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 →
Further proof of just how “local” real estate is and how important it is for home buyers and sellers to have accurate, targeted, local data is the fact that today the St Louis Business Journal reported “home sales increased 17.9 percent year to date in the St. Louis metropolitan area, more than twice the national rate of 8.4 percent” which would if you are looking to buy a home, say in the City of St Louis, may influence your decision thinking it’s a hot selling area. Continue Reading →
We have been in the midst of a pretty crazy real estate market lately in St Louis with new listings in many areas and price ranges being subjected to a “feeding frenzy” by buyers. It is not uncommon at all today to have two or three showings taking place on a new listing at the same time with the total of first day showings easily getting into double digits and a signed contract before the end of the 2nd day on the market. Continue Reading →
The St Louis real estate market continues to be on fire in many areas with buyers flocking to new listings like St Louisan’s to a Cardinals versus Cubs game! In some areas and price ranges it is not uncommon to have new listings receive 5 – 10 showings the first day and to sell within the first day or two and be sold before the ink is barely dry on the listing agreement.
St Louis’ Fastest Selling Neighborhood’s Are Selling 35% Faster Than Last Month!
Last month around this time I wrote a similar article with a list of Continue Reading →
Over two million (2.2 million) boomerang buyers may re-enter the housing market as home buyers over the next five years as their credit recovers to the point where they can obtain a home mortgage again, according to a study just released by Trans Union. According to the study, 700,000 of those buyers will be eligible for mortgages this year alone. Boomerang buyers are described as homeowners who lost their home in foreclosure, did a short sale, deed in lieu or had some other serious negative credit action with regard to their home mortgage, such as becoming 60 days or more Continue Reading →
What cities in St Louis County have the highest home prices? Well, based upon homes that are either currently for sale or sold within the past year, the top 3 spots on both lists (current market or past 12 months0 are occupied by the St Louis County cities of Huntleigh, Country Life Acres and Ladue. Continue Reading →
Yes, I’m referring to CO Gas, more commonly known as Carbon Monoxide, of course! Carbon monoxide (CO) is a silent killer! There are many reasons why you should have a fully functional Carbon monoxide (CO) detector in your house at all times! First we need to understand the facts! Continue Reading →
The other day I had a client, who was planning on using FHA financing, as me if I thought she would be able to negotiate as good of a deal as if she was obtaining a conventional loan. The concern was that, as an FHA buyer, would she be perceived as a weaker buyer in the seller’s eyes since FHA’s credit and income guidelines are not as stringent as Fannie Mae, and FHA requires a smaller downpayment as well. Continue Reading →