New! Local St. Louis Mortgage Rates

By , on October 14th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

In the past I have been doing weekly posts with updated current mortgage rates based upon national data from either Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or the Mortgage Bankers Association. However, just like real estate, mortgage rates are “local” to some extent and do vary in different markets.

In an effort to help people in the St. Louis metro area get a more accurate picture of what mortgage interest rates are doing here, not to mention data that is accurate up to the minute I publish rather than delayed several days or a Continue Reading →

Mortgage rates increase; loan applications decrease

By , on October 14th, 2009

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 9, 2009. The report showed an increase of 1.8 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week as interest rates inched back above 5 percent for the first time in four weeks.

Refi’s continue to dominate the mortgage application activity with 67.4 percent of all mortgage loan applications being refinances.

Continue Reading →

The St. Louis Real Estate Market Bubble and Burst; St. Louis County hurt the worst in the area

By , on October 13th, 2009

Dennis Norman

Statistics and reports are flying at us from every direction about the real estate market nowadays. Some reports say we have hit bottom, some even say the housing market has started a recovery others say worse times are ahead. Since I don’t think anyone can really tell us what the future has in store for the housing market I thought now may be a good time to look at history…at least short term history, to see where things stand at this point. Along the way we may see a trend or perhaps even feel like we Continue Reading →

Over 360,000 borrowers have taken advantage of Fed’s Loan Modification Program

By , on October 9th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Earlier this week the Treasury Department released it’s eight “Tranche” report updating the status of the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) which includes the Home Affordable Modification Programthat I have written about on several occasions. The report shows that progress is being made with regard to loan modifications with $27.07 billion, of the $50 billion available) committed to loan modifications through September 30, 2009 (see “HAMP” details on chart below). Continue Reading →

Foreclosure Rate in St. Louis Increases

By , on October 8th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By Dennis Norman

Foreclosure rates in St. Louis increased for the month of August over the same period last year according to a report released today by First American CoreLogic. The report showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate of 1.24 percent in August, up just slightly from July’s rate of 1.20 percent, but up over 63 percent from a year ago when the rate was 0.76 percent.

As bad as the foreclosure rate for St. Louis sounds we are still doing better than the national rate of 2.86 percent for Continue Reading →

Homebuyer Tax Credit Best Tool for Sustaining Housing Recovery, Says NAR

By , on October 8th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The best available tool for sustaining the still-fragile housing market is the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit, (expires November 30) and it is essential that Congress extend the credit into 2010, the National Association of Realtors® testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Small Business Committee yesterday.

NAR Regional Vice President Joseph L. Canfora said “the credit is working,” pointing out that the 355,000 to 400,000 transactions directly attributable to the credit made a significant dent in the housing inventory and will help to stabilize home prices. Further, the credit has provided a Continue Reading →

MBA urges US House Small Business Committee to Extend and Expand Homebuyer Tax Credit

By , on October 7th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Today, testifying before The US House of Representatives Small Business Committee, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) told the committee that the current credit cycle and recession began in the U.S. housing market, and recovery will not be complete until the current oversupply of house on the market has dramatically decreased.

The MBA then cited the recent report by the IRS that over 1.4 million taxpayers have benefited from the tax credit. “Although (the) MBA is seeing some improvement in the housing market, it is essential that the favorable impact of the first-time homebuyer Continue Reading →

Mortgage interest rates on 30 year loan stay below 5 percent for third consecutive week

By , on October 7th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 2, 2009. The report showed an increase of 16.4 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates remaing below 5 percent.

Unfortunately interest rates seem to be doing more for existing homeowners and the mortgage industry than investors and the real estate market at refi’s for the week made up 66.3 percent of the mortgage loan application activity. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.7 percent Continue Reading →

Mortgage Programs Fall Short in Keeping Homeowners out of Foreclosure

By , on October 7th, 2009

To alleviate some suffering by homeowners, the Obama Administration introduced the “Making Homes Affordable” plan last March. Unfortunately, the plan has not yet had the intended effect.

Article by the Grand Law Firm

Economists debate whether or not the country is actually currently in a recession. Some say that there are positive signs that we have reached the bottom and the economy is turning around. Others, however, suggest that the country still has a long way to go and it may be years yet before we truly reach financial recovery. Regardless of who is right though, one thing is clear: Continue Reading →

Missouri Association of REALTORS working to prevent double taxation

By , on October 6th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

According to a report prepared by the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) in 2006, thirty-five states plus the District of Columbia impose a real estate transfer tax. What a transfer tax amounts to is when you sell or transfer a house (or other real property) you pay a tax to the state on the sale ranging from a low of 0.01 percent in Colorado to a high of 2.2 percent in the District of Columbia.

In addition, in some states (Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Hersey, Pennsylvania, Washington and West Virginia) some of Continue Reading →

Homebuyer tax credit has been primary cause of recent return of buyers to market according to study

By , on October 5th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Results have just been released of a study conducted by Rosen Consulting Group as to the effectiveness of the 2009 first-time-homebuyer tax credit and the potential need for an extension of the credits.

The Rosen Consulting Group was retained by Fix Housing First, a coalition that was originally working to convince Congress for a housing stimulus package that they feel would have a more significant then what was ultimately passed, and since has been working to get the tax credit extended beyond its current expiration date of November 30, 2009.

The study noted Continue Reading →

Dept of Defense Homeowners Assistance Program expanded to help people

By , on October 2nd, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP)was established back in 1966 to give some monetary relief to eligible service members and federal employees who suffer financial loss on the sale of their primary residence when a base closure or realignment announcement cause a decline in the residential real estate market and they are not able to sell their homes under reasonable terms or conditions. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) temporarily expands the HAP program to assist service members and Department of Defense employees who are wounded, injured or become ill when deployed, Continue Reading →

Time is running out to take advantage of Freddie Mac’s ‘SmartBuy’ Sales Promotion

By , on October 1st, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

Back in July I did a post about Freddie Macs “Smartbuy” sales promotion for owner-occupants buying Freddie Mac Homesteps(R) Homes. The special offer began July 17, 2009 and ends October 30, 2009 so there is less than a month to take advantage of it.

Under this promotion people buying a Freddie Mac home for their personal residence will receive at no cost:

A comprehensive two-year HomeProtect(R) Home Warranty Up to 3.5% payment by Freddie Mac towards buyers closing costs Homeprotect(R) Appliance discount (up to 30% savings on name brand appliances) Continue Reading →

Freddie Mac offers loan modification “room service” to help borrowers

By , on September 30th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

In an effort to help delinquent borrowers obtain Loan Modifications under the Affordable Refinance Program of the Making Home Affordable Program Freddie Mac has hired a company to come to borrowers homes and help them put together the documents and complete other actions needed to begin their three-month trial payment periods under the Affordable Refinance Program.

The company hired by Freddie Mac, Titanium Solutions, will target late-paying borrowers with Freddie-Mac owned mortgages who have not responded to letters or phone calls from their lenders or those who have responded but need to provide additional Continue Reading →

Average home prices across US are about where they were six years ago

By , on September 29th, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, home prices in July declined 12.8 percent from a year ago in their 10-city composite and 13.3 percent in their 20-city composite. On a positive note, all 20 metro areas showed an improvement in the annual rates of decline when comparing July to June.

Continue Reading →

Home prices down 30 percent since peak in 2005 and trend is downward

By , on September 28th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

I came across an interesting chart that I want to share. The chart below, courtesy of Chart of the Day, shows median home prices in the U.S. since 1970 (adjusted for inflation). As you can see from the chart, home prices trended upward from 1970 until peaking in the late 70’s (right around 1979 when I got into real estate, great timing on my part!) and then began dropping until the mid 80’s when prices began a rather rocky and unsteady climb upward.

As the chart illustrates, median home prices really started increasing, and Continue Reading →

EHOC Files Fair Housing Complaints Against 14 Senior Housing Providers in St. Louis area

By , on September 26th, 2009

As a result of its recent report on senior housing, EHOC announced on September 23, 2009, that it was filing 14 fair housing complaints against senior housing providers in the St. Loius area with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Complaints are being filed against the following senior communities in St. Louis County: Brentmoor Retirement Community; Mari De Villa; Pacific Place; The Fountains of West County; McKnight Place Assisted Living; National Healthcare Corporation (which has facilities in both St. Louis County and St. Charles County); The Rockwood; and Tesson Heights. Complaints were filed against the Continue Reading →

New home sales in Midwest down 5.8 percent in August

By , on September 25th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

This morning the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing the sale of New Homes here in the Midwest region in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 49,000 units, a 5.8 percent decrease from July’s revised annual rate of 52,000 units (originally reported as 61,000 in July) and is down 31.9 percent from a year ago.

The U.S. as a whole saw a slight 0.7 percent increase in new home sales in August over the month before and is down 3.4 percent from a year ago.

The report Continue Reading →

Almost 1 in 5 prospective homebuyers say extending $8,000 tax credit to 2010 would be primary influence on their decision to buy

By , on September 25th, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

Nearly one in five (18 percent) prospective first-time homebuyers said extending the $8,000 tax credit would be the primary influence on their decision to buy a home before the end of 2010, according to a Zillow survey. That would equate to 334,000 buyers from Dec. 1, 2009 to Nov. 30, 2010 – a likely time period for an extension, according to additional analysis.

Zillow queried adults who qualify as a first-time homebuyer, asking them if an extension of the tax credit would influence their plans to buy a home before the end of 2010. If the Continue Reading →

Existing home sales in Midwest drop 6.6 percent from July to August; St Louis down 9 percent

By , on September 24th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

According to the latest report released today from the National Association of REALTORS(R), existing home sales for August in the Midwest dropped 6.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.14 million units down from a level of 1.22 million units in July. The August home sales rate of 1.14 million happens to be exactly what it was this time last year for the Midwest which is not as well as the US is doing as a whole. As a whole, the rate of existing home sales in August was up 3.4 percent from Continue Reading →

Interest rates drop below 5 percent for 30 year fixed rate loan; applications increase

By , on September 23rd, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending September 18, 2009. The report showed an increase of 12.8 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates dropping below 5 percent for the first time since mid-May.

The bulk of the activity (63.8 percent of all applications) were homeowners refinancing their existing mortgages. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.8 percent while borrowers financing the purchase of a home is only up 0.7 percent.

Interest rates Continue Reading →

US Home Prices show modest 0.3 percent increase from June to July according to Federal Housing Finance Agency

By , on September 22nd, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that U.S. home prices rose 0.3 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from June to July and are down 4.2 percent for the past year. Missouri is included by the FHFA in the West North Central division which was right on target with the US with an increase of 0.3 percent from June to July. Our region was only down 1.5 percent from last year according the report.

Many of the reports I’ve seen in the press on this are saying this is a sign of the Continue Reading →

Has the real estate market bottomed out? Is this the recovery? I don’t think so…

By , on September 21st, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Doing what all normal people do at 4:30 am on a Monday, I was scouring the Internet reading real estate news when I ran across an interesting article by Richard Stoyeck titled “Is Real Estate Coming Back Now?”

I’ll cut through the chase and give you Stoyeck’s answer to the question posed in the title of his story; “It will be in our opinion several years before we can get back to a vibrant real estate market.” If you have been reading this blog for a while then you know I have concerns Continue Reading →

First-time homebuyer credit provides tax benefits to 1.4 million familes to date according to the IRS

By , on September 19th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

“I’m from the IRS and I’m here to help you.”

Yeah, sure. :)

Actually, in this case the IRS is trying to help. The IRS has a website and has even published a video on YouTube to help first-time buyers and potential buyers understand the first-time home buyer tax credit as well as how to claim the credit.

The IRS issued a notice yesterday reminding potential home buyers they must complete their first-time home purchases before Dec. 1 to qualify for the special first-time home buyer credit. The credit of up to $8,000 Continue Reading →

Interest rates drop for 3rd consecutive week; remain at 3-month low

By , on September 18th, 2009

Dennis Norman

According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey the interest rate on home mortgages dropped for the third-consecutive week and remains at a three-month low in the US.

St. Louis is included in Freddie Mac’s Southwest Region in which the survey shows the interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for the week ending September 17, 2009, averaged 5.05 percent with 0.6 percent in fees and points.

The interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.54 percent with 0.5 percent in fees this week. The interest rate on a five-year ARM averaged Continue Reading →

New home construction in Midwest on the rise; Construction outpacing sales

By , on September 17th, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

This morning the US Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for August 2009 showing a slight decrease in new home construction activity from July in the US, but an increase in new home construction activity here in the Midwest.

The report shows the following for the Midwest Region:

Continue Reading →

FDIC Launches Foreclosure Prevention Initiative

By , on September 17th, 2009

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is launching an initiative to help consumers and the banking industry avoid unnecessary foreclosures and stop foreclosure “rescue” scams that promise false hope to consumers at risk of losing their homes.

This initiative includes outreach, referral services, and an information tool kit. Arming consumers with information will heighten consumers’ awareness of foreclosure “rescue” scams and give them more confidence in knowing they are working with legitimate counselors and servicers to obtain a loan modification that could help them avoid foreclosure.

Continue Reading →

Fed’s Loan Modification Program resulting in savings of $120 per month for borrowers

By , on September 16th, 2009

Dennis Norman

According to a study conducted by First American CoreLogicentitled “How the U.S. Consumer Has Benefited from Mortgage Finance Programs in 2009”, projections are there will be $2.3 billion in mortgages refinanced as a result of the Fed’s “Making Home Affordable” plan. According to the study, the median individual monthly savings was $120.

“ The quantitative easing policies of the Federal Reserve and refinance activity made possible by the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) have allowed more than 2 million consumers to reduce their monthly mortgage debt obligations and put more money in their pockets,” said Mark Fleming Continue Reading →

REALTORS Urge Congress to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credits

By , on September 16th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS®is calling upon its 1.2 million members to urge Congress to extend the home-buyer tax credit into next year.

According to NAR the $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit has brought 1.2 million new buyers into the market – 350,000 of whom would not have purchased a home without the credit.

Continue Reading →

Deutsche Banks’ Weaver says housing market has not hit bottom yet

By , on September 15th, 2009

Dennis Norman

Before the sub-prime mortgage implosion Karen Weaver warned of the coming crisis. Karen Weaver, the Global Head of Securitization Research for Deutsche Bank, said last month that she expected home prices to continue to drop through the 1st quarter of 2011. She also predicted that nearly half of the homeowners with mortgages would end up being underwater on their mortgages.

Yesterday Ms. Weaver said that in spite of the recent positive news on the housing market that she had not changed her position and is still predicting home prices to fall another 10 percent before finally reaching Continue Reading →

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