Real Estate Market - St Louis Real Estate News

Fed Reserve expects over 4 million new foreclosures in the next two years

By Dennis Norman, on November 12th, 2010

Speaking at the National Consumer Law Center’s Consumer Rights Litigation Conference in Boston, Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin delivered some sobering news about the Fed Reserve’s expectations for the housing market.

Raskin discussed how foreclosures on residential properties soared from about one million in 2006, the “peak of the boom”, to 2.8 million last year. There were 1.2 million foreclosure filings in just the first half of 2010 and, right now, nearly five million loans are somewhere in the foreclosure process or are 90 days or more past due.

Raskin said “our projections remain very grim for Continue Reading →

College Parents Buying Homes vs Rent or Dorms

By Dennis Norman, on November 12th, 2010

Dennis Norman

A study by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC shows that this fall as parents said goodbye to their college-bound kids, fewer of those kids were heading to dorms or apartments that are typically associated with college housing but instead will be heading to homes their parents bought for them to live in. In fact, 64 percent of real estate professionals in college towns surveyed said they had seen a significant number of “parent investors” buying homes for their kids to live in while attending college.

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Owning real estate within an IRA

By Jay Peroni, on November 11th, 2010

Can I own real estate within my IRA?

With investment property priced to move, some IRA owners are buying actual real estate properties. Did you know you could do that? Most people don’t. Not everyone can do it; not everyone should do it. However, some people are doing it – particularly high net worth IRA owners who see great deals in a buyer’s market.

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Current Housing Market Rivals Depression-Era Price Declines according to Zillow Report

By News Desk, on November 10th, 2010

Percentage of Homeowners Underwater Reaches New Peak; Length and Depth of Housing Downturn Approach Depression-Era Declines According to Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports for 3rd Quarter 2010…

The United States housing market continued its long decline in the third quarter with home values falling for the 17th consecutive quarter, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. With home values 25 percent below their June 2006 peak, the current housing downturn is approaching Great Depression-era declines, when home values fell 25.9 percent in five years.

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Understanding the Types of Home Loans Available; St Louis Mortgage Watch

By Robert Fishel, on November 10th, 2010

Conventional Loan Programs

Conventional loans are traditional home mortgages, not backed by any government program of insurance or guarantee. There are standard underwriting guidelines for conventional conforming loans up to $417,000. These loans can carry fixed or variable (ARM) rates and a variety of repayment terms can be tailored to your individual needs. Buyers will need cash reserves/savings to cover two months of payments and generally, there is not a penalty for prepayment.

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REALTORS® Support Proposal to End Private Transfer Fees

By News Desk, on November 8th, 2010

The National Association of Realtors® announced that it “strongly supports” the proposed guidance from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to prevent government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks from investing in mortgages encumbered by private transfer fee covenants.

In a letter sent to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), NAR reiterated its opposition to these covenants, which developers often attach to a property to require payment of fees back to that developer each time the property is resold. These covenanted mandates are often extremely difficult to reverse once in place, and in many Continue Reading →

Eighty-five percent of recent home buyers see their home as a good investment according to NAR survey

By Dennis Norman, on November 8th, 2010

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS® just released their 2010 Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers which shows that people still look at home ownership as a good long-term investment and the typical seller is experiencing positive returns from home ownership.

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Slow, Steady Housing Recovery Expected Ahead

By Dennis Norman, on November 5th, 2010

Dennis Norman

At the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo in New Orleans today, “a slow, steady recovery” was predicted for the housing market despite ongoing challenges.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors® chief economist, said that he expects “continuing improvement of underlying fundamentals of the current market in coming years.”

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Pending home sales drop slightly in September

By Dennis Norman, on November 5th, 2010

Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for September shows a decrease of 1.8 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 24.9 percent decrease from a year ago.

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What to do in 2010: Rent or Buy a home?

By News Desk, on November 4th, 2010

Five questions every potential buyer should ask when deciding whether to rent or buy a home

First time homebuyers have a lot to consider this summer when making the decision to rent or buy a home: interest rates are at all-time lows, there’s still plenty of housing stock and prices are at or near their lowest in years. Still, deciding whether to buy a home or rent an apartment can be a complicated decision. How do you know what’s right for you? Potential buyers should ask themselves several key questions before making this important decision.

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How to Reduce your Mortgage; St Louis Mortgage Watch

By Robert Fishel, on November 3rd, 2010

One Additional Mortgage Payment a Year

There’s a simple trick to significantly reduce the length of your mortgage and save you thousands of dollars. The trick is to make one extra mortgage payment a year and apply that payment toward your loan’s principal.

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Missouri Voters Protect Their Homes from Transfer Taxes

By Dennis Norman, on November 3rd, 2010

Dennis Norman

In a loud and unified voice, 83.7 percent of the voters yesterday voted in favor of Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3, the ban on future transfer taxes or fees on real estate in Missouri. In a huge victory for Missouri property owners, this effort, spearheaded, and funded in a large part, by the Missouri Association of REALTORS, insures that Missouri remains free from this tax that many, including yours truly, consider a form of double taxation.

Missouri is one of only 13 states in the U.S. that do not have a transfer tax imposed at the state Continue Reading →

Michigan couple awarded $600,000 judgment against Worth Township; Proof that you can fight city hall

By Dennis Norman, on November 2nd, 2010

Dennis Norman

Who says you can’t fight City Hall and win?

Well, it wasn’t easy, nor quick, but George and Margaret Paeth of the Worth Township in Michigan have”beat” City Hall and been awarded $600,000 by a Federal Court Judge. According to a press release by their attorney’s, Daniel P. Dalton and Pauline J. Pensler, this judgment is “one of the largest procedural due process and First Amendment retaliation verdicts in the nation, and the largest for the Eastern District of Michigan’s federal courts.”

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St Louis Foreclosure rate up over 25 percent from year ago

By Dennis Norman, on November 1st, 2010

Dennis Norman

A report released by CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in August of 1.52 percent which is a slight increase from July’s rate of 1.48 percent but is an increase of 25.6 percent from the year prior when the rate was 1.21 percent. Comparatively speaking, St. Louis is in good shape as the national foreclosure rate for August was 3.2 percent, almost double our rate here.

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Report shows mortgage delinquency ‘Roll Rates’ peaked in summer of 2009; Sign that worst is over?

By Dennis Norman, on November 1st, 2010

Dennis Norman

Finally, some more good news about the housing market! TransUnion released a study of mortgage delinquency “roll rates” (when delinquent borrowers move to a more delinquent status, say from 30 days late to 60 days late, then 90 and so on) which showed that mortgage delinquency roll rates peaked in the summer of 2009. According to the study, approximately 24.4 percent of consumers who were 30 days past due on their mortgage payments in June 2009 became 60 days past due in July 2009 and nearly 37.6 percent of consumers 60 days delinquent on their mortgage Continue Reading →

Fannie Mae Releases Appraiser Independence Requirements

By Dennis Norman, on October 29th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Now that the controversial (to put it mildly) Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has been put to rest as part of The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, Fannie Mae has released their “Appraiser Independence Requirements“. Fannie Mae says the purpose of these requirements is to:

Protect the independence of appraisers and the integrity of their appraisals. Extend these important protections for home buyers, mortgage investors, and the housing market. Reinforce Fannie Mae’s commitment to responsible lending and mortgage quality standards. Continue Reading →

New home sales rate up over six percent in September; down over 20 percent from year before

By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for September 2010 showing an increase of 6.6 percent from the month before, but a decrease of 21.5 percent from a year ago.

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Private Mortgage Insurance helps you get the loan; St Louis Mortgage Watch

By Robert Fishel, on October 27th, 2010

Mortgage Insurance, also known as PMI, is a supplemental insurance policy you may be required to obtain in order to get a mortgage loan. PMI is provided by private (non-government) companies and is usually required when your loan-to-value ratio — the amount of your mortgage loan divided by the value of your home — is greater than 80 percent.

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Case-Shiller issues disappointing report on home prices

By Dennis Norman, on October 26th, 2010

Dennis Norman

This morning S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for August was released showing a deceleration in the annual growth rates of home prices from the month before in 17 of the 20 Metro areas covered by the report. The Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices for the 20 metros showed a decrease of 0.2 percent in home prices in August from July and an increase of 1.7 percent in home prices from the year before.

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Distressed home sales bring down prices in St. Louis

By Dennis Norman, on October 26th, 2010

Dennis Norman

According to a report issued yesterday by CoreLogic, home prices in the St. Louis area decreased in August 2010 by 3.53 percent from the year before, over twice the US rate of price decline for the same period of 1.5 percent. However, distressed home sale prices are to blame and appear to be causing more damage in the St. Louis housing market than on the US housing market on average.

I say this because the data shows if we exclude the distressed sales then home prices in St. Louis only declined 0.28 percent for the same Continue Reading →

Scorecard on Obama’s Housing Recovery Plans

By Dennis Norman, on October 25th, 2010

Dennis Norman

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development today released their “October 2010 Scorecard” on the “Obama Administration’s Efforts to Stabilize the Housing Market”.

The scorecard points out the success of “The President’s housing market recovery efforts” but does point out that “data in the scorecard also show that the recovery in the housing market continues to remain fragile.”

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Existing home sales rate increases 10.0 percent in September

By Dennis Norman, on October 25th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in September were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.53 million units which is an increase of 10.0 percent from August but is a a decline of 19.1 percent from a year ago.

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7 Reasons to Rent Instead of Buy a Home

By Joe Plemon, on October 25th, 2010

Joe Plemon, ChristianPF.com

Owning your own home may still be the great American dream, but, the influx of foreclosures in recent years has made it a nightmare for millions. If you are considering purchasing a home, I challenge you to at least think through the advantages of renting before you buy. Here are a few.

1. Less risk

Strangely, risk seems to be the factor least considered

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New York City, San Diego and Las Vegas top list of favorite cities to live in

By Dennis Norman, on October 22nd, 2010

Dennis Norman

A new Harris Poll shows that more people would like to live in, or near, New York City than any other city in the U.S. San Diego came in second and Las Vegas third. This should not come as a surprise as this Harris Poll has been done annually since 1997 and New York City has ranked number one every year except 1998 when it fell to second behind San Francisco.

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Home Affordability Index Indicates Housing Most Affordable in Over 40 years

By Dennis Norman, on October 21st, 2010

Dennis Norman

If there is a silver lining to the lousy real estate market we’ve witnessed over the past 3 years, maybe this is it….housing affordability!

According to the Beacon Economics Home Affordability Index, homes selling in August were at their most affordable level sinde data became available over 40 years ago (1969). The Beacon Index, quite similar to the National Association of REALTORS housing affordability index, takes into account the percentage of income an average family would need to make mortgage payments on an average home.

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The home loan process; St Louis Mortgage Watch

By Robert Fishel, on October 20th, 2010

A critical step in the mortgage loan application process is to verify the sources for your down payment, closing costs and assets, as well as documenting income and debts. The lender uses this step to determine your qualifications as a borrower.

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California, Hawaii and Florida top list of states people want to live in

By Dennis Norman, on October 20th, 2010

Dennis Norman

According to a recent Harris Poll, the economic and political unrest in California has not deterred Americans from their desire to live in the state as more Americans would like to live in California that in any other state. This is the seventh time in a row since 2002 that California has topped the list where people would like to live if they did not live in their own state, according to the poll.

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New home construction increases slightly in September; Still greatly outpaces sales

By Dennis Norman, on October 19th, 2010

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a their report on New Residential Construction for September 2010 showing a slight increase in single-family home building permits and an increase in new home starts compared to the month before.

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Is now a safe time to buy foreclosures?

By Dennis Norman, on October 18th, 2010

Dennis Norman

According to a report just released by RealtyTrac® foreclosures increased in the third quarter of 2010, although with a slowing rate of increase. There were 930,437 foreclosure filings in the third quarter, up almost 4 percent from the 2nd quarter but up only 1 percent from the year before. One in every 139 housing units in the U.S. received a foreclosure filing during 3rd quarter.

During the month of September alone, there were foreclosure filings reported on 347,420 U.S. properties, an increase of nearly 3 percent from the previous month and an increase of 1 percent Continue Reading →

Initial report shows increased mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure inventory in September

By Dennis Norman, on October 16th, 2010

Dennis Norman

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows that things are not getting better on the “home-front”….The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (not including foreclosures) for September was 9.27 percent, a 0.6 percent increase from the month before, however it is a 7.8 percent decrease from the year before. The foreclosure rate for September was 3.84 percent, a 1.1 percent increase from the month before and a 3.6 percent increase from the year before.

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