Running Along in Real Estate    Flickr credit     Okay this isn't my Pomeranian (although I do have a 12- lb. Pomeranian at home who should probably be on the treadmill)!  Some days I kind of feel like this dog running along in real estate! I exercise for my health.  As a Realtor on a hectic schedule, I have to be able to go that extra mile with stamina.  So I have been in a Trekking Class at the gym for the last couple of months.  It is a treadmill class where you work on your endurance  with small interval bursts and inclines.  Just when I think my heart will burst out of my chest and I can't continue any longer I find that I actually can, so my endurance is improving and I can go longer distances.  There is a coach telling me I can do it! So what does this have to do with real estate... 06/02/2010

Trying to find new construction in South Lake Charles? The following is a snapshot of new construction in South Lake Charles currently availalbe in MLS areas 30 and 40. Number of Active Listings: 13* Average Square footage: 2,307Average list price: $308,877    Median:               $294,900   $119.37/Square FootLowest list price:   $79,900      $62.42/Sq.Ft.Highest list price:   $699,000   $167.10 *Excludes an MLS entry with "$0" for the price.   The reason for the "$0" is that the entry represents multiple homes to be constructed.  See the geographical boundaries of MLS areas 30 and 40 on this page on Derenda.com. If you are looking for new construction in South Lake Charles or anywhere in Southwest Louisiana, give me a call and I'll customize a search in MLS specific to your price ran... 06/01/2010

Are you looking for 4 bedroom homes in South Lake Charles? The following is a snapshot of 4 bedroom homes in South Lake Charles (and 5 and 6 bedrooms) that are currently availalbe in MLS areas 30 and 40. Number of Active Listings: 68Average Square footage: 3277Average list price: $460,205Lowest list price: $129,000Highest list price: $3,500,000 Obviously, the $3,500,000 listing "skews" the statistics so I repeated the search, minus the $3,500,500 listing and achieved the following: Number of Active Listings: 67Average Square footage: 3177Average list price: $414,835Lowest list price: $129,000Highest list price: $1,375,000 See the geographical boundaries of MLS areas 30 and 40 on this page on Derenda.com. For information specific to your needs, feel free to give me a call. As you can see... 06/01/2010

Hurricane Season Are you Prepared? Flickr credit   We just had a tax free weekend May 29-30  here in Lake Charles, Louisiana in order to purchase items to prepare for hurricane season.  Hurricane season officially begins June 1. We also just experienced a tropical storm May 30th that brought up to 7 inches of rain to our city and caused some major flooding issues. Kind of scary because we do have flood zones and Congress adjourned without extending the NFIP.  Hopefully when Congress reconvenes June 7th this will be addressed and the National Flood Insurance Program will be extended! The May 30th tropical storm  seemed to come out of no where.  It was sunny in the morning when I left for church then about 2:00 pm storm clouds gathered and we had a consistent downpour for about 2 hours wi... 06/01/2010

Often referred to by locals as "The Sears Property" or "The Old Sears location", this prime real estate just off I-10 for sale in Lake Charles is worthy of a broader audience. With that in mind, I verified that it is OK to blog about the availability of the property. For quite a while, the city was in negotiations with a major motel chain to build on the site.  Seemed like a very good use of the property, given that anything of stature would be seen from I-10 and, of course, easily accessed. When that sale failed to materialize, the property became available for sale. Besides the attraction of the very busy Interstate 10, the location is user-friendly to downtown restaurants, shopping, courthouse, city hall, parish courthouse, clerk of court, the parish administrative offices, and nume... 06/01/2010

"What about homes on the water in Lake Charles?" "Send me information about homes on the water in Lake Charles." This type of question and/or request is typical for me and many other real estate agents in Lake Charles. One reason is that the Lake Charles area is blessed with numerous lakes and beautiful bayous. The following is a statistical snapshot of active listings of homes currently available and on the water throughout the Lake Charles area, including Moss Bluff, Sulphur, Westlake, etc. Number of Active Listings: 49Average number of Bedrooms: 3Average Square footage: 2886Average list price: $574,171Lowest list price: $82,000Highest list price: $3,500,000 If you are interested in a home on the water, give me a call and I'll customize a list specifically to your price range and area... 06/01/2010

Shopping in Lake Charles, Louisiana The question I am asked most frequently by those relocating to Lake Charles is what does Lake Charles have to offer for those who like to shop?  Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I am an experienced shopper.  Having lived in Lake Charles for 27 years, I am up  to the task when it comes to giving shopping recommendations! I am starting a summer series around town that will highlight many different shopping opportunities for Lake Charles residents. In addition to having major name brand stores, Lake Charles also has many locally owned shops. This is segment #1 where we will will begin in Downtown Lake Charles and through the next series of Blogs, we will make our way to South Lake Charles. DOWNTOWN LAKE CHARLES SHOPPING Amid the Historic Se... 05/31/2010

May Market Averages for Homes SOLD in Calcasieu Parish Lake Charles, Louisiana   As we conclude the month of May I averaged the weekly real estate trends from the SWLA MLS within Lake Charles including North, South, East, West, Southwest and Southeast Lake Charles as follows:   Average Active Homes on the Market  486 Average Home Sales Per Week 9 Average Days on Market of Homes SOLD 56 Average Price of SOLD Homes $148,905 Average High Price of SOLD Homes $262,750 Average Low Price of SOLD Homes $53,535 Comparing figures to April, the Average Days on the market is lower and the Average Sold Price of Homes is lower. As we move into peak real estate season homes are not sitting on the market as long and the average price has dropped $30,000 from the previous month.  Homes below $200,000 se... 05/31/2010

Where do you go to the movies in Lake Charles Louisiana   One of my favorite things to do is go to the movies! Lake Charles has two movie theaters Cinemark and United Artists. Cinemark Cinemark is located in the back of the Prien Lake Mall on Prien Lake Road in South Lake Charles. United Artists United Artists is located in the Power Centre on Derek Drive in Southeast Lake Charles.   05/31/2010

The Power Centre in Lake Charles Offers Shopping & Restaurants Located in South East Lake Charles on Derek Drive, The Power Centre offers shopping and nearby restaurants and United Artists Theater Also located nearby are Lowe's Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, PetSmart and Office Max   05/31/2010

Prien Lake Mall in Lake Charles, Louisiana   The first thing out of town buyers ask me when the visit Lake Charles is "what is there to do here"  After I have answered that question, the next major concern is "how is the shopping?"  When I moved to Lake Charles in 1981 I had the same concern about shopping.  So ladies and gentlemen without further anticipation I present to you the Prien Lake Mall!   Located on Prien Lake Road in Lake Charles,View Larger Map The mall is appropriately named Prien Lake Mall.  The Prien Lake Mall has undergone several renovations over the last 20 years.  The last expansion added a Food Court, Cinemark Theatre and more stores. There are four major anchor stores that make up the exterior of the mall, JC Penney, Sears, Kohls, and Dillards.    Other namebrand s... 05/31/2010

The Internet has become the most widely used media, without which a REALTOR® could not effectively compete in today’s market. How could we promote our client’s properties effectively without the many tools provided for today’s technically savvy individuals? These techniques and tools increase astronomically on a daily basis. We are approaching 90% of all Buyers initiating their property search on the Internet prior to contacting a REALTOR®. I received a call last week by Grandparents. Their 12 year old Grand Daughter regularly searches Realtor.com for them and calls to tell them the potential Commercial properties they should go see. They did not wish for me to conduct this task for obvious reasons; they would rather talk to their Grand Daughter. She is going to teach them how to use Re... 05/30/2010

I grew up in a Family as the "Baby Girl" with three older brothers. Football was everything and I developed a deep love and appreciation for not only the game, but also the skills and intelligence needed to play the game well. Perhaps this is why, as I strolled through the rain this morning, that a blog by Gary Woltal, caught my interest. Great coaches, coach the entire BODY, SOUL, and MIND of their athletes. They develop Winners in LIFE, not just in a Friday or Saturday night game. These young people, if they are truly smart, will apply these skills in all that they do for the rest of their lives. This is the reason you will find many of the individuals on the Board of Directors of various top industries, entrepreneurs, Business people and government officials were involved in organize... 05/29/2010

Guest speaker for tomorrow's "Preventing Family Violence" Workshop, Lesley Ashworth has made several appearances throughout the Lake Area since her arrival on Thursday. Below, she is shown with "Brownie", a dog that fell victim to abuse but was rescued and is now taking part in the New Leash on Life program at the Juvenile Detention Center. Ashworth and Brownie appeared on the Gator 99.5 radio talk show today as well as the KPLC noon show. It is not to late to register!  Simply go to Parra Ballroom at McNeese at 8:00 Saturday morning. The registration fee is only $30.00.  Learn more about the conference at The People's Advocate website.     05/28/2010

NEW FINANCING GUIDELINES Lake Charles, Louisiana has been blessed with a very stable and steady market.  The low interest rates have spurred Buyers to purchase homes and sellers have been getting good values for homes in Southwest Louisiana. Louisiana Realtors just released trends for the first quarter of 2010 showing an increase in sales. Recent developments in the lending industry are changing again which will affect our housing trends. As the days of 100% financing vanished and the media was exposing the mortgage industry gone by the wayside so to speak, USDA rural development loans filled the gap for homebuyers needing 100% financing.  What we have seen are buyers who want to buy but they don't have enough saved to go with a FHA loan down payment.  Our real estate market became one ... 05/28/2010

I have not needed my old MLS books often, but when I do, I'm a hero for a moment to the colleague or client in need of historical data from the 70's, 80's, and early 90's! For whatever reason, in the last 2 months, myself or a fellow REALTOR has needed information not available using today's superior technology.  For example, a local appraiser called the Southwest Louisiana Association of REALTORS recently in search of old MLS books. Between fires (the year I was President) and hurricanes, our board no longer has the books but referred the appraiser to MK, the Pack Rat. Sadly, my collection is not totally complete, but I do have practically ever "Sold Book". The going rate for access to my MLS books?  I offered them for free but my appraisal friend has set the price at "drinks at DeAnge... 05/28/2010

With 7 Grandchildren and a previous life as a science teacher, I'm sensitive to venues for kids. For years, I've been taking my Grandchildren to The Children's Museum in Lake Charles. There are 19,000 square feet of exhibits for kids and parents. The big water table is one of our favorites. It is a rather simple device...maybe 5 or 6" deep. It is at a slant and has a pump of some sort such that the water is in constant motion. The kids can experiment with the water by creating a dam, changing the current, floating boats and all sorts of other fun and educational activities. As you can imagine, the energy lessons are significant while the the kids have a great time. For over 20 years, Lake Charles area families have embraced The Children's Museum. It was originally established by the Jun... 05/28/2010

Every Friday through June 4th, residents and visitors to Lake Charles can enjoy a free outdoor concert series from 6:00-9:00 PM. Unless bad weather forces the concerts to move to the Civic Center, all events are held at the Downtown Merchant's Parking Lot at the corner of Ryan and Broad Street. This evening's (May 28th) concert features T-Broussard & the Zydeco Steppers. Besides the concert and dancing, come out and enjoy the food booths, tabletop galleries and children’s activities. 05/28/2010

The BP Oil Spill Won't Slow Business in Southwest Louisiana Beaumont, Texas is just across the Louisiana Border on I-10  With so many concerned with the oil spill affecting their water vacations, visitors are looking for answers.  Lake Charles has a beautiful lakefront, I have featured it several times in my Blogs.  Good news for Louisiana, some of those visitors will be headed our way increasing tourism in the SWLA area. Beaumont's KFDM TV crew drove across the TX/LA border to do ao positive story on Lake Charles and fishing in the area.  They wanted to show that not every area has been impacted by the oil spill and the fact that there are clear waters in Louisiana.  It is wonderful that Lake Charles can share what we do have to offer and get positive coverage for our city.  View this ... 05/28/2010

Neighborhood Watch Makes Homeowners Feel Safe Does Your Subdivision have a Neighborhood Watch? It is important to understand that a Neighborhood Watch is about "Neighbors watching out for Neighbors", it is not a policed program, but police will respond to a call reporting suspicious activity and investigate. Summer is typically a vacation time of year when many residents may not be at home.  Never advertise that you are going out of town.  Let a trusted neighbor know so they can watch your home for any abnormal activity. Canal Place Homeowners in Lake Charles, Louisiana, had Sgt. Craig Wright with the Lake Charles Police Department speak at a recent Homeowners Association Meeting.  Sgt. Wright is a Police Officer with Community Policing in Lake Charles.  Sgt. Wright spoke to residents a... 05/27/2010