Dennis Norman - St Louis Real Estate News

December home sales plummet but 2009 finishes stronger than 2008

By Dennis Norman, on January 25th, 2010

Dennis Norman

NAR’s “seasonally-adjusted” numbers show sales down 16.7 percent for the month…2009 finishes with 5,156,000 homes sold…My projection for the year was 5,143,000 homes….missed it by 13,000 (2/10 of 1 percent) hmm..not bad for a “non-economist” :)

According to the latest report from the National Association of REALTORS(R), existing home sales in December decreased 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 5.45 million units in December from a revised level of 6.54 million units in November, and are 14.9 percent higher than the 4.74 million-unit pace in December 2008.

NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, said “It’s Continue Reading →

FHA Announces Tougher Guidelines for Loans

By Dennis Norman, on January 22nd, 2010

Dennis Norman

FHA Announces Policy Changes to Address Risk and Strengthen Finances

This week FHA announced policy changes that are going to help them shore up their finances but will make it more difficult and/or costly for your clients to purchase a home.

The FHA policy changes include: Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending The upfront mortgage insurance fee to the borrower will be increased to 2.25% from 1.75%. This will go into effect this spring. Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate Market shows signs of stabilizing

By Dennis Norman, on January 20th, 2010

Dennis Norman

We are long overdue for some good news on the St. Louis housing market and data from December home sales brought just that. Based upon my comparision of homes sold in December 2009 with the year prior, it appears to me the St. Louis housing market may have found it’s bottom and now be starting to level off.

There are still disturbing aspects of the data, like the fact that for the St. Louis metro area there were almost 8 percent fewer homes sold in December 2009 than in December 2008 but there is light at Continue Reading →

Record number of mortgage companies failed in 2009

By Dennis Norman, on January 18th, 2010

Dennis Norman

MortgageDaily.Com tracks mortgage company failures on it’s website The Mortgage Graveyard. According to The Mortgage Graveyard 225 mortgage-related firms in the U.S. ended operations or failed in 2009, higher than any year since they began tracking data in 1998. This was an increase of over 80% from 2008 which saw 124 firms fail.

The annual surge was fueled by a spike in bank failures — which increased more than 400 percent. Banks account for most of the country’s residential originations. Credit union failures, including corporate and state-regulated institutions, were up by more than a third.

Here in Continue Reading →

IRS Releases Instructions on how to Claim Homebuyer Tax Credit

By Dennis Norman, on January 15th, 2010

Dennis Norman

If you are one of the million-plus homebuyers that was fortunate enough to qualify for the Home Buyer tax credit, read on for information on how to claim your credit.

Today the Internal Revenue Service released a new form that eligible homebuyers must need to use to claim the first-time homebuyer credit this tax season, along with instructions and guidelines for other documentation that must accompany your tax return.

The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the homebuyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law Continue Reading →

St. Louis Foreclosures Increase over 68 percent from a year ago

By Dennis Norman, on January 14th, 2010

Dennis Norman

I would say it’s say to say that the Obama administrations efforts to curtail the foreclosure rate is not working as the foreclosure rate in St. Louis increased again in November according to a report released today by First American CoreLogic.The report showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate of 1.35 percent in November, up just slightly from October’s rate of 1.31 percent and increase of 68.75 percent from a year ago when the rate was 0.80percent.

The national foreclosure rate for November was again over double the rate of St. Continue Reading →

St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rates

By Dennis Norman, on January 13th, 2010

St. Louis mortgage rates this week remain unchanged on fixed rate loans this week but dropped slightly on ARM’s according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.

Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.

St. Louis Mortgage Rates – January 13, 2009 *

30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.125% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.000% no points

For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may Continue Reading →

Will you owe taxes on a short-sale or foreclosure?

By Dennis Norman, on January 11th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Depending on which estimate you believe, somewhere between one-third and one-half of the homeowners with a mortgage in the U.S. owe more on their homes than their homes are currently worth. This has lead to an unprecedented amount of short-sales and in many cases, a lender “forgiving” you of the short-fall (the amount of your loan your sale proceeds were not adequate to pay) which, in the past could have left you owing taxes on the “forgiven debt”.

For some of those underwater homeowners that are not fortunate enough to do a short sale they may Continue Reading →

St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rates

By Dennis Norman, on January 7th, 2010

St. Louis mortgage rates this week bounced around a bit with 30 year fixed rate mortgages and ARM’s decreasing slightly while 15 year fixed rate mortgage rates increased according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.

Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.

St. Louis Mortgage Rates – January 6, 2009 *

30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.125% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.00% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.125% no points

For more information or if you have Continue Reading →

Home buyers can shop for closing services and save money

By Dennis Norman, on January 6th, 2010

Dennis Norman

In the past I think closing costs associated with the purchase of a home were pretty much a mystery to many, if not most, home buyers with many not even being sure what they were paying for. Most buyers simply went through the process, paying for closing fees, notary fees, title examination, title insurance, survey, flood letters, courier fees, recording fees, etc. without ever realizing that these fees and costs may vary with other vendors.

January 1st changes went into effect in the RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) which will require lenders to fully disclose all Continue Reading →

Let’s play ‘spin the data’

By Dennis Norman, on January 6th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Or should I say “It’s all in the headline”?

So what am I talking about? The pending home sales data that was released by the National Association of REALTORS today, of course. Actually I could be referring to any data on the housing market whether new home sales, foreclosure rates, interest rates, existing home sales or inventories of homes for sale.

There only major housing report that was released today was the Pending Home Sales Index for November by NAR. Being a report based upon data you would think the numbers speak for Continue Reading →

Mortgage rates in St. Louis increase this week

By Dennis Norman, on December 30th, 2009

St. Louis mortgage rates inreased again this week bringing 30 year rates above 5 percent according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.

Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.

St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 30, 2009 *

30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.25% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.25% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.50% no points

For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact John Frank by Continue Reading →

What does 2010 hold in store for the Housing Market?

By Dennis Norman, on December 28th, 2009

Dennis Norman

In a just a few days we will say goodbye to 2009; a year that has been brutal to the housing market. So as the new year comes in, what will 2010 hold in store for the housing market?

To answer this question I turned to the housing forecast just released by Fannie Mae to see what their economists were predicting. Here are the highlights from the report, showing actual numbers for the 3rd quarter of this year as well as Fannie Mae’s projection for 4th quarter of this year as well as 4th quarter of 2010:

Continue Reading →

Merry Christmas!

By Dennis Norman, on December 25th, 2009

‘Actual’ Existing home sales drop 5.2 percent in November; Up 4.2 percent from a year ago

By Dennis Norman, on December 24th, 2009

Dennis Norman

NAR’s “seasonally-adjusted” numbers show sales up 7.4 percent for the month…”actual” numbers show a 5.2 percent decrease….Sales up 44 percent from last year, lest we not forgot last year was the worst in over 10 years…

According to the latest report from the National Association of REALTORS(R), existing home sales in November increased 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 6.54 million units in November from a revised level of 6.09 million units in October, and are 44.1 percent higher than the 4.44 million-unit pace in November 2008. Existing home sales are now at the highest Continue Reading →

New home sales take a dive in November

By Dennis Norman, on December 23rd, 2009

Dennis Norman

New homes were started in November at an annual rate of 482,000 homes and I asked why in my post last week since new home construction was already outpacing sales….well, today the gap got worse..

This morning the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing the sale of New Homes in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000, an 11.3 percent decrease from the revised October rate of 400,000 and is 9.0 percent below a year ago.

My Mantra

As has been my long-running mantra, I don’t like “seasonally Continue Reading →

Most recent homebuyers are first-time buyers

By Dennis Norman, on December 22nd, 2009

According to NAR 51 percent of recent homebuyers are first-time buyers and 39 percent of recent home sales have relied on an FHA loan

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS just released a report showing that 51 percent of the homes sold recently have been to first-time home buyers and that 39 percent of all recent buyers have turned to an FHA loan for financing for their home purchase.

I think this clearly illustrates that the first-time home buyer tax credit, coupled with record low interest rates and drastically reduced home prices, is giving buyers, at least Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures Increase 61.7 percent in past year

By Dennis Norman, on December 21st, 2009

Dennis Norman

Foreclosure rates in St. Louis increased for the month of October over the same period last year according to a report released by First American CoreLogic. The report showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate of 1.31 percent in October, up just slightly from September’s rate of 1.25 percent, but up 61.7 percent from a year ago when the rate was 0.81 percent.

The national foreclosure rate for October was over double the rate of St. Louis at 3.02 percent and was an increase of 77.6 percent from a year ago Continue Reading →

MHDC approves $20 Million incentive for Missouri home buyers

By Dennis Norman, on December 18th, 2009

Dennis Norman

UPDATE June 7, 1010 – Here are links to the Forms from MHDC to claim the tax credit as well as some sample forms they have provided showing how to fill them in:

Program ApplicationHome Purchase AffidavitPromissory NoteHope Program Information and InstructionsSample Forms

******

Just moments ago, the Missouri Housing Development Commission passed at $35 million economic development initiative. Part of this initiative (to the tune of $20 million worth) is aimed toward helping stimulate home sales in Missouri.

The initiative includes:

$15 million to pay the first year of property taxes for qualified homebuyers who Continue Reading →

What Should Be Done To Help Underwater Borrowers?

By Dennis Norman, on December 17th, 2009

Dennis Norman

Last week I did a post about the Obama Administrations’ Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and showed how it really has not been effective in helping keep families in their homes and avoid foreclosure as was the intention by the administration. When my kids tell me they don’t like the way I want them to do something I usually challenge them with “if you don’t like my way, tell me a better way to do it“. So with this in mind I went looking for an answer to this question.

In my search I ran accross a Continue Reading →

New home construction in the U.S. increases in November….but why?

By Dennis Norman, on December 16th, 2009

New home construction is on the rise in November…. WHY??? They aren’t selling as fast as they are being built…didn’t we learn our lesson?

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for November 2009 showing an increase in new home construction activity from October.

The report shows the following:

Building permits issued for single-family residences in November were at an annual rate of 473,000 which is 5.3 percent above the revised October rate of 449,000 and down 12.1 percent from a year ago. For the Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate News – St Louis mortgage rates inch up slightly this week

By Dennis Norman, on December 15th, 2009

St. Louis mortgage rates inched up slightly this week but remained at near record-lows according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.

Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.

St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 15, 2009 *

30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.75% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points

For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact John Frank by phone Continue Reading →

Is the Obama Administrations’ Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) working?

By Dennis Norman, on December 11th, 2009

Dennis Norman

This week the Treasury Department issed a report which included stats on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) which is part of the Obama administrations’ Making Home Affordable Program and “is a loan modification program designed to reduce delinquent and at-risk borrowers’ monthly mortgage payments”. The HAMP program got underway around March of this year and is set to expire December 31, 2012. According to the government website HAMP is intended to help keep “3 to 4 million Americans in their homes by preventing avoidable foreclosures.”

So is the Loan Modification plan working?

To try to Continue Reading →

New home building permits in St. Louis down 10 percent from a year ago; Multi-family permits down 54 percent

By Dennis Norman, on December 10th, 2009

Dennis Norman

Not surprisingly, builders in St. Louis (those that have managed to survive thus far) are not racing out to build homes. According to the latest data reported by the Home Builders Association of St. Louis, there were 228 permits issued in October for new homes in the St. Louis metro area (St. Louis City and the Counties of St. Louis, Jefferson, St. Charles, Franklin, Lincoln and Warren) down almost 19 percent from September when there were 281 permits issued.

Year-to-date, through October 31, 2009, there have been 2,321 permits issued for new homes in the Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate News – St Louis mortgage rates stay pretty much the same this week

By Dennis Norman, on December 9th, 2009

St. Louis mortgage rates remained at near record-lows this week, with only the 30 year fixed rate mortgage rates increasing slightly, according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.

Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.

St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 9, 2009 *

30-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.875% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.375% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.625% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points

For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis Continue Reading →

Obama administrations loan modification program ‘destined to fail’

By Dennis Norman, on December 8th, 2009

Dennis Norman

Laurie Goodman, the Senior Managing Director at Amherst Securities, testified today before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on “The Private Sector and Government Response to the Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis“. Amherst Securities specializes in the trading of residential mortgage backed securities and charges Goodman with keeping them and their customers abreast of trends in the market.

Today, in her testimony, Goodman told the committee she hoped to make two primary points in her testimony: “The housing market is fundamentally in very bad shape. The single largest problem is negative equity.” “The current modication program does not address Continue Reading →

Commercial and multi-family properties mortgage delinquencies on the rise

By Dennis Norman, on December 7th, 2009

Dennis Norman

For the first year or so of the real estate slump, it appeared to just be concentrated in the residential market, specifically homes and condos. However, over the past few months the attention has shifted more and more to the commerical and multi-family markets as well as the economy remains weak.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released their Third Quarter 2009 Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Delinquency Report showing that delinquency rates on loans in this sector continued to increase. Continue Reading →

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) Launched

By Dennis Norman, on December 4th, 2009

Dennis Norman

Last week the Treasury Department announced the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA), the latest program under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), designed to offer alternatives to homeowners facing foreclosure.

THE HAFA PROGRAM:

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides financial incentives to loan servicers as well as borrowers who do a short-sale or a deed-in-lieu to avoid foreclosure on an eligible loan under HAMP. Both of these foreclosure alternatives help the lender out by avoiding the

Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate News – St Louis mortgage rates unchanged this week

By Dennis Norman, on December 2nd, 2009

St. Louis mortgage rates remained at near record-lows this week according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.

Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.

St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 2, 2009 *

Continue Reading →

Pending home sales rise for ninth consecutive month

By Dennis Norman, on December 1st, 2009

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR

Is the increase real or have the tax-credits created an “artificial” market that cannot be sustained?

Today the National Association of REALTORS(R) issued their Pending Home Sales Index Report for October showing pending sales in the U.S. rose again for the ninth consecutive month – marking the longest streak since since NAR began the pending home sale index in 2001.

As I have expressed previously, I’m somewhat cautious about getting too excited about these recent encouraging reports on the housing market as I feel we still have many challenges out there.

Continue Reading →