Tough Lending Standards Mean Nearly One-Third of Americans Don’t Qualify For A Home Loan

By , on October 2nd, 2013

Three of every 10 Americans don’t qualify for a home loan, according to the Zillow Mortgage Market Place Analysis. The analysis also showed that only borrowers with a credit score of at least 740 should expect to get the best mortgage rates offered due to tougher mortgage lending standards.

In doing their analysis, Zillow analyzed a total of 13 million loan quotes and over 225,000 purchase loan requests from September 2013. What was revealed was that borrowers with a credit score under 620 who requested a home mortgage for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, were unlikely to receive a loan. Continue Reading →

St Charles Scammer Pleads Guilty To Real Estate Scheme

By , on September 27th, 2013

Daniela Spiridon, a 42 year-old woman from St. Charles, pled guilty yesterday to six felony counts of wire fraud related to a scheme she operated out of an office in Chesterfield, according to a report from the FBI. According to the indictment Spiridon was charged under, she operated her business out of an office at 18118a Chesterfield Airport Road, in Chesterfield, MO under several business names, including A&AD Investments, LLC; CDRS ESC Investments, a.k.a. CDRS ESC and CDRS LLC.

Continue Reading →

Cash Sales Account For One Of Every Four St Louis Home Sales

By , on September 26th, 2013

Just over 1 of every 4 (26%) St Louis home sales (5-county core area) in August 2013 were cash purchases, according to MORE, REALTORS. This is the highest rate of cash sales in St. Louis since April 2013 and is the highest number of total home sales for a one month period in over 4 years!

The average home price on cash sales in August was $116,724 and the average home price on all home sales for the month was $187,978.

On the national level, almost half of the homes sold (45%) in August 2013 were cash purchases, according Continue Reading →

New Home Sales in the Midwest Increase At Higher Pace than National Level

By , on September 25th, 2013

New home sales in the midwest in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 61,000 homes, a 19.6 percent increase from July and an increase of 15.1 percent from a year ago, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. On a national level, new home sales in August were at the annual rate of 421,000 homes, a 7.9 percent increase from the month before and a 12.6 percent increase from a year ago.

New homes sold during the month of August 2013 were sold for a median price of $254,600, a slight decrease Continue Reading →

St Louis new home construction slips in August still up from a year ago

By , on September 23rd, 2013

St Louis new home construction activity decreased in August 2013 with 311 building permits for new homes being issued in the St Louis metro area (the area served by the Home Builders Association of St Louis and Eastern Missouri) a 9.9 percent decrease from the month before and is an increase of 8.7 percent from August 2012 when there were 286 building permits issued for new homes, according to data published by the Home Builders Association of St Louis and Eastern Missouri.

St Louis home building is making some headway toward recovery by climbing out of the tough it hit Continue Reading →

St Charles County Makes “Hidden Gem” List for Rental Property

By , on September 20th, 2013

St. Charles county is a “hidden gem” for real estate investors wishing to buy rental property, according to RealtyTrac’s newly published “List of Top 25 Hidden Gem Single Family Rental Markets“. St. Charles County was the only Missouri county that made the list and it came in at 21 on the list with a gross yield on rental property of 9.4 percent. The gross yield is determined by taking the annual median rent for a county and divide it by the median price of home in that county. In the case of St Charles county, the median Continue Reading →

How Much Does The Quality of the School District Impact Home Values?

By , on September 18th, 2013

St Louis has some top rated public school districts cranking out kids with high GPA’s but also has some districts facing real challenges, the most recent of which being the Normandy School District. I think most people agree that the quality of the schools has an impact on home values in that district as demand to be in the top districts is thought to help protect home values but to what extent?

St. Louis has school districts at the top, as well as the bottom, of the list.

Continue Reading →

Mortgage Delinquencies Continue to Improve

By , on September 17th, 2013

The housing market continues to show signs of recovery, today with the report by S&P/Experian showing that their credit default index for first mortgages fell by 12 percent in the past year and by over 20 percent (20.8%) for second mortgages during the same period. While this may not be that exciting of a topic or seem like such a big deal to some, given the fact that mortgage delinquencies are a leading indicator of foreclosures and, over the past few years, foreclosures have pommelled some neighborhoods all but destroying home values, this is really huge from a big Continue Reading →

The 12 Fastest Selling St. Louis Neighborhoods

By , on September 16th, 2013

Eleven of the 12 fastest selling St. Louis neighborhoods are found in St. Louis County with the lone exception, which also happens to be #1 on the list, found in the city of St. Louis, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS.

The fastest selling neighborhoods list is ranked based upon the median time current listings have been on the market. At the top of the list, with a median time on market of 25 days, is the 63101 zip area of the city of St Louis, followed by the 63040 zip area in Grover at 29 days. Continue Reading →

St Louis Homeowners With Negative Equity Drops By One-Third In 2nd Quarter

By , on September 14th, 2013

There were 59,709 St Louis homeowners with negative equity in the 2nd quarter of 2013, a 33 percent decline from the first quarter of this year when there were 89,690, according to a report released by CoreLogic. During the 2nd quarter just over 1 in 10 (10.6%) of all St Louis homeowners with a mortgage owed more on their home then the current value thereby putting them underwater, or in a negative equity position. The quarter before, about one in 6 (16%) St Louis homeowners with a mortgage were underwater.

 

Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosure Filings In August Down 40 Percent From Year Ago

By , on September 13th, 2013

There were 1,198 St Louis foreclosure filings in August 2013, down 1.27 percent from 1,213 in July and down over 40 percent (40.58%) from August 2012 when there were 2,016 foreclosure filings, according to RealtyTrac.

Of the 20 largest metro areas in the U.S. covered by the report (see below), St. Louis had the 7th lowest foreclosure rate for August with 1 foreclosure filing for every 1,039 housing units. Boston had the lowest rate with 1 foreclosure for every 2,669 housing units and Miami the highest with 1 foreclosure for every 324 housing units.

(We work hard on this Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update for September 2013

By , on September 11th, 2013

It’s still a seller’s market but it’s losing a little steam…

Most of the St Louis area finds itself in a sellers market still however a few more neighborhoods slipped back into a buyer’s market this month, according to the St Louis Market Update from MORE, REALTORS. The St Louis real estate market is definitely volatile, making it more important than ever to be aware of current market conditions if you are in the market as a buyer or seller and the 5 minute market update video for September below can do just that for you!

Thinking of selling Continue Reading →

Missouri Supreme Court Upholds Nearly $2 Mil Judgement Against St Louis County in Eminent Domain Case

By , on September 10th, 2013

The Missouri Supreme Court just handed down an opinion affirming a jury’s award of $1,950,000 to a an owner of property 1653 Creve Coeur Mill Road which was taken by eminent domain by St. Louis County for the Page/Olive connector as part of the Highway 141 extension.

The events leading up to this case began in December 2009 when St Louis County filed a condemnation suit against property owners to make way for part of the extension of highway 141 which included 1653 Creve Coeur Mill, at the time owned by descendants of Arthur and Stella Novel. According to Continue Reading →

Over 123,000 St Louis Homeowners Are Seriously Underwater

By , on September 6th, 2013

Nearly one of every 4 St Louis homeowners with a mortgage are seriously underwater, meaning their mortgage exceeds the current value of their home by 25 percent or more, according to a report just released by RealtyTrac. As the table below shows, the city of St. Louis has the highest percentage of seriously underwater homeowners at 31 percent and Franklin county the lowest at 14 percent. In addition, there are another 104,000 St Louis homeowners in a “near-equity” or “resurfacing equity” position, meaning their loan equals 90 to 110 percent of the current value of their home. As long Continue Reading →

Home Prices In St Louis Rose Almost 7 Percent In Past Year

By , on September 5th, 2013

Home prices in St Louis (core market) rose from a median price of $145,000 for homes sold in August 2012 to $155,000 for homes sold in August 2013, an increase of 6.9 percent. The core market for St Louis includes the city of St Louis as well as the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin.

 

 

 

Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Increased Almost 14 Percent

By , on September 4th, 2013

St Louis home sales, for the 12 month period ending August 31, 2013, increased 13.9 percent from the same period a year before. In the five county area that makes up the bulk of the St Louis real estate market (city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) there were 26,436 homes sold during the period, up from 23,208 the year before.

 

 

 

 

Continue Reading →

Cash Purchases Of St Louis Homes Drops To Lowest Level In Over 3 Years

By , on August 29th, 2013

In July 2013 just a little over 1 of every 5 (22 percent) St Louis homes* that were sold were cash purchases, marking the lowest rate of cash sales since June 2010, according to MORE, REALTORS. On the national level, 2 of every 5 (40 percent) homes sold during July were cash purchases, according to a report released this morning from RealtyTrac.

The total number of homes sold in St Louis* in July was 2,731, a slight increase from June’s 2,672 sales and a 17 percent increase from July 2012 when there were 2,326 homes sold in the St Continue Reading →

Where are the buyers markets in St Louis?

By , on August 26th, 2013

With all the talk lately about many St Louis neighborhoods going from the doldrums to a sellers market many would-be home buyers (and investors) are asking where are the buyers markets are in St Louis? The are looking for the areas where the opportunity still exists to negotiate a better deal and not have to worry about getting caught in a multiple offer situation like we are seeing in some of the hotter markets today. While the upside to a buyer’s market is less competition and perhaps a better price, the downside is there is a reason Continue Reading →

Missouri Ranked 41st In U.S. In Terms Of Credit Quality of Homebuyers

By , on August 24th, 2013

Lending Tree just released a list ranking the credit quality of perspective homebuyers by State based upon home loan applications during the 2nd quarter of 2013 and the report gives Missouri a score of 75.69 out of a possible 100, bringing our state in at 41st in the nation. In determining the credit quality of the borrower or “borrower health” in Lending Tree terms, they take into consideration three things on perspective homebuyer loan applications: weighted average of credit score, loan-to-value ratio [LTV] and overall lendability of mortgage-seekers to arrive at a score.

At the top of the list, Continue Reading →

Lenders Guarantee Title Company Manager Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

By , on August 22nd, 2013

Lenders Guarantee Title Company Manager, Elizabeth Glosemeyer, plead guilty yesterday to two counts of wire fraud stemming from her activities as manager of the title company. In an indictment issued in June, it as alleged that “profitability suffered” at Lenders Guarantee Title as a result of the financial crisis of 2008 leaving the company without sufficient cash flow to pay its bills and obligations causing Glosemeyer, as manager, to “take money from the Lenders escrow account to fund operations.” This ultimately left the escrow account for the title company short and as a result, according to the indictment, Lenders Continue Reading →

Best Areas For Health And Wealth

By , on August 22nd, 2013

Today, RealtyTrac released its’ list of the “Top Housing Markets for Health and Wealth” with metro areas in the U.S. that scored the best in the health and wealth areas addressed by the report. The report examined lifestyle (including fast food restaurants per capita, adult activity rate and smoking rate), disease (including diabetes and obesity rate), environment (clean air days), economy (unemployment) and real estate (3 year appreciation rate). At the top of the list is Austin Texas with an 81 percent activity rate, 10 percent smoking rate, 5,8 percent unemployment and 27 percent real estate appreiciation in the Continue Reading →

Andy Van Slyke Sells Ladue Home for $3.2 Million

By , on August 18th, 2013

This past week, Andy Van Slyke sold his Ladue Manse at 710 S. Price for $3,200,000 after being listed for sale for just 48 days, albeit at a sales price of just 80% of the asking price of $3,975,000. Andy and wife, Lauri built this french-inspired mansion in 2001 with with over 6,000 square feet of living area (with an additional 3,000 square feet in the lower level) situated on 1.8 acres of well-manicured grounds and including all the features you would expect in this price range such as exquisite architectural design, high-end finishes, a pool but also has features Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Bidding Wars Chill

By , on August 16th, 2013

Bidding wars for homes in St Louis cooled in July as the number of home sales where the final sales price exceeded the list price at the time of sale was 14.7 percent of all home sales in the St Louis 5-county core area (City of St Louis and Counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin), according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. This is down 8.7 percent from June, when 16.1 percent of the homes sold in St Louis were sold at a price in excess of the list price. Nationally, in July almost half Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures Decline Over 36 Percent From Year Ago

By , on August 15th, 2013

The number of St Louis homeowners with a foreclosure filing in July was 1,183 homeowners, a decline of 1.09 percent from June and a whopping decline of 36.4 percent from a year ago when 1,860 properties had a foreclosure filing, according to a report just released this morning by RealtyTrac. This works out to one in every 1,052 St Louis properties receiving a foreclosure filing, slightly lower than the national rate of one in every 1,001 properties and well below the 1 in every 250 rate in Miami, the metro area with the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S. Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Activity In June Up Over 60 Percent From Year Ago

By , on August 14th, 2013

St Louis new home construction activity increased in June 2013 with 424 building permits for new homes being issued in the St Louis metro area (the area served by the Home Builders Association of St Louis and Eastern Missouri) an increase of 26.2 percent from the month before and is an increase of 63.7 percent from June 2012 when there were just 259 building permits issued for new homes, according to data published by the Home Builders Association of St Louis and Eastern Missouri.

While this is good news for the building industry, as the chart below Continue Reading →

St Louis Trend Report Shows Year-Over-Year Inventory Decline Nearly Double National Level

By , on August 13th, 2013

St Louis’ year-over-year inventory of homes for sale has declined from 18,740 active listings for sale in the core St Louis market (City of St Louis and Counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) from 18,740 homes for sale in July 2012 to 16,888 homes for sale last month, a decline of 9.9 percent in the year-over-year inventory, according to MORE, REALTORS. This is nearly double the national rate of decline in the inventory of homes for sale which was 5.24 percent for the same period, according to the National Association of REALTORS.

During the Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Slowest Selling Neighborhoods

By , on August 12th, 2013

St Louis’ Slowest Selling Neighborhoods can be found throughout the St Louis area. To find the “slow selling neighborhoods” I look at the median days on market of the current homes listed for sale with the logic that, if the median time on the market is very high for listings, then the majority of the homes are taking quite a while to sell.

(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 ]

Continue Reading →

The Man Cave Shed

By , on August 11th, 2013

Ok, so you’re a guy, you went to church this morning with the family, came home and did a couple of “honey do” projects, played with the kids and walked the dog. Now it’s time for a little “ME TIME”, right? But…how do you get your peace and quiet to kick back and watch the game and yet still be at home with your family? The answer is simple…you need a MAN CAVE! What? No room in the house for one as the family has taken over? No problem! Here’s the answer, a Man Cave Shed! Best I can Continue Reading →

Economists Predict Home Price Appreciation for 2013 to Top 6 Percent On National Level

By , on August 10th, 2013

Home Price Appreciation for 2013 is expected to be 6.75 percent (year-over-year from 2012), according to the average estimate of a panel of 106 economists surveyed by Pulsenomics. Interesting enough, though the economists had varying opinions, not one panelist project a decrease in home prices for 2013, in fact the lowest estimation of home price increase for 2013 was 1.69 percent and at the other end of the spectrum, the highest projection was 15 percent.

Also worth noting from the survey was the fact that 88 percent of the economists on the panel did not feel that Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-August 2013

By , on August 9th, 2013

It’s a seller’s market in 60 St Louis Neighborhoods!

That’s right, according to the latest market data from MORE, REALTORS. 60 St Louis neighborhoods are experiencing a seller’s market while only 8 have a buyer’s market. Which ones you ask? Invest 5 minutes of your time watching my market up date video below and you will find out!

Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll answer that question for you.

Continue Reading →

« Newer Entries  
  Older Entries »
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.
All of the information on this site is provided as is, with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.
This site contains external links to other sites not owned or controlled by the owner of this site, therefore the owner of this site does not control or guarantee in any manner the accuracy or relevancy of any information obtained through following such links. Links contained on this site are for users convenience and users should exercise extreme caution when following links. Including a link on this site does not constitute an endorsement of the site linked to or any views or opinions expressed on the site, products or services offered on outside sites or the companies or organizations that own and operate outside sites.
This site may accept payment for advertising, for displaying advertisements, through affiliate relationships with companies or may receive referral fees or commissions from companies as a result of recommending or referring people to a website. This site may also accept free product samples, free services, gift cards or cash to review a product or service. All paid and sponsored content may not always be identified as such. Any product claim, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.