New Class Action Lawsuit Targets Major Real Estate Players Following Sitzer Verdict

By , on October 31st, 2023

In a remarkable turn of events, just minutes after the jury sided with the homeseller-plaintiffs in the landmark Sitzer | Burnett trial, attorney Michael Ketchmark wasted no time in launching another legal salvo against the real estate industry. This new class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of three new homesellers, aims to further scrutinize the practices surrounding agent commissions.

The Defendants

This new lawsuit expands the list of defendants to include: Compass, eXp World Holdings, Redfin, Weichert Realtors, United Real Estate, Howard Hanna, and Douglas Elliman. Notably, the National Association of Realtors is once again named as a defendant, marking Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Permits For The Past 12-Months Decline in all Counties Except Warren

By , on October 4th, 2023

There were 3,946 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended August 31, 2023. This represents a decline of 12.04% from the prior 12-month period, during which 4,486 permits were issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Six of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the previous period with 4 of them seeing double digit declines. Warren County, on the other hand, saw a slight increase in permit activity.

Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Permits For The Past 12-Months Decline in all Counties Again

By , on September 13th, 2023

There were 3,950 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended July 31, 2023.  This represents a decrease of 13.38% from the prior 12-month period, during which 4,560 permits were issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA).   All seven of the counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the previous period.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale    Search St Louis New Homes For Sale St Louis New Home Building Permits – Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Permits For The Past 12-Months Decline in all Counties Except Franklin

By , on July 26th, 2023

There were 4,017 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2023. This represents a decrease of 11.05% from the prior 12-month period, during which 4,516 permits were issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Six of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the previous period, with the City of St Louis and Lincoln County experiencing double-digit declines.

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St Louis New Home Building Permits For The Past 12-Months Declined in all Counties-by double digits in 6

By , on July 3rd, 2023

There were 3,820 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended May 31, 2023. This represents a decrease of 17.28% from the prior 12-month period, during which 4,618 permits were issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). All seven counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the previous period, with all but one of them experiencing double-digit declines.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale    Search St Louis New Homes For Sale Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Permits For The Past 12-Months Declined in all Counties

By , on June 7th, 2023

There were 3,882 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended April 30, 2023. This represents a decrease of 16.34% from the prior 12-month period, during which 4,640 permits were issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). All seven counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the previous period, with all but one of them experiencing double-digit declines. Also worth noting is this month marked the end to Franklin County’s streak of increased Continue Reading →

Are Homebuyers Today Grossly Overpaying for Homes and Making Decisions They’ll Regret?

By , on June 2nd, 2023

I’ve been in the real estate business since I was 17, which means it has been 45 years of experiencing various market conditions, including recessions, inflation, 18% mortgage rates, the burst of the housing bubble, and a myriad of other good and bad things. However, I can confidently say that I have never witnessed a real estate market quite like the one we have been experiencing in the past couple of years.

So, what makes the current real estate market so unique? First and foremost, I’ve pondered this question extensively, and I honestly can’t recall a time in this industry Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Permits For The Past 12-Months Declined in 6 of Seven Counties

By , on May 10th, 2023

There were 3,920 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended March 31, 2023. This represents a decrease of 16.58% from the prior 12-month period, during which 4,699 permits were issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Six of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the previous period, with five of them experiencing double-digit declines. In contrast, Franklin County saw an increase of over 4%, marking the 20th consecutive month Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Building Permits in February Fall By Double-Digits From A Year Ago In Four of Seven Counties

By , on March 29th, 2023

There were 4,170 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended February 28, 2023, a decrease of 10.69% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,669 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Six of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the same period a year ago with four of them experiencing double-digit declines. Franklin County, on the other hand, saw an increase of nearly 19%.

Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits in January Fall By Double-Digits From A Year Ago In 4 of 7 St Louis Counties

By , on March 15th, 2023

There were 4,147 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended January 31, 2023, a decrease of 13.48% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,793 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Six of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decline in building permits from the same period a year ago with four of them experiencing double-digit declines.

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St Louis Area New Home Building Permits for 2022 at lowest level in seven years

By , on January 25th, 2023

There were 4,361 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during 2022, a decline of 9.62% from 2021 when there were 4,825 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). As the table below shows, 4 of the 7 counties included in the report had a decline in the number of permits issued in 2022 from the year before, with there of them double-digit declines. Lincoln County saw the biggest drop percentage-wise with a decline of 38.27% followed by St Charles County Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits in St Louis area Decline overall but up in more counties than down

By , on January 12th, 2023

There were 4,515 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended November 30, 2022, a decrease of 6.93% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,851 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Four of the seven counties covered in the report saw an increase in building permits from the same period a year ago with the largest increase (9.15%) coming in St Louis County.

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New Home Construction In Midwest During Increased During Past 12 Months

By , on December 21st, 2022

Even though the number of new home building permits in the St Louis area has been on the decline, they’re been on the increase in the midwest region of which St Louis is a part. As the chart below illustrates, for the 12-month period ended last month, there are been 2,850 building permits issued for new privately-owned housing units in the midwest region of the U.S. an increase of 3.6% from he prior 12-month period when there were 2,746 permits issued. For just the month of November 2022, there were 197 permits, down nearly 8% from November 2021 when 214 Continue Reading →

Home Builder Sentiment Falls Every Month During 2022 Reaching Lowest Level Since Beginning of COVID

By , on December 19th, 2022

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) report for December 2022 and, not surprisingly, it shows the builders are continuing to lose confidence in the market. In fact, builder sentiment has dropped every month during 2022, ending the year at an index value of 31, the lowest seen since the onslaught of COVID-19 in April 2020.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale    Search St Louis New Homes For Sale NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) / Builder Sentiment Chart

(click on chart for live, interactive chart)

Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits in St Louis area Decline 7 Percent but increase 15 Percent in Franklin County

By , on December 9th, 2022

There were 4,499 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended October 31, 2022, a decrease of 7.01% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,838 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Five of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago with three of the counties have a double digit decline. Franklin County came out the big winner with nearly Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits In St Louis For Most Recent 12-Months Decline Nearly 9 Percent

By , on November 10th, 2022

There were 4,499 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended September 30, 2022, a decrease of 8.89% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,938 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Five of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago with three of the counties have a double digit decline.

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Builders’ Housing Affordability Index Drops To Lowest Level Since Inception

By , on November 9th, 2022

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo, jointly publish quarterly their Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) which shows the affordability, or lack thereof, of homes to a typical family. To arrive at an index value the median home price of recently sold homes for an area is taken into account as well as the median income for a family in that area. From this data the index is computed to show how affordable the typical home is to a typical family. The higher the index, the more affordable homes are to buyers in that market and the lower Continue Reading →

Home Builder Sentiment Falls For 10th Month In A Row

By , on October 18th, 2022

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) report for October 2022 and, not surprisingly, it shows the builders are continuing to lose confidence in the market. As our chart below shows, the Housing Market Index (HMI), the red line, peaked in November 2020 at 90 and has, with the exception of a few minor upticks along the way, fallen ever since reaching 38, the lowest level since August 2012 when it fell to 37.

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Fannie Mae Predicts Lower Home Sales and Home Prices Next Year

By , on October 13th, 2022

Yesterday, Fannie Mae released their October housing forecast in which they forecast, among other things, where home sales and prices are headed. The report incudes a forecast for next year, which included:

Home prices in 2023 to decline 1.5% from 2022 Home sales to finish 2022 down nearly 18% from last year and drop another 22% in 2023 New home construction to end 2022 down 3.6% from last year and drop another 25% in 2023. Mortgage Interest Rates will continue to rise the rest of these year, ending the year at 6.7% and then will ease back to 6.4% in Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Activity Continues To Decline

By , on October 7th, 2022

There were 4,486* building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended August 31, 2022, a decrease of 8.93% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,926 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Six of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago with four of the counties haveing a double digit decline.

*The city of St Louis did not report Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits In St Louis For Most Recent 12-Months Decline Over 8 Percent

By , on September 13th, 2022

There were 4,600 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended July 31, 2022, a decrease of 8.06% from the same period a year ago when there were 5,003 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Five of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago with three of the counties have a double digit decline.

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Yesterday’s Headlines Say Interest Rates Are Below 5 Percent – Why They Were Wrong

By , on August 5th, 2022

I saw dozens and dozens of headlines yesterday reporting that mortgage interest rates had fallen below 5% on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. The catch is on the day that was reported, yesterday, interest rates were actually above 5% on a 30-year fixed-rate loan. As our chart below shows, the MND Rate index was reporting 5.09% and, below that, Optimalblue was reporting 5.326%. Both of the aforementioned charts are updated daily and considered by many in the industry to have the most current and accurate information.

How could all the big headlines be wrong?

Well, actually the articles I scanned Continue Reading →

Number Of New Homes Built In St Louis In Last 14 Years Less Than Half The Number For the Prior 14 Years

By , on August 4th, 2022

During the 14 year period prior to the housing bubble bursting in 2008, there were 92,065 building permits issued for new single family homes in the 3 most active home building counties in St Louis. As the table shows below, over half the permits issued during that period were in St Charles County alone, with the other half in the counties of St Louis and Jefferson.

Needless to say, when the housing bubble burst in 2008 and the market collapsed, new home construction came to a screeching halt. However, after about 5 years, the market quickly regained lost ground and Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits In St Louis For Most Recent 12-Months Decline Over 12 Percent

By , on August 3rd, 2022

There were 4,516 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2022, a decrease of 12.05% from the same period a year ago when there were 5,135 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Five of the seven counties covered in the report saw a decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago with three of the counties have a double digit decline.

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Supply of New Homes For Sale Reaches Highest Level In Over 12 Years

By , on July 27th, 2022

According to the latest data from HUD and the US Census Bureau, there is a 9.3 month supply of new homes for sale in the U.S. as of June, 2022. As the chart below illustrates, this is the largest supply of new homes for sale since May 2010 when there was also a 9.3 month supply. It wasn’t that long ago, August 2020 to be exact, when the supply hit a record low level of 3.3 months.

St Louis New Home Supply is a little lower…

It’s a little hard to pinpoint the new home supply in St Louis for Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits In St Louis For Most Recent 12-Months Decline Nearly 10 Percent

By , on June 10th, 2022

There were 5,138 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended April 30, 2022, a decrease of 9.69% from the same period a year ago when there were 5,138 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Four of the seven counties covered in the report saw a double-digit decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale    Search St Louis New Homes For Sale St Louis New Home Continue Reading →

Inventory of New Homes In The U.S. Hits Highest level since 2010

By , on June 10th, 2022

Given the low-inventory of homes for sale that has existed for some time now, it may be hard to believe my next statement, but the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD show that there is currently a 9-month supply of newly constructed homes in the U.S. As the chart below illustrates, this is the highest level the supply of new homes in the U.S. has reached since May 2010 when there was a 9.3 month supply.

The months supply of depicted below is calculated as the ratio of new homes for sale to the number of new Continue Reading →

Home Builders Losing Confidence In The Housing Market

By , on May 18th, 2022

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in conjunction with Wells Fargo publishes their House Market Index (HMI) monthly which reveals the sentiment of home builders about the market. In the report released yesterday, the HMI fell 8 points to 69, marking the fifth month in a row that builder sentiment as declined and becoming the lowest level for builder sentiment since June 2020.

It may not be all that bad though…

As it true with most data, it’s all relative. With this in mind, this may be the 5th straight month that builder sentiment has fallen however, as the Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits In St Louis For Most Recent 12-Months Continue Downward Trend

By , on May 14th, 2022

There were 4,699 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended March 31, 2022, a decrease of 6.86% from the same period a year ago when there were 5,045 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Four of the seven counties covered in the report saw a double-digit decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale    Search St Louis New Homes For Sale St Louis New Home Continue Reading →

How Much Will St Louis Home Prices Be Impacted By Inflation?

By , on April 15th, 2022

Yesterday, I wrote an article addressing the high rate of inflation just reported and its impact on the St Louis housing market. In it, I promised to take a deeper look into the effect of the current events related to the economy on St Louis home prices which I will do in this article.

Before I go further, I should mention I’m not an economist nor a fortune teller. I am, however, a real estate broker and data nerd that has spent over 40 years in the St Louis real estate industry. I try my best to use my knowledge Continue Reading →

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