Dennis Norman - St Louis Real Estate News

Almost half of St Louis County Homeowners With Mortgage Are Underwater or Nearly Underwater

By Dennis Norman, on October 23rd, 2014

Over 80,000 homeowners, or 27% of all homeowners with a mortgage, in St Louis County are seriously underwater on their mortgage meaning the total balance of their mortgages represents 125% or more of the current value of their home. In addition, there are 53,548 homeowners, or 18% of all homeowners with a mortgage, in St Louis County that have mortgage balances between 90% and 110% of the value of their home, according to data just released by RealtyTrac.

As the table below shows, for the St Louis MSA, 21% of homeowners with a mortgage are underwater and 19% have “resurfacing equity” (mortgage balances equal 90% Continue Reading →

Where The Real Estate Market Is Headed In 2015

By Dennis Norman, on October 22nd, 2014

Around this time of year every year, people start asking me “Where is the real estate Market headed next year?” The real estate market is affected by so many factors that predictions on what the market will do are hard, however there are some basic fundamentals that can be looked at to make a good educated guess. One of the industry experts out there that I think does a good job at this and, offers a somewhat less biased look at the market than some, is Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac. Below are highlights of his most recent report on the outlook of the housing market along with my comments relating his projection to our St Louis market: Continue Reading →

Federal Fair Housing Laws and Real Estate Advertising

By Dennis Norman, on October 21st, 2014

Some property owners elect to sell or lease out a home or condo without engaging the services of a professional real estate agent or broker without fully understanding all the risk they are taking on. Granted, being a licensed real estate broker, I’m a little partial here, but I can honestly say that, given all the laws, rules and regulations that pertain to the sale or leasing of residential real estate, as well as the hefty fines, or even criminal charges, that can result in non-compliance, for most owners I would not suggest to go it alone. One of the Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales and Prices Increase in September From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on October 20th, 2014

St Louis Home Sales increased 2.66 percent in September 2014 from a year ago and St Louis home prices increased 3.19 percent during the same period, according the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS.

As the table below shows, three of the five counties that make up the St Louis core market, saw an increase in home sales in September 2014 from a year ago and four of the five saw an increase in home prices during the same period.

Search all St Louis Homes For Sale HERE

(We work hard on this and Continue Reading →

Top 15 Buyers Markets In St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on October 17th, 2014

In spite of the fact that the St Louis housing market is improving, there are still St Louis neighborhoods that favor buyers or are buyers markets. The 15 top buyers markets in St. Louis can be found in a variety of neighborhoods throughout the area including within the city of St Louis as well as in the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin. As the table below shows, the hottest buyers market in St Louis as of today is Gray Summit with a Market Action Index of 20, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS. Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Foreclosures Plummet In 3rd Quarter Except in Franklin County

By Dennis Norman, on October 16th, 2014

Foreclosures in the St Louis area fell dramatically during the 3rd quarter of this year with 1,529 total foreclosure actions on property in the St Louis MSA, a decline of 28.05 percent from the prior quarter and a decline of 53.04 percent from the same quarter a year ago, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac. As our table below shows, during the 3rd quarter of this year all the counties in the core area of the St Louis market saw double digit declines in foreclosure activity from both the quarter before as well as the same period a year Continue Reading →

Should I Buy A Home Directly From The Listing Agent?

By Dennis Norman, on October 14th, 2014

One of the most frequent questions I have been asked over the years by home buyers is “Should I Buy A Home Directly From The Listing Agent?” While no answer is correct for every situation, I would say that, in most cases, the answer to this question is “no”, you should not buy a home directly from the listing agent. You may be thinking though “won’t I get a better deal by cutting out the middle man?” In reality by going to the listing agent you are in fact NOT cutting out the “middle man” because in 99.99%* of the Continue Reading →

The Fastest Selling Neighborhoods in St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on October 13th, 2014

The fastest selling neighborhoods in St Louis are found in St Louis county with the bulk of them in West St Louis County and the exceptions in Mid-County, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS. As the table below shows, the fastest selling neighborhood in St Louis as of today is Rock Hill where homes on the market have been for sale an average of 41 days.

(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 Homes For Sale in St Louis Find ALL Homes For Sale That Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales and Prices Market Update VIDEO-October 2014

By Dennis Norman, on October 11th, 2014

St Louis home sales are failing to maintain the pace of last years home sales but still remain fairly strong, especially when you take into account the small inventory of homes for sale compared with last year. St Louis home prices have increased in the past year which, along with other market signs, support that our housing market recovery in St Louis continues, albeit at a rather slow pace.

There are neighborhoods throughout St Louis that are low on inventory and high on demand creating a seller’s market! If you have considered selling your home, or perhaps tried and failed Continue Reading →

HUD Releases Fair Market Rent Amounts for 2015 For Missouri

By Dennis Norman, on October 9th, 2014

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released it’s Fair Market Rent amounts for 2015 which are used for several purposes including computation of section 8 rents in a given area. The table below shows the fair market rents for 2015 for all Missouri Counties as well as Missouri Metropolitan Areas.

Search St Louis Foreclosures Search St Louis Short Sales

Continue Reading →

Wells Fargo Agrees To $5 Million Settlement of Claim Of Discrimination of Pregnant Women & Women On Maternity Leave

By Dennis Norman, on October 9th, 2014

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) just announced that Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has agreed to a $5 Million settlement to resolve allegations that Wells Fargo discriminated against women who were pregnant, or had recently given birth, and were on maternity leave. (Click HERE for settlement agreement)

There have been a total of 190 maternity leave discrimination complaints filed with HUD against lenders in the past 4 years and those complaints have resulted in 40 settlements for a total of $1.5 million, prior to today’s settlement with Wells Fargo.

(We work hard on this and sure Continue Reading →

Millennial’s Today Racking Up Student Loans Not Home Loans

By Dennis Norman, on October 8th, 2014

Millenial’s (people that are roughly 18 to 33 years old) are not as interested in buying homes today as their baby-boomer parents were at their age and, while there are probably some lifestyle issues that play a large part of it, the debt they are piling up in student loans may have something to do with their decision not to take on mortgage debt as well. According to information provided by TransUnion, the percentage of Millenial’s debt that is attributed to student loans is 36.8% today, an increase of over 185% from 2005 when student loans were responsible for just Continue Reading →

Best College Towns For Renting and Flipping Property

By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2014

If you are one of the many parents of college-bound kids that is considering investing in a property to provide housing for your college student rather than waste money or dorms or rent, then this newly released info will help. Below is a list of the best college towns for renting property as well as the best college towns for flipping property, as compiled by RealtyTrac. St Louis didn’t make either list, actually nothing in Missouri did, however, many of the colleges and universities listed have plenty of kids attending from this area.

(We work hard on this and sure Continue Reading →

St Louis Short Sales

By Dennis Norman, on October 3rd, 2014

St Louis short sales are definitely fewer and farther between than they were a couple of years back however, they are still out there and still often offer a great opportunity to a buyer. A short sale is where a home is being sold by it’s owner at a price less than the current mortgage on it in the hope that the lender will agree to accept the proceeds from the sale and release the loan since the equity is simply not there to sell the home and pay off the loan. Of course, there has to be some hardship Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures & Serious Delinquencies Fall In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on September 30th, 2014

The St Louis Foreclosure rate in July 2014 was 0.78 percent, down almost 30 percent from the same time last year when the St Louis foreclosure rate was 1.08 percent, according to data just released by Corelogic. The foreclosure rate for the state of Missouri in July 2014 was .64%, down from .89% a year ago.

On another good note, the serious mortgage delinquency rate (90+ days) for St Louis in July 2014 was 3.33%, down from 3.85% in July 2013. On the state level, the Missouri serious mortgage delinquency rate for July 2014 was 3.06% down from 3.52% the Continue Reading →

Pending Home Sales Down In August; Sales Pace Falling Short Of Last Year

By Dennis Norman, on September 29th, 2014

There were 2,017 Pending Home Sales in St Louis in August, down from 2,293 pending home sales in July and down 6.6% from August 2013 when there were 2,159 pending home sales,, according to MORE, REALTORS. There have been a total of 15,998 pending home sales in St Louis year to date through the end of August 2014 which is a decline a 4.9% from the same time last year when there were 16,829 pending home sales. Continue Reading →

St Louis Neighborhoods Where Home Buyers Are King

By Dennis Norman, on September 24th, 2014

There are still some St Louis neighborhoods where home buyers have the upper hand even though in many St Louis neighborhoods the seller is clearly in charge. The table below shows St Louis buyer’s markets based upon our Market Action Index that scores a neighborhood based upon supply and demand and then determines whether the data is indicative of a seller’s market or a buyer’s market. An index of 30 indicates a balanced market not favoring buyers or sellers and below a 30 a buyer’s market. The lower the index goes, down to a low of 0, the colder that Continue Reading →

Software Developer’s $4 Million St. Albans Estate On Market

By Dennis Norman, on September 23rd, 2014

St Louis software developer and owner of Nu-Calgon, Brian Butler and his wife Kelly have listed for sale their 11,000+ square foot English Country Home which sits on over 6 acres in St Albans and overlooks the Missouri River for a price of $4,400,000. The home, located at 508 Heron Court in the Bluffs at St. Abans was built in 1999 and was listed for sale for $3,975,000 on 4 previous occasions in 2012 and 2013 but did not sell. Continue Reading →

City of St Louis Tops List of Places with Man-Made Environmental Hazards

By Dennis Norman, on September 23rd, 2014

The City of St Louis was at the top of a list that you don’t really want to be on, the “Top 50 Counties with the Highest Prevalence of Man-Made Environmental Hazards“, just released this morning by RealtyTrac. The city of St Louis scored a 87.2, more than triple the score of Philadelphia (27.8) which occupies the number 2 spot on the list.

In scoring locations for this list, RealtyTrac only looked at counties with a population of 100,000 or more and then ranked them based upon the % of bad air quality days, the number of Superfund sites Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Down From A Year Ago; Prices Up

By Dennis Norman, on September 22nd, 2014

St Louis Home Sales were down 5.21 percent in August 2014 from a year ago however St Louis home prices increased 6.44 percent during the same period, according the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS.

As the table below shows, Franklin County and Jefferson County saw an increase in home sales during the past year however the other counties that make up the core St Louis market did not. All of the five counties that make up the bulk of the St Louis real estate market saw an increase in home prices from last year with Continue Reading →

Mortgage Interest Rates Make Biggest One-Week Increase Of The Year

By Dennis Norman, on September 19th, 2014

Mortgage Interest Rates rose this week to an average of 4.23 percent for a 30-year fixed rate home loan, up from 4.12 percent last week, marking the largest one-week jump in interest rates we have seen thus far this year, according to data just released by Freddie Mac. Mortgage interest rates for fixed-rate loans have now hit the highest level since May 1st.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE

Mortgage interest rates from the Freddie Mac report:

30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 4.23% Last week Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Permits Drop In August

By Dennis Norman, on September 18th, 2014

The number of new home building permits in St Louis dropped in August 12 percent from July and were down 2 percent from August 2013, according to the latest date from the Home Builders Association for St Louis and Eastern Missouri. There were a total of 287 permits issued for the 5-county core market consisting of the city of St Louis and Counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin, down from 327 the month before and 292 a year ago.

Looking for a new home in St Louis? Click here to see all for sale

Continue Reading →

Home Builders Optimism Regarding New Home Market Hits Highest Level In Almost 9 Years

By Dennis Norman, on September 17th, 2014

The new home market is improving and home builders indicate they have more confidence in the new home market now than they have had since November 2005, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. According to the HMI, home builders confidence is presently at 59, the highest level the index has been at since November 2005.

The HMI is comprised of several components including builder’s opinions of current sale conditions, buyer traffic and future sales. The response from builders indicate they feel optimistic about current sale conditions and very optimistic about future sales, Continue Reading →

Top 15 Sellers Markets In St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2014

Nearly all of the 15 top sellers markets in St. Louis are in St. Louis County, with the only exceptions being number 12 on the list, Barnhart in Jefferson County, and number 15, O’Fallon in St Charles County, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS. The list below is based upon MORE’S Market Action IndexTM which, among other things, looks at supply, demand and inventory for an area and then applies an index value to it.

Search ALL St Louis Homes For Sale Continue Reading →

Missouri Rank’s 19th On List of States with Highest Natural Hazard Risk

By Dennis Norman, on September 12th, 2014

According to a report just released by Corelogic, Florida has the highest risk of property damage from a natural hazard of any state in the country (shocker, right?). At the other end of the list is Michigan with the lowest risk and Missouri came in at 19th no doubt due to flood risk, tornadoes and the New Madrid fault that makes it’s home in the southeast portion of our state.

According to an updated map published by the folks at U.S. Geological Survey, an earthquake on the New Madrid fault could impact all of the State of Missouri with Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures Rise Slightly In August; Up over 100 Percent In Outlying Areas

By Dennis Norman, on September 11th, 2014

For the first time in a long time, there was an increase in St Louis Foreclosures with 497 foreclosure actions in August, equivalent to 1 foreclosure action for every 2,511 housing units, an increase of 2.47 percent from the month before. While up from the month before, St Louis Foreclosures in August 2014 were down 58.41% from August 2013. As the table below shows, St Charles County had a big decline in foreclosure activity in August and the city of St Louis a modest decline, but Jefferson County and Franklin County both saw increases in foreclosures over over 100% from Continue Reading →

A Look At The Ferguson Real Estate Market

By Dennis Norman, on September 10th, 2014

One month ago yesterday, officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown and suddenly Ferguson, the little city where I grew up and began my career in real estate in 1979, became the focus of national news and headlines for days and weeks ahead. Unfortunately, the coverage of the shooting has cast Ferguson in a very negative light and no doubt will hurt the progress the city has made over the past several years to revitalize its city and make it an attractive place to live, work and start a business. This website is about real estate, so while I think this Continue Reading →

Almost Two-Thirds Of St Louis Foreclosures Sold Were Cash Sales

By Dennis Norman, on September 9th, 2014

The number of St Louis Foreclosures (bank and government owned) continues to decline resulting in just 335 St Louis Foreclosures being sold during the month of August 2014 in the St Louis Core market, a decline of 44% from August 2013 when there were 598 St Louis Foreclosures sold. What hasn’t changed though is the fact that nearly two-thirds (62%) of the foreclosures sold were cash sales for both periods. For the St Louis real estate market as a whole, cash sales made up for fewer of the home sales in August 2014 with just 22% of all homes being Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-September 2014

By Dennis Norman, on September 8th, 2014

St Louis home prices have increased 7 percent in the past year for the St Louis core market as a whole, but St Louis home sales have not followed suit and are on track for fewer home sales this year than last. You can find out more about this as well as get other useful information on the St Louis real estate market, including where the SELLERS MARKETS are in St Louis and the GOOD BUYERS MARKETS in our 5-Minute Market Update Video For September 2014 below.

Many areas of St Louis have become sellers markets due to increasing demand Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Top Ten Buyer’s Markets

By Dennis Norman, on September 5th, 2014

In spite of improvements in the St Louis real estate market and many areas becoming Seller’s markets due to low inventory and high demand, there are sill neighborhoods in St Louis where the market favors buyers. The top ten buyer’s markets in St Louis, listed in the table below, are in a variety of locations with two areas within the city of St Louis, and the rest in Jefferson and Franklin county. Absent from the list are buyers markets in St Louis county and St Charles county.