Home Prices and Sales - St Louis Real Estate News

New Home Construction Needs to Increase to Match Job Growth According to REALTORS®

By Dennis Norman, on June 10th, 2014

New home construction is not keeping up with demand in most of the U.S. and could even lead to “persistent housing shortages and affordability issues unless housing starts increase to match up with local job creation”, according to a newly released analysis by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, discussed in the report the relationship between new jobs and increased demand for housing saying “Historically, there’s one new home construction for every one-and-a-half new jobs,”. Yun goes on to say “Our analysis found that a majority of states are constructing too few homes in relation Continue Reading →

Almost Half Of Consumers Surveyed Think Home Prices Will Rise In Next Year

By Dennis Norman, on June 9th, 2014

Forty-eight percent of Americans surveyed feel home prices will increase in the next twelve months and only 7 percent think home prices will decline, accordion to Fannie Mae’s May 2014 National Housing Survey which was just released. As for the economy, consumers weren’t so optimistic as, according to the report, 57% of those surveyed feel the economy is headed the wrong direction.

Other highlights from the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for May 2014:

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St Louis Home Prices Close to Recovering Lost Ground After Peak

By Dennis Norman, on June 5th, 2014

St Louis Home Prices are close to regaining what was lost after home prices peaked during the boom and then crashed and burned, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. As the table below shows, home prices in the three major St Louis counties (St Louis, St Charles and the city of St Louis) have recovered to about 95% of what they peaked at during the boom. The outlying counties of Jefferson and Franklin have been slower to recover.

Find your home’s market value online in LESS THAN A MINUTE!

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St Louis Home Prices Have Risen and Fallen In Past Year – Varies By Zip

By Dennis Norman, on June 2nd, 2014

St. Louis home prices have risen in the past year for the metropolitan area as a whole somewhere around 8 percent, according to Clear Capital’s home price index. As the chart below shows though, St Louis home prices over the past year have performed quite differently in different zip codes. As the chart shows, the highest performing zip codes in the St Louis area saw home prices increase about 20% in the past year while the lowest performing zip codes saw prices fall by a couple of percent in the last year.

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Distressed Home Sales in St Louis Metro Area Fall Almost 30 Percent From A Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on May 29th, 2014

Distressed home sales in St Louis accounted for just under eleven percent (10.7%) of all home sales in the St Louis MSA in April 2014, according to data released just this morning from RealtyTrac. This is a decline of 29.1% from April 2013 when distressed home sales in St Louis were responsible for 15.1% of all home sales. Distressed home sales include short-sales (when sellers sell for less than they owe with the agreement of their lender), REO’s (bank-owned real estate acquired through foreclosure and now being resold) and foreclosure auction sales (when homes are actually sold at foreclosure).

Since Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Home Prices Rose Just Over 2 Percent in Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on May 27th, 2014

St. Louis area home prices (the five county “core” market consisting of St Louis city and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Franklin and Jefferson) increased 2.2% from April 2013 to April 2014. The median home sales price in April 2013 for the 5 county core St Louis housing market was $139,900 and in April 2014 the median sales price was $143,000.

When we drill down to the county level, as the table below shows, the city of St Louis fared the best in the past year with the median sales price of homes increasing 32.62% and Franklin County Continue Reading →

New Home Sales In the Midwest Up 35 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on May 26th, 2014

New home sales in the midwest in April increased 35.5 percent from a year ago, according to the latest information from the U.S. Census Bureau. New homes sales in the midwest region of the U.S. were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 84,000 homes, an increase of 47.4% from March’s rate of 57,000 homes.

The midwest region had the largest increase in new home sales in April from the month before and was the only region in the U.S. that had an increase in home sales in April 2014 from April 2013.

See St Louis New Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Lagging Behind Last Year

By Dennis Norman, on May 22nd, 2014

St Louis Home Sales this year continue to be at a slower pace than last year with a total of 7,946 homes sold through the end of April, a decline of 11.5% from the same period last year when there were 8,978 homes sold in the St Louis core market (city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin). During April 2014, there were 22,457 homes sold in the St Louis core market, a decline of 9% from a year ago when there were 2,710 homes sold.

St Louis Home Continue Reading →

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

By Dennis Norman, on May 21st, 2014

The St Louis real estate market continues to show signs of improvement with lack of inventory begin the biggest problem in many markets. If you have considered selling, 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 home valuation site and find your homes value in under a minute – go to StLouisHousePrices.com and find your home’s value now! Get complete information on the market Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales in 2014 Lagging Behind Last Year

By Dennis Norman, on April 25th, 2014

St Louis Home Sales are off to a slower start in 2014 than they were last year with a total of 5,467 homes sold during the first quarter of 2014 in the St Louis core market (city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin), a decline of 12.8% from last year when there were 6,268 homes sold during the same period. For March 2014, there were 2,194 homes sold in the St Louis core market, a decline of 19% from last March when there were 2,709 homes sold.

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St Louis Distressed Home Sales Down From a Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on April 24th, 2014

St Louis distressed home sales declined during the first quarter of this year with distressed home sales (foreclosures, REO’s and short sales) in the 5-county core St Louis market (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) accounting for 15.0% of all home sales, This is down 18.5% from the first quarter of 2013 when St Louis distressed home sales accounted for 18.4% of all home sales, according to newly released data from RealtyTrac. As the table below shows, all the counties that make up the core of the St Louis real estate market Continue Reading →

New Home Sales Slide In March

By Dennis Norman, on April 23rd, 2014

New home sales here in the midwest slid over percent (21.5) in March from the month before making the midwest the region of the US with the biggest decline in new home sales from February with the west being next with a decline of 16.7 percent. This is on the heels of a 36.7% increase in home sales in February from the month before. Nationally, new home sales in March 2014 were down 14.5 percent from the month before, according to a report just released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales in the Continue Reading →

Where in St Louis can home buyers find a good deal?

By Dennis Norman, on April 16th, 2014

Everyone loves a deal! When it comes to buying a house, over the past few years there have been many “deals” out there as a result of the housing market meltdown. However, now that the worst of it is over, and many markets have already started recovering, the question for many are “where in St Louis can home buyers find a good deal?“. This is not easy to answer and what is a “good deal” for a home buyer looking for a place to call home for the foreseeable future is not necessarily going to be viewed in the same Continue Reading →

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

By Dennis Norman, on April 14th, 2014

St Louis home prices have increased over the past year however at the same time St Louis home sales have declined. Spring is finally here (although as I write this I think the forecast is for a low of 28 degrees tonight) and there is definitely increased market activity. The inventory of homes for sale is down from this time last year, but the months supply is up due to decreased home sales. If home sales increase a little, suddenly the months supply is going to drop due to the low inventory and we will definitely see market pressure for Continue Reading →

Consumers More Optimistic About The Housing Market Now Than A Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on April 9th, 2014

In spite of a somewhat sluggish start to the spring housing market, consumers are more optimistic about the housing market now than they were this time last year, according to the results of the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey results just released. Survey results show that 38% of the respondents think now is a good time to sell a home which, while low, is still almost 50% higher than a year ago when only 26% felt it was. Consumers are also feeling more optimistic about the prospects of obtaining a home loan with 52% saying they believe it would be Continue Reading →

Investment Property Sales Fall in 2013

By Dennis Norman, on April 4th, 2014

Investment property sales in 2013 fell to 1,104,000 properties, down 8.5 percent from 2012 when there were 1,2o7,000 investment properties sold, according to a report just released by the National Association of REALTORS. The median sale price of investment homes purchased during 2013 was $130,000, a 13% increase from 2012 when the median price was $115,000.

Who is the typical real estate investor?

According to the NAR report, the typical home investor in 2013 was a median age of 42 years, had a median household income of $111,400 and more than half (59%) were in a two income household.

What Continue Reading →

Vacation Home Market Surges In 2013

By Dennis Norman, on April 2nd, 2014

The vacation home market was hot last year with 717,000 vacation-home sales during the year in the U.S., an increase of 29.7% from the year before, according to the National Association of REALTOR’s (NAR) 2014 Vacation Home Buyers Survey. In spite of the large increase last year, vacation home sales are still down about one-third from the peak of vacation home sales activity seen in 2006.

What did vacation homes sell for in 2013?

The median price paid for a vacation home in 2013 was $168,700, an increase of 12.5% from 2012 when the median price was $150,000. In Continue Reading →

St Louis Pending Home Sales Decline

By Dennis Norman, on March 28th, 2014

St Louis pending home sales were down in February from a year ago and, thus far, 2014 is off to a slower pace than 2013 in terms of St Louis area home sales. For the 3-county area, which includes St Louis county, St Charles county and the city of St Louis, there were a total of 2,249 pending home sales in February, down 21% from February 2013 when there were 2,848. Year to date through the end of February, there have been 4,433 pending home sales in that 3-county area, down 20.4% from a year ago when there were 5,569.

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New Home Sales In The Midwest Spike In February

By Dennis Norman, on March 26th, 2014

New home sales in the midwest region of the U.S. shot up 36.7 percent in February from the month before and was up 1.5 percent from February 2013, according to a report just released by the U.S. Commerce Department. New home sales in the Midwest were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 67,000 homes, up from a rate of 49,000 homes the month before and up slightly from a year ago when new homes in the midwest were selling at at a rate of 66,000 homes per year.

Actual new home sales in the midwest for the first two months Continue Reading →

Where In St Louis Have The Most Sellers Lowered Home Prices?

By Dennis Norman, on March 24th, 2014

Spring is just around the corner however, as I write this I hate to say there is snow coming down outside my window, and St Louis sellers as well as St Louis REALTORS are anxiously awaiting the increased home buying activity that typically comes in spring. Many people equate the spring market with higher home prices however, there are many St Louis neighborhoods that have seen sellers busy lowering prices in the past 90 days. Perhaps, they were overpriced to start with or perhaps the sellers wish to give themselves a competitive edge going into the spring market, but Continue Reading →

Survey Shows Only 18 Percent Think Their Home Is Worth Less Today Than When Bought

By Dennis Norman, on March 23rd, 2014

Homeowners are feeling more optimistic about their investment in their homes as reflected in a new Rasmussen Reports survey which shows only 18% of homeowners think their homes is worth less today than when they bought it. This is down from 24% in the last survey and is the lowest level since the survey began 3 years ago.

On the flip side, more than half (57%) of homeowners surveyed feel their home is worth more today than when they first bought it.

To find out what your home is worth, you can check out the online resources below, or you Continue Reading →

One of every 11 renters in St Louis plans to buy a home in next year

By Dennis Norman, on March 19th, 2014

According to a survey just released by Pulsenomics LLC, almost one of every 11 renters in St Louis (9%) plan to buy a home in the next year and 5 percent of all households said they plan to buy. The survey, which covered 20 major metro areas in the U.S., calculated a “Housing Confidence Index” for each city based upon the survey responses and St Louis, with a 58.9 out of a possible 100, was at the bottom of the list for the 20 cities. However, on the “Homeownership Aspirations Index“, a barometer of the level at which current renters Continue Reading →

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

By Dennis Norman, on March 12th, 2014

Don’t shoot the messenger, but I have to tell you I’m not feeling quite as warm and fuzzy about the St Louis real estate market as I was a couple of months ago. In February, there were 1,623 homes sold in the 5-county core St Louis market, a decline of over 14% from February of last year when there were 1,898 homes sold. Also, 2014 is starting out sluggish with just 3,225 homes sold in the first two months, 14.5% less than this time last year when there were 3,774 homes sold. There are definitely encouraging things as well, such Continue Reading →

Who Are Today’s Home Buyers?

By Dennis Norman, on March 11th, 2014

Today’s home buyers are young, according to the Generational Trends Study published by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), which indicates 31% of all recent home purchases were made by the Millenials, also known as Generation Y, which are people born between 1980 and 1995. The next most active generation in terms of home buying is Generation X, people born between1965 and 1979, which accounted for 30% of all recent home sales, according to the NAR report.

Who they are and what they buy:[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 ]

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Rising Rents Puts St Louis On Apartment.coms’ Bad List

By Dennis Norman, on March 10th, 2014

Rising rents in St Louis now has the attention of Apartments.com which just released a report showing why $1,000 a month rent will get you throughout the U.S. and listed St Louis on the “Rents on the Rise” list. While this is good news for investors and landlords, who can expect better returns from their St Louis apartments and rental properties, tenants would prefer to find St Louis on the “Small Rents in Big Cities” or “Enormous Deals” list in the Apartments.com report. (See below for all cities on the lists)

See St Louis Homes Currently For Rent

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What Are St Louis’ Most Expensive Neighborhoods?

By Dennis Norman, on March 7th, 2014

One of the great things about St. Louis is the affordability of good homes in quality neighborhoods, however, St Louis does have it’s share of expensive homes as well. So, what are St Louis’ most expensive neighborhoods? The table below shows the 15 most expensive neighborhoods in St Louis, based upon median asking price of homes currently for sale.

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St Louis Rents Rose While Home Prices Declined Post Boom

By Dennis Norman, on March 6th, 2014

St Louis rents have risen 18% since the real estate bubble burst (based upon HUD fair market rents for 3 bedrooms) while median home prices have fallen 12% during the same period. Part of the reason behind has been the increased demand for rentals as a result of many homeowners who, after the real estate bubble burst, lost their homes in foreclosure or were forced to do a short sale and then had to seek a rental while they rebuild their credit. This, couple with almost no new apartment construction for several years has created the right environment for increasing Continue Reading →

Number of St Louis Homeowners with Negative Equity Rises At End of 2013

By Dennis Norman, on March 5th, 2014

The number of St Louis homeowners with negative equity (also referred to as “underwater” homeowners) increased in the 4th quarter of 2013 to 11.6% of all the St Louis homeowners with a mortgage on their home, an increase from 11.3% in the prior quarter, according to a newly released report from CoreLogic. Another 4.4% of the home owners with a mortgage were in a “near negative equity” position, up from 4.3% in the 3rd quarter.

Nationally, 13.3 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position during the 4th quarter of 2013, the same as the quarter Continue Reading →

St Louis Makes Top 10 List For Places Where It’s Cheaper to Buy Then Rent

By Dennis Norman, on March 3rd, 2014

Even with rising home prices and interest rates that are following suit, it’s cheaper to buy then rent both on a national level as well as in all of the 100 largest metro areas, according to a report just released by Trulia. According to the report, nationally it is 38% cheaper to buy than rent and in St Louis, it is 54% cheaper to buy then rent putting St. Louis at the #10 spot on “Where Buying a Home is a No-Brainer” list. See below for the complete list of the top 10 no-brainer to buy cities as well as Continue Reading →

Are Distressed Home Sales Gone From St Louis?

By Dennis Norman, on March 1st, 2014

Not long ago distressed home sales (foreclosures, short sales, REO’s, etc) were a dominant force in the St Louis real estate market, accounting for a good portion of St Louis area home sales. Today, however, with a few exceptions, they have all but left the St Louis real estate market. As far as the St Louis housing market is concerned, this is a good thing, for home buyers and investors looking for what are often bargain prices as a result, they may have different thoughts.

As the table below for the five St Louis counties that Continue Reading →