Real Estate Market - St Louis Real Estate News

REALTORS® Adopt New MLS Rule Aimed To Eliminate “Off-MLS” Listings

By Dennis Norman, on November 12th, 2019

Yesterday, the board of directors for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) approved a new policy dubbed the “Clear Cooperation Policy” which goes into effect January 1, 2020, and Multiple Listing Service’s (MLS) have until May 1, 2020, to adopt and implement.

While the vote by the board of directors, 729 in favor of it to 70 opposed, may not reflect it, there is a lot of controversy about this policy among real estate agents and brokers that are members of NAR. The two main changes this new policy bring about are that agents would be mandated to put, for Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – November 2019 – Low-Interest Rates And Consistent Sales Trends

By Dennis Norman, on November 11th, 2019

The St Louis real estate market trends remain steady and consistent! The St Louis home sales and price trends give me an optimistic outlook for next year. Low-interest rates continue to offset some of the cost of the increases in home prices that have occurred. Find out more, as well as get information on some of St Louis’s best resources for home buyers and sellers in our just-released market update video.

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The Percentage Of Underwater Homeowners In St Louis Drops To Lowest Level In Six Years

By Dennis Norman, on November 9th, 2019

During the third quarter of 2019, 10.5% 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.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES St Louis Underwater (Negative-Equity) Homeowners – 2013-2019

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Percentage of Equity-Rich Homeowners In St Louis Hits Record High

By Dennis Norman, on November 8th, 2019

As of the end of the third quarter of this year, 18.2% of the homeowners in St Louis were “equity-rich”, meaning their mortgage total is less than 50% of their homes’ current value, according to the latest data available from ATTOM Data Research. As the table below shows, this is the highest rate of equity-rich homeowners in St Louis since ATTOM began tracking this data in 2013.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES Equity-Rich St Louis Homeowners – 3rd Quarter 2019

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Actual “Cost” Of St Louis Home Today Over 7 Percent Lower Than Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on November 3rd, 2019

Thanks to a strong economy and low-interest rates, the actual cost of a home today in St Louis is lower than it was a year ago, in spite of the fact that the median price of homes sold in St Louis has increased by 5.64% in the past year. Most people buying a typical home in St Louis finance nearly all of the purchase price, therefore, the cost of financing plays a significant role in the true cost of a home. Buyers decide what they can afford (as do lenders) based upon the house payment, not the price of the Continue Reading →

St Louis Homeowner Vacancy Rate Hits Highest Level Since 2016

By Dennis Norman, on November 2nd, 2019

The St Louis MSA homeowner vacancy rate during the 3rd quarter of this year was 1.8%, an increase from 0.3% the prior quarter and the highest rate since the 4th quarter of 2016 when the rate was 3.0%, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The median vacancy rate for 2019 though, at 0.5%, is still at a record low.

The homeowner vacancy rate represents the percentage of total listings of homes for sale that are vacant.

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St Louis Homeowner Vacancy Rates – 2016 – Present

(click on table for complete data Continue Reading →

St Louis Has 13th Highest Homeownership Rate of Metro Areas In U.S.

By Dennis Norman, on October 30th, 2019

During the 3rd quarter of this year, the homeownership rate for the St Louis MSA was 69.5% giving St Louis the 13th highest homeownership rate of the 75 largest MSA’s in the country, according to the latest date from the U.S. Census Bureau. St Louis continues to improve in the homeownership rankings, moving from 26th in the 1st quarter, to 21st in the 2nd quarter and now to the 13th highest homeownership rate in the U.S.!

As the table below shows, the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota MSA had the highest homeownership rate during the quarter at 76.7% and for the 3rd quarter Continue Reading →

63304 Is St Charles County’s Fastest Selling Zip Code

By Dennis Norman, on October 28th, 2019

Homes in the 63304 Zip Code area of St Charles Cunty sold faster in the past 30 days than in any other zip code in St Charles County, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS®. Homes that closed in the past 30 days in 63304 took an average time of just 23 days to sell.

As the list below shows, the 63776 and 63368 zip code areas weren’t far behind. The slowest-selling St Charles County zip code in the past 30 days was the 63367 zip code area where th average time to sell a home was more Continue Reading →

Top Ten Cities In St Louis MSA Where Homes Sold The Fastest

By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2019

Homes in Rock Hill sold faster in the past 30 days than in any other city in the St Louis MSA, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS®. Homes that closed in the past 30 days in Rock Hill took an average time of just 12 days to sell.

As the list below shows, 6 of the 10 fastest-sold cities in the St Louis MSA were in St Louis County, 3 in St Charles County and 1 in Jefferson County.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES Fastest SOLD Cities In Continue Reading →

Jefferson County Home Prices Increase Nearly 7 Percent In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on October 25th, 2019

The median price of homes sold in Jefferson County during the past 12-months was $179,900, an increase of 6.83% from the prior 12-month period when the median price was $168,400. As the STL Market Report (an exclusive report available only from MORE, REALTORS®) shows, home sales declined slightly (1%) during the same period and the inventory remains low with a listing supply of just 2.74 months.

As the STL Market Chart at the bottom illustrates (also exclusively available only from MORE, REALTORS®), home prices in Jefferson County have had the normal, seasonal, fluctuations but have been steadily trending upward over Continue Reading →

St Louis County Home Sales Trend Down From A Year Ago But Remains Steady

By Dennis Norman, on October 25th, 2019

There were 13,181 homes sold in St Louis County in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2019, a decline of 3.2% from a year ago when there were 13,618 homes sold in the prior 12-months. For September, the home sale trend ticked upward slightly and has been fairly steady the prior 4 months.

Prices on the rise and inventory is low in St Louis County..

As the STL Market Report for St Louis County below the chart shows, there is just a 2.45 month supply of homes for sale in St Louis County and the median price of homes sold Continue Reading →

St Charles County Home Prices Increase By Over 6 Percent In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on October 24th, 2019

The median price of homes sold in St Charles County during the past 12-months was $243,900, an increase of 6.09% from the prior 12-month period when the median price was $229,900. As the STL Market Report (an exclusive report available only from MORE, REALTORS®) shows, home sales declined over 5 percent during the same period and the inventory remains low with a listing supply of just 2.37 months.

As the STL Market Chart at the bottom illustrates (also exclusively available only from MORE, REALTORS®), home prices in St Charles County have had the normal, seasonal, fluctuations but have been steadily Continue Reading →

Jefferson County Home Sales Trend Holds Steady

By Dennis Norman, on October 24th, 2019

There were 3,379 homes sold in Jefferson County in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2019, a very slight decline of about 1% from a year ago when there were 3,413 homes sold in the prior 12-months. For the past three months, the 12-month home sales trend in Jefferson County has been amazingly consistent, with data for July and September being identical and August being off by just 1 home sale.

Prices on the rise and inventory is low in Jefferson County..

As the STL Market Report for Jefferson County below the chart shows, there is just a 2.75 month Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Home Price Appreciation Tops 5 Percent In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on October 23rd, 2019

The median price of homes sold in the St Louis 5-County Core Market during the past 12-months was $205,000, an increase of 5.13% from the prior 12-month period when the median price was $195,000. As the STL Market Report (an exclusive report available only from MORE, REALTORS®) shows, home sales declined nearly 3 percent during the same period and the inventory remains low with a listing supply of just 2.53 months.

As the STL Market Chart at the bottom illustrates (also exclusively available only from MORE, REALTORS®), home prices in the St Louis 5-County Core Market have had the normal, Continue Reading →

St Charles County Home Sales Trend Falls Back To Early 2016 Levels

By Dennis Norman, on October 23rd, 2019

There were 5,755 homes sold in St Charles County in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2019, a decline of 5.2% from a year ago when there were 6,070 homes sold in the prior 12-months. This is the lowest 12-month trend since February 2016 when there were 5,676 homes sold in the prior 12-months.

As the chart below illustrates, even with the declining trend in home sales in St Charles County, it is still significantly higher than back in 2014 and 2015.

Lack of listings in St Charles could be part of the problem…

As the STL Market Report for Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – October 2019 – Interest Rates Offsetting Price Increases

By Dennis Norman, on October 19th, 2019

The St Louis real estate market is slowing down somewhat as it does every year around this time, but the market still looks good. Low-interest rates continue to offset some of the cost of the increases in home prices that have occurred. Find out more, as well as get information on some of St Louis’s best resources for home buyers and sellers in our just-released market update video.

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St Louis Foreclosures Decline In Third Quarter Over 27 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on October 18th, 2019

The St Louis foreclosure rate during the 3rd quarter of this year was 1 in every 766 housing units, a decline of nearly 1% from the prior quarter and a decline of over 27% from a year ago, according to data just released from ATTOM Data Solutions. As the table below shows, 6 of the counties in the St Louis MSA saw an increase in the foreclosure rate during the 3rd quarter from the prior quarter and only two counties saw an increase from a year ago.

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St Louis MSA Foreclosures – 3rd Quarter 2019

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St Louis Is Number One Market For Flipping Homes

By Dennis Norman, on October 15th, 2019

St Louis is the top marketing for flipping homes, according to an article published yesterday on Realtor.com. It’s not all just flipping activity however in the article a very notable and credible St Louis industry source (unabashed self-promotion) stated that “flipping is more common in homes in the $175,000-plus range, while many of those listed for $125,000 and less are being turned into rentals, says Norman.”

The Realtor.com article gave an overview of the market data I produced for them so I wanted to share the market data behind the overview.

St Louis Neighborhoods With Large Investor Presence:

63137 Zip Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Continue Downward Trend

By Dennis Norman, on October 11th, 2019

Home sales in the St Louis 5-County Core Market for the 12-month period ended September 30th, 2019 were down just over 3% from the same period a year ago. During the same period, home prices in the St Louis 5-County Core market increased a little over 5% as the report below from MORE, REALTORS shows.

Inventory of homes for sale still favors sellers…

As the report shows, there is just a 2.44 month supply of homes for sale in the St Louis core market which means the St Louis market is still very much a seller’s market.

Search St Continue Reading →

1-Story Homes In St Charles County Appreciated More Than 2-Story Homes In Past 10 Years

By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2019

One story homes, often referred to as “ranch-style”, have always been popular, especially with ageing home buyers that don’t want stairs. With a large number of baby boomers that have become empty nesters, many of them are downsizing and one-story homes are often their style of choice as well. Whether this demand is the reason or not, one-story homes in St Charles County have outpaced 2-story homes in terms of home price appreciation over the past 10-years.

As the charts below show, one-story homes in St Charles County show, have increased in price from a median sold price of $116 Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Trend In September Down 3 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on October 5th, 2019

For the 12-month period ended September 30, 2019, there were 26,775 homes sold in the St Louis 5-County core market, down 3.2% from the same period a year ago, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. As the chart below illustrates, home sales in St Louis have, for the most part, been trending downward since peaking in May 2018 with 27,830 homes sold in the 12-month period ending that month.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES St Louis Home Sales Trend – Past 5 Years

(click chart for live Continue Reading →

REALTORS® Association Considers New Rule Requiring All Listings Be In MLS

By Dennis Norman, on October 3rd, 2019

The MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board, of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), proposed a rule change that is sparking some controversy among its’ members. The proposed “Clear Cooperation Policy” requires that all listings be put in the MLS within 24 hours of “marketing a property to the public“. The policy defines “public marketing” as including, but not limited to, “flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public-facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public”.

But, isn’t that how Continue Reading →

What Impact Does The School District Have On Home Prices and Sales?

By Dennis Norman, on September 27th, 2019

The question in my headline is one of those questions that in the real estate community, and with most homeowners, would elicit a response something like “the quality of the school district has a major impact on the housing market, duh!”. While I don’t think anyone would argue that having quality public education available to everyone in all areas is important, I’m just talking data here and looking at it from the real estate perspective. So, with that in mind, I decided to use one of the reports produced by proprietary software created by MORE, REALTORS® and based upon MLS Continue Reading →

New Home Construction Down From A Year Ago In 5 of 7 St Louis Area Counties

By Dennis Norman, on September 26th, 2019

New home construction in St. Louis continues to decline with 4,244 new home permits issued in August 2019 for the St Louis area, a decline of 9.74% from a year ago when there were 4,702 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri.

As the table below shows, 5 of the 7 counties covered in the report saw a decline in new home permits from a year ago. Franklin County has suffered the biggest loss at 44.13% and Warren County has seen the largest increase at 15.57%.

Search St Continue Reading →

Home Affordability Improves In St Louis During Third Quarter

By Dennis Norman, on September 26th, 2019

Home affordability improved in the St. Louis metro area during the 3rd quarter, with 4 of the 7 largest counties seeing an improvement in their affordability index from the prior quarter and 5 of the 7 seeing an improvement in affordability from a year ago, according to the latest data from ATTOM Data Research.

The greatest improvement in affordability was in Franklin County.

As the table below shows, Franklin County saw a 12% improvement in housing affordability from the prior quarter and an 11% improvement from a year ago. Jefferson, St Charles and St Clair (IL) County saw improvements in Continue Reading →

Ten Fastest SOLD Cities In The St Louis MSA

By Dennis Norman, on September 25th, 2019

Homes in Crestwood sold faster in the past 30 days than in any other city in the St Louis MSA, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS®. Homes that closed in the past 30 days in Crestwood were on the market an average of just 21 days.

As the list below shows, 7 of the 10 fastest-sold cities in the St Louis MSA were in St Louis County, 2 in St Charles County and 1 in Jefferson County.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES Fastest SOLD Cities In The St Continue Reading →

Meth Labs and Real Estate

By Dennis Norman, on September 24th, 2019

Yesterday, someone shared with me an article that appeared on CBS News online about a couple, Tyler and Elisha Hessel, that discovered the house they purchased had previously been the subject of a meth lab seizure. The home, at 7218 Valley Drive in Barnhart, Missouri, was purchased by the Hessel’s in January of 2018. According to the article, Elisha is expecting a baby and, earlier this year, the results of some standard pregnancy-related tests showed the baby tested positive for amphetamines. This led to the Hessel’s discovering that the home they purchased was on a list of Meth Lab Seizures Continue Reading →

House Flipping In St Louis Drops 12 Percent In 2nd Quarter

By Dennis Norman, on September 19th, 2019

There were 902 homes “flipped” in the St Louis metro area during the second quarter of 2019, or 7.5% of the total number of homes sold in the St Louis metro area during the quarter, according to data just released by ATTOM Data Solutions. This is a decline of 12% from the prior quarter but is an 8% increase from the prior year. As our table below shows, on a national level, house flipping accounted for just 5.9% of the homes sold during the 2nd quarter of this year, which is an 18% decrease from the quarter before and a Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosure Rate Drops In August – Down Nearly One Third From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on September 14th, 2019

During August there was one foreclosure action for every 2,040 housing units in the St Louis MSA, a decline of 6.43% from the month before and a decline of 32.78% from a year ago, according to data just released from ATTOM Data Solutions. As the table below shows, only 4 of the counties in the St Louis MSA saw an increase in the foreclosure rate for August 2019 from the month before, but all counties saw a decline from August 2018.

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St Charles County Home Sales Trend Drops To 2015 Level

By Dennis Norman, on September 8th, 2019

Yesterday, I shared information showing the home sales trend for the 5-county core St Louis housing market declined 3% but today am going to drill down a little further into the data. I wanted to look at the home sales trend in the 5 individual counties that make up the core market to see which are performing better or worse than the others.

All 5 counties had a decline in their home sales trend in August that was similar to the 5-County Core market, however, the extent of the change varied somewhat. St Charles County’s home sales trend, as our Continue Reading →