By Dennis Norman, on January 12th, 2023 There were 4,515 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended November 30, 2022, a decrease of 6.93% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,851 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Four of the seven counties covered in the report saw an increase in building permits from the same period a year ago with the largest increase (9.15%) coming in St Louis County.
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By Dennis Norman, on January 6th, 2023 Kind of an attention-getting headline, huh? At least it’s not as bad as a lot of the gloom and doom headlines I’m reading today about the real estate market. Many folks out there are predicting a total meltdown of the housing market, and our economy as a whole for that matter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not drinking the “there’s nothing to see here” Kool-Aid, I do believe we are in for some rough times ahead, I am just not convinced it’s going to be as bad here in St Louis as in many parts of the country.
So back Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 25th, 2022
By Dennis Norman, on December 21st, 2022 Even though the number of new home building permits in the St Louis area has been on the decline, they’re been on the increase in the midwest region of which St Louis is a part. As the chart below illustrates, for the 12-month period ended last month, there are been 2,850 building permits issued for new privately-owned housing units in the midwest region of the U.S. an increase of 3.6% from he prior 12-month period when there were 2,746 permits issued. For just the month of November 2022, there were 197 permits, down nearly 8% from November 2021 when 214 Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 20th, 2022 Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released details of a Consent Order they reached with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in which Wells Fargo is ordered to pay “more than $2 billion in redress to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty for legal violations across several of its largest product lines.” According to a press release issued by the CFPB, Wells Fargo’s “..illegal conduct led to billions of dollars in financial harm to its customers and, for thousands of customers, the loss of their vehicles and homes.” Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, stated “Wells Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 20th, 2022 As the chart below illustrates, yesterday, mortgage interest rates on a 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage increased slightly to 6.27% after dropping to 6.13% last Thursday, the lowest level in over 3 months.
Historically-speaking, it’s not that bad….
Granted, no one really wants to hear this, but, if we look at the bigger picture (like the bottom chart that goes back to 1971) we’ll see that our current mortgage interest rates aren’t that high. In fact, over the 52-year period depicted on the chart, about 70% of the time mortgage interest rates were higher than they are now. If you’re Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 19th, 2022 The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) report for December 2022 and, not surprisingly, it shows the builders are continuing to lose confidence in the market. In fact, builder sentiment has dropped every month during 2022, ending the year at an index value of 31, the lowest seen since the onslaught of COVID-19 in April 2020.
Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis New Homes For Sale NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) / Builder Sentiment Chart
(click on chart for live, interactive chart)
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By Dennis Norman, on December 15th, 2022 There were 900 homes and condominiums “flipped” during the third quarter in the St Louis M.S.A., according to data just released by ATTOM Data Solutions. As the chart below illustrates, these flips represent 6.6% of all sales during the 3rd quarter of 2022, a decrease of 28.8% from the prior quarter but an increase of over 15% from a year ago.
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St Louis Home Flipping Trends
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By Dennis Norman, on December 9th, 2022 There were 4,499 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended October 31, 2022, a decrease of 7.01% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,838 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Five of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago with three of the counties have a double digit decline. Franklin County came out the big winner with nearly Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 8th, 2022 During November, there were 255 properties with foreclosure filings in the St Louis MSA, according to ATTOM Data’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. This represents an increase of 42% in St Louis foreclosures from November of 2021 but is a decline of over 76% from the prior month, according to the report.
As the chart below shows, 8 counties reported an increase in foreclosures from a year ago, 2 counties had a decrease in foreclosure activity and 5 had no change in activity. Macoupin County, Illinois saw the largest increase at 367% followed by Warren County, Missouri at 300%.
[xyz-ips snippet=”Foreclosures-For-Sale-and-Homes-For-Sale”]
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By Dennis Norman, on December 2nd, 2022 This week the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) announced that the limits for all conforming home loans to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie-Mac (most of the conventional home loans originated) will increase to $726,200 on January 1, 2023. This is an increase of $79,000 for the current loan limit of $647,200.
Also this week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that the limits for all FHA loans will increase to between $472,030 and $1,089,300 for single-family homes depending on the area the property is located in. Below are the limits for the low cost mortgage areas as well Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 2nd, 2022 According to results just released by Lending Tree from a survey they conducted in October, 61% of tenant’s surveyed feel their rent is more expensive than it should be. Twenty-six percent of tenants felt their rent was about what it should be, 9% didn’t know if their rent was the right amount or not and 5% actually felt their rent was too low.
Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES How Renters Feel About Their Rent
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By Dennis Norman, on December 1st, 2022 According to results just released by Lending Tree from a survey they conducted in October, 41% of American’s surveyed expect the housing market to crash next year. As the table below, which shows the results by generation, the Millennials are the most pessimistic about the market with 44% of the millennials surveyed believing the housing market is headed to a crash. The most optimistic generation? Baby boomers, with only 35% of the generation I belong to believing we are headed to a crash.
Inflation is the leading culprit…
Of those surveyed that believe the housing market is headed for a Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 30th, 2022 The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) just released its pending home sales report for October 2022 which revealed pending home sales in the U.S. were down 37% from October 2021. The Northeast market had the smallest decline in year-over-year pending home sales with a decline of 29.5% followed by the Midwest with a decline of 32.1%, the South with a decline of 38.2%. The west region of the U.S. saw the biggest decline in pending home sales with a decline of 46.2% from October 2021 to October 2022.
The St Louis market is performing better…
While the NAR does not Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 25th, 2022 As the chart below illustrates, on November 10th, mortgage interest rates on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped sharply from 7.22% the day before to 6.62% on the 10th. Since dropping, interest rates have remained around the 6.6% level.
Historically, the current rates are not bad, but that does lessen the impact…
As the bottom chart below shows, interest rates have been above the current levels for over half the period. However, understandably, that doesn’t mean much to first-time home buyers or younger homebuyers as for over the past 10 years the rates have been much less, even to the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 23rd, 2022 Is the St Louis real estate market going to crash? The national news is filled lately with reports of slowing housing markets throughout the country, increasing inventories, falling sales and prices. Some prognosticators are predicting some metro areas will see home prices fall by as much as 40 or 50 percent. Is the St Louis real estate market on a similar trajectory?? While I can’t predict the future, I can share data to help you see where the St Louis real estate market is currently as well as where the data shows it’s headed.
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[xyz-ips snippet=”Seller-Resources—Listing-Targeted”]
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By Dennis Norman, on November 11th, 2022 Below is our St Louis Real Estate Market Report for October 2022 for the City and County of St Louis combined. You can access the full infographic, containing data for St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin Counties as well by clicking on the image below.
Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES St Louis Real Estate Report for October 2022
(click on infographic for complete report including other counties)
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By Dennis Norman, on November 10th, 2022 There were 4,499 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of 8.89% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,938 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Five of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago with three of the counties have a double digit decline.
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By Dennis Norman, on November 9th, 2022 The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo, jointly publish quarterly their Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) which shows the affordability, or lack thereof, of homes to a typical family. To arrive at an index value the median home price of recently sold homes for an area is taken into account as well as the median income for a family in that area. From this data the index is computed to show how affordable the typical home is to a typical family. The higher the index, the more affordable homes are to buyers in that market and the lower Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 28th, 2022 As the tables below show, so far during October there have been 52 home sales closed in Franklin County, down 43% from the same period last year when there were 91 sales closed. The median sold price this month for those closed sales in Franklin County has been $210,000 an increase of over 12 percent from the same period last year when the median prices homes in Franklin County sold for was $187,000.
The time it took listings to sell actually improved slightly with the median time being 43 days last October and 4o days this month. Last year the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 28th, 2022 As the tables below show, so far during October there have been 704 home sales closed in St Louis County, down 26% from the same period last year when there were 955 sales closed. The median sold price this month for those closed sales in St Louis County has been $255,000 an increase of over 10 percent from the same period last year when the median prices homes in St Louis County sold for was $231,000. The time it took listings to sell has not changed with both periods having a median of 12 days and homes sold for a Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2022 As the tables below show, so far during October there have been 278 home sales closed in St Charles County, down 28% from the same period last year when there were 388 sales closed. The median sold price this month for those closed sales in St Charles County has been $337,000 an increase of over 12 percent from the same period last year when the median prices homes in St Charles County sold for was 300. Another bit of data which is illustrates the overbidding we’ve seen in the past that has quickly come to an end for the most Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2022 Monthly, Fannie Mae surveys consumers to gauge their sentiment toward whether it’s a good time to buy or sell a home and publishes the result in their Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI). As the chart below illustrates, in the most recent survey, which was just released, the HPSI index was at 60.8, the lowest level in nearly 11 years. No doubt the higher interest rates and softening economy are taking their toll on homebuyer’s optimism about the prospects of buying a home in the current market. This marks the seventh-consecutive monthly decline in the index and the first time since Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 26th, 2022 According to the results of the Household Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau during the week of October 5 – October 17, about 1 in 8 tenants in Missouri reported they are not current on rent and a staggering 37.87% said they are somewhat likely to face eviction in the next 2-months.
Tenant Delinquencies In Missouri (Infographic)
(click for full-size version)
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By Dennis Norman, on October 21st, 2022 As the infographic below illustrates, the time active listings in St Louis have been on the market is much greater than the time it took homes that closed last month to sell. In addition, a much greater percentage of the current active listings have reduced their asking prices versus the sales that closed last month.
The most dramatic increase in days on the market was in St Charles County. Active listings in St Charles County have been on the market a median time of 38 days, almost 5 times as long as the sales that closed in September where the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 18th, 2022 The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) report for October 2022 and, not surprisingly, it shows the builders are continuing to lose confidence in the market. As our chart below shows, the Housing Market Index (HMI), the red line, peaked in November 2020 at 90 and has, with the exception of a few minor upticks along the way, fallen ever since reaching 38, the lowest level since August 2012 when it fell to 37.
Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis New Homes For Sale Single Family Housing Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 14th, 2022 During the third quarter of this year, there were 907 properties with foreclosure filings in the St Louis MSA, according to ATTOM Data’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. This represents an increase of 44.43% in St Louis foreclosures from the same quarter a year ago but is a decline of 16% from the second quarter of this year, according to the report.
As the table below shows, with the exception of Bond County in Illinois, all 15 counties reported had an increase in foreclosure activity during the 3rd quarter over last year, and all at least a double-digit increase. Lincoln County, Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 13th, 2022 Yesterday, Fannie Mae released their October housing forecast in which they forecast, among other things, where home sales and prices are headed. The report incudes a forecast for next year, which included:
Home prices in 2023 to decline 1.5% from 2022 Home sales to finish 2022 down nearly 18% from last year and drop another 22% in 2023 New home construction to end 2022 down 3.6% from last year and drop another 25% in 2023. Mortgage Interest Rates will continue to rise the rest of these year, ending the year at 6.7% and then will ease back to 6.4% in Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 12th, 2022 As the STL Real Estate Trends report below shows, as of last week, 43% of the active listings in the St Louis 5-County core market have a current asking price that is lower than the initial asking price. This is more than a 100% increase from the same week last year when only 20% of the listings had a reduced asking price.
Franklin County saw the biggest increase in price reductions on listings from last year with an increase from 14% to 47%. Franklin County also has the highest percentage of active listings with a reduced price and St Charles Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 11th, 2022 Below is our St Louis Real Estate Market Report for September 2022 for the City and County of St Louis combined. You can access the full infographic, containing data for St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin Counties as well by clicking on the image below. Worth noting and remembering is not all data is created equally nor is all of what you see reported accurate. Given the challenging and rapidly changing economic times we are in which are having an direct impact on the St Louis housing and real estate market, now, almost more than ever, you need to be sure Continue Reading →
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