can get around more easily, with fewer steps to climb and wider doors to accommodate wheelchairs."They're opening up their kitchens and making them into family rooms for entertaining," Shea said. "They're putting in main-level master suites" so they don't have to climb stairs if they become ill.

Scott Mosby of Mosby Building Arts Ltd. in Kirkwood concurred that aging baby boomers are driving the remodeling boom in the St. Louis area. They may be empty-nesters, but they don't want to leave the nest where they have reared a family and may have sentimental attachments. "My take on it is that baby boomers are facing their situation, whether it's adding a family room for holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving or just taking care of the house and doing it right," said Mosby, who is the host of a show on KMOX about remodeling. One company that's benefiting from homeowners' reluctance to move to smaller digs is Bill Hurs­ton's residential and commercial painting company, a franchise of CertaPro Painters, a national company in Oaks, Pa., that plans to open several more operations in the St. Louis area.Greg Meyer, Hurston's general manager, said 90 percent of the company's work is residential, and most of that work is in older houses in high-income cities like Frontenac, Town and Country, Ladue and Clayton. Most of Hurston's clients are dressing up their houses, not for sale but to make them more enjoyable in their twilight years. Customers may take care to choose the exact paint color they want, and they expect the work to be finished well, Meyer said.He even makes a point of learning all the specific demands of the customers, so he can instruct his two- and four-person crews."If the homeowner tells me not to let a rose bush be damaged, I keep that on file and make sure the crew knows," Meyer said.

Sellers...you have to price it right..that typically means less than you think!!!

Sellers: I know, I know, I know...Your house should be selling for more...but if it's not selling...It is the PRICE! Price is where the market wants it to be and you'll be one of the lucky ones that gets that contract! Price it to sell! There is just so many choices out there for the buyer, so you have to be in the top 3 of showing condition and priced in the top 3 of value to get the buyer to choose yours...so Price it to sell! See below:

TOP STORY: Clients need the hard facts about the mortgage market
The current upheaval in the market has given rise to significant opportunities to help your clients make informed decisions. Tom Sherman, President of Mortgage Services Unlimited in Dallas, emphasizes the importance of educating clients.

For your sellers, the following points are key:
Home values will stay stagnant or potentially decrease.
Qualified borrowers are looking for deals.
Fewer borrowers are qualifying for home loans.
Rising foreclosures tend to negatively affect home values.
Increased “days on the market” (DOMs) increases the likelihood that buyers will aggressively negotiate prices down.
Continued stress in the financial markets will affect consumer confidence.
Loans may take longer to close.
Appraisals are becoming more difficult to obtain.
Properties should be funded before contract contingencies are removed.

It’s critical to encourage sellers to price homes to sell -- and sell quickly -- decreasing the need for price reductions.

Buyers, What are You Waiting For?

With all the dismal news in the Media these days about falling home sales and Mortgage Companies going out of business, one would get the impression that now is not a good time to purchase a home. Don't always believe what you hear! Lawrence Yun, Vice President of Research for the National Association of Realtors predicts that existing home sales will improve markedly during this 4th quarter. He bases his prediction on the following reasons:
Pent up Demand: The job market has seen an increase in nearly 4 million jobs since the housing market started it's cool down in 2005 and typical wages have risen 7%. At the same time wealth has grown with the Dow Jones average hovering at record highs. So people have the means to buy!
Delayed household formation: Typically the number of households grow by 1.5 million a year. But in the 1st quarter of this year, the figure was only half a million. This suggests that people are holding back due to the uncertainty over the future and that fuels pent-up demand.
Rising Rents: With renters hesitating to buy, Landlords are raising rents(go figure!) Average rents rose 8% in the last 2 years. Renters are beginning to feel that squeeze, and ownership is looking increasingly good!
Better Mortgage Quality: Mortgage applications for home purchases have been rising nearly 10% on a year-over-year basis since May( Data from Mortgage Bankers Association). This focuses mainly on applicants for Prime and FHA loans which indicates people are looking for higher quality Loans.
2008 Rate Cut: Inflation looks to slide as the year proceeds. If it does the Federal Reserves could lower interest rates as soon as early 2008. Current Rates as of 9/6/07 for a 30 yr fixed convention loan with 5% down is 6.5%, This is already an improvement over Aug rates.
Listings Outlook Up: While practitioners expect buyer traffic to be flat in the months ahead, they expect plenty of sellers to jump into the market(practitioners were surveyed in July and looked ahead 6 months)
SO.... what does all this really mean to you, the buyer? To put it into simple terms, NOW is the time to buy! The supply of homes is expected to increase while the buyer pool remains low. Typically this means the ability to purchase a home at a lower price. While it does not mean you will be able to "steal a home", it does mean that Listing Agents are advising their Sellers to price their homes according to the slower market. The benefit for you the buyer, is when you purchase in a slower market, the competition is less so you are not paying Top Dollar. However, as the market improves, that home should appreciate at a higher rate.
Buyers who make the commitment to buy now could be smiling next year!
Think about that statement for a minute. If the housing market is slower now, the buyers are fewer, and Sellers are pricing accordingly, it only makes sense to buy now.
Now, think about next year, if the prediction holds true that the market will improve, the number of buyers will be higher, the demand greater, which leads to sellers pricing higher.....
You get the idea! With Interest rates holding steady, even dropping slightly, greater supply of homes, less demand..............What are You Waiting For?
Happy House Hunting!