Real Estate Market - St Louis Real Estate News

How to Negotiate the Best Deal for Yourself

By Thomas J. Lucier, on August 24th, 2011

To me, real estate negotiations are about two things and two things only: Price and terms. And that’s why your objective during negotiations, should always be to obtain a purchase or sale price and terms, which will give you the best possible deal. By “best possible deal,” I mean a price and terms that an investor can realistically expect a seller or buyer to agree to, which will allow them to earn, what they consider to be a reasonable profit, from the property.

For example, when I am negotiating to buy a small mismanaged residential rental property, the best possible Continue Reading →

MHDC’s CAL Cash Assistance loan rate is now 4.5 percent!

By Robert Fishel, on August 24th, 2011

First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs.

Program Highlights:

3% Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) can be used for down payment and closing costs. CAL is forgivable after 5 years of occupancy. 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages & Competitive Rates. CAL can be used with FHA, VA and USDA Rural Development loan programs. First time home buyer requirement only applies to the last three years. Loan is assumable for an MHDC-qualified borrower in an FHA, VA or USDA-RD loan program. Eligible owner occupied properties include: Single-Family Detached, Duplexes, Semi-Detached, Condominiums, Town Continue Reading →

New home sales drop again in July; 2011 new home sales continue on track to be worst year ever

By Dennis Norman, on August 23rd, 2011

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for July 2011 showing a decrease of 0.7 percent from the month before, and an increase of 6.8 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for July was 298,000 homes, down from an adjusted rate of 300,000 the month before and is a rate that if we finish 2011 at will make 2011 new home sales the lowest since the Commerce Department began keeping track of sales in 1963.

Continue Reading →

New reports paint bleak picture for housing market recovery

By Dennis Norman, on August 22nd, 2011

It seems every time I start thinking it’s safe to use the “R” word (recovery) about the housing market, something happens to put the damper on it. The recent downgrading of the U.S. credit rating, which ultimately caused the Wall Street roller coaster ride, certainly hasn’t help. Then today, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) came out with a report saying “the recent economic news points to a slower housing recovery” and Fannie Mae, in their economic forecast released today saying “housing activity expected to weaken, despite recent declines in long-term interest rates”.

Continue Reading →

Freddie Mac offering to pay future condo fees through HomeSteps special

By Dennis Norman, on August 22nd, 2011

HomeSteps, the home-sale division of Freddie Mac, announced “Condo Cash”, a special limited-time offer to pay up to $1,500 in future condo fees for eligible buyers purchasing a condominium being sold through the Freddie Mac HomeSteps program.

Continue Reading →

Homeowners not happy with their mortgage servicers

By Dennis Norman, on August 19th, 2011

After all the bad press mortgage companies have received lately, this probably won’t come as a surprise, but according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study, homeowners satisfaction with their mortgage servicers has “declined notably from 2010.“

Continue Reading →

Existing home sales drop in July; Actual 2011 home sales through July down 5 percent from same time last year

By Dennis Norman, on August 18th, 2011

Today’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in July were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.67 million units which is a decrease of 3.5 percent from the month before, an increase of 21.0 percent from a year ago and is the lowest rate of home sales since November 2010 when it was 4.64 million.

Continue Reading →

What you need when applying for a home mortgage; St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update

By Robert Fishel, on August 17th, 2011

Having been in the mortgage industry for a number of years, I have found a lot of my “issues” when it comes to underwriting was a result of missing something at time of application. The following is a quick rundown of items that should be collected at application:

Continue Reading →

Buying a home more affordable than renting in three out of four major cities

By Dennis Norman, on August 17th, 2011

A report released by Trulia shows that, based on current market conditions, it is cheaper to buy a home than rent in 74 percent of major U.S. cities. At the top of the list is Las Vegas with a price rent ratio of 6 (the lower the number, the more affordable it is). At the other end of the spectrum, New York city leads the list of cities where it is cheaper to rent than buy with a price rent ratio six times higher than that of Las Vegas.

Continue Reading →

Where is the best place in Missouri to live? Liberty, according to CNN Money.

By Dennis Norman, on August 16th, 2011

Today, CNN Money published their 2011 list of the best places to live in the U.S. At the top of the list is Louisville, Colorado. The criteria for selection of the best places to live include jobs, schools, crime, local economy, weather and activities. Unfortunately , St. Louis did not make the list of top 10, in fact only one place in Missouri did and that was Liberty coming in at number 7.

There were a total of four places in Missouri that made the top 100 list, they were:

Continue Reading →

Mortgage delinquency rate continues to fall in July

By Dennis Norman, on August 16th, 2011

A report released this morning by Standard & Poor’s and Experian show a decrease in monthly default rates on first mortgages from 2.02 percent to 1.93 percent and a decrease in default rates on second mortgages from 1.40 percent to 1.25 percent in July. A continuing decline in mortgage delinquencies is one of the things we need to help move the real estate market into a recovery. As the delinquencies come down, so do the foreclosures eventually back to a point where they are not negatively impacting home prices to the extent they are presently.

Continue Reading →

New Home Construction On Pace For Record Low in 2011

By Dennis Norman, on August 16th, 2011

In 1959 the census bureau first started keeping track of new home construction activity and reported that there were 1.5 million new homes started that year. In 2005 a record high 1.7 million new homes were started and in 2009 a record low 445,100 new homes. In 2010 there was a little improvement as there were 471,200 new homes started and things were looking up a bit, however, unless something changes dramatically, 2011 will hit a new record low of new home starts.

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report Continue Reading →

Does the Mortgage Interest Deduction Help The Real Estate Market?

By Dennis Norman, on August 15th, 2011

Last week, The Washington Post published an article by Kenneth Harney which said “if you take mortgage interest tax deductions, the next 100 days could have significant financial implications for you, thanks to Congress’s new federal debt ceiling plan……the compromise legislation created an unusual mechanism — an evenly split, 12-member bipartisan supercommittee — that could call for major cutbacks on real estate write-offs by Thanksgiving.”

The question is, would doing away with the mortgage interest deduction put the final nail in the coffin for the housing industry? Read on to hear two opposing opinions on the topic.

Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate Market and Home Prices Update – August 12, 2011

By Dennis Norman, on August 12th, 2011

Weekly I produce a short (roughly 5 minute) video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures Drop in July; Down Over 35 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on August 11th, 2011

Finally some good news for the St. Louis Real Estate Market! This morning RealtyTrac released their foreclosure activity report for the St. Louis metro area for July 2011 showing that foreclosure activity in the St. Louis metro area in July was down 8.77 percent from the month before and down a whopping 35.46 percent from a year ago!

Continue Reading →

What is a credit score? What affects my credit score?; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update

By Robert Fishel, on August 10th, 2011

Credit Scores have and always be a hot topic in any economy. Recently, Jim Gallagher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote an article regarding consumers that “fork over $1 billion a year to the credit agencies and credit monitoring services to obtain their credit scores.” But the scores they get probably aren’t the ones a lender will use to judge their credit worthiness.

Continue Reading →

Mortgage delinquency rate declines by largest rate in two years

By Dennis Norman, on August 10th, 2011

This morning, Trans Union released a report showing the national mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 or more days past due) decreased for the sixth consecutive quarter, dropping to 5.82% at the end of the second quarter in 2011 which is a 5.98 percent from the prior quarter, the largest quarterly decrease in 2 years.

Continue Reading →

Mortgage Lending Tumbles In 2nd Quarter

By Dennis Norman, on August 8th, 2011

A report by MortgageDaily.com shows that 20 percent fewer borrowers obtained a home loan in the second quarter of 2011 than in the first quarter. The report also shows that Wells Fargo again this quarter originated more home loans than any other lender in the U.S.

Originations Rank Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2010 1 Wells Wells Wells 2 BofA BofA BofA 3 Chase Chase Chase 4 Ally Citi Ally 5 Citi PHH Citi Continue Reading →

St Louis ranked 4th best performing real estate market in U.S.

By Dennis Norman, on August 5th, 2011

Clear Capital just released their housing market report which, based upon data available through and including July 2011, has ranked the 15 best and worst performing housing markets in the U.S. based upon their quarter-over-quarter change in home prices. St. Louis came in number 4 on the list of best performing metros with a 12.5 percent quarter-over-quarter increase in home prices! See all the results below:

Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate Market and Home Prices Update – August 5, 2011

By Dennis Norman, on August 5th, 2011

Weekly I produce a short (roughly 5 minute) video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market Continue Reading →

Home prices increased in June; third consecutive month of increases

By Dennis Norman, on August 4th, 2011

A report released by CoreLogic shows U.S. home prices increased in June 2011 by 0.7 percent from the month before, marking the third consecutive month-over-month increase. However, U.S. home prices in June 2011 decreased 6.8 percent from the year before. If we take the distressed sales (foreclosures, REO’s and short-sales) then year-over-year home prices declined by 1.1 percent in June 2011 from June 2010.

Continue Reading →

Should you do a ‘cash-in’ refi?; St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update

By Robert Fishel, on August 4th, 2011

Over the past years, many of Americans pulled money out their homes through “cash-out” refis. Today, many of my clients are bringing cash into their refinance transactions. Money is flowing in the opposite direction.

You might consider bringing cash to close your refinance to:

1. Lower your mortgage rate: If your LTV is close to the 80% Loan to Value (LTV) threshold, then bringing money to the table to push your LTV below 80% can get the borrower a better rate.

Continue Reading →

84 Percent of U.S. Metros Post Lower Foreclosure Activity in First Half of 2011

By Dennis Norman, on August 1st, 2011

RealtyTrac released their Midyear 2011 Metro foreclosure report showing that foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis in 178 out of the nation’s largest 211 metropolitan areas which is some much needed good news!

Continue Reading →

Pending home sales increase in June; 2nd consecutive month pending home sales on the rise

By Dennis Norman, on July 29th, 2011

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for June shows an increase of 2.4 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a whopping 19.8 percent increase from a year ago. This is the second month in a row that the index increased on a year-over-year basis.

Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate Market and Home Prices Update – July 29, 2011

By Dennis Norman, on July 29th, 2011

Weekly I produce a short (roughly 5 minute) video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market Continue Reading →

New home sales drop in June; 2011 new home sales on track to be worst year ever

By Dennis Norman, on July 26th, 2011

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for June 2011 showing a decrease of 1.0 percent from the month before, and an increase of 1.6 percent from a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for June was 312,000 homes, down from 315,000 the month before and is a rate that if we finish 2011 at will make 2011 new home sales the lowest since the Commerce Department began keeping track of sales in 1963.

Continue Reading →

Home Price Index increases for second consecutive month in May

By Dennis Norman, on July 26th, 2011

Dennis Norman

This morning, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for May was released showing US home prices increased for the second consecutive month with average home prices in the U.S. being about the same as they were in the summer of 2003. The report shows their 20-city composite home price index increased by 1.0 percent from the month before and declined by 4.5 percent from a year ago. and the 10-city composite home price index increased by 1.1 percent from the month before and was down 3.6 percent from the year before.

Continue Reading →

Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure inventory increase in June

By Dennis Norman, on July 25th, 2011

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies increased 2.4 percent in June from the month before and decreased 14.7 percent from the year before. According to the report, the U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate declined 0.2 percent from the month before but increased 12.8 percent from the year before.

Continue Reading →

2011 Real Estate Market Performing about as Poorly as Predicted Thus Far

By Dennis Norman, on July 22nd, 2011

Radarlogic, real estate data and analytics company that frequently disagrees with the National Association of REALTORS® view of the housing market, released their RPX Monthly Housing Market Report for May 2011 yesterday and in it had a scorecard showing how their rather bleak predictions they made at the end of 2010 for the 2011 housing market were holding up. Unfortunately, as you will see below, it seems many of their predictions have been accurate and the housing market is performing as poorly as they expected in many areas.

Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate Market and Home Prices Update – July 22, 2011

By Dennis Norman, on July 22nd, 2011

Weekly I produce a short (roughly 5 minute) video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market Continue Reading →