Dennis Norman - St Louis Real Estate News

New Listings Continue To Outpace New Contracts In Four out of Five Counties In St Louis Area

By Dennis Norman, on February 15th, 2023

Last week, there were 405 new listings of homes for sale in the St Louis 5-county core market, according to the STL Real Estate Trends Report from MORE, REALTORS®. During the same week, there were 365 new sale contracts written on homes for sale resulting in a new listing to new contract ratio of 1.11. As the tables below illustrate, the only county that had more new sales last week than new listings was Franklin County with 16 new sales and 15 new listings.

Listing supply remains low…

As the table at the bottom shows, as of today, there is Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosure Activity Increases Twenty-Five Percent In January From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on February 10th, 2023

Last month, there were 307 properties with foreclosure filings in the St Louis MSA, according to ATTOM Data’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. This represents an increase of 25% in St Louis foreclosures from January 2022 to January 2023.

It’s not as bad as it sounds…

While a 25% increase sounds bad, the chart below, which shows foreclosure filings for the St Louis MSA since 2006, puts it in perspective. Last year, there were 4,066 total foreclosure actions for the year so even if our foreclosure activity for 2023 would continue to be 25% higher than last years level, it would Continue Reading →

St Louis New Listings and New Contracts Trend Indicating an Easing in Demand

By Dennis Norman, on February 9th, 2023

Last week, there were 350 new listings of homes for sale in the St Louis 5-county core market, according to the STL Real Estate Trends Report from MORE, REALTORS®. During the same week, there were 442 new sale contracts written on homes for sale resulting in a new listing to new contract ratio of 1.26. So while new contracts are still out numbering new listings, last weeks margin was much lower than a year ago during the same week. As the tables below show, last year during the same week there were only 266 new listings of homes for sale Continue Reading →

Ten zip codes in St Louis with the highest percentage of equity-rich mortgages

By Dennis Norman, on February 7th, 2023

According to data released by ATTOM Data Research, during the fourth quarter of 2022, 42.37% of the homeowners with a mortgage within the 63376 zip code, were “equity-rich” meaning their mortgage balance was just 50% or less of the current value of their home. The table below shows the 10 St Louis zip codes with the highest percentage of equity-rich mortgages. Half of zip codes on the list are located within the St Charles County, four in St Louis County and one in Jefferson County

Also shown on the table is the percentage of homeowners with a seriously-underwater mortgage, meaning Continue Reading →

Ten zip codes in St Louis with the highest percentage of seriously underwater mortgages

By Dennis Norman, on February 6th, 2023

According to data released by ATTOM Data Research, during the fourth quarter of 2022, 35.7% of the homeowners with a mortgage within the 63118 zip code, were seriously underwater on their mortgage, meaning their mortgage balance exceeds the value of their home by 25% or more. The table below shows the 10 St Louis zip codes with the highest percentage of seriously underwater mortgages. Half of zip codes on the list are located within the City of St Louis and the other half are located in North St Louis County.

Also shown on the table is the percentage of homeowners Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Trend Drops To Lowest Level In Over Seven Years

By Dennis Norman, on February 5th, 2023

For the 12-month period ended January 31, 2023, there were 24,993 homes sold in the St Louis 5-county core market which, as the STL Market Report below (available exclusively from MORE, REALTORS®) shows, is nearly a 17% decline in home sales from the the prior 12-month period when there were over 30,000 homes sold. The median price of homes sold during the most recent 12-month period was $266,500, an increase of 6.6% from the prior 12-month period.

St Louis home sales trend falling fast….

Below the market report is a STL Market Chart showing (also available exclusively from MORE, Continue Reading →

St Louis Area New Home Building Permits for 2022 at lowest level in seven years

By Dennis Norman, on January 25th, 2023

There were 4,361 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during 2022, a decline of 9.62% from 2021 when there were 4,825 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). As the table below shows, 4 of the 7 counties included in the report had a decline in the number of permits issued in 2022 from the year before, with there of them double-digit declines. Lincoln County saw the biggest drop percentage-wise with a decline of 38.27% followed by St Charles County Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Rental Increasing Faster Than Wages

By Dennis Norman, on January 19th, 2023

A report just released by ATTOM data shows that St Louis home prices are rising at a rate significantly higher than the rate wages in St Louis are rising and St Louis rental rates are increasing at rates higher than home prices. As the chart below shows, during the past year, wages in the St Louis metro area increased 3.8% however, home prices in St Louis increased 7.9% and rental rates increased 11.2%.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES St Louis MSA – Housing Affordability

Data source: ATTOM Data – Continue Reading →

Franklin County Home Prices Increased at nearly double the rate for St Louis County From 2021 to 2022

By Dennis Norman, on January 13th, 2023

The median price of homes sold in Franklin County increased from 2021 to 2022 at nearly double the rate the price of homes sold in St Louis County did during the same period. As the chart below shows, the median price of homes sold in Franklin County during 2021 was $206,000 and then increased 6.7% to $219,800 in 2022. During the same period, the median price of homes sold in St Louis County increased 3.4% from 246,500 to $255,000.

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Franklin County vs St Louis County Home Prices – 2021-2022

(click on chart for live, interactive Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures Increased 46 Percent Last Year

By Dennis Norman, on January 13th, 2023

During 2022, there were 4,066 properties with foreclosure filings in the St Louis MSA, according to ATTOM Data’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. This represents an increase of 46% in St Louis foreclosures from 2021 and a 48% increase from 2020.

It’s not as bad as it sounds…

While the 2022 increase sounds bad, the chart below, which shows foreclosure filings for the St Louis MSA since 2006, puts it in perspective. The foreclosure activity in St Louis last year, while higher than the two prior years mentioned above, was lower than the 14 years prior. As the chart illustrates, as Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits in St Louis area Decline overall but up in more counties than down

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.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices Fall Over 12% And Sales Fall 40% In 6-Month Period

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 →

Merry Christmas!

By Dennis Norman, on December 25th, 2022

New Home Construction In Midwest During Increased During Past 12 Months

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 →

CFPB Orders Wells Fargo To Pay $3.7 Billion…Includes more than $2 B in redress to consumers

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 →

Mortgage Interest Rates Inch Up a Little After Dropping to 3-Month Low

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 →

Home Builder Sentiment Falls Every Month During 2022 Reaching Lowest Level Since Beginning of COVID

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)

Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Flips During 3rd Quarter Decline Nearly 30% From Previous Quarter

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

Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits in St Louis area Decline 7 Percent but increase 15 Percent in Franklin County

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 →

St Louis Foreclosures In November Up Forty-Two percent from a year ago

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”]

Continue Reading →

Lending Limits Increase on Fannie-Mae and FHA Loans

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 →

Sixty-One Percent of Tenants Feel Their Rent is More Expensive then it should be

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

Continue Reading →

Forty-One Percent of Americans Think The Housing Market Will Crash Next Year

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 →

Pending Home Sales Drop By One-Third In Midwest But St Louis Faring Better

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 →

Mortgage Interest Rates Remain Lower For Two Weeks Now

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 →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update – Video

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”]

Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Report For October 2022

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)

Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits In St Louis For Most Recent 12-Months Decline Nearly 9 Percent

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.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search Continue Reading →

Builders’ Housing Affordability Index Drops To Lowest Level Since Inception

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 →

Franklin County Closed Home Sales In October Over 43 Percent Lower Than Last Year

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 →