Real Estate Market - St Louis Real Estate News

HUD To Allow Homeowners Impacted by COVID-19 To Defer House Payments For Up to a Year

By Dennis Norman, on April 2nd, 2020

As a result of the COVID-19 National Emergency Servicing and Loss Mitigation Program declared by President Trump, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sent a letter yesterday to its loan servicers making them aware of new COVID-19 National Emergency Loss Mitigation Options. HUD told the lenders that the new options for borrowers go into effect immediately but the lender must implement them no later than April 30, 2020.

Highlights of the new forbearance plan:

The Mortgagee (lender) must not deny COVID-19 National Emergency Home Retention Options to Borrowers that experience an adverse impact on their ability to Continue Reading →

Showings Of St Louis Area Listings Trending Upward

By Dennis Norman, on April 1st, 2020

While, rightly so, health concerns remain on the minds of home buyers, sellers, and agents, with safety practices in place, the real estate market in St Louis still has activity. Granted, as you would expect, the activity is at a reduced rate, but there are still people that want, or even need, to buy or sell a home. In fact, the economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has put some additional pressure on sellers who have been negatively affected.

One of the things I’ve been watching to track activity in the market are showings of homes. As Continue Reading →

Special Report (Video) – The Impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) on the St Louis Real Estate Market

By Dennis Norman, on March 30th, 2020

I’ve written several articles over the past couple of weeks about the impact the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having on the St Louis real estate market. Hopefully, it has been of some benefit to people that either already had their homes on the market, were in the market to buy or considering buying or selling. Yesterday, I took all of the most recent information and updates that I think people in those situations will find useful and packed it all into a short, 4-minute, video special report on the impact of COVID-19 on the St Louis Real Estate Market.

You Continue Reading →

Fannie Mae Offers Mortgage Payment Deferral Plans for Eligible Homeowners

By Dennis Norman, on March 29th, 2020

Fannie Mae, the leading source of financing for home mortgages in the U.S. (they purchase home loans from lenders), earlier this week announced some payment deferral plans to help borrowers. Fannie Mae is authorizing it’s loan servicers to provide options to borrowers that have fallen delinquent or are having trouble making their house payments, which is likely a result of the financial impact on them of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While it’s complicated, there are several options that Fannie Mae has made available to loan servicers to offer to borrowers that are struggling. Complete details are in Fannie Mae Lender Letter Continue Reading →

New Listings In St Louis During Past 7 Days Down Just 25 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on March 28th, 2020

St Louis sellers appear to remain pretty confident in the St Louis real estate market in spite of the COVID-19 threat as evidenced by the number of new residential listings that hit the St Louis market in the past 7 days. During the past 7 days, there were 701 new residential listings on the St Louis 5-County Core Market (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) this is a decline of just 25% from the same period last year when there were 943 listings. For the St Louis MSA, there were 930 new Continue Reading →

Home Affordability In St Louis Improves In 2 Of Five Counties During 1st Quarter

By Dennis Norman, on March 28th, 2020

Homes became more affordable in Jefferson County and St Charles County during the first quarter of this year from the 4th quarter of 2019, according to data just released by ATTOM Data Research. As the table below shows, the affordability index for both those counties increased from the prior quarter as well as from the same quarter the prior year. Franklin County’s affordability index was the same for the 1st quarter of 2020 as the prior quarter but improved by 5% from a year ago. The two St Louis’s, the city and county, both saw decline in home affordability from Continue Reading →

New Sales Of Residential Listings In St Louis In Past 7 Days Down Just 14 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on March 25th, 2020

As all of us continue to deal with a much different lifestyle as a result of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) I am closely monitoring the St Louis real estate market to help get the most accurate information possible to our agents, clients, and consumers to help them make informed decisions about their real estate transactions.

With this in mind, I took a look at new contracts on listings for the past 7 days, so in other words, homes that actually went under contract during the period, but this time, I wanted to drill down deeper than I did a few Continue Reading →

Showings Of Missouri Listings In Past 7 Days Down Nearly A Third From Last Year But Still Up 20 Percent From January

By Dennis Norman, on March 23rd, 2020

As the chart below from Showingtime illustrates, showings on real estate listings in Missouri were down nearly one-third (32.6%) from the same time last year. However, as the chart depicts, for the 7 day period ending yesterday, March 22nd, the number of showings were nearly 20 percent (19.6%) higher than during the first week of January this year. Last year at this time, showings were up over 77 percent from the first week in January, so, as expected, we are seeing a decline in showings but, at this point, are still at a rate better than back in January.

The Continue Reading →

Over Sixteen Hundred Listings Went Under Contract In Past Week In St Louis area MLS

By Dennis Norman, on March 21st, 2020

As I mentioned in my article yesterday about the effect of the coronavirus on the St Louis real estate market, for those homebuyers in a position to buy a home, there will be some good opportunities presented. Apparently, there are buyers out there that perhaps feel the same way or, they at least are not uncomfortable with buying now as, in the past 7 days, 1,670 listings in MARIS, the regional MLS that serves the St Louis area as well as some additional areas outside the metro area, went under contract. When pulling data from our database for this, I Continue Reading →

St Louis County Judge Issues Order Stopping Evictions

By Dennis Norman, on March 21st, 2020

Yesterday, Michael D. Burton, Presiding Judge of the Circuity Court of St Louis County, signed an order that, until further notice, directed the St Louis County Sheriff’s office to “refrain from executing any writs of restitution (eviction of a tenant), writs of replevin, writs of attachment, writs of partition and any other writs of execution that require them to come into direct contact with the general public..”. In addition, putting a stop to evictions of tenants in St Louis County this order stops the additional actions listed as well but preventing evictions is probably the most significant part of the Continue Reading →

The Effect of Coronavirus (COVID-19) On The St Louis Real Estate Market

By Dennis Norman, on March 20th, 2020

While we deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic practicing social-distancing, shutting down events, public gatherings and the like, we are still trying to go on with our lives at the same time. A big challenge to this is the unknown; not knowing how bad things will get, how long we may have to live like this, etc. Fortunately, for those of us in Missouri, at the time I’m writing this, we have just 41 confirmed cases putting Missouri at number 40 of the 50 states in terms of the number of cases. Granted, once more people are tested, our position Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – March 2020 – 2020 off to a better start than last year…so far

By Dennis Norman, on March 14th, 2020

The St Louis real estate market is off to a great start for 2020! Home sales year to date has outpaced sales from the same time a year ago and everything points to 2020 being a good year for real estate! The $64 question is, however, what effect the Coronavirus may have on the market. Only time will tell, but my thoughts are that while there will no doubt be some negative impact on the St Louis housing market as a result of Coronavirus (COVID-19) its impact will be much less than what we have seen of late in the Continue Reading →

Mortgage Interest Rates Hit All-Time Low!

By Dennis Norman, on March 7th, 2020

Mortgage interest rates hit a record low this week with an average interest rate of 3.29% on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. As the chart below shows, interest rates came close to this level at the end of 2012 but then quickly shot up to over 4.5% shortly after.

Now is the time to buy or at least refinance!

Anyone that has been thinking of buying a home should, if able, shift into high geat and find one now to take advantage of the low rates and the increased buying power that Continue Reading →

Mortgage Interest Rates….How low can they go??

By Dennis Norman, on March 4th, 2020

For quite a while now we have enjoyed the positive effects on the real estate market from low mortgage rates but it looks like it’s going to get even better! Yesterday’s announcement by the Fed of the emergency step of lowering the benchmark U.S. interest rate by one-half of one percent, in an effort to offset the negative effect tot eh financial markets from the coronavirus will likely lead to even lower mortgage interest rates.

What’s the connection between the federal funds rate and mortgage interest rates? This is something often asked not only by homebuyers but is even within Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Fastest Selling Zip Codes

By Dennis Norman, on February 29th, 2020

It may still be winter, which most people know is the “slow-season” for real estate, however, there are still plenty of areas in St Louis where homes are selling fast! Below is the list of the fastest-selling zip codes (only available from MORE, REALTORS on their St Louis Real Estate Search® site, which reveals the 63144 zip code in St Louis county as the fastest-selling zip with an average time of just 21 days on the market for active listings. The second zip on the list, and just a day behind the average for the Brentwood area of 63144, si Continue Reading →

Home Sales In St Louis 5-County Core Market Have Trended Upward Last 3 Years – Time To Sale Rises Sharply

By Dennis Norman, on February 28th, 2020

Home sales in St Louis have trended upward over the past 3 years with 25,450 homes sold during 2017 (non-distressed sales only), 25,804 during 2018 and 25,962 homes during 2019. As the chart below shows, the days on market (time to sell a home) was 19 days in 2017, declined to 17 days in 2018 and then jumped sharply to 32 days during 2019. The bottom chart shows data for the past 12-months and, as it reveals, the time to sell a home has continued to upward during 2020 thus far with the time in January rising to 47 days.

Continue Reading →

Nearly One In Five Properties In 63113 Are Vacant

By Dennis Norman, on February 27th, 2020

Of the 4,531 residential properties located within the 63113 zip code in the City of St Louis, over 18 percent of them are vacant (824), according to a report just released today by Attom Data Solutions. As the table below shows, six of the ten zip codes in the St Louis MSA with the highest rate of vacant property are located within the City of St Louis and the remaining 4 in St Louis County.

Nine of the 10 zip codes with the highest rate of vacancy have double-digit vacancy rates. Franklin County has the most zip codes with no Continue Reading →

Home Ownership Rate Hits Highest Level In Six Years

By Dennis Norman, on February 27th, 2020

During the 4th quarter of 2019 the homeownership rate in the U.S. hit 65.1%, the highest level since the 4th quarter of 2013 when the rate was 65.2%, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Homeownership by Race and Ethnicity:

As the table below shows, according to the Census Bureau data, homeownership by race and ethnicity was as follows:

White, Non-Hispanic – 73.7% – the highest level in 8 years. Black – 44.0% – the highest level in 7 years. Hispanic (of any race) – 48.1% – the highest level in just under 2 years. Home Continue Reading →

Ten Years Later…Update On The Homeowner Sentenced To Jail For Yard Art (Updated Photos Too)

By Dennis Norman, on February 26th, 2020

Nearly ten years ago I first wrote about the owner of a property in Ballwin that was sentenced to 20 days in jail after he had refused to make changes to the art displayed in his yard that officials for the city of Ballwin had deemed to be dangerous. The property owner, Lewis Greenberg, had decorated his home and filled his yard with a variety of items he referred to as “art” that was to make a statement about the Holocaust.

After hearing of this back in May 2010, I decided to check out his home at 977 Morena Court, Continue Reading →

St Louis Metro Area Home Sales Increase Nearly 2 Percent In Past 12 Months

By Dennis Norman, on February 25th, 2020

There were 35,702 homes sold in the St Louis metro area in the 12-month period ended January 31, 2020, an increase of nearly 2 percent (1.97%) from the prior 12-month period when there were 35,013 homes sold. As MORE, RELATORS exclusive STL Market Report below shows, the median price of homes sold in St Louis during the most recent period was $195,000, an increase of 4 percent from the prior 12-month period.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES Home Sales St Louis MSA – Past 12 Months vs Prior 12 Months

Continue Reading →

New Rule Will Require REALTORS Put All Listings In The MLS Or Not Market Them

By Dennis Norman, on February 21st, 2020

Over the past couple of months, I have written a couple of articles about a new policy approved by the National Association of REALTORS® in November 2019 known as the “Clear Cooperation Policy”. While I’m not sure how closely consumers are watching, or if they even care at all about the policy at this point, REALTORS® have definitely been following the policy and have been pretty vocal about their thoughts on the policy, both for and against.

Before I go on, I should disclose that I currently serve as Chairman of the Board for MARIS (Mid-America Regional Information Systems) which Continue Reading →

Housing Markets Benefit From Opportunity Zones In Some Areas Of St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on February 20th, 2020

Opportunity Zones were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Donald J. Trump signed into law on December 22, 2017. Opportunity zones were established to help communities that are economically-distressed and work by promoting private investment and development through the use of tax incentives. There are a total of 8.760 designated Qualified Opportunity Zones in the U.S. and there are 140 Opportunity Zones in Missouri.

Opportunity zones appear to have had a positive impact on the housing market in several opportunity zones in the St Louis area. According to data just released by ATTOM Date Solutions, Continue Reading →

Ferguson’s Housing Market Six Years Later

By Dennis Norman, on February 19th, 2020

It’s been over six years since the shooting of Michael Brown brought riots to the streets of Ferguson and national attention on the small north county municipality. The end result was quite devastating to businesses and the community as a whole and many predicted Ferguson’s demise.

One year later, I did an analysis of the impact on the housing market in an article on St Louis Real Estate News in which I revealed market data showing that while the results were somewhat mixed, the housing market in Ferguson didn’t really appear to have been too negatively impacted at the time.

Continue Reading →

Why I’m Bullish On Real Estate For 2020

By Dennis Norman, on February 14th, 2020

As you may have noticed, I’ve been pretty optimistic about the outlook for the real estate market this year however, that is not always the case as I call it like I see it. The reason for my optimism is based upon what a true data geek like myself would base it upon, data! So, what’s the data that has me believing 2020 will be a good year for the housing market in St Louis and beyond? Several things:

As I have been reporting here for the past couple of years now, mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates have continued to Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – February 2020 – Home Sales Trend Going Into 2020 Looking Good

By Dennis Norman, on February 12th, 2020

The St Louis real estate market is off to a good start for 2020! The home sales trends going into this year are encouraging and, coupled with the strong economy we are in, has me very confident that 2020 is going to be a great year for the St Louis real estate market! MORE buying power! In addition, long term mortgage interest rates just dropped again giving buyers more buying power! See the example in my video of just how much less a home will cost you today payment-wise than 14 months ago, even after appreciation has pushed prices up. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Trend Jumps Up In December Stays Steady In January

By Dennis Norman, on February 11th, 2020

The St Louis home sales trend jumped in December when sales for the prior 12-months broke through the 27,000 mark to 27,149. The trend continued into January of this year, as there were 27,159 homes sold in the 12-month period ended January 31, 2020. This is a good start for 2020 and is a great leading indicator of how the market is going to do this year. Add lower mortgage interest rates to this (the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.45% last week) and the strongest economy in decades and we have a recipe for a great housing market!

Continue Reading →

New Homes Sales In 2019 Drop From Year Before In Midwest

By Dennis Norman, on February 9th, 2020

There were 70,000 new homes sold in the Midwest Region of the United States during 2019, a decline of 7.2% from 2018 when there were 76,000 new homes sold, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

As the table below shows, there were 40,000 new homes for sale in the Mideast at the end of 2019, which translates into roughly a 7 month supply of new homes for sale.

New Homes Sold In Midwest – 2018-2019

(in thousands)

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis New Homes For Sale Continue Reading →

St Louis Underwater Homeowners Falls To Lowest Percentage In Over 6 Years

By Dennis Norman, on February 6th, 2020

During the fourth quarter of 2019, 10.2% of the homeowners in St Louis with a mortgage, were underwater on their mortgage, meaning they were in a negative-equity position, according to data just released by ATTOM Data Research. As the table below shows, this is the lowest level of St Louis homeowners that are seriously underwater since 2013 when this data was first tracked. This continues the trend that began in the price quarter with the then lowest rate at 10.5%.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES St Louis Underwater (Negative-Equity) Homeowners

Continue Reading →

Jefferson County Zip 63048 Homes Sold The Fastest In The Past 30 Days

By Dennis Norman, on February 4th, 2020

Homes that sold in the 63048 zip code in the last 30 days were on the market an average of just 30 days before selling, making this the fastest sold zip code in the St Louis MSA. The 63048 zip code area in Jefferson County includes the cities of Pevely, Festus and Herculaneum.

Five of the top ten zip codes were in St Louis County, two in Jefferson County and one in the Counties of St Charles, St Louis City and Madison, Il.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES St Louis Zip Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Core Market Home Sales Ends 2019 Slightly Ahead of 2018

By Dennis Norman, on February 3rd, 2020

Throughout 2019 St Louis home sales were running slightly behind the prior year and looked like that is how the year would end but, thanks to a strong finish, St Louis home sales for 2019 ended up being slightly higher than the year before. As the report below shows, the 5-county core St Louis real estate market (without distressed sales) ended 2019 with 25,946 home sales, up 0.71% from the year before when there we 25,674 homes sold. The median price of homes sold during 2019 (non-distressed) was $215,000, an increase fo 4.88% from the year before when the median Continue Reading →