On To Berlin!!!!!!!!!!

My fearless leader (my broker) is always quoting parts of the movie "Patton" and letting me know "anything is possible". So I have spent the weekend working on my business plan for 2007 and new resolutions. I've used the same plan for several years. Here are a few items I plan to focus on this year.

1. Look eagerly ahead to 2007. Plan to eliminate everything that didn't work and try something new.

2. Improve on my business plan and stick with it. Check it monthly. I am putting it in my daytimer this year. Seeing it daily will help me stay the course.

3. Walk away from over priced listings. Over the years, I have never given up trying to sell an over priced home. Educated clients that really want their home to sell, adjust the price themselves.

4. Upgrade my team's technology. I'm thinking of laptops or notebooks. Most of them already have Treo's, electronic tape measurers, etc.

5. Focus on Sellers. Sellers want the most for their $$$$$$! The lastest technology, .com addresses, virtual tours and most of all communication from the realtor. I added a new website this year: www.kayvankampen.com. Tracking my leads this year, the internet has brought more buyers, than the newspaper or magazines.

6. Encourage and mentor my team to improve their own education, by obtaining additional designations.

7. Create an office with a "positive attitude". Save energy and eliminate the negative vibrations that will spread faster than the plague.

8. Donate time to local organizations. Besides contributing to the Children's Miracle Network, we are members of a motorcycle club that is involved in fund raisers for the less fortunate.

9. Improve on my own education. I'm starting the new year, attending new agent classes to improve myself (it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks). In this ever-changing world of Real Estate, keeping up with the new technology, rules and regulations is always a challenge.

10. Last but not least, it would not be a good year, if I didn't read and participate in Active Rain, buy all the blogging books that I can, and look forward to the new website, Localism.com.

The internet has become a vital part of every Realtor's business. I've made a large part of my plans for 2007 based on activities on the internet. Have you made plans and set your goals?

Beautiful Log Home In Christian County!!!
Now you don't have to dream about owning a fabulous log home - it's right here!! Located minutes south of Springfield Missouri, on beautiful open and wooded acreage, semi-secluded, with an open floor plan. A virtual tour is available for viewing at www.kayvankampen.com.

Custom built with 4500 Sq Ft m/l with a fantastic great room, boxcar ceiling, solid oak floors, knotty pine cabinets, amazing catwalk, antique door knobs, 6 panel knotty pine doors, 2 x 12 rafters, 2 x 6 walls, 3 sources of heat, 30 x 40 detached garage with concrete floor. Priced with 5 or 15 acres.

Bare Feet Wiggling in the grass (or snow), and over a half acre for your children to roam on this pleasant, wooded site. Besides the large family room, there is a large bedroom that could be a family room for a rainy-day playroom. Incidentally, the house has 3BR, 2 baths, a double garage, and a lot more for optimum family living. Located in Nixa, Missouri, it's updated and ready for new owners!

Springfield Mo. Real Estate - I Love Old Buildings!
Don’t you wish you could have watched some of the old buildings in Springfield being constructed. Imagine how difficult it was without all the conventional means we have now! Here is one of our greatest sites – Springfield City Hall. Take and tour and enjoy!

Rustic Retreat on 52 Acres!


A Rustic Lane
leads to this very private place with peaceful woods and a cedar home set in a sun-streaked glen. This beautiful acreage site is home to a host of friendly forest creatures. The 1,568 square foot, 3BR home has 2 baths sheathed in tile, a bright open concept plan with high ceilings and walls of glass that make nature your decorator, large double garage, and the most modern amenities and conveniences. If ever there was a "MUST SEE".

To see details of this beautiful property visit: Jonesville Road.

View the virtual tour.

The home can be purchased with 5 Acres or 10 Acres. Located in Christian County, Missouri, south of Springfield and north of Branson, Missouri.

Common Closing Costs in Springfield Missouri?

Read a great article from Neal Pender that made me compare closing fees to his in North Carolina.

Every state, county and city has different closing costs that apply for buyers and sellers. In Springfield Missouri, for the seller, some will be fixed expenses while others depend on the selling price. Below, is a summary of the sellers most common closing fees.

Closing Fee: In our market, typically the seller chooses where they close, usually with a local title company. The title search fee ranges from $150 to $200 depends on the type of closing. If there is a 1031 Tax Exchange, the closing fee might be higher.

Repair Items: Contracts used by the local Springfield Missouri MLS, allow the buyer to conduct any inspections they choose at their own expense. The items found which are in need of immediate repair will typically be requested to be negotiated between buyer and seller. If wood destroying insects are found (especially termites), a treatment will be expected at the seller's expense. The cost of termite treatment depends on the amount of damage and repair required.

Home Warranty: Home warranty's can be offered by the seller when the home is marketed. If a warranty is not offered by a seller, the buyer can purchase one at closing. These range from $414 to $500 and cover certain items for your buyers during their first year of ownership.

Title Search: The seller is required to do a title search to insure the title is free of any unforeseen liens. The cost of this usually ranges from $150 to $300.

Mortgage Payoff: Mortgages, home equity lines of credit or second mortgages with be required to be paid off at closing.

Miscellaneous: There are some smaller amounts that you'll be expected to pay as well. Overnight delivery fee for sending in the final payoff to your lender, current year's real estate taxes, well and septic preparation, home owner's association in your community, These amounts will be pro-rated to the day of closing.

Real Estate Commission: The commission is negotiated when the home is marketed. Commission is usually based on the selling price and paid by the seller.

Whether the agent is charging you very little for a small list of services or providing a full service experience to increase your odds of selling, the best practice is to find a local expert with great references and experience who you can trust to employ the right strategies that will sell your home for the most money in the shortest time frame with the least hassle.

If you are interested in selling your home, visit: www.kayvankampen.com

Preparing For a Quick Sale!

In today's market, if you want to sell your home fast, there are a few very important things you can do.

Improve the home before it goes on the market. Make sure the buyer gets a great first impression the minute he drives up to the home. Visit other homes in the neighborhood and compare them to the type of home that you own. Stage the home so the buyers are impressed the minute they walk into the front door.

Be the best home for the least amount of money. If you have a great home, make sure it's priced to sell competatively with newer homes. You'll usually have extra's that newer homes are missing in the same price range. Moving the home faster will also save additional house payments and possibly allow you to take advantage of the lower prices to purchase your new home.

Market incentivies to the buyer right up front. This will let the buyers know you really want to sell and are willing to negotiate a little.

Offer bonuses or higher commissions. Agents are always looking for ways to increase their income. Offering a higher selling percent than the competitor will spark a realtor's interest. Bonuses are better than paying a higher commission. Usually the realtor does not have to share a bonus with their broker - they split the commission.

Communicate with your realtor to see what kind of activity is occuring on your home. Today's market is hard to predict. Communicating with your realtor will give you and your realtor a better understanding of your urgency to sell.

To search for Springfield Missouri Real Estate, visit: www.kayvankampen.com.

View of Ozark Mountains!!
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever! You could travel the world and find little to compare with the peace and tranquility of this lovely spot. A sturdy all brick 4BR, 2 1/2 bath ranch set amidst 5 acres. With unsurpassed hillside views and a home anyone would be proud to call their own, it's the perfect blend of privacy and convenience. Located minutes of south Springfield Missouri. Best of all it's brand new, priced at only $299,900. To preview this and other homes go to: www.kayvankampen.com or see this home directly at: 188SettingSun.com.

I Quit Real Estate!


I'm sure everyone at one time or another has quit real estate. I decided to quit this year. Calculating what I would do with the rest of my life, I started reading about everything real estate related. I read “I Quit Real Estate” by Floyd Wickman. I read Your Management Sucks” by Mark Stevens. Every article I read made it sound like the authors were speaking directly to me. Then I found Active Rain.

The truth is that I have worked for almost 20 years selling Springfield Missouri Real Estate, and building a great real estate business to find out I can't quit. I forgot one thing: I Love my job!! Building a great team, I assumed they would be as passionate about selling real estate as I am. I also forgot, as individuals, no one has the same goal..... Imagine that!

I also realized my philosophy about real estate remains the same as it did the day I started.
1. Make money.
2. Service the client to the best of my ability.
3. Maintain a good reputation.
4. Earn repeat business.

Active Rain has changed my real estate career and helped me realize how fortunate I have been to be a realtor.

So, as of the first of the year, I'm changing my team's policy. My new requirements for joining my team: New team members will not be allowed to have a family life - it interferes with selling real estate. Only positive thoughts will be allowed. They will work 48 hours a day. There will be no days off. When they aren’t showing or listing property, they will be following up with clients, knocking on doors, working the website, and all the extra's to make my clients happy.

Does anyone know where I can purchase realtor robots?

I Have The Best Builder - An Ex-Realtor!


Working several years with an ex-realtor that started building homes and wanted me to list his houses. I was a little taken back, when I met with him, to realize that he had watched my advertising and knew my listing strategy. Knowing the market, I was able to preview his homes and tell him how to price his homes.

This year, I currently have two homes on the market, in Nixa, Mo. one I just received an offer on this last week. My assistant could not get him on the phone, so she went to his house and rang the door bell. First thing she heard was the baby start to cry.

The builder's wife answered the door, looking a little upset because she had woke the baby. My assistant told her she had a full price offer, close in 3 weeks. The builders wife's grabbed her and danced her around. She said, I don't care if you did wake the baby....we have an offer!

In today's market, we have to educate all the sellers. I am blessed to have a builder that understands how the market fluctuates and continues to have faith in me, even when the market slows.

Springfield Missouri Real Estate News

Welcome to Greene and Christian County, Missouri!!

My real estate business has been sluggish the past few weeks. I read articles every day on how to cope in a slowing market. A few tips are: Reduce advertising spending, call past clients more frequently, get out in front of more people to meet the fewer buyers, and build a sphere of influence. Working on each of these goals on a daily basis may not seem successful, but it works. Here's a great article I received this week.

Alan Greenspan was in the news a few weeks ago saying the current economic downturn was "likely temporary." Greenspan also noted the worst of the housing market slump is likely past us.

During a Q&A session at the annual Charles Schwab Impact conference in Washington, DC Mr. Greenspan stated, "The economy is obviously going through a significant slowing period, which as best I can tell is more than Likely temporary. And while the housing market is not out of the woods yet, the current slump may not worsen."

Savvy investors will take this to mean that this could point to a good buying opportunity for homes right now!



Happy House Hunting!

Springfield Missouri Real Estate News

Welcome to Greene and Christian County, Missouri!!


The Springfield Multiple Listing System includes the following cities in and around Springfield: Republic, Nixa, Ozark, Rogersville, Highlandville, Spokane, Strafford, Clever, , Mansfield, Battlefield, Seymour, Fordland, Willard, Ava, Billings, Marionville and many more.

Homes in Springfield and surrounding cities are still selling well. Statistics show:

October 2005, in Christian County, 152 homes sold, average sold price of $153,534, with a market time of 58 days. In October 2006, 100 homes sold, average sold price of $177,382, with a market time of 69 days.

In Greene County, in October 2005, 424 homes sold, average sold price of $140,330, with a market time of 48 days. In October 2006, 367 homes sold, average sold price of $131,565, with a market time of 54 days.


The declines in prices served to underscore the severity of the correction in the once-booming housing market, which had seen sales of both new and existing homes soar to record levels for five consecutive years, propelled by the lowest mortgage rates in more than four decades.

Now is the best time to buy a home. I've seen time buyers had little to choose from. Today, there is an abundant supply of homes to choose. Buyer's are being more selective and making great buys.

Happy House Hunting!

Local Housing Bubble Hasn't Burst

I read a great article that only reaffirms what I am seeing in the real estate market for Springfield Missouri. The article was written by Martin Crutsinger, The Associated Press, published in the Springfield Newsleader and states that nationally, home prices are dropping, but in Springfield they are still rising.

Martin Crutsinger
The Associated Press

Post Comment

Washington — The median price of a new home plunged in September by the largest amount in more than 35 years, even as the pace of sales rebounded for a second month.
The Commerce Department reported that the median price for a new home sold in September was $217,100, a drop of 9.7 percent from September 2005. It was the lowest median price for a new home since September 2004 and the sharpest year-over-year decline since December 1970. The weakness in new home prices was even sharper than a 2.5 percent fall in the price of existing homes last month, which had been the biggest drop on record.



The Springfield housing market, however, continue to boast steady growth.

The local median home price increased by 2.6 percent to $123,950 in September, compared with $120,775 in September 2005, the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors said.

"The Springfield market is still very good," said Stacey Clem, president of the local Board of Realtors. "... The prices have stayed steady and gone up a little bit."

Unlike the national housing market, Springfield did not have "the big bubble to bust," Clem said, "and our properties have not seen the big appreciations."

Nationally, the price decline for new homes came while the sales pace picked up, rising by 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 1.075 million homes. It marked the second consecutive increase in sales following three months of declines.

The declines in prices served to underscore the severity of the correction in the once-booming housing market, which had seen sales of both new and existing homes soar to record levels for five consecutive years, propelled by the lowest mortgage rates in more than four decades.

This year, with mortgage rates rising through midsummer, sales have cooled considerably, with housing expected to trim more than a percentage point from overall growth in the last half of the year.

At issue is whether the slowdown will be enough to push the country into an outright recession. The Federal Reserve, recognizing the weakness in housing, halted a two-year string of interest rate increases in August and left rates unchanged for a third straight meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed, however, gave no indication that it planned to start cutting rates because of the weakness in housing, saying it was still concerned that inflation remained too high.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News-Leader reporter Didi Tang contributed to this story

Welcome to Greene and Christian County, Missouri!!

The Springfield Multiple Listing System includes the following cities in and around Springfield: Republic, Nixa, Ozark, Rogersville, Highlandville, Spokane, Strafford, Clever, , Mansfield, Battlefield, Seymour, Fordland, Willard, Ava, Billings, Marionville and many more.

Over the past year the average market time is 63 days and the average sold price is $147,316. Christian County is one of the fastest growing counties in Missouri. We are close to Branson, Missouri, several lakes, Silver Dollar City and Bass Pro Shops. We have excellent schools, beautiful countrysides, affordable homes, and a wide variety of music entertainers and restaurants.

Residential Sales Trends

In a letter from a loan officer friend of mine, I am excited to learn that the current real estate housing market in Springfield, Missouri and surrounding counties is still pretty steady when compared to August 2005. The growth in the "average sales price" of houses has slowed. The number of houses sold in our area is still steady or slightly increasing, and the average sales price is still increasing, just not at the rates we have seen over the last 3 years. This is good news to us, as there are markets in the U.S. that have seen their number of sales as well as “average sales prices” decline over last years numbers.

According to the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors, the majority of our current listings (53%) are still in the very strong market of $120,000 to $300,000. However, there is a 10% increase in inventory on houses listed above $300,000. Homes under $120,000 only include (33%) of the market. These homes usually do not remain on the market long.

With this in mind, it's my opinion there is no reason why buyers should not be purchasing a home right now. Interest rates are stable, inventory is ample and our area is one of the best areas to live in. See Springfield Missouri real estate current homes for sale at: kayvankampen.com.

Happy House Hunting!

Kay Van Kampen Attends Re/MAX Success Convention

Kay Van Kampen and two members of her team, Rhonda Jones and Lina Robertson attended the Mid States RE/MAX Success Convention October 2 and 3rd, 2006 at the Chateau on the Lakes in Branson, Missouri. At the convention, they attended several classes on new technology including safety classes for Realtors.

Kay Van Kampen was also on a panel with two other agents, along with David Teefy, developer of the new RE/MAX website discussing how the new site has increased their business. The new website is allowing the public to search for homes in their own areas and overseas in 60+ countries. Agents are finding the website is an added bonus to their business. Check out Kay's site at: kayvankampen.com.

Welcome! As an experienced realtor of 18 years, I write ads every day. I am constantly trying to find different ways to describe every new listing and ways to describe how great this listing will be once it becomes a home to the proud new owners. Writing an ad that draws attention and is full of information, yet short and to the point is difficult to do when you have a great home to talk about. Let's see if this works.

Our new listing is this 2200 square foot 4 bedroom, 2 bath brick ranch in one of the finest neighborhoods in Ozark. The home, which has an unassuming charm that complements the environment, offers an open floor plan, formal dining room with high ceilings and hardwood floors. The focal point of the living room is the gas log fireplace. An enclosed patio has been added for additional living space. A large kitchen offers marble countertops, a center island, and oversized informal dining area. Top it all off with a 3 car garage. See all the amenities this great home has to offer. To see this and other homes that might interest you, go to our new website: kayvankampen.com. I will add photos and a virtual tour next time.

Real estate in Springfield Missouri and surrounding areas is still very active. Buyers have an abundant supply of homes to choose from and interest rates are still very desirable.


Happy House Hunting

Kay Van Kampen