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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
By Shelly Clark, on October 2nd, 2014 You’ve owned your home for 20 years, and you’ve never been required to have flood insurance on your property. So why did you get a notice saying that you are required to have flood insurance or else your lender is going to impose it upon you now – after all these years?
Simply stated, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) believes that your lot is now at risk for being flooded in the event of a 100 year flood. FEMA creates Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) which depict and show where it is calculated that the water will spread in Continue Reading →
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 →
By Peter Wright, on September 26th, 2014 Albert Einstein once said, “Nothing happens until something moves.” Well if you are looking to buy a home, lease a car, apply for credit cards or even look for a job…nothing happens until your credit score moves and moves up!
If you are have had credit issues in the past….simply ignoring what happened does not help. Ignoring a tooth-ache will not improve over time without treatment neither will your credit score!
If you have had credit issues in the past, it’s time you start establishing new (good) credit and start working on deleting old derogatory credit history like late payments, Continue Reading →
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.
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Mortgage interest rates from the Freddie Mac report:
30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 4.23% Last week Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 26th, 2014 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 →
By Dennis Norman, on August 19th, 2014 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 →
By Dennis Norman, on August 15th, 2014 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.
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Source: Freddie Mac
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 4th, 2014 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 →
By Dennis Norman, on July 18th, 2014 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 →
By Dennis Norman, on July 8th, 2014 Consumers continue to gain confidence in the housing market but not enough to return us to a “normal” housing market, according to the June 2014 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey. In the survey consumers are asked, among other things, what their expectations are with regard to home prices and, while the expectation is for home values to increase 2.4% in the next 12 months, this is slightly lower than indicated in the previous few months. When asked about the expectation with regard to mortgage interested rates, 55% of the consumers think interest rates will rise in the next year, this Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 17th, 2014 Mortgage default rates, as tracked by the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, on first mortgages were at .92 in May 2014, down from 1.01 the month before and down almost 30% (29.7%) from May 2013 when the first mortgage default rate index was at 1.31. The default rate index on second mortgages is improving as well with the index for May 2014 at .57, down from .63 in April and from .60 in May 2013, according to the report.
This is good news for the housing market and consistent with the trend we have seen lately of lower delinquencies and Continue Reading →
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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Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
We hear lots of advice these days about how to improve a credit score. However, not all advice is good advice. Here are nine credit score myths that could actually do more harm than good:
Myth #1 – Closing out old, inactive accounts will help your score. Thirty percent of your credit score is based on your utilization rate – your total balances versus the total amount of credit available to you. Canceling old accounts reduces the total amount of your available credit, changing that ratio. Any balance will Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 20th, 2014 While the St Louis housing market is improving, unfortunately the homeowners that can afford it the least are the ones that are still the hardest hit with 41.5% of all homeowners with a mortgage on a home in the bottom price tier (the 25% lowest valued homes in St Louis) being underwater on their mortgage, meaning they owe more than their homes are worth. This is according to the newly released Zillow Negative Equity report which shows that, at the opposite end of the spectrum, in the top tier, only 11% of St Louis homeowners are underwater, or in a Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 20th, 2014 Indicating continued stabilization of the housing market, the first mortgage default rate dropped in April to 1.01%, the seventh-consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level seen since July 2006, according to the just-released S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indice report. In April, 2013, the first mortgage default rate was 1.31%.
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By Dennis Norman, on April 22nd, 2014 Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates both declined in March to the lowest levels since October 2007 and 2008, respectively, according to data just released by Black Knight Financial Services (formerly LPS). The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (30+ days delinquent) in March 2014 was 5.52%, a 7.57% decline from the month before and a 16.29% decline from a year ago. The U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate in March 2014 was 2.13%, a decline of 4.23% from the month before and a drop of 36.69% from March 2013.
There are still several states with double-digit mortgage delinquencies, Mississippi being the one with Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on April 17th, 2014 Almost 1 of every 4 St Louis homeowners with a mortgage (23%) are seriously underwater, meaning their mortgage(s) total at least 125% of their homes current value, according to a report for the 1st quarter of 2014 just released this morning by RealtyTrac. According to the report, there are 161, 310 St Louis homeowners that are underwater while 138,492 homeowners (19%) have “resurfacing equity” meaning their mortgage totals are 90% – 110% of their homes current value, allowing them to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Throughout the state of Missouri, 22% of homeowners with a mortgage Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
By Dennis Norman, on February 26th, 2014 source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Property fraud is a serious threat to homeowners, according to the FBI. A practice that was virtually unheard of until about 6 years ago is something called “house stealing” in which con artists identify a house to target and then steal it. How? It’s actually pretty easy. They get the owners name and personal information, which is easily obtainable today online, and then complete a few forms, forge the owner’s signature and the next thing you know, the con artist owns the house. Other fraudulent activity includes placing mortgages on property not owned Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 12th, 2014 The mortgage delinquency rate for homeowners 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgages fell below 4 percent during the last quarter of 2013, the first time the delinquency rate has been below 4% since 2008, according to TransUnion. According to the report, every state in the U.S. saw a decline in mortgage delinquency rates from to the 4th quarter of 2012 to the 4th quarter of 2013 with only two, New Jersey and New York, not seeing a double digit decline. See the info graphic below for more info.
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 30th, 2014
Home loan rates have been near historic lows for a while now but the $64 question is, where are home loan rates headed in the future? While there are, of course, a variety of opinions out there, the majority of the noteworthy ones are thinking interest rates are headed upward. In the Well’s Fargo Securities Economic Outlook report for 2014, interest rates in the year ahead (2014) was addresses, saying “we expect long-term rates to exhibit an upward bias as Fed tapering moves forward. However, the extent of any increase in long-term rates should be modest, given continued low inflation Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 10th, 2014 Over 1 of every four St Louis homeowners (28%) with a mortgage are seriously underwater on their mortgages, meaning the current value of their home is at least 25 percent less than the total of their mortgages as of December 2013, according to a report just released by RealtyTrac. On a national level, in December 19% of the homeowners with a mortgage were considered seriously underwater.
At the other end of the spectrum, 11 percent of St Louis homeowners with a mortgage are “equity-rich“, meaning their mortgages total less than 50% of the current value of their home. On a Continue Reading →
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