St Louis Real Estate News - Page 30 of 109 - Daily St. Louis real estate news, market analysis, home prices, and mortgage rate updates from local industry professionals.

Mortgage Interest Rates Fall For Two Consecutive Weeks

By Dennis Norman, on May 27th, 2022

On May 12th the 30-year fixed rate mortgage interest rate hit 5.3%, the highest rates since June 2009, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey®. As the chart below illustrates, mortgage interest rate have declined the last two consecutive weeks falling to 5.10% yesterday, the lowest rate since April 28th.

There are more affordable options…

The chart I selected to show below also shows the mortgage interest rates for 15-year mortgages as well as something almost no one has had a reason to talk about for several years, adjustable rate mortgages (ARM’s). With mortgage interest rates as low as Continue Reading →

Pending Home Sales Increase In Midwest Region In April…down in all other regions

By Dennis Norman, on May 26th, 2022

The pending home sales index from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) was released showing the midwest region as the only region that had an increase from March to April. According to the NAR report below, the pending home sales index for the midwest increased 6.6% from March to April while declining 3.9% for the nation as a whole. As the table below shows, all while all four regions in the U.S. saw a decline in the pending home sales index from a year ago, the midwest fared the best again showing only a 2.8% decline while the other regions Continue Reading →

St Louis New Listings to New Contracts Trend Remains Steady

By Dennis Norman, on May 26th, 2022

For the first three weeks of May there were 2,115 new listings of homes for sale in the St Louis 5-county core market, according to the STL Real Estate Trends Report from MORE, REALTORS®. During the same period, there were 2,019 new contracts written on homes for sale resulting in a new listing to new contract ratio of 1.05. This is pretty consistent with the recent trend with new listings slightly outpacing new sales. As the tables at the bottom show, for April there were 3,470 new listings and 3,269 new contracts written for a new listing to new contract Continue Reading →

Home Builders Losing Confidence In The Housing Market

By Dennis Norman, 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 Dennis Norman, 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 →

St Louis Home Sales Doing Well In Spite of Rising Interest Rates & Inflation

By Dennis Norman, on May 9th, 2022

There have been a lot of reports over the past month about rising interest rates (mortgage rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 5.27% last week) as well as rising inflation rates (8.5% in March) and the effect these things will have on the housing market. It’s no doubt they will have some affect on home prices and sales and I have been watching the data on St Louis home prices and sales closely and so far there does not appear to be much impact.

St Louis home sales increase in April from March…

There are two ways we analyze Continue Reading →

New Sales Last Week Declined Over Thirty Percent From The Week Before

By Dennis Norman, on April 29th, 2022

Last week there were 551 new contracts written for the sale of listings in the St Louis 5-county core market down over thirty-six percent (31.3%) from the week before when there were 802 new contracts written, according to the STL Real Estate Trends Report, exclusively available from MORE, REALTORS®. The new sales activity last week was down even more (nearly 36%) from the same week a year ago when there were 851 new contracts written on listings. There is no doubt this is the result of mortgage interest rates which have nearly doubled in the last 15 months.

New listings Continue Reading →

Sitzer vs NAR (National Association of REALTORS) – Good or bad for consumers?

By Dennis Norman, on April 28th, 2022

In an article published yesterday, I referenced the Sitzer vs National Association of REALTORS law suit and said I would have a more in-depth discussion about that suit and here it is. The lawsuit was filed by Joshua Sitzer, Amy Winger, Scott and Rhonda Burnett and Ryan Hendrickson on June 21, 2019 against the National Association of REALTORS® and the parent companies of major real estate companies and franchises including Coldwell Banker, ReMax, Keller Williams and Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices.

The Sitzer lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri sought to be certified Continue Reading →

Appellant Court Overturns Lower Court Dismissal of Anti-Trust Lawsuit Against the National Association of REALTORS®

By Dennis Norman, on April 27th, 2022

The past several days have not been good for the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) from a legal perspective at least.

First, last Friday, April 22, 2022, Stephen R. Bough, a Federal Judge for in the Western District of Missouri, certified a lawsuit against NAR as a class action suit.The suit, known as the “Sitzer” suit as the original plaintiffs were Joshua Sitzer and Amy Winger, alleges that the defendant, the National Association of REALTORS® “created and implemented anticompetitive rules which require home sellers to pay commission to the broker representing the home buyer“. The plaintiffs in the suit also Continue Reading →

Missouri Releases Complaint Report For Missouri Insurance Companies

By Dennis Norman, on April 25th, 2022

The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) is the state agency that investigates complaints against insurance companies made by consumers in Missouri. Annually, the DCI releases its complaint report reporting on the complaints made in the preceding year by company, type of insurance, etc. In compiling the report the DCI assigns a “complaint index” to each company, based upon the number of complaints the department received for a consecutive three-year period relative to the amount of product-specific premium a Missouri licensed company experienced that same period. An index number of 100 means that the department received the normally expected Continue Reading →

New Sales Of Listings Continue To Outpace New Listings

By Dennis Norman, on April 19th, 2022

Even with the high rate of inflation, rising interest rates and general unrest in the economy, during the past two weeks there were more new contracts written on listings than there were new listings. According to the STL Real Estate Trends Report, exclusively available from MORE, REALTORS®, during the last two weeks there were 1,496 new contracts accepted on listings in the St Louis 5-County core market while there were 1,432 new listings during the same period. While there were only 4.5% more sales than listings, given the fact we are already in a low-inventory market, this is fairly significant. Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Housing Market Report For March 2022

By Dennis Norman, on April 18th, 2022

St Louis Real Estate Report for March 2022

(click on infographic for complete report including other counties)

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

By Dennis Norman, 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 →

Inflation Rate Increases to 8.5 Percent in March…What will the effect be on home prices?

By Dennis Norman, on April 14th, 2022

This week it was announced that the U.S. inflation rate in March had increased to a staggering 8.5% the highest rate in over 40 years as illustrated by the chart below. The last time the inflation rate was higher than this was in December 1981 when it hit 8.9%. The “inflation rate” that I’m referring to, and is the most commonly reported, is based upon the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U. S. city average. One of the categories included in the CPI-U is “shelter”. The report shows the shelter inflation rate at 5% which, on the Continue Reading →

Two-Thirds Of Consumers Say They Would Buy A Home vs Rent If There Were To Move

By Dennis Norman, on April 9th, 2022

Yesterday, I shared that, according to the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), nearly three-fourths of consumers think now is not a good time to buy a home. However, the same survey that produced that data also showed that tw0-thirds of the consumers that responded said if they would buy a home vs rent if they were in fact going to move. As our chart below illustrates, for 3 of the last four months, 66% indicated they would buy. While the percentage that indicated they would buy was as high as 72% last May, it was in fact the Continue Reading →

Nearly 75 Percent Of Consumers Think Now Is A Bad Time To Buy a Home

By Dennis Norman, on April 8th, 2022

Every month Fannie Mae surveys consumers about owning and renting a home as well as about other issues related to the housing market and economy and from the results publishes its Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI). One of the components of the index is what the sentiment is on whether now is a good time to buy a home or sell a home. In April 2022, HPSI consumers’ sentiment on whether now is a good time to buy a home hit an all-time low with just 24% of respondents saying now is a good time to buy a home. As Continue Reading →

Home Remodeling Projects That Bring You The Best Return On The Cost

By Dennis Norman, on April 8th, 2022

Some remodeling projects are done by homeowners that plan to stay in their homes for the foreseeable future and want to get the most enjoyment and functionality out of living there. These homeowners typically aren’t as concerned, if at all, with getting a monetary return on their investment as their return is the enjoyment of the improvements. However, other homeowners, particularly those that may only be in their homes a couple of years or so before their next move, tend to focus more on making sure the remodeling they do will bring them a return on their investment to make Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits Decline Nearly 6 Percent In St Louis In Past 12-Months

By Dennis Norman, on April 7th, 2022

There were 4,669 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended February 28, 2022, a decrease of 5.8% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,956 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 →

St Louis Area Housing Market Report For February 2022

By Dennis Norman, on March 18th, 2022

St Louis Real Estate Report for February 2022

(click on infographic for complete report including other counties)

New Home Building Permits Decline In St Louis In Past 12-Months

By Dennis Norman, on March 16th, 2022

There were 4,743 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended January 31, 2022, a decrease of 2.5% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,864 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 decrease in building permits from the same period a year ago. Warren, Lincoln, and St Charles County had a double-digit decrease.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Continue Reading →

States sending the most people to Missouri

By Stacker, on March 14th, 2022

The U.S. population between 2019 and 2020 grew at the lowest rate in 120 years—just .35%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But low population growth didn’t stop many people from moving, as western and southern states saw influxes in population while California and New York saw the biggest drops.Stacker compiled a list of states that are sending the most people to Missouri using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. States are ranked by the number of people that moved to Missouri from the state in 2019.

The 2019 National Movers Study found that the states with the most Continue Reading →

Stop! Who Goes There? A Smart Lock Knows…

By John Donati, on February 24th, 2022

How ‘smart’ can a smart home be if its locks can’t tell you who is coming and going and when they came and went? In my opinion, that’s not a very ‘smart’ house. Nowadays, we use our phones for much more than talking to other people. To name a few, we use them for directions, email, and paying for groceries. So why wouldn’t we use them to remotely lock and unlock our doors too?

From my previous articles you might remember that one of the primary requirements in a smart home is either smart temperature control or a smart security Continue Reading →

Interest Rates Hit Highest Level in Over 2-Years

By Dennis Norman, on February 12th, 2022

Mortgage interest rates were at 3.69% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan as of this past Thursday, February 10, 2022., according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey®. As the chart below illustrates, mortgage interest rates hit a low of 2.77% in August of 2021 and have pretty much been trending upward since.

Within the last few days, there have been a lot of reports in the media projecting mortgage interest rates to go higher this year. A lot of it is based on the current inflation rates which are not good so if the economy and rate of inflation improve, Continue Reading →

Seventy-Percent of Consumers Think Now is a Bad Time To Buy a Home-83% Of Millennial’s Feel That Way

By Dennis Norman, on February 11th, 2022

According to Fannie Mae’s® Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI), 70% of consumers say it’s a bad time to buy a home while 25% feel it’s a good time to buy. As the chart below illustrates, this is the highest level reached for it not being a good time to buy in the 3-year period the chart covers. Actually, this is the highest level it’s reached since Fannie Mae began tracking the data in 2010.

Millennials are pessimistic about home buying…

The bottom chart also reflects the sentiment of consumers in the survey about buying a home now but Continue Reading →

Total New Homes Built In St Louis During 2021 About The Same As Prior Year

By Dennis Norman, on February 2nd, 2022

There were 4,825 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during 2021 which is 9 more permits than were issued in 2020, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). For the past few years, St Louis has experienced a strong seller’s market due to the low supply of homes for sale.

This demand certainly seems to be something that would encourage builders to increase the number of homes being built significantly. However, there are many challenges facing St Louis builders today Continue Reading →

Typical St Louis Home Price Increased Nearly 11 Percent In Past Year – Payment On The Home Increased 25%

By Dennis Norman, on January 23rd, 2022

Most anyone that is interested in buying or selling a home is pretty much aware of two things: there is a low inventory of homes for sale and prices have increased a fair amount as a result. That part is likely largely a result of basic economics related to supply and demand. When the demand is greater than the supply, prices will increase. In St Louis, home prices have done just that. As the chart below (exclusively available from MORE, REALTORS®) illustrates, the median price of homes sold in January 2020 was $221, 200 and in January 2021 was $245,000, Continue Reading →

How Much Of An Impact Does Your FICO Score Have On The Cost Of A Home?

By Dennis Norman, on January 17th, 2022

Today, thanks to many apps and access to information, all consumers have ready and easy access to their FICO (credit) score. Anyone thinking of buying a home no doubt knows their credit score will come into play in terms of qualifying for a mortgage but just how significant is your credit score? Is there really that much difference between a 670 and 700 credit score, or between a 700 and 741 score? Well, when it comes to mortgage rates, it does make a difference!

A 670 FICO vs a 741 FICO will run up the typical cost of St Louis Continue Reading →

Mortgage-Interest Rates Hit Highest Level In Over a Year

By Dennis Norman, on January 16th, 2022

Mortgage interest rates were at 3.667% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan as of this past Thursday, January 13, 2022. As the chart below illustrates, after dipping slightly the week prior, the rates this most recent week hit the highest level in over a year.

Mortgage rates for an FHA mortgage also hit the highest level in over a year too with rates hitting 3.743%.

Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES Mortgage Interest Rates – 30 Years Conforming Conventional Loan -Past 12 Months

(click on chart for live, interactive chart and other Continue Reading →

New Home Building Permits Increase By Double Digits in Franklin County and St Louis City In Past 12-Months

By Dennis Norman, on January 15th, 2022

There were 4,851 building permits issued for new single-family homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended November 30, 2021, an increase of 3.17% from the same period a year ago when there were 4,702 permits issued, according to the latest data from the Home Builders Association of St. Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). Three of the seven counties covered in the report saw an increase in building permits from the same period a year ago, two of those, Franklin County and the City of St Louis, a double-digit increase.

Search St Louis Homes For Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Trend Declining

By Dennis Norman, on January 14th, 2022

The home sales trend in St Louis is easing with 29,778 homes being sold in the St Louis 5-county core market during the 12-month period ended December 31, 2021, according to the chart below provided by MORE, REALTORS®. This 12-month rate of St Louis home sales has declined for the 3rd month in a row after peaking at 30,225 homes sold in the 12-month period ended September 30, 2021.

Leading indicator Reports Show a Downturn in Home Sales as well…

The STL Real Estate Trends Report, below the chart, shows new contracts written on listings for the most recent week Continue Reading →