By Dennis Norman, on February 11th, 2022 According to Fannie Mae’s® Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI), 70% of consumers say it’s a bad time to buy a home while 25% feel it’s a good time to buy. As the chart below illustrates, this is the highest level reached for it not being a good time to buy in the 3-year period the chart covers. Actually, this is the highest level it’s reached since Fannie Mae began tracking the data in 2010.
Millennials are pessimistic about home buying…
The bottom chart also reflects the sentiment of consumers in the survey about buying a home now but Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 2nd, 2022 There were 4,825 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during 2021 which is 9 more permits than were issued in 2020, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). For the past few years, St Louis has experienced a strong seller’s market due to the low supply of homes for sale.
This demand certainly seems to be something that would encourage builders to increase the number of homes being built significantly. However, there are many challenges facing St Louis builders today Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 23rd, 2022 Most anyone that is interested in buying or selling a home is pretty much aware of two things: there is a low inventory of homes for sale and prices have increased a fair amount as a result. That part is likely largely a result of basic economics related to supply and demand. When the demand is greater than the supply, prices will increase. In St Louis, home prices have done just that. As the chart below (exclusively available from MORE, REALTORS®) illustrates, the median price of homes sold in January 2020 was $221, 200 and in January 2021 was $245,000, Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 17th, 2022 Today, thanks to many apps and access to information, all consumers have ready and easy access to their FICO (credit) score. Anyone thinking of buying a home no doubt knows their credit score will come into play in terms of qualifying for a mortgage but just how significant is your credit score? Is there really that much difference between a 670 and 700 credit score, or between a 700 and 741 score? Well, when it comes to mortgage rates, it does make a difference!
A 670 FICO vs a 741 FICO will run up the typical cost of St Louis Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 16th, 2022 Mortgage interest rates were at 3.667% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan as of this past Thursday, January 13, 2022. As the chart below illustrates, after dipping slightly the week prior, the rates this most recent week hit the highest level in over a year.
Mortgage rates for an FHA mortgage also hit the highest level in over a year too with rates hitting 3.743%.
Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES Mortgage Interest Rates – 30 Years Conforming Conventional Loan -Past 12 Months
(click on chart for live, interactive chart and other Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 13th, 2022
By John Donati, on November 29th, 2021
Do you like inconvenience? Spending more money than needed? Do you like things to be more difficult than needed? Do you like not knowing how much energy you use and when you use it most? Do you desire suboptimal temperature control? If you answered ‘no’ to these questions then whether you knew it or not, you’re already convinced that a Smart Thermostat is worth a couple of hundred bucks to you.
One of the primary requirements in a ‘Smart Home’ is either smart temperature control or a smart security feature. Of these two, the one to likely Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 24th, 2021 As the charts below illustrate, at the beginning of this year, mortgage interest rates for a 30-year conforming conventional loan were at 2.771%, FHA loans were at 2.703%, and VA loans were at 2.372%. As of yesterday, those rates have increased to 3.357%, 3.468%, and 3.101% respectively.
While conforming 30-year conventional loans have seen an increase of 21% in rates (from 2.771% to 3.357%), FHA loans have seen an increase of 28% (from 2.703% to 3.468%) and VA loans have seen an increase of 30% (from 2.372% to 3.101%).
What does this mean in terms of the cost of a Continue Reading →
By John Donati, on November 23rd, 2021
Simply put, a Smart Home means your home has a control system that connects with your various appliances, systems, and features to automate specific tasks and is typically remotely controlled. The real estate industry, in conjunction with CNET, accepted definition is:
“A home that is equipped with network-connected products (aka “smart products,” connected via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or similar protocols) for controlling, automating, and optimizing functions such as temperature, lighting, security, safety, or entertainment, either remotely by a phone, tablet, computer, or a separate system within the home itself.”
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Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 17th, 2021 Last week I published an infographic in an article illustrating that 65% of the homes sold in St Louis sold at or above the list price. As the infographic below shows, this is a significantly higher percentage than was experienced in the midwest region as a whole where 55% of the homes sold at or above full price.
Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 11th, 2021 Two-thirds of the homes sold in the St Louis 5-County core market (St Louis city and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson, and Franklin) during October sold for the asking price or above. As the infographic below shows (exclusively available from MORE, REALTORS®) there were 2,888 homes sold during October in the St Louis 5-County core market with 65% of them selling at the list price or above. One thing to remember about home prices though, and something you won’t hear from too many people reporting prices, is that not all sold prices are the “real” price.
[xyz-ips Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 31st, 2021 For the past few years now, we’ve experienced quite the seller’s market in St Louis fueled, in part, by a low supply of homes for sale. As a result, St Louis home prices have increased over the past few years at rates close to double the historic norm. Of late, we’ve heard a lot from people within, and outside of, the real estate industry expressing concern that home prices have gotten too high and even some have made comparisons to 2008 when the housing market saw the bubble burst. Being the data nerd I am, I’ve tried to keep emotion Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 23rd, 2021 Mortgage interest rates were at 2.65% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan at the beginning of this year, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® and rose through the late winter months and started the spring housing season with rates hitting 3.18% on April 1st. This rate was the highest rate since June, 2020 when rates hit 3.21% and was the highest level for interest rates in 2021. This past week, according to the same market survey, the 30 -year fixed-rate mortgage interest rate hit 3.09%, the highest level in six-months, but still below the peak rate for the year Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 21st, 2021 Like the majority of real estate companies in St Louis, our firm, MORE, REALTORS® is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®. One of the things that go along with membership is to agree to abide by the Code of Ethics. Within the code of ethics, is Article 12 which states, in part, “REALTORS® shall be honest and truthful in their real estate communication and shall present a true picture in their advertising, marketing, and other representations.” As with every article in the code of ethics, there are “standards of practice” to serve as examples of how that article Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 18th, 2021 I’ve written a couple of articles lately addressing the news reports about the housing market cooling down. As I’ve addressed in those articles, there has not really been much data supporting a significant cooling in the St Louis real estate market. Additionally, I’ve noted that, due to the seasonality of the housing market, and the fact we are headed toward winter, a cooling of the market would be the seasonal norm.
So today, I decided to pick an easier question to answer, “has the St Louis real estate market peaked?” The short answer is yes, I believe it has. This Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on October 13th, 2021 The St Louis housing market appears to be cooling off slightly with fewer home sales last month than a year ago in 3 of the 5 St Louis area counties that make up the St Louis 5-county core real estate market. As the charts below illustrate, the decline in the overall St Louis market was very slight, with 3,164 homes sold last month just 11 sales fewer than September last year when there were 3,715 homes sold in the St Louis5-county core market. The charts have complete details but below is a recap of home sales and prices Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on September 14th, 2021 There continue to be conversations by St Louis REALTORS® as well as other industry professionals as to whether or not the market is cooling off somewhat or slowing down. I keep watching the data closely to look for signs of a substantive change and while there are some, the market adjustments appear to be somewhat insignificant at this point. Last month, in an article about July’s market, I pointed out a slight slowing of the trend in July. Now, I’m taking a look at August, specifically, the number of new listings that came on the St Louis real estate market Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 19th, 2021 There has been talk of “the market slowing down” and while there hasn’t been a lot of data to support that, we did see the sales trend slow slightly in July. As the home sales trend chart below shows, exclusively available from MORE, REALTORS®, the home sales trend for the 12-month period ending has increased every month of this year over the prior month through June. For the 12-month period ending in June, there were 30,055 homes sold marking the highest record since we’ve been tracking the data, however, for the 12-month period ending in July home sales decreased slightly Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on July 30th, 2021 For the past couple of years now you’ve heard how low the inventory of homes for sale is, and, if you are a buyer, you have no doubt experienced some grief or hardship in buying a home as a result. However, this may be changing. As the table below shows, there are currently 3,565 active listings in the St Louis 5-county core market (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) which based upon the rate of home sales, works out to a supply of 1.41 months. This is a 50% increase from the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on July 29th, 2021 Mortgage interest rates dropped peaked in the spring of this year with the rate on a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan hitting 3.353% in mid-March then staying near that range until mid-April when rates started to ease. In mid-June the rate had crept back up to 3.229% but last week dipped below 3% to 2.982%. As of yesterday, the rate has increased slightly but is still just a tad over 3% (3.019%).
Mortgage Interest Rates – 30 Years Conforming Conventional Loan -Past 12 Month Period
(click on chart for live, interactive chart and other loan types)
Search Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on July 1st, 2021 As the chart below illustrates (available exclusively from MORE, REALTORS®), homes in St Charles County sold for a median price equal to nearly 105% of the current list price of the listing in June, which is the highest percentage of list price for the counties that make up the St Louis 5-county core market. For the 9 months up to and including January of this year, 4 of the 5 counties all had a median sold price equal to 100% of the current list price with Franklin County averaging less. In January St Charles county took off followed by Jefferson Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 24th, 2021 The Director for the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, signed an extension to the eviction moratorium extending its expiration from June 30, 2021 to July 31, 2021. The CDC has indicated that “this is intended to be the final extension of the moratorium.”
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By Dennis Norman, on June 18th, 2021 For the 12-month period ended May 31, 2021, there were 30,225 homes sold within the St Louis 5-County core market, an increase in home sales of 13.91% from the prior 12-month period, according to the STL Market Report below, available exclusively from MORE, REALTORS®. During the same period, St Louis home prices increased 11.5% from a median of $213,000 to $237,500. As the report also shows, the current supply of listings for sale is low at 0.86 months.
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STL Market Report For the St Louis 5-County Core Market
(click on report for live, complete report)
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 14th, 2021
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By Dennis Norman, on June 2nd, 2021 It’s no secret how competitive the St Louis housing market is currently. In effort to get their offer accepted, homebuyers are waiving financing contingencies, building inspections and doing everything they can to convince the seller to take their offer. However, in addition to those aforementioned things, while it’s not necessarily the most important thing, price is pretty close to the top of the list.
As a result of everything mentioned above, almost two-thirds of the homes sold in the St Louis 5-County core market (St Louis city and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) during the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 27th, 2021 While most of the current real estate market is doing quite well, and has for some time, the St Charles County real estate market has been on fire lately! Highlights from the the reports and charts below include (which are available exclusively from MORE, REALTORS):
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2021 there were 6,620 homes sold in St Charles County, an increase of 13% from the prior 12-month period. For the most recent period noted above, the median price of homes sold in St Charles County was $271,240, and an increase of nearly 9% from the prior period. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 12th, 2021 Every month Fannie Mae surveys consumers about owning and renting a home as well as about other issues related to the housing market and economy and from the results publish their Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI). One of the components of the index is what the sentiment is on whether now is a good time to buy a home or sell a home. In the April 2021 HPSI consumers sentiment on now being a good time to buy a home hit an all-time low with just 47% of respondents saying now is a good time to buy a home. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 12th, 2021 In spite of the challenge of a low-inventory housing market, St Louis City and County, St Charles County and Franklin County all saw double-digit increases in the number of homes sold in April while Jefferson County saw a double digit decline. As the charts below illustrate, the median price of homes sold in those counties increased from a year ago in all the counties, two of them in the double digits.
Not all housing data is the same….nor accurate for that matter…
One thing worth noting is that there are housing market reports out there from many different Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 5th, 2021 Lately, I’ve noticed several articles questioning whether the kind of crazy real estate market we’ve in for a while now is reminiscent of the early 2000’s which lead to a housing bubble that eventually burst in 2008. Granted, even in St Louis where we tend to not see the market extremes one way or the other like the coasts do, one could get the idea that maybe we’re headed that way with buyer’s fighting over new listings and bidding wars that have homes often selling for over the list price. However, in my humble opinion, this market is very different Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 4th, 2021 The homeownership rate in the St Louis MSA for the first quarter of 2021 was 73.1%, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This is a big jump upward from the 4th quarter of last year when St Louis ranked 23rd on the list.
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Homeownership Rates By MSA – 1st Quarter 2021
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