The Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) is often a topic of much debate often around whether or not it truly helps promote home ownership or is just a another tax break for higher income tax payers. The interesting thing is, the best I can tell, when the deduction for interest was first established it actually had nothing to do with promoting home ownership but instead was intended to benefit proprietors and small business owners. Few realize that the deductibility of interest goes back to 1913 when Congress ratified the Sixteenth Amendment to the constitution which gave the government the right to Continue Reading →
|
|||
|
New home sales in the midwest region of the U.S. slipped in July with new home sales coming in at the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 52,000 homes, down 8.8% from a rate of 57,000 homes the month before and down 1.9% from July 2013, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Year to date, through July, there have been 36,000 new homes sold (not seasonally adjusted) down 2.7% from the same time last year when there were 37,000 year to date new home sales. On a national level, in July new home sales were at a seasonally-adjusted Continue Reading → St Louis Home Sales were down slightly in July 2014 (2.25%) from a year ago however St Louis home prices increased 3.3% during the same period, according the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS. As the table below shows, St Charles County and Franklin County both saw an increase in home sales in July 2014 from July 2014 while the other 3 counties in the core market saw a decrease in home sales during the same period. Home prices increased in the counties of St Louis, St Charles and Jefferson and declined slightly in the City Continue Reading → Property flipping, which is basically buying a property and then reselling it immediately, or shortly thereafter, is occurring less frequently now in St Louis than it was, according to a report released today by RealtyTrac. According to the report, there were 289 houses flipped in the St Louis metro area during the 2nd quarter, down 44% from the first quarter and down 17% from the 2nd quarter of 2013. During the 2nd quarter of this year, 3.3% of all St Louis home sales were “flip” deals which, for the purpose of this report, were homes that were bought, then resold Continue Reading → Today, the owners and operators of the Alger Meadows Apartments in Grand Rapids, Michigan, agreed to pay $550,000 in damages as well as terminate their property manager to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit that was filed against them by the U.S. Department of Justice. With the increasing popularity of rental property as an investment, there are many new investors and landlords getting into the business and they need to realize the importance of being familiar with the laws and regulations that may affect them and their business in order to avoid problems. Even though, according to the press release Continue Reading → The Fannie Mae monthly national housing survey for July 2014 shows 67 percent of those surveyed feel now is a good time to buy a home, down from 70 percent that felt that way the month before and down from 74 percent that responded in July 2013 that it was a good time to buy. Forty-three percent of the respondents feel now is a good time to sell a home, an increase from 40 percent the month before and up from July 2013 when 40% felt it was a good time to sell. Continue Reading → Where are the best buyers markets in St Louis? Can a home buyer still find a great deal in St Louis? These are questions we hear frequently today as the St Louis real estate markets continues to improve and many neighborhoods have a shortage of homes for sale thereby creating a sellers market. Let your heart not be troubled though, there are still some buyers markets in St Louis where the buyer has the upper hand. What makes a neighborhood a buyers market? For the sake of this discussion, I am using our market action index to determine where the Continue Reading → Mortgage interest rates fell to an average of 4.13 percent in July on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, marking the lowest mortgage interest rate we have seen in over a year. The last time mortgage interest rates were this low was back in June of 2013 when the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.07 percent, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac. (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 St Louis Homes For Sale HERE Source: Freddie Mac St Louis foreclosure activity was on the decline again in July with a total of 485 foreclosure actions taking place in the St Louis MSA during the month which equates to foreclosure activity on 1 of every 2,573 housing units, according to data released this morning by RealtyTrac. This represents a decline in St Louis foreclosure activity of 19.57% from the month before and a decline of 59.0% from July 2013. As the table below shows, with the exception of Franklin County, all of the major Missouri counties of the St Louis MSA saw a decline in foreclosure activity from Continue Reading → Cash sales accounted for more than 1 in 5 (21.7%) St Louis home sales in July 2014, a slight decrease from a year ago when cash sales accounted for 22.1% of home sales. The median price of these cash home sales in July 2014 was $162,000, 3.3% higher than a year ago when the median price was $156,810. St Louis foreclosures sold during the month of July 2014 were cash sales more than half the time (56.5%), an increase of 7.3% from a year ago when cash sales accounted for 52.7% of St Louis foreclosure sales. The median price of Continue Reading → The largest price gains in home prices over the past year are found in a variety of St Louis area neighborhoods however there is a concentration of them in the 40 corridor from mid-county to west county. In compiling data for this article, I looked at what I feel is the best indicator of home price change, price per square foot, and selected neighborhoods that had at least a 10% increase in home prices during the past 12 months. There are charts below showing the price per foot for the past year for each specific neighborhood as well as our Continue Reading → St Louis home prices have increased in the past year and you can find out by how much, as well as a ton of other useful information on the St Louis real estate market, such as where the HOT SELLERS MARKETS are in St Louis, the GOOD BUYERS MARKETS (down to just 11 neighborhoods this month) and a whole lot more in our 5-Minute Market Update Video For August 2014 below. Many areas of St Louis have become sellers markets due to increasing demand and lack of inventory. If you have considered selling, or perhaps tried and failed in the Continue Reading → Homeowners Insurance is something that most homeowners have, but many don’t necessarily understand all the nuances of their policy or, in the case of policies that may have been originally purchased years ago, may not know that they don’t have sufficient coverage today. If there are problems with the policy or with the company the policy is issued by, the time you find out is typically after a loss is suffered and the homeowner goes through the claim process. Continue Reading → Today, RealtyTrac released a new report which revealed that, as of the 2nd quarter of 2014, affordable housing is on the decline in one-third of the largest counties in the U.S. In compiling the report, the historical average for income to price affordability percentages were analyzed and the results showed that one-third of the counties analyzed now have higher affordability percentages than their historical average now making homes in those counties less affordable now than they have been on average over the past 14 years. On the positive side, no St Louis area counties were on that list Continue Reading → Villa’s are becoming increasingly popular in St Louis evidenced by the increase in online searches by home buyers searching for a Villa. Let’s get to the question that may be going through your mind right now, what is a “Villa”, or more accurately, what type of housing in St Louis is the term “Villa” being applied to? The term “Villa” has to be one of the most misapplied terms used in the housing industry today as it’s origin goes back to Roman times when “Villa” referred a large country estate owned by a wealthy person. Today however, Villa refers more Continue Reading → A new study by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reveals for each $1,000 increase in the price of a new home (median-priced new home) forces 206,000 prospective home buyers out of the market. Continue Reading → Missouri, along with it’s affordable home prices, also has the 3rd lowest mortgage closing costs according to data just released today by BankRate. According to the report, in Missouri, the average mortgage closing costs on a $200,000 home loan are $2,387.00, almost 6% less than the national average of $2,539.00. Holden Lewis, senior mortgage analyst at Bankrate, said mortgage closing costs have risen 6 percent in the past year and says “new mortgage regulations are the biggest reasons why closing costs went up“. Texas, at $3,046, had the highest closing costs in the nation, followed by Alaska at $2,897 and Continue Reading → St Louis Condo sales have steadily grown over the past 3 years from 2,216 sales for the 12 month period ended June 30, 2011 to 3,141 sales for the 12 month period ended June 30, 2014, an increase of 41.8% in that 3 year period. I think this is the result of actually two things; one, the recovery of the St Louis housing market which we are in the midst of, as well as greater acceptance of condominiums for a residence by St Louisan’s. During the same period, St Louis home sales, as the chart below illustrates, have increased as Continue Reading → The rental vacancy rate in the U.S. was at 7.5% for the 2nd quarter of 2014, down from 8.3% the quarter before and at the lowest level in 20 years, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. rental vacancy rate has not been this low since the 4th quarter of 1994 when the rate was 7.4%. Here in the Midwest region of the U.S., the rental vacancy rate was 7.5% during the 2nd quarter of 2014, the lowest rate in 16 years! The last time the Midwest Region of the U.S. saw rental vacancy rates Continue Reading → The home ownership rate in the use for the 2nd quarter of 2014 was 64.7 percent, a small decline from 64.8 percent in the previous quarter and the lowest rate of home ownership in the U.S. we have seen since the 2nd quarter of 1995 when the rate was the same, 64.7%, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Here in the Midwest region of the country, the home ownership rate in the 2nd quarter of 2014 was 69.6%, an increase from 69.3% the quarter before. Unlike the U.S. home ownership rate which is the same now Continue Reading → St Louis pending home sales slipped slightly in June with 2,301 pending home sales for the 5-county core St Louis market (St Louis City and the County’s of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin), a decline of 2 percent from the Month before when there were 2,350 pending home sales. Pending home sales in St Louis in June were up 5.18% from June of last year, however, year-to-date pending home sales through June 30th of this year is at 11,606, down 7 percent from this time last year when there were 12,476 homes sold during the same period. Below Continue Reading → St Louis County will hold it’s annual sale of tax delinquent property next month on August 25, 2014, beginning at 10:00 am in the County Council Chambers in the County Administration Building in Clayton. To be eligible to bid you must register prior to bidding. Registration will begin at 8:30 am on the tax sale day in the office of the Collector of Revenue in the County Administration Building. A complete list of all properties available for bid, as well as complete instructions on how to participate in the tax sale, can be found online here. For more Continue Reading → Even though, for a while now, foreclosures have been on the decline in St Louis as well as in most parts of the country, there are still many St Louis neighborhoods that are being impacted significantly by foreclosure activity. While after the housing bubble burst in 2008 we foreclosures appeared in most every neighborhood in St Louis from areas with the lowest values to areas with the highest, there has been a concentration of foreclosure activity in a few areas of St Louis. The city of Florissant, for one, is an area that has had more than it’s fair share Continue Reading → During the 30+ years I have been in the real estate business I have debated this topic with my peers more times than I can possibly count and, it’s safe to say, rarely did we reach a consensus. The topic of commissions is a very sensitive one in this industry and there are strong opinions on both sides of the fence as to whether offering a higher commission rate to the selling agent will in fact get a home sold faster. Before I go further I should pause and give some quick background info on real estate commissions and how Continue Reading → St Louis Home Sales as well as St Louis home prices have increased in the past year 3,179 homes sold in June 2014 in the St Louis core market (St Louis city and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) an increase of 3 percent from June 2013 when there were 3,086 homes sold. During this same period, St Louis home prices increased 5.81 percent from a median price of $155,000 in June 2013 to a median price of $164,000 in June 2014, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS. While the St Louis real estate market is recovering from the aftermath of the housing bubble hurst, the market is still very price sensitive and therefore I cannot over emphasize the importance of pricing your home right from the outset at the beginning of the listing. However, many sellers fear this strategy as they think no matter what price they list at the buyer will still offer less than the asking price. I will address this issue by saying that is simply not true. Buyers today, in my humble opinion, are more educated and savvy than homes buyers were during Continue Reading → Mortgage interest rates, in spite of predications to the contrary by many, are actually lower today than a year ago, according to the latest date available from Fredde Mac. According to Freddie Mac, the U.S. average interest rate for a 30 year mortgage was 4.15 percent on July 10, 2014, down significantly from July 11, 2013 when the average 30 year mortgage rate was 4.51 percent. As the interactive chart below from the St Louis Fed Reserve shows, mortgage interest rates have definitely risen from the historic lows we say in 2012 and part of 2013 however are still lower Continue Reading → St Louis Foreclosure activity dropped in June to a rate of 1 foreclosure action on every 2,070 units, a decline of nearly 50 percent (49.58%) from June 2013, and down 13.11% from the month before, according to a report just released this morning by RealtyTrac. The table below shows the numbers for the St Louis metro area as a whole as well as a breakdown by county and, as the table shows, all the counties in the St Louis, Missouri core market saw declines of nearly 50% or better in the past year and all, except the city of St Continue Reading → St Louis’ Hottest Real Estate Markets for this month has a new city at the top of the Hot Markets list, Glendale! Glendale, with a market action index of 50 (anything above a 30 is a sellers market, 60 is the highest it can go) is number 1 on the list followed closely by last month’s #1 neighborhood, the 63021 zip of Ballwin with a 49. In terms of inventory of homes for sale, the list is pretty much the same as June, with the top 9 slots all the same as last month and the top 3 having only Continue Reading → Looking to buy a home in St Louis at a BIG Discount? Take it from someone that has been in the business over 30 years and during that time bought and sold over 2,000 homes; there is no silver bullet or magic formula to finding a great deal on a home or other piece of property. I wish it were that easy. You can however use information and resources that are available to help identify potential good deals and then, with a lot of driving and looking at homes, cull through the pile looking for the “deal”. RealtyTrac just did Continue Reading → |
   |
||
|
St Louis Real Estate Search® St Louis Home Values St. Louis Real Estate News Contact Us Copyright © 2026 Missouri Online Real Estate, Inc. - All Rights Reserved St Louis Real Estate News is a Trademark of Missouri Online Real Estate, Inc. Missouri Online Real Estate, Inc. 3636 South Geyer Road - Suite 100, St Louis, MO 63127 314-414-6000 - Licensed Real Estate Broker in Missouri The owner and authors this site are providing the information on this web site for general informational purposes only and make no representations, warranties (expressed or implied) or guarantees of any kind whatsoever, as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or of any information found by following any link on this site. Furthermore, the owner and authors of this site will not be liable in any manner whatsoever for any errors or omissions in information on this site, nor for the availability of this information. Additionally the owner and authors of this site will not be liable for for any losses, injuries or damages in any way from the display or use of this information or as the result of following external links displayed on this site, or by responding to advertisements displayed, or contained, on this site
In using this site, users acknowledge and agree that the information on this site does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind nor should it be construed as such. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action on this information, you should consult a qualified professional adviser to whom you have provided all of the facts applicable to your particular situation or question. None of the tax information on this web site is intended to be used nor can it be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. |
|||