WELCOME...to a review of our local Houston events with information on the local real estate market condition.

My personal goal is to keep you informed of critical and not so critical news. I hope you will take the time to share any future topics you have an interest in.

Joe Stiles

Interest rates have shifted very slightly up this past week, according to FHLMC.

30 Year Fixed Rate:

• Week Ended September 7, 2006 = 6.470% with 0.40% origination fee
• Week Ended August 31, 2006 = 6.440% with 0.60% origination fee
• Last Year = 5.710%

15 Year Fixed Rate:

• Week Ended September 7, 2006 = 6.160% with 0.40% origination fee
• Week Ended Auguest 31, 2006 = 6.140% with 0.40% origination fee
• Last Year = 5.300%

  Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at FHLMC, indicated that the slightly higher interest rates have resulted in more houses sitting on the market for longer periods of time."

  This "buyers market" will allow potential purchases to look longer and press the sellers for a better transaction.

  www.joestiles.com

The Houston median price for SFR homes reached a monthly record for July of $155,890. The average Houston single-family home price topped the $200,000 mark for the third month in a row at $206,045.

Have you compared our market to the nation's real estate market? Now...let's be thankful we live in Houston with such a vibrant real estate market.

Let's NOW get our proprty taxes under control as well as our legislative spending>

Many of us can quickly and warmly compare the advantages of having a grandchild to that of having your own child.

Our own child requires constant attention 24 hours per day for the first 21 (or so) years. We must educate our child scholastically as well as morally on a continuous basis. It would be interesting to see some dollar numbers on what we, as parents, spend on our child from cradle through college. I think we might be really shoked!

NOW...we, who are grandparents, get to enjoy our new grandchild and absolutely spoil them rotten and provide loving attention to them for much shorter periods of time.

It is fun to see the grandchild grow before your very eyes as he/she learns our grandparent nick-names. My grandfather name is Pop-Pop and Linda's grandmother name is Nanna (like bananna but don't tell her I said that because she would shoot me - it's our little joke).

Just in case anyone might want to see the world's cutest grandchild, she is viewable at www.thestileshome.com

We hope you enjoy the photos and short videos. Isn't it fun to be a "first time" grandparent?

I recently picked up the book Time Tactics of Very Successful People by B. Eugene Griessman.

Th following are just some of the topics of the book: I encourage you to pick up the book for some REALLY great ideas for opening doors to your personal sales approach.

• Increase Your Efficiency
• Find Hidden Time
• Enlist Others To Save You Time
• Use Technology That Works
• Balancing Work, Family and Social Life

I hope you enjoy the book as I have.

When you need a mortgage banker that works as hard as you do, let me introduce you to MORTGAGE FINANCING WITH...STILE

Are you looking for new new business development opportunities? Be sure to ask me about the Private Label Mortgage Lending Program and how it benefit you, directly.

• www.joestiles.com

• Referring a Referral
• Your 30 Seconds of Fame

JOE STILES has over 20 years mortgage experience and lives in West Houston with his wife, Linda, a dynamic professional speaker and communications trainer (www.lindastiles.com). Joe earned a BBA degree in Marketing from the University of Houston, where he was awarded membership in the Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies. Joe is also a graduate of the School of Mortgage Banking at Northwestern University. Joe remains active in the Houston community through Second Baptist Church and numerous civic organizations.

Joe frequently speaks at many Houston-area organizations and at local firms on Credit Scores, stolen IDs - Prevention & Cure and several other funny and motivating topics.

Network Funding is a Houston, TX based mortgage banking firm that has 160 branches in 32 states.