Real Estate Market - St Louis Real Estate News

Three out of Four People Say Now Is The Time To Buy A Home

By Dennis Norman, on June 11th, 2013

Over three of every four people (76 percent) say now is a good time to buy a home according to the National Housing Survey for May just released by Fannie Mae. Would be sellers are also feeling better about the housing market with 40 percent saying now is a good time to sell a home.

When it comes to financing that home purchase, American’s are getting more optimistic as well, with 46 percent saying it would be easy to get a home loan today, however 50 percent believe it would be difficult to obtain a mortgage.

Thinking of Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO

By Dennis Norman, on June 10th, 2013

St Louis Real Estate Market Shows Strengthening in May!

The St Louis Real Estate Market remains in seller’s market territory this month, according to the latest market data from MORE, REALTORS. The inventory of homes for sale remains low while home sale and prices are increasing.

Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll answer that question for you.

This is not the market to be an uniformed participant in though or not have qualified, professional representation. This can lead to frustration as a buyer as you continue to “miss” Continue Reading →

Missouri Attorney General Offers Tips To Avoid Timeshare Scams

By Dennis Norman, on June 7th, 2013

Missouri Attorney General, Chris Koster, has joined in with Attorney Generals from around the U.S. to combat time share buying scams. According to Koster, deceptive timeshare resellers will often falsely claim to have buyers or renters in place who are ready to pay top dollar for consumers’ timeshare properties. The scamming companies ask timeshare owners to pay hefty up-front fees and do nothing in turn.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office offers the following tips to avoid becoming the victim of a timeshare scam:

Continue Reading →

St Louis Ranked As 4th Best City To Buy Fixer-Upper Bargain Homes

By Dennis Norman, on June 6th, 2013

Dennis Norman,Broker-Officer,MORE, REALTORS

St. Louis 4th Best City in the U.S. To Buy Bargain Real Estate

According to a report released today by RealtyTrac, St Louis is 4th on the list of the best cities in the U.S. to still be able to buy fixer-upper bargain homes. In compiling the list, RealtyTrac considered the number of homes each city had that were bank owned homes (REO’s), built before 1960 (indicating the opportunity to increase value by updating and/or improving) and had an estimated value below $100,000. The complete list of the top 15 cities is below as well Continue Reading →

Missouri Has 5th Lowest Average Down Payment In Nation

By Dennis Norman, on June 5th, 2013

The average home buyer in Missouri makes a down payment of 13.2 percent and borrows an average amount of $172,998.59, according to the latest data from LendingTree.com. The state with the lowest average down payment is Mississippi at 11.9 percent and the highest, New Jersey at 20.5 percent.

Report Says St Louis Home Price Appreciation 2nd Worst of Major Metros; Lets take a closer look though

By Dennis Norman, on June 4th, 2013

St Louis was ranked number 2 on the list of “Lowest Performing Major Metro Markets” just released by Clear Capital. The Clear Capital report listed the top 15 performing housing markets in the U.S. as well as the 15 worst performing housing markets in the U.S. during the month of May 2013, based upon home price appreciation on a quarter over quarter basis. At the top of the list of top performing markets is Las Vegas with a 4.5 percent increase in home prices from the prior quarter and a staggering 27 percent increase over the past year. In Continue Reading →

Ten Fastest Selling Areas In St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on May 24th, 2013

The fastest selling areas in St. Louis in April included 7 areas in St Louis County, 2 areas in St Charles County and 1 in the City of St. Louis, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. At the top of the list of the ten fastest selling areas in St Louis is the 63121 zip code, comprised primarily of the city of Normandy in St Louis County where the median time on the market of homes sold in April was under three weeks.

[wpsharely id=”5779″]Would you like to SELL your home FAST Too? Click HERE for my free Continue Reading →

Over 1 in 4 St Louis Homeowners With A Mortgage Are Underwater

By Dennis Norman, on May 23rd, 2013

Slightly over 1 of every 4 (26.4 percent) St Louis homeowners with a mortgage are underwater or, in other words, in a negative equity position owing more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth, according to a report by Zillow. This is slightly higher than the national rate of 25.4 percent and, unfortunately, is predicted by Zillow to increase in the coming months to about 26.7 percent by January 2014.

In addition to the St Louis homeowners that are underwater, the report indicates that another 20.7 percent of the St Louis homeowners with a mortgage have less than Continue Reading →

St Louis Population Continues To Shift West

By Dennis Norman, on May 22nd, 2013

St Louis did not make the list of the 15 fastest growing large cities just released by the U.S. Census Bureau and, in fact, no city in Missouri made the list. The list was based upon the 2012 population estimates just released (literally about 1 minute ago) which showed, from 2011 – 2012, the State of Missouri barely had any population growth (0.22 percent). In the St Louis area, as the table below shows which compares the 2010 population for cities and counties throughout the St Louis area to the 2011 and newly released 2012 estimates, the St Louis population Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales and Home Price Increases In April Outpace National Average

By Dennis Norman, on May 22nd, 2013

St Louis home sales in April increased 13.7 percent from a year ago for the five-county core area (City of St Louis and the Counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) while U.S. existing home sales rose 9.7 percent during the same period. During the same time-frame, St Louis home prices rose from a median price of $123,000 13.7 percent to $139,900 while US home prices increased 11.0 percent.

Continue Reading →

10 Most Affordable and 10 Least Affordable Places To Own A Home

By Dennis Norman, on May 21st, 2013

The National Association of Home Builders released their housing affordability report for the 1st quarter of 2013 showing that in Mansfield Ohio, the median price for a home was $73,000 and, with the area median family income being $54,600, resulting in 97.5 percent of the new and existing homes for sale being affordable to an average family. At the other end of the list was San Francisco, with a median price of $675,000, median income of $102,000 and only 28.9 percent of its homes affordable to a family with a median income. St. Louis came in at 76 on the Continue Reading →

Better To Buy Than Rent In Over Half St Louis Neighborhoods

By Dennis Norman, on May 20th, 2013

In over half (58 percent) of St Louis neighborhoods it is a better move financially to buy a home rather than rent a home, according to a report just released by Zillow. According to the report, in 49 neighborhoods in the city of St Louis (of 76 in the report) and in 42 neighborhoods in the county of St Louis (of 87 in the report) it makes more sense to buy a home than rent.

In putting this list together, Zillow looked at the costs associated with buying and leasing a home, including up front payments, fees as well as Continue Reading →

How Long Do You Have To Wait To Get A Home Loan After Foreclosure, Short Sale or Bankruptcy?

By Tyler Frank NMLS # 942420, on May 18th, 2013

Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420

Since the real estate market crash, millions of homeowners have lost their homes in a foreclosure, been forced to do a short sale to get out from a home they were underwater on or file bankruptcy as a result of financial hardship as a result of the the market crash and general economic downturn. Many of these homeowners have resorted to renting or living with relatives but, as time passes and the financial wounds heal, are now wanting to buy a home again prompting the question, “how long do I have to wait Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Update – May 2013 – VIDEO

By Dennis Norman, on May 15th, 2013

St Louis Real Estate Market Sees Declining Inventory and Rising Prices

The St Louis Real Estate Market remains a seller’s market this month barely, according to the latest market data from MORE, REALTORS. The inventory of homes for sale remains low while home sale and prices are increasing.

Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll answer that question for you.

This is not the market to be an uniformed participant in though or not have qualified, professional representation. This can lead to frustration as a buyer as you continue Continue Reading →

Survey Shows One-Third Of Homebuyers Lack Info Needed To Get Mortgage

By Tyler Frank NMLS # 942420, on May 13th, 2013

One-third of Homebuyers Surveyed Are Ill-prepared to Get a Mortgage

Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420

According to a survey recently conducted by Zillow, many homebuyers are really not armed with the information they should have before attempting to obtain a mortgage. For example, over one-third (34 percent) of the prospective homebuyers surveyed did not know that a qualified borrower can obtain a home loan today with less than a five percent downpayment.

In addition, many homebuyers have misinformation that can prevent them from obtaining the best possible mortgage interest rate. For example, 26 percent of the homebuyers said Continue Reading →

Over 1 of every 4 homeowners in Missouri underwater

By Dennis Norman, on May 9th, 2013

As of April 2013, there were 182,678 homeowners in Missouri (26.68 percent) that were underwater on their mortgage meaning that their loan balances exceeds 125 percent of the current value of their home, according to a report just released by RealtyTrac. As a comparison, Illinois’ underwater homeowner rate is 34.79, Florida 41.24, Nevada 52.07 and California 25.07 In a little more upbeat news, the RealtyTrac report also revealed that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions) in April affected 144,790 properties in the U.S. which is a decline of 5 percent from the month before and a Continue Reading →

Report Ranks St Louis Housing Market As 7th Worst Of Major Metros

By Dennis Norman, on May 8th, 2013

The St Louis Housing Market was delivered a blow by a Clear Capital report just released ranking the performance of the housing market in St Louis as the 7th worst of the major metro areas in the U.S. According to the report, St Louis home prices dropped 0.3 percent in the past quarter and declined 1.0 percent from a year ago, that, coupled with the fact that REO’s (foreclosed property owned by banks) makes up 1/3 of the St Louis market, put us at 7th on the “bad” list. At the top of the “good” list was Las Vegas with Continue Reading →

Where Can You Make The Most Money Flipping Homes?

By Dennis Norman, on May 3rd, 2013

In What Cities Can You Make The Most Money Flipping Homes?

Unfortunately, St. Louis did not make the list. However, that is actually a good thing as the cities at the top of RealtyTrac’s list of the top 25 cities in the U.S. for flipping homes are all cities that were hammered when the market crashed. This is not to say that the opportunity does not exist in St Louis to flip property for a profit or to make good buys for rental or other long term investment, it’s just the profits here may not be as large as Continue Reading →

Real Estate Recovery "On Its Way"

By Tyler Frank NMLS # 942420, on May 3rd, 2013

Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420

“The (real estate) recovery has been much more like the tortoise than the hare,” said Stephen Blank, a senior resident fellow of the Washington-based Urban Land Institute. “We’ve become used to slow relief. But we have finally turned the corner.”

Real estate markets on both coasts in places like; New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston were the first to emerge from recession and will pick up their pace of recovery through 2013, said Blank, a principal researcher for Emerging Trends. He was the main speaker at the annual outlook presented by Continue Reading →

Do You Need a Survey When You Buy A House And If So, What Kind?

By Dennis Norman, on May 2nd, 2013

When you purchase a home if you are most likely going to obtain some type of survey as part of the purchase process. Even if you don’t think you need one, if you are obtaining a mortgage, the lender is going to require that you get one. There are many types of surveys though and not all are created equal. Here in St. Louis it is quite common for a home buyer to obtain a “spot” survey because, at around $100, it is the lowest cost survey that will normally meet the lenders requirements. However, in my opinion, all home Continue Reading →

St Louis Is 4th Best Place In The U.S. For Investors To Buy Property

By Dennis Norman, on May 2nd, 2013

St. Louis is the 4th best place in the U.S. for investors to buy property, based upon a recent report by Radar Logic. In compiling the list of cities, Radar Logic examined where institutional investors (i.e., corporations, LLC’s, partnerships and trusts) were buying property and how big of discounts they were receiving compared to other home sales in that area.

The Top 10 Markets For Investors Based Upon Discounted Home Prices: Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Ownership Rate At Highest In Over 6 Years

By Dennis Norman, on May 1st, 2013

The home ownership rate in St Louis during the 1st quarter of 2013 was 74.2 percent, the highest level since the 4th quarter of 2006 when the rate was 74.3 percent, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. I think this is pretty remarkable given that since the housing market crash of 2007, a record number of homeowners have lost their homes in foreclosure and now homeownership rates in St Louis are higher than before the crash.

Continue Reading →

FDIC Sues Champion Bank Directors

By News Desk, on April 30th, 2013

The FDIC filed suit yesterday against 10 directors and officers of Champion Bank alleging “negligence, gross negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty in the underwriting, recommendation, and approval of seven high-risk out-of-territory commercial real estate (“CRE”) loan participations and two business lines of credit (collectively, the “Loss Transactions”), resulting in damages of at least $15.56 million,” according to court documents filed.

4:13-cv-00816 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as Receiver for Champion Bank et al v. DiMaria et al –

Defendants:

Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Increase In March

By Dennis Norman, on April 29th, 2013

St Louis Home Sales Up Over 11 Percent In March

St Louis home sales rose in March to 2,729 homes sold in the five-county St Louis core area (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) which is an increase of 11.3 percent from March 2012 when there were 2,451 homes sold. St Louis home prices rose 3.7 percent in March to an average sales price of $146,146 from $140,904 a year ago.

On a national level, the Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) was at 105.7 for March, Continue Reading →

Mortgage Interest Rates Hit Record Low

By Dennis Norman, on April 25th, 2013

Mortgage interest rates keep falling and this week the interest rate on a 15 year fixed-rate mortgage hit a new record low of 2.8 percent, according to a weekly national survey conducted by Bankrate.com. Continue Reading →

New Home Sales On The Rise While Inventory is Low

By Dennis Norman, on April 23rd, 2013

New home sales continued the upward trend in March with new homes in the US selling at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 417,000 homes, an increase of 1.5 percent from the month before and an 18.5 percent increase from a year ago, according to the US Census Bureau and HUD.

New home sale prices declined in March to a median price of $247,000, down 6.7 percent from February’s median new home price of $264,900 but up 3 percent from a year ago when the median new home sales price was $239,800. The inventory of new homes for sale remained steady Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Up 11.7 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on April 22nd, 2013

St Louis Home sales rose in March to 2,397 homes sold, up from 1,817 homes sold in February and up 11.7 percent from a year ago when there were 2,145 homes sold. St Louis’ year-over-year increase in home sales in March actually topped the increase in US home sales for the month which rose 10.3 percent from the year before.

Continue Reading →

Survey Shows Bankers Feeling Better About Housing Market

By Dennis Norman, on April 19th, 2013

FICO Survey Shows Bankers Are More Optimistic About Housing Market

Most bankers surveyed (83.7 percent) in FICO’s first quarter 2013 survey, said they felt mortgage delinquencies would decline, or at worst stay the same, during the next 6 months. Additionally, 70.8 percent of the bankers feel home prices are rising at a sustainable pace.

Continue Reading →

Housing Boom Era Home Buying Strategies Returning

By Tyler Frank NMLS # 942420, on April 19th, 2013

Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420

Housing Boom Era Type Home Buying Tactics Reappearing in St Louis Real Estate Market

During the home buying frenzy of the housing boom, which peaked in 2006, it was common to see home buyers, in an effort to beat out other buyers fighting for the same home, include price escalation clauses in their offers and make “naked” (contingency-free) offers. It was also common for a seller to purposely price their home low in an effort to rein in multiple buyers and pit them against each other in a bidding war. We are Continue Reading →

Home ownership remains important to 96 percent of Americans

By Dennis Norman, on April 18th, 2013

Home ownership has not lost its luster

Survey results just released by Prudential Real Estate reveal that, in spite of the collapse of the real estate market and the challenges faced by many home owners the past few years, 96 percent of Americans still feel that home ownership is important.

The survey also showed that consumers remain pretty optimistic about the future of the real estate market with 77 percent of respondents indicating that they feel the real estate market and property values will recover. This is up from 73 percent that felt this way at the end of Continue Reading →