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 →
Many St Louis area cities and towns continue to experience a low supply of homes for sale making it a competitive market for buyers in those areas. In fact, as of today, there are 8 cities in the St Louis area with just a two-month or less supply of homes listed for sale! Rock Hill at the top of the list with Continue Reading →
On October 3rd some new regulations with regard to home mortgages and loan closings will go into effect that have the mortgage and real estate industry in a little bit of a panic. As a result of passage of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act there is a major overhaul to the lending industry in the works. Continue Reading →
Homes in St Louis (the 5-county core market) sold for 98.1 percent of the current asking price in August down only slightly from the peak of 98.3 percent in May, according to MORE, REALTORS. As the chart below shows, the gap between the ratio of sale price to current list price and sale price to the original list price widened a little in August, but the gap between the two ratios is less than at the same time in the prior few years. St Louis homes sold for 96.7 percent of the original listing price in August, down from the peak of 97.3% in May and June. Continue Reading →
It seems when we think of natural disasters and property damage, most people think of hurricanes and coastal areas which would be true and would certainly not apply to Missouri however, Missouri has threats to property from natural disasters as well. In fact, according to RealtyTrac’s annual U.S. Natural Disaster Housing Risk Report, while Missouri does not have any counties that fall in the “Very High Risk” category when it comes to risk to housing from natural disasters, Missouri does have three counties that are in the “High Risk” category two of which, Jasper and Newton, are in the Joplin area in the southwest portion of the state and the third, Madison, is in the southeast area of Missouri. Continue Reading →
New home construction activity in St Louis during July showed mixed results around the St Louis area. For the five-county core St Louis market that I focus on (city of St. Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Franklin and Jefferson) permits issued for new homes during July slipped 2.7% to 322 from 331 the year before. The decline was concentrated in just two counties however, albeit the two largest ones, St Louis and St Charles. St Charles county saw permits fall to 142 for July, down almost 25 percent from July 2014 when there were 189 permits issued Continue Reading →
Home sales in St Louis, for the 5-county core market, in July totaled 3,226 sales, an increase of 16.8 percent from July 2014 when there were 2,762 homes sold. The St Louis core market consists of the city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin. While all of the 5 counties included in the core saw an increase in home sales from a year ago, the results, as the charts and individual results below show, varied widely by county. Continue Reading →
The St Louis Real Estate market continues to be strong! Homes are selling quick in St. Louis and at prices that show solid appreciation over the past couple of years. Get the details on the current St Louis real estate market, as well as where in St Louis are the hottest markets as well as the coldest ones, and much more in our newly released, 5-minute, market video update for August 2015, below. Continue Reading →
I often find myself very surprised to hear how a consumer chose the real estate agent they hired to represent them and hear things such as “I work with him…”, “She is a friend of….”, “He is my cousin…” etc. When I hear these responses several things come to mind: Continue Reading →
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York just released it’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the 2nd quarter of 2015 in which some encouraging facts were revealed with regard to the home mortgage market, including: Continue Reading →
In case you are concerned the real estate industry is not subject to enough regulation, do not let your heart be troubled as new regulations imposed by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law back in 2010, affecting home mortgages go into effect October 3, 2015. Continue Reading →
In the St Louis area homes are selling the fastest in the 63088 zip code area, which encompasses the city of Valley Park, followed by the 63127 zip area which is primarily Sunset Hills, according to data published by MORE, REALTORS. Continue Reading →
One year ago today, the small city of Ferguson gained international attention after Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an incident which spurred weeks of violence and property destruction in Ferguson. This delivered a blow to the Ferguson real estate market which was still struggling to recover from the housing bubble burst in 2008 which had severely impacted the area. Continue Reading →
St Louis property flipping activity rose during the 2nd quarter of this year 6.2 percent from the first quarter, however was down 44.3 percent from a year ago, according to information just released by RealtyTrac. During the 2nd quarter of this year, 3.2 percent of all home sales were “flips”, meaning they were purchased and then resold in an arms-length sale within 12 months. The average gross profit on the flipped property was $39,181 down for $50,870 a year ago. Continue Reading →
I often talk about the effect the quality of a public school district has on home prices so decided to take a look at a few of the larger (and many of the top ranked) districts to see how home price appreciation has been during the past year. Continue Reading →
St Louis pending home sales in July slowed from to 2,332 sales from 2,602 sales the month before in the 5-county core St Louis market, but were still up 2 percent from July 2014 when there were 2,287 pending sales. Continue Reading →
The number of St Louis homeowners that are underwater, or have negative equity in their homes, has shown an upward trend lately, while those St Louis homeowners that are “equity rich” has trended downward. Continue Reading →
In the second quarter of this year, 63.4 percent of the households in the U.S. were homeowners, marking the lowest rate of home ownership since 1967, nearly 50 years ago, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue Reading →
The rental vacancy rate in the U.S. during the second quarter of this year was 6.8 percent, the lowest level in over 10 years, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This was a decline of over 9 percent (9.33%) from the 2nd quarter of 2014 when the rental vacancy rate was 7.5%. Continue Reading →
Foreclosure Sales In St Louis (the 5-county core market) in June 2015 totaled 374 sales, a decline of 4.3 percent from June 2014 where there were 391 foreclosure sales. The median price of the homes sold in June 2015 was 60,150, and increase of 7.2 percent from a year ago when the median price was $56,100. Continue Reading →
St Louis Home sales, for the 5-county core market, in June totaled 3,542 sales, an increase of 15.4 percent from June 2014 when there were 3,068 homes sold. Continue Reading →
The St Louis real estate market, like the weather, is HOT! Many of our listings are selling the first day and then for full price or above! Naturally though, this is not true for all areas of St Louis nor all prices ranges. Find where the hot seller’s markets, as well as cold buyer’s markets are in St Louis in our newly released, 5-minute, market video update for July 2015, below.
If you have considered selling your home, or perhaps tried and failed in the past year or so, now is the time to consider it again. Give us a Continue Reading →
St Louis Rental Vacancies remain at historically low levels in spite of a slight increase in the first quarter of this year to 8.6% from 8.5% in the 4th quarter of 2014. The St Louis vacancy rate for first quarter of 2015 was also up significantly from the first quarter of 2014 when the vacancy rate for St Louis stood at just 7.2% although we have to remember that was the lowest vacancy rate we had seen in over 10 years. Continue Reading →
The St Louis real estate market continues to be hot with many sellers benefiting from the low inventory of homes for sale resulting in buyers flocking to new listings and, when the homes are priced right, multiple offers being received in the first day. Happened for one of my clients again this week…took the listing live on Tuesday at noon, had over 8 buyers through that afternoon and evening and multiple offers in hand by the next morning, all above listing price. Granted, there were a couple of weeks of pre-listing marketing we did to generate interest, and the seller worked hard to make sure the home was in show condition, but still, it sold quick! Continue Reading →
The median price of homes sold in St Louis (the 5-county core market) this year thus far has been $169,000, an increase of 5.7 percent from when the market peaked in 2006 at $159,900. While the peak of the housing bubble is considered to be 2006, as the chart below shows, St Louis home prices actually peaked in 2007 at $162,000 but, in either event, St Louis home prices have not only regained what was lost when the housing bubble burst, but then some. Continue Reading →
The Missouri Department of Insurance issued some recommendations to Missourian’s that sustained property damage as a result of recent storms with regard to how to deal with the damage and handle insurance claims. Continue Reading →
St Louis bank and government owned home sales are down as banks and government enterprises such as Fannie Mae, FHA, VA and Freddie Mac whittle down their inventory of foreclosed homes while, at the same time, new mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure rates continue to decline. While this is Continue Reading →
St Louis pending home sales in May hit the highest level we have seen in years with 2,558 pending homes sales during the month in the 5-county core market*, an increase of 8.9% from May 2014 when there were 2,348 pending home sales. Year to date this year, through the end of May, there have been 12,595 pending home sales, an increase of 7.8% from the same time last year. Continue Reading →
St Louis area homes are already affordable based upon the relationship between the median home price and median income for the area, but can become even more affordable when home buyers take advantage of down payment assistance programs that are available throughout the area. Continue Reading →
It wasn’t that long ago that sellers were practically begging buyers to purchase their home but that is not the case today. Today, in some very sought after St Louis neighborhoods the inventory of homes is so low and demand so high that when a new listing hits the market it’s like a feeding frenzy for buyers. This has led to frustration and disappointment for many buyers leading some to become a little too overanxious and buy a home that really is not right for them or overpay for one out of fear of “missing out”. Continue Reading →