Dennis Norman - St Louis Real Estate News

Great Scott! The Scott’s Are Buying Out St Louis!

By Dennis Norman, on May 24th, 2018

According to a report just released by ATTOM Data Research, during 2017, there was a 40 percent increase in homes purchased by people with a family name of Scott from the year before making Scott the family name with the largest increase in home purchases in the St Louis MSA during 2017.

This increase of home purchase by “Scott’s” was the largest increase in St Louis home purchases for a family name during 2017. At the other end of the spectrum, the family name of “Martin” saw the largest decline in home purchases with a 26% decline in homes purchased Continue Reading →

St Louis Ranked 8th Most Affordable Metro Area To Buy A Home

By Dennis Norman, on May 23rd, 2018

According to a report just released by HSH, St Louis is the 8th most affordable metro area to buy a home in and one of just 17 metro areas where an income of less than $50,000 per year will buy a median-priced home. The report is based upon data from the 1st quarter of this year when the median-priced home in the St Louis MSA was $162,400 (a 4.84% increase from a year ago) and the average mortgage interest rate was 4.41% (an increase of 0.36% from the previous quarter) resulting in a house payment (principal and interest portion only) Continue Reading →

Should Home Buyers Use Price Escalation Clauses?

By Dennis Norman, on May 21st, 2018

St Louis home buyers today face stiff competition from other buyers and often find themselves in a “multiple bid” situations where a seller has several offers to consider. This has led many buyers agents to suggest the use of “escalation clauses” by their clients in order to increase their chances of success. However, not everyone in real estate industry agrees that this is a good practice and some think it is doesn’t serve the buyer well. I tend to fall into the latter camp as I am not a fan of escalation clauses for buyers, however, in the right situation Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosure Rate Drops Over Twenty-Percent In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on May 19th, 2018

The number of St Louis homeowners losing their homes in foreclosure declined to a total of 700 foreclosure actions in the St Louis MSA, according to the latest report from ATTOM Research. Aprils foreclosure rate of 1 in every 1,768 housing units in the St Louis MSA is a decline of 22.82% from the rate a year ago and a decline of 9.68% from the foreclosure rate for March 2018.

As the table below illustrates, of the 15 counties in the St Louis MSA covered, all but three have seen a decline in foreclosure rates from a year ago (and Continue Reading →

Where St Louis Area Homeowners Are Moving

By Dennis Norman, on May 17th, 2018

The St Louis metro area has seen some population growth over the last few decades but not nearly as much as many other areas. From 1975 until last year, the population of the St Louis MSA increased 12.3% from 2,500,100 in 1975 to 2,807,338 in 2017. Of the major counties in Missouri that make up the St Louis MSA, St Charles County gained the most population increasing 248% during the same period. As the table below shows, 4 of the 5 major counties covered saw an increase in population from 1975 to 2017, although St Louis County’s increase was a Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – May 2018

By Dennis Norman, on May 13th, 2018

The low inventory of homes for sale in many areas and price ranges throughout St Louis continues to plague the St Louis housing market and is causing home sales to run behind last years sales. Find out more, as well as get information on some of St Louis’s best resources for home buyers and sellers in our just-released market update video. In our MORE, REALTORS, 5 Minute St Louis Real Estate Market Update video below, you can quickly and easily get the latest information on home prices, home sales, trends and more for the entire St Louis area!

Continue Reading →

First-Time Homebuyers; 5 Things You Should Do BEFORE You Buy

By Dennis Norman, on May 10th, 2018

Just over 1 of every three (34%) homebuyers in 2017 were first-time homebuyers according to the With the growing population of millennials reaching an age where many are buying homes, I expect to see the percentage of first-time homebuyers increase over the next couple of years.

Many first-time homebuyers find the home buying process to be a little intimidating which is largely due to just lacking the experience of having done it before and the knowledge that is gained from the experience. However, with a time spent getting educated on the process, the fears can be calmed and the home Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – April 2018

By Dennis Norman, on April 14th, 2018

A low inventory of homes for sale is making it tough on the St Louis real estate market with sales for the first quarter of this year lagging behind last year. St Louis home prices, on the other hand, continue to rise as do the number of “seller’s markets” in St Louis. In fact, as the video shows, the list of buyers markets in the St Louis area is short…in fact the shortest list I can remember. Find out more, as well as get information on some of St Louis’s best resources for home buyers and sellers in our just-released Continue Reading →

New Home Construction Activity Up Slightly In St Louis Area – St Charles County Losing Steam

By Dennis Norman, on April 11th, 2018

New home construction, based upon building permits issued, is up overall for the 7-county area covered in St Louis by the Home Builders Association of St Louis and Eastern Missouri (HBA). For the most recent 12-month period reported for this area, through the end of February 2018, there have been 4,720 single family permits issue versus 4,579 for the prior 12-month period, an increase of 3.08%.

As the table below shows, 5 of the 7 counties reported on by the HBA have seen double-digit increases in new home construction during the past 12-months, Lincoln County and St Charles County being Continue Reading →

When Is The Best Time To Sell Your Home?

By Dennis Norman, on March 29th, 2018

If I had a dollar for everytime someone asks me when is the best time to sell their home I would probably not have to be writing this article today and instead would be relaxing somewhere warm :). My initial answer, while somewhat snarky, is always the same “when you have a buyer“. Actually though, just because there is a buyer doesn’t mean you are realizing the best price and terms as may be possible.

It’s not really possible to be totally objective when analyzing this as no more which data I choose to use or consider is going to Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices Increase 3.8 Percent In Past Year While Sales Increase About Half As Much

By Dennis Norman, on March 24th, 2018

Home prices in the St Louis 5-County core market increased 3.67 percent in the 12-month period ending February 28, 2018 to a median price of $186,500 from $179,900 for the prior 12-month period. During the same period, home sales in the St Louis 5-County core market increased 1.89% to 27,839 homes sold from 27,323 homes sold during the prior 12-month period.

As our table below shows, there were 1,489 homes sold during February 2018, and are currenlty 4,921 homes listed for sale, computing into a 3.3 month supply of homes for sale, continuing to favor sellers due to the low Continue Reading →

Is The Listing Agent Required To Inform Your Buyers Agent Of Multiple Offers?

By Dennis Norman, on March 18th, 2018

In today’s low-inventory real estate market here in St Louis, it’s common for would-be buyers to miss out on a house they want even when they make a strong offer only to find out they got beat out by another buyer offering a higher price or better terms. This is particularly true for people trying to buy a foreclosure with increasing demand and decreasing supply, it is not uncommon to have 5, 10 or even more offers for the newly listed foreclosed property.

Does the listing agent have to inform you of multiple offers?

No one Continue Reading →

Do Open Houses Sell Homes?

By Dennis Norman, on March 17th, 2018

Ask a dozen real estate agents what their thoughts are on the effectiveness, or importanced, of open houses for sellers and you will likely get about a dozen different opnions. Opinions from agents on open houses include: open houses are vital to properly exposing the listing to the market; they are good practice for newer agents; they are a great opportunity to meet potentital buyer clients; they are done to appease a seller; they are a security risk to the homeowner.

So, do open houses sell homes? Are open houses necessary to sell your home?

Personally, I don’t believe open Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – March 2018

By Dennis Norman, on March 15th, 2018

The real estate market in St Louis, after the first two months, continues to see good price appreciation with home sales on about the same pace as this time last year. Find out more, as well as get information on some of St Louis’s best resources for home buyers and sellers in our just-released market update video. In our MORE, REALTORS, 5 Minute“> St Louis Real Estate Market Update video below, you can quickly and easily get the latest information on home prices, home sales, trends and more for the entire St Louis area!

Sell Your Home Continue Reading →

Is The West St Louis County Luxury Market Slowing Down?

By Dennis Norman, on March 8th, 2018

My business partner was out yesterday previewing homes in West St Louis County and had a discussion with a listing agent in the area that mentioned the large supply homes for sale in the upper price ranges. Considering about all we hear about today is how there is a shortage of inventory and homes are selling so fast, this conversation about growing inventory seemed out of sorts. Before I go further, I should mention that the “mainstream” market is almost always going to perform better than the luxury market for a variety of reasons including the size of the buyer Continue Reading →

Homes Sold Last Month In St Louis Took Half The Time To Sell Than They Did Four Years Ago

By Dennis Norman, on March 3rd, 2018

Homes that sold in the St Louis area last month sold for a median price of $123 per foot and took a median time of just 35 days to sell, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. As the 5-year chart below illustrates, the median price of homes sold in St Louis have steadily increased over the period, from $93 per foot in February 2014, to $123 per foot last month, an increase of 32.3%. During this same period, the median time it took for homes to sell declined from 70 days in February 2014 to just 35 days Continue Reading →

St Louis Neighborhoods Where Homes Sold The Fastest Last Month

By Dennis Norman, on March 1st, 2018

Three of the fastest selling cities in the St Louis metro area are on the Illinois side of the Mississippi including the number one city on the list, Columbia. As the table below shows, homes that sold in Columbia Illinois during the past 30 days were on the market an average of just 21 days before they sold. Four of the ten-fastest selling cities saw homes sell in less than a month with the remaining six cities averaging just over a month. Clicking on the table will take you to the complete list with live data.

St Louis’ Fastest Sold Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – February 2018

By Dennis Norman, on February 27th, 2018

The real estate market in St Louis is off to a good start for 2018 so far! Find out more, as well as get information on some of St Louis’s best resources for home buyers and sellers in our just-released market update video. In our MORE, REALTORS, 5 Minute St Louis Real Estate Market Update video below, you can quickly and easily get the latest information on home prices, home sales, trends and more for the entire St Louis area!

Sell Your Home For The Highest Price In The Least Amount of Time! See how- STLSellersAdvantage.com Save Continue Reading →

New Home Construction In St Louis Area Trending Upward In Most Areas – St Charles County Sees Decline

By Dennis Norman, on February 23rd, 2018

New home construction in the St Louis area is off to a good start for 2018 with a total of 326 building permits for new homes being issued during January for the 7-county St Louis area reported on by the Home Builders Association of Eastern Missouri. This permit activity in January represents an 11% increase over the activity in January 2017 when there were 293 new home permits issued. During the month of January 2018, 4 of 7 counties saw an increase in building permits from January 2017 (Jefferson County +26%, Franklin County +143%, Warren County +1%, St Louis City Continue Reading →

The Impact of the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site On Surrounding Home Vales

By Dennis Norman, on February 21st, 2018

Located at 13570 St Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton Missouri is a 200-acre landfill known as the West Laek Landfill Superfund site which has been the center of controversy and a source of frequent headlines over the past few years. The reason it has garnered so much attention is becuase of health concerns related to radioactive waste at the site. The source of the radioactive waste goes back to 1973 when soil that was mixed iwth leached barium sulfate was used to cover the landfill. The radioactive waste came from a nearby storage and processing facility located at 9200 Latty Continue Reading →

Number of Seriously Underwater St Louis Homeowners Down Fifty-Percent From 4 Years Ago

By Dennis Norman, on February 9th, 2018

The percentage of homeowners with a mortgage in the St Louis MSA that were seriously underwater in the last quarter of 2017 was 13.8%, about half the rate from 4 years earlier, according to data just released by ATTOM Data Solutions. For this report, a homeowner is considered “seriously underwater” when the total of their home mortgage(s) is equal to, or greater than, 125% of their home’s current value.

Also shown on the table below is the percentage of equity-rich homewners in the St Louis MSA. An “equity-rich” homeowner is at the other end of the spectrum from an underwater Continue Reading →

Looking Back – 2017 Was A Good Year For Real Estate In The St Louis Area

By Dennis Norman, on February 4th, 2018

Last year was a good year for the St Louis real estate market evidenced by increased home prices and sales in all counties in and around St Louis from the year before, with the lone exception being Franklin County which saw a decline in both home sales and prices from the year before.

As the table below illustrates, the St Louis MSA as a whole saw median home prices increase 2.99% in 2017 from the year before and home sales increase 4.14% during the same period. Date for the other counties is shown as well by clicking on the table.

Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Cities Where Homes Sold The Slowest In 2017

By Dennis Norman, on January 31st, 2018

In spite of the strong real estate market in 2017 in St Louis, there were cities in St Louis where home’s sold slower than in others. As the counter to the previous article published, where we listed the fast selling cities, today we will identify the St Louis towns and cities where it took the longest to sell a home in 2017.

Where in St Louis did homes sell the slowest in 2017?

As our table below shows, Edgar Springs, a small town in Phelps County MO with a population of just over 200, was Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Cities Where Homes Sold The Fastest In 2017

By Dennis Norman, on January 30th, 2018

The St Louis area real estate market had a good year in 2017 with strong sales and sustainable home price growth throughout the area. One of the challenges to the market was a result of a low inventory of homes for sale which forced home buyers to move quickly when a new listings hit the market. This resulted in homes selling very quickly in popular areas and areas of high demand.

Where in St Louis did homes sell the quickest in 2017?

As our table below shows, Grantwood Village, a quaint Village with about 900 residents Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – January 2018

By Dennis Norman, on January 23rd, 2018

The St Louis real estate market closed out 2017 with an increase in both home sales and prices from the year before, both at a healthy and, hopefully, sustainable rates. Find out more, as well as get information on some of St Louis’s best resources for home buyers and sellers in our just-released market update video. In our MORE, REALTORS, 5 Minute St Louis Real Estate Market Update video below, you can quickly and easily get the latest information on home prices, home sales, trends and more for the entire St Louis area!

Sell Your Home For Continue Reading →

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Paved The Path For Fair Housing

By Dennis Norman, on January 15th, 2018

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a name synonymous with civil rights who, along with his followers, led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Through the efforts of the civil rights movement, Dr. King and others were able to get the attention of our nation resulting in President John F. Kennedy, in a nationally televised address on June 6, 1963, urging the nation to ” take action toward guaranteeing equal treatment of every American regardless of race.” Shortly after his address to the nation, President Kennedy proposed that Congress consider civil rights legislation that would address rights in Continue Reading →

Want To Sell Your Home? We Know The Name Of The Likely Buyer!

By Dennis Norman, on January 4th, 2018

When you interview real estate agents to consider them to list your home there are all sorts of claims they can make as to what they will do different, or how they will get your home sold quicker, for more, etc. But how about this one? I can tell you the name of the person likely to buy your home!

Well, maybe I should add a caveat or two…

I can tell you that, in an analysis of over 4 million home sales during 2017 done by ATTOM Data Solutions, it was revealed where there were the largest increases, Continue Reading →

St Charles County Home Sales Trend Downward Over Past 12 Months- Prices Trend Upward

By Dennis Norman, on December 31st, 2017

Home sales and home prices in St Charles County during the 12-month period ending November 30, 2017, are trending in opposite directions. Home sales in St Charles County have, as the chart below reveals, declined 5.7% from 6,155 home sales for the 12 month period ended November 30, 2016 to 5,806 home sales for the period ended November 30, 2017. The median price per foot for homes sold during these same periods however have increased 2.4% from $127 per foot for the period ended November 2016 to $130 per foot for the period ended November 30, 2017.

St Charles County Continue Reading →

St Louis City & County Home Sales Trend Downward Over Past 12 Months- Prices Trend Upward

By Dennis Norman, on December 30th, 2017

Home sales and home prices in St Louis city and St Louis County during the 12-month period ending November 30, 2017, are trending in opposite directions. Home sales, for these two areas combined, have, as the chart below reveals, declined 4.2% from 44,823 home sales for the 12 month period ended November 30, 2016 to 42,958 home sales for the period ended November 30, 2017. The median price per foot for homes sold during these same periods however have increased 3.7% from $107 per foot for the period ended November 2016 to $111 per foot for the period ended November Continue Reading →

Top Ten St Louis Zip Codes Where Homes Sell For Highest Price Per Foot

By Dennis Norman, on December 28th, 2017

If you have read any of my articles here about home prices previously, you will probably know that I feel price per foot is the best way to compare home prices. Looking at home prices in this manner makes it easier to do apples to apples comparison on home prices. Speaking of apples, they are a good analogy. Apples generally are sold by the pound, which makes it easier to figure out whether the 3lb bag for $5.25 or the 12 lb bag for $19.20 is a better deal. On the surface, if we just went by the gross sales Continue Reading →