St Louis Home Sales Cool In January

St Louis home sales slowed in January to 1,322 homes sold in the St Louis 5-County Core market (the city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) which is a decline of over 36 percent (36.65%) from the month before, and a decline of almost 3 percent (2.94%) from a year ago, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS. As the chart below shows, the median price of homes sold in St Louis in January was $144,498, down from $159,500 in December but up from a year ago when the median home Continue Reading →

Missouri Home Purchases By Institutional Investors And Cash Buyers Falls By Half From Year Ago

Institutional investors (entities that bought at least 10 residential properties in the last 12 months) are having much less of an impact on the housing market throughout Missouri than they were a year ago, according to a newly released report by RealtyTrac. Continue Reading →

Home Building In The Midwest Begins 2015 With a Bang

While the number of building permits issued for new single family homes during January 2015 in the Midwest was down 4.8 percent from January 2014, builders were busy starting construction on new homes at a pace that was 73.6 percent higher than the year before, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Other highlights from the report for January 2015 for the midwest region of the U.S.:

Permits for new single family homes were issued at the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 99,000 units, down 2.0% from December and down 4.8% from January 2014. Construction commenced on Continue Reading →

Mortgage Delinquencies Drop 14 Percent in Past Year- More Non-Prime Borrowers Getting Home Loans

Mortgage Delinquencies (borrowers that are 60 days or more late on their house payment) declined in the 4th quarter of 2014 marking the 12th consecutive quarter of declines in the mortgage delinquency rate, according to data just released by TrasnUnion. As the table below shows, the mortgage delinquency rate for the 4th quarter of last year was 3.29%, a decline of 2.1% from the quarter before and a decline of 14.5% from the 4th quarter of 2013.

Foreclosures and better borrowers are the reason…

Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting at TrasnUnion, said the improvement in mortgage delinquencies Continue Reading →

Seriously Delinquent Mortgage Rate Falls to Lowest Level In Six Years

The seriously delinquent mortgage rate (90+ days late) fell to 1.91 percent of all outstanding mortgages in November, the lowest level since December 2008, according to a report just released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures Increase In January Nearly 50 Percent From Year Before

St Louis foreclosures increased dramatically in January with 1,116 foreclosure actions in the St Louis metro area during the month, an increase of 52.25 percent from December and an increase of 47.42 percent from January 2014, according to data just released this morning by RealtyTrac. Continue Reading →

Cash Home Sales In St Louis Decline Over 9 Percent From Year Before

Cash home sales in St Louis during November, 2014, were responsible for 35.71 percent of all the home sales in the St Louis metro area for the month, according to data just released by CoreLogic. This is a decline of 9.32% from November, 2013 when cash home sales in St Louis accounted for 39.38% of the total home sales for the month Continue Reading →

St Louis Ranked Seventh In Number of Completed Foreclosures In 2014

St Louis had 6,215 completed foreclosures in 2014 putting it 7th on the list of metros in the U.S. in terms of the number of completed foreclosures.  As the table below, which lists the 25 top metro areas for foreclosures, shows, Tampa saw the most foreclosures with over 18,000 being completed during 2014, according to newly released data from Corelogic.

According to the Corelogic report, there were  563,294 completed foreclosures in the U.S. during 2014, the lowest total for any 12 month period since November 2007 when it was 589,570.

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St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-February 2015

The St Louis real estate market is off to a good start and homes and condos in many neighborhoods are SELLING FAST!  Find which St Louis neighborhoods are hot markets and selling fast as well as which are not and much more in our newly published, 5-minute, market video update for February 2015, below.

If you have considered selling your home, or perhaps tried and failed in the past year or so, now is the time to consider it again.  Give us a call and we’ll be happy to let you know the value of your home in today’s market or, try our new online Continue Reading →

Over Half Of St Louis Foreclosures Are Zombies – Highest Rate in Nation

Over half (51%) of the foreclosures in St Louis are “Zombies” meaning that the owners have abandoned or vacated their home prior to their lender completing the foreclosure process, according to a report released this morning by RealtyTrac. Continue Reading →

Down Payment Help Available For Most Homes

Down payment help is available for 87 percent of the homes in the U.S., according to an analysis completed recently by RealtyTrac and Down Payment Resource. This analysis looked at the geographic location of homes to see if they were within areas where down payment assistance are available to purchasers meeting the qualifications of the program. Continue Reading →

St Louis Ranked As One Of Top 50 Markets To Rent To Millenials

The city of St Louis made the list of the top 50 markets to rent to Millenials, published by RealtyTrac. In determining the best markets in the U.S. for renting to millennial (most of whom are in their 20’s or early 30’s), RealtyTrac looked at rental markets where the gross annual yield on rentals was at least 9 percent, where Millenials make up more than 22 percent of the market (the national average) and where the Millenial population had increased at least 5% from 2007 through 2013. Continue Reading →

Over Half Of Buyers Agents Surveyed Say Clients Will Pay More For A Staged Home

According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2015 Profile of Home Staging (the first ever by them), over 50 percent (52%) of real estate agents representing buyers said that a staged home will increase how much their buyer client is willing to pay for a home. For those not familiar with the term a staged home is one that has been prepared, usually by a professional, to help make the home show as well as possible and appeal to as many buyers as possible leading to ultimate goal of selling the home quickly for the highest price. Continue Reading →

Violent Crime In St Louis Declines Over 5 Percent In 2014 From 2013

So you may be asking, why am I writing about crime here, after all isn’t this site about real estate? Correct but there are few things that can affect property values more than crime rates and school districts. Not to mention, from an economic development standpoint, crime also plays a role in the success we have as a region attracting businesses to St Louis to create jobs which also has a major impact on home prices. Continue Reading →

The Truth About Real Estate Commission

Last summer I wrote an article addressing the issue as to whether paying a higher rate of commission will help a seller sell his or her home faster. My research for that article, in which I looked at a years worth of home sales in the St Louis area, showed that a higher than normal commission rate in fact did not lead to faster home sales. Now that we are seeing the market heat up I decided to take another look at this topic and this time focus on whether paying a higher real estate commission results in getting a higher price for the seller. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales In 2014 Fall Short of 2013 But Home Prices Rise

St Louis home sales for 2014 fell 2.4 percent from 2013 with a total of 30.557 homes sold in St Louis (in the 5-county core market) during 2014, shy of the 31,329 homes sold the year before. St Louis home prices, on the other hand, increased 5.6 percent during the same period, increasing from a median price of $142,000 for homes sold during 2013 to $150,000 for homes sold during 2014. Continue Reading →

St Louis Homeowners with Negative Equity Improves by Over 20 Percent in 4th Quarter of 2014

There were 119,936 St Louis homeowners with negative equity, or in a seriously underwater condition on their mortgage meaning they owe more than the current value of their home, in the St Louis MSA during the 4th quarter of 2014 which is a 21% improvement from the prior quarter when there were 152,025 St Louis homeowners seriously underwater, according to a report just released today by RealtyTrac.

As the table below shows, for the immediate St Louis, MO area, the city and county of St Louis had the highest percentage of underwater homeowners at 22% and St Charles county had Continue Reading →

New Home Construction In Midwest Finishes Out 2014 Ahead of 2013

After struggling for years, new home construction in the Midwest finished out 2014 with a little more home building activity than the prior year and on a pace that makes me feel pretty optimistic about 2015 for the home building industry. Continue Reading →

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Inspired Peace Park Here in St Louis

Today, as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is hard for me to believe that, during my lifetime, there was a time when it was legal to refuse to rent or sell a house to someone because of their race or skin color, but it was. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also referred to as the “Fair Housing Act of 1968”, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, just one week after Dr. King’s assassination, corrected this atrocity and made it illegal to refuse to rent or lease a home to someone based upon their race. Continue Reading →

Which St Louis Neighborhoods Had The Most Homes Sold in 2014?

The 63376 zip code area of St Charles County, which includes the City of St. Peters and a portion of Cottleville, had the most homes sold in 2014 of any other zip code area in St Louis with 1,145 homes sold. For the zip area with the second most homes sold in 2014 we jump to the east side of the Missouri river with the 63021 area of St Louis County, comprised of Ballwin, Manchester and Ellisville, with 856 homes sold. The chart below shows the top 20 zip areas in the St Louis area and then the charts that Continue Reading →

Missouri Foreclosure Filings For 2014 Down Seventy Percent From Peak in 2010

Missouri foreclosure filings during 2014 occurred on a total of 9.762 properties in Missouri which is down over 70% from 2010 when foreclosure activity in Missouri hit an all-time record high with foreclosure filings occurring that year on 33,120 properties, according to data just released by RealtyTrac. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-January 2015

St Louis home sales in 2014 failed to keep pace with the year before however St Louis home prices rose during the same period. How much they rose as well as how much St Louis home prices are expected to increase (or decrease) in 2015 are just two of the important pieces of information you will find about the current St Louis real state market in our newly published, 5-minute, market video update for January 2015, below.

There are neighborhoods throughout St Louis that are low on inventory and high on demand creating a seller’s market! If you have considered Continue Reading →

Institutional Investors Own Only About 1 Percent Of Homes In St Louis

The bursting of the real estate market bubble back in 2008 led to opportunities for investors to buy up homes at attractive prices throughout the country and even attracted some large firms backed by Wall Street such as Blackstone, American Homes 4 Rent, Colony American Homes and Fundamental REO. While institutional ownership of commercial real estate, apartments and land has been very common, and in fact, predominant, since entering the business in 1979, firms like this investing in single family homes has not. Continue Reading →

FHA To Lower Fees Opening The Door To Around 100,000 Home Buyers

Yesterday, President Obama announced that he will, by executive order, direct FHA to lower the mortgage insurance premium charged on FHA loans to home buyer from 1.35 percent to .85 percent, lowering home buyer’s house payments by about $900 per year on average. Continue Reading →

Number of St Louis Homeowners With Negative Equity Hits Lowest Level in Over 5 Years

The number of St Louis Homeowners with negative equity (or underwater) during the third quarter of 2014 hit the lowest level since Corelogic began tracking this data in the 3rd quarter of 2009. During the quarter, 8.43% of St Louis homeowners with a mortgage were underwater or in a negative equity position meaning their mortgage balance exceed the current value of their home, according to the latest data from Corelogic. Continue Reading →

Top 10 St Louis Neighborhoods Where Homes Sold For Highest Percentage of List Price

In the past year, homes for sale located within the 63105 zip code (Clayton) have sold, on average, for 98.2% of the original list price, a higher percentage than any other St Louis area during the same period, according to the latest date available from MORE, REALTORS. Continue Reading →

Program To Help Short Sellers and Foreclosed Owners Buy Again

As a result of the real estate market crash in 2008 and the subsequent downturn in the economy, many homeowners with prior stellar payment records on their mortgages ended up losing their homes in foreclosure or being forced to do a short sale to get out from under it. Most of these former homeowners then became renters but have the desire to buy a home again once back on their feet. Depending upon just how severely their credit was impacted as well as whether they had a foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy, they may have to wait as long as 7 years to obtain a home loan again. However, thanks to an FHA program called “Back to Work”, which, surprisingly, has received little attention, there is hope for these homeowners including the opportunity to obtain a home loan again without the normal waiting period if their problems were related to a job loss and they meet certain criteria. Continue Reading →

St Louis Makes List of Top Performing Real Estate Markets Forecast

Clear Capital just released it’s list of the Top 50 Performing Real Estate Markets Forecast for 2015 for major metro areas and St Louis made the list at number 12! At the top of the list was Milwaukee-Waukeshawest Allis, Wi, followed by Columbus OH and Denver CO. Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Top Ten Neighborhoods For Home Price Reductions

Almost 3 out of every 4 homes currently listed for sale in St Ann have had a price reduction in the past 90 days, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS.   As the table below shows, all the St Louis neighborhoods that made the top ten list for home price reductions have had price reductions on more than half of the current listings of homes for sale in that neighborhood. (We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]

Search ALL St Louis Homes For Sale See ALL Homes That Will Be Continue Reading →

Pending Home Sales Slip In St Louis and Throughout Midwest

Pending home sales, those listings that have contracts pending but have not yet closed, declined in St Louis in December 3.2 percent to 1,621 pending home sales from 1,674 sales in December 2013. For the midwest region of the U.S. as a whole, pending home sales slipped a little in November (the latest month national data is available for) falling one-half of one percent from November 2013, according to the Pending Home Sales Index Report just released by the National Association of REALTORS®.

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