Mortgage and Finance - St Louis Real Estate News

St Louis Neighborhoods That Sold The Fastest In The Last 30 Days

By Dennis Norman, on August 28th, 2017

The St Louis real estate market typically hits its peak during the spring months then continues strong into summer. Come August, the housing market in St Louis tends to slow as families squeeze in vacations and school begins. After Labor Day we normally see an increase in activity until the market goes into something reminiscent of hibernation for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Even though Labor Day is just a few days away, home sales that closed within the past 30 days show that homes are still selling quickly in St Louis. Below is our list of the 10 Continue Reading →

Why Would You Do Business With Movement Mortgage?

By Dennis Norman, on August 17th, 2017

Unfortunately today, when we see a headline such as the one in this article, we almost immediately think something bad…its’ hard not too. Considering everything we witness in life and see in the media day in and day out, it’s become normal to think “what have they done?..what are you going to tell me that is bad about them? What’s the dirt?”.

Well, I’m happy to say, I don’t have anything bad to say, I don’t have any dirt on them nor scandalous information but, please don’t stop reading because of that.:)

In fact I’m going to praise Continue Reading →

What To Look Out For In Credit Repair Companies

By Dennis Norman, on June 29th, 2017

The housing bubble that led to the housing bubble burst in 2008 started a decline in the value of homes, including those in St Louis, for the following 3 to 4 years. This resulted in much larger number of homeowners facing financial struggles including late payments, foreclosures, short sales, bankruptcy and the like, than was the historic norm. As a result, while maybe not a new concept but certainly one that had been more obscure in the past, credit repair, became a lucrative and growing business as consumers sought to repair the damage done and position themselves to buy a home. Continue Reading →

Mortgage Loan Delinquency Rates Hit Lowest Level Since 2000

By Dennis Norman, on June 14th, 2017

According to a report just released by Corelogic, the 30-59 day mortgage delinquency rate in March (the most recent month reported) fell to just 1.7%, the lowest level since January 2000. Continue Reading →

Zillow Under Investigation By CFPB Over Co-Marketing Program With Real Estate Agents

By Dennis Norman, on May 12th, 2017

Zillow, the behemoth real estate search site, revealed in it’s Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month for first quarter 2017, that the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) is investigating some practices by Zillow, apparently specifically their co-marketing program, and, according to Zillow’s filing, is alleging that Zillow violated parts of both RESPA as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Act. The complete Form 10-Q can be viewed here. On page 40 (outlined in red by me) is the section where Zillow makes this disclosure, and I have pasted that section of the report below as well (the emphasis and color have been done by me). Continue Reading →

Foreclosure and Serious Delinquency Rates Continue to Decline in Missouri

By Dennis Norman, on May 10th, 2017

The foreclosure rate in Missouri continues to decline with the foreclosure rate for February 2017 coming in a 0.4 percent, according to a report just released by CoreLogic. The rate for February is down slightly from a year ago when the Missouri foreclosure rate was 0.5 percent. Based upon the mortgage serious delinquency rate (90 days or more) as well as delinquency rate (30 days or more), both lead-indicators or predictors of things to come with regard to foreclosures, the foreclosure rate will continue to decline in the near term. Continue Reading →

Home Affordability In St Louis Declining With Increasing Home Prices – Will Home Prices Suffer?

By Dennis Norman, on March 31st, 2017

It seems almost crazy to even throw out the idea of an adjustment in St Louis home prices or, perhaps even, any sort of slow down in the rate of home price appreciation given that the inventory of homes for sale is so low in so many parts of the St Louis area, however, maybe it’s something to look at. Continue Reading →

Threat Of Elimination of Mortgage Interest Deduction Not A Concern For St Louis Housing Market

By Dennis Norman, on December 15th, 2016

This morning the National Mortgage News published an article titled “Lenders Fear Congress May Neuter Mortgage Interest Deduction” in which they caution the mortgage interest deduction (MID), referred to as “a pillar of U.S. housing policy” in the article, may be effectively rendered pointless if Congress makes the significant changes to it that they appear ready to consider. Continue Reading →

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Continue To Fall And Now Back To Normal

By Dennis Norman, on December 14th, 2016

Mortgage Delinquency rates, borrowers that are 60 or more days past due, are projected to be 2.21 percent for the 4th quarter of 2016, down from 2.46% the quarter before and marking the 13th consecutive quarter mortgage delinquency rates have fallen, according to a report just released by TransUnion. According to the report, mortgage delinquency rates peaked at 7.21 percent during the 1st quarter of 2010 and have declined for 23 of the last 26 quarters since. TransUnion considers the current mortgage delinquency rate to be normal and is projecting the delinquency rate will fall even further next year down to 2.11% by the end of 2017. Continue Reading →

Mortgage Rates Hit Highest Rate In 2016 This Week

By Dennis Norman, on December 9th, 2016

According to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) released yesterday for the past week, interest rates on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased 5 basis points (1/20th of 1%) to 4.13 percent , the highest rate they have been at during 2016. Last year at this time the PMMS showed average interest rates at 3.95 percent so, while rates have increased over the past year, the amount has been fairly small. Continue Reading →

Home Loan Applications Decline As Do Mortgage Interest Rates; St Louis bucks trend

By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2016

New mortgage applications for a home purchase declined last week 7.0 percent from the prior week, according to a report just released by the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA). The MBA’s Market Composite Index, which is how they track the volume of loan applications, fell to it’s lowest level for home loans for a purchase since January 2016. Continue Reading →

Finally Others Agree That The Mortgage Interest Deduction Isn’t Critical To The Housing Market

By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2016

Over the past 5 years or so I have written a few articles on the topic of the mortgage interest deduction (MID) and how, in spite of what many others in the industry say, I didn’t think it was that critical to the housing industry. All the while, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) (of which I’m proud to be a member, just happen to disagree on this topic) has staunchly supported the MID and warned that if the deduction went away the housing market and home buyers would suffer. NAR published a fact sheet on the topic stating:

Repealing Continue Reading →

Are Home Prices Too High In St Louis?

By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2016

Last week, National Mortgage News, published an article on a report which indicated home prices and homeownership rates are “out of whack”. Continue Reading →

Bridal Registry For Downpayment Money? Why Not?

By Dennis Norman, on September 9th, 2016

For couples planning to get married before you spend the time doing the bridal registry thing at stores, picking out housewares, china and perhaps some other things you don’t really need or won’t use, consider putting a house on your list! Continue Reading →

Should You Pay An Agent Bonus To Sell Your Home?

By Dennis Norman, on September 2nd, 2016

One of the more controversial topics to discuss within the REALTOR community is the topic of agent bonuses, a bonus that a seller, by way of the listing broker, would pay to the agent that sells their home, over and above the normal sales commission. Sometimes seller’s, or their listing agents, see this as a way to draw more attention to their listing and to encourage buyer’s agents to show it and sell it. However, there are many conflicting opinions on this topic within the industry which creates some confusion for seller’s (and buyer’s for that matter), so I thought I would take some time to discuss it. Continue Reading →

Percentage of St Louis Homeowners With Negative Equity Grows Slightly

By Dennis Norman, on August 11th, 2016

The number of homeowners that are “seriously underwater”, or in a negative-equity position (meaning they owe more on their home than it is currently worth), increased during the 2nd quarter of this year, according to a report just released by Attom Data Solutions. During the 2nd quarter of 2106, 17.8% of the homeowners, with a mortgage, in the St Louis MSA were in a negative equity position, up from 16.6% the quarter before and up just slightly from 17.4% during the 2nd quarter of 2015. Continue Reading →

Falling Interest Rates Make St Louis Homes Even More Affordable

By Dennis Norman, on June 28th, 2016

Mortgage interest rates have been falling since last Thursday when the referendum passed for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union. As the chart below shows, interest rates on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage today averaged 3.44%, a new 52-week low and a decline of nearly 3/4 of 1 percent from a year ago when they were 4.20%. Continue Reading →

Home Mortgage Loan Originations Decline In First Quarter Of 2016

By Dennis Norman, on May 12th, 2016

Home mortgage loan originations in the St Louis metro area declined during the first quarter of this year to 5,843 total loan originations for purchase mortgages, a decline of 16 percent from the prior quarter when there were 6,976 purchase mortgage loan originations, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac. Continue Reading →

Help For Underwater Homeowners – One-time principal reduction plan

By Dennis Norman, on May 6th, 2016

In mid-April the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a new program aimed to help homeowners with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan that are seriously underwater on equity, meaning that their mortgage balance is at least 115 percent of the current value of their home. This new principal reduction modification program offers, to those that qualify, a one-time reduction in the balance of their mortgage to bring them out of a negative equity position. Continue Reading →

Home Affordability Rises In St Louis County, Falls In St Charles County

By Dennis Norman, on March 27th, 2016

A recent article by STL Today indicated that home affordability in St Louis had fallen, specifically noting that affordability in St Louis County had fallen below historic “norms”. As is always the case with stats, it depends upon which data you are taking into account and the accuracy of the data. I decided to take a look at the data and see if my data showed the same result as the STL Today article. Continue Reading →

St Louis Homeowners With Negative Equity Declines Over Eighteen Percent In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on March 11th, 2016

In the St Louis area there were 44,674 (7.9 percent of all residential properties) with negative equity, or underwater, during the 4th quarter of 2015, according to a report just released by Corelogic. This is a decline of 18.6 percent from the year before when there were 54,604 St Louis homeowners in a negative equity position (9.7 percent of all residential properties) . Continue Reading →

4 Reasons Why You Should Buy A Home Now In St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on February 14th, 2016

For those that have been reading my articles for a while, you know I am not a Pollyanna when it comes to the real estate market, opting instead to tell it like it is, even when the news is not so encouraging. For that reason, as well as the data behind my opinion, I think my suggestion that now is a good time to buy a home in St Louis should be considered to be a credible opinion from an industry insider. Continue Reading →

The Truth About The Mortgage Interest Deduction

By Dennis Norman, on January 27th, 2016

Before I begin, I should point out that what I’m about to tell you runs contrary to what the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the largest trade association in the country and one I belong to and support, will tell you. The NAR position on the mortgage interest deduction (MID) is, quoting from their website, “the mortgage interest deduction (MID) is a remarkably effective tool that facilitates homeownership.” Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – January 2016

By Dennis Norman, on January 19th, 2016

The St Louis real estate market performed well in 2015 and, by all indications, 2016 should be an even better year for the St Louis real estate market! Continue Reading →

St Louis Millennials Are Moving To The City and Their Parents Are Moving Out

By Dennis Norman, on December 28th, 2015

I have the honor of serving as chairman of the St Louis Industry Forum which consists of leaders of professional and trade associations that are engaged in some aspect of the real estate industry in St Louis (such as REALTORS, Builders, Mortgage Lenders, Bankers, etc) and at our bi-monthly meetings millennial’s are often the topic of conversation with regard to this generations thoughts on home ownership vs. renting, where they want to live and other related matters. Continue Reading →

Seven Percent Of St Louis Home Mortgages Are Underwater

By Dennis Norman, on December 17th, 2015

As of the end of the 3rd quarter this year, seven percent of all St Louis homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position meaning their current mortgage balance exceeds the current value of their home, according to a report just released by Corelogic. Continue Reading →

Home Loan Delinquencies Continue To Decline-May Lead To Easing Requirements

By Dennis Norman, on November 17th, 2015

According to a report just released by TransUnion, the mortgage delinquency rate for borrowers that are 60 days or more delinquent, declined almost 30 percent during the 3rd quarter of 2015 from a year ago. During the third quarter of this year, the mortgage delinquency rate was 2.40%, down from 3.36% during the third quarter of 2014. Continue Reading →

The Number of Zombies In St Louis Triples In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on October 9th, 2015

No, in spite of the fact this is October, this article is not about Halloween nor the zombies associated with it, instead, it’s about vacant homes that have delinquent mortgages but have not yet been foreclosed upon yet, which the industry has applied the term of “zombie” to. Continue Reading →

Rule Changes For HUD Home Sales Proposed By HUD

By Dennis Norman, on October 8th, 2015

Since the real estate market bubble burst in 2008, the number of foreclosed homes that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has had to manage and sell to investors and new home owners has increased significantly, averaging around 100,000 homes sold per year and hitting a peak of 111,416 HUD homes sold during fiscal year 2013. Continue Reading →

Underwater Homeowners in St Louis Continues To Decline

By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2015

There were 123,546 St Louis homeowners with negative equity, or in a seriously underwater condition on their mortgage meaning they owe more than the current value of their home, in the St Louis MSA during the 2nd quarter of 2015 according to the most recent data by RealtyTrac. This works out to 17 percent of all St Louis metro area homeowners with a mortgage being underwater on their mortgage which is an improvement from 21 percent just 2 quarters prior. Continue Reading →