If you are looking to buy or sell a home or commercial property, Niles’ newest real estate business, Corner Stone Realty, is here to help.

Karin Buda, a South Bend, Ind., native who has lived in Niles since 1990, opened Corner Stone late last year at 215 Broadway St., Niles.

Buda is a licensed broker and realtor in Indiana and Michigan who has been working in real estate since 2005.

She has three real estate agents working for her as independent contractors: Melanie Brennan, George Muthart and Chad Jankoviak.

Prior to opening Corner Stone, Buda worked for several years at Gold Star Realty in Edwardsburg.

Buda said she is excited to have her own business.

“It is an opportunity to be in control, do your own thing, call your own shots,” she said. “I have a philosophy that if my agents don’t succeed, I don’t succeed — so I am here to support them with good commission splits and good training.”

Corner Stone serves buyers and sellers of residential and commercial property and vacant land, but does not do rentals. Their coverage area is Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, St. Joseph and Kalamazoo counties in Michigan, and St. Joseph and Elkhart counties in Indiana.

Buda said the real estate market is improving, with home prices up 12 percent from a year ago.

“Some areas are higher, some are lower,” she said. “So prices are going up and, from the lenders I speak with, interest rates are going to hold steady for some time to come.”

Buda graduated from Southwestern Michigan College with a marketing degree and worked in advertising for 20 years covering radio stations and newspapers in South Bend and Niles. She began doing real estate on the advice of a friend in 2005.

It’s been the perfect fit.

“I love it — I found my life calling,” she said. “This is what I’ll be doing for many years to come.”

Buda said she chose the location because it is in a high-traffic area and is just two doors down from a title company.

Her business philosophy is simple.

“It is very important for me to build relationships with my clients and represent them in an honest fashion,” she said. “That way they will want to come back and do business again, and refer me to people they know.”

Check out Corner Stone online at cornerstoneres.com. Buda can be reached by phone at (269) 340-2545.