St Louis Real Estate News - Page 56 of 110 - Daily St. Louis real estate news, market analysis, home prices, and mortgage rate updates from local industry professionals.

St Louis Foreclosure Activity Increases In July

By Dennis Norman, on August 20th, 2015

St Louis foreclosure activity increased in July 32.23 percent from the month before to 1,194 foreclosures actions in the St Louis metro area, or a rate of one foreclosure activity for every 1,028 homes, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac. As the table below shows, the foreclosure activity in July 2015 was up almost 150 percent from July 2014, however, when we look at the 12-month rolling average, we can see that the activity has risen about 6 percent from a year ago.

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Over Half Of St Louis Foreclosure Sales In July Were Cash Sales

By Dennis Norman, on August 19th, 2015

Over half of the St Louis Foreclosures (bank and government owned) sold in July were sold for cash, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. In July 2015, there were a total of 323 foreclosure sales in the 5-county core St Louis market with 179 of them, or 55.4%, being cash sales. As the table below shows, the number of foreclosure sales in St Louis in July 2015 was down 12.5% from July 2014 while the median sales price was up 1.8%.

There were a total of 3,754 home sales in St Louis in July 2015, an increase of Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO – August 2015

By Dennis Norman, on August 17th, 2015

The St Louis Real Estate market continues to be strong! Homes are selling quick in St. Louis and at prices that show solid appreciation over the past couple of years. Get the details on the current St Louis real estate market, as well as where in St Louis are the hottest markets as well as the coldest ones, and much more in our newly released, 5-minute, market video update for August 2015, below. Continue Reading →

Low Quality Real Estate Agents Threaten The Industry – So how do you choose a good one?

By Dennis Norman, on August 14th, 2015

I often find myself very surprised to hear how a consumer chose the real estate agent they hired to represent them and hear things such as “I work with him…”, “She is a friend of….”, “He is my cousin…” etc. When I hear these responses several things come to mind: Continue Reading →

Mortgage Originations In 2nd Quarter Rise…4th Consecutive Rise Since 14 Year Low

By Dennis Norman, on August 13th, 2015

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York just released it’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the 2nd quarter of 2015 in which some encouraging facts were revealed with regard to the home mortgage market, including: Continue Reading →

How Will Implementation of Dodd-Frank Affect The Real Estate Market?

By Dennis Norman, on August 12th, 2015

In case you are concerned the real estate industry is not subject to enough regulation, do not let your heart be troubled as new regulations imposed by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law back in 2010, affecting home mortgages go into effect October 3, 2015. Continue Reading →

Where Are Homes Selling The Fastest In St Louis?

By Dennis Norman, on August 11th, 2015

In the St Louis area homes are selling the fastest in the 63088 zip code area, which encompasses the city of Valley Park, followed by the 63127 zip area which is primarily Sunset Hills, according to data published by MORE, REALTORS. Continue Reading →

The Ferguson Real Estate Market..one year later

By Dennis Norman, on August 9th, 2015

One year ago today, the small city of Ferguson gained international attention after Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an incident which spurred weeks of violence and property destruction in Ferguson. This delivered a blow to the Ferguson real estate market which was still struggling to recover from the housing bubble burst in 2008 which had severely impacted the area. Continue Reading →

St Louis Property Flipping Down Nearly Fifty Percent In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on August 6th, 2015

St Louis property flipping activity rose during the 2nd quarter of this year 6.2 percent from the first quarter, however was down 44.3 percent from a year ago, according to information just released by RealtyTrac. During the 2nd quarter of this year, 3.2 percent of all home sales were “flips”, meaning they were purchased and then resold in an arms-length sale within 12 months. The average gross profit on the flipped property was $39,181 down for $50,870 a year ago. Continue Reading →

Home Prices Have Increased Over 30 Percent In Clayton School District In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on August 4th, 2015

I often talk about the effect the quality of a public school district has on home prices so decided to take a look at a few of the larger (and many of the top ranked) districts to see how home price appreciation has been during the past year. Continue Reading →

St Louis Pending Home Sales In July Increase From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on August 3rd, 2015

St Louis pending home sales in July slowed from to 2,332 sales from 2,602 sales the month before in the 5-county core St Louis market, but were still up 2 percent from July 2014 when there were 2,287 pending sales. Continue Reading →

St Louis Underwater Homeowners Rises Slightly-Equity Rich Owners Declines

By Dennis Norman, on July 31st, 2015

The number of St Louis homeowners that are underwater, or have negative equity in their homes, has shown an upward trend lately, while those St Louis homeowners that are “equity rich” has trended downward. Continue Reading →

Homeownership In America Hits Lowest Rate In Nearly Fifty Years

By Dennis Norman, on July 29th, 2015

In the second quarter of this year, 63.4 percent of the households in the U.S. were homeowners, marking the lowest rate of home ownership since 1967, nearly 50 years ago, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue Reading →

St Louis Mortgage Delinquency and Foreclosure Rates Drop To Lowest Level in Years

By Dennis Norman, on July 28th, 2015

For the month of May, 2015, less than 3 percent (2.95%) of St Louis mortgages were seriously delinquent (90+ days) marking a slight decline from the month before and a decline of 13 percent from a year ago, according to data just released by CoreLogic. Continue Reading →

Rental Vacancy Rate In U.S. During 2nd Quarter Hits Lowest Level In Over 10 Years

By Dennis Norman, on July 27th, 2015

The rental vacancy rate in the U.S. during the second quarter of this year was 6.8 percent, the lowest level in over 10 years, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This was a decline of over 9 percent (9.33%) from the 2nd quarter of 2014 when the rental vacancy rate was 7.5%. Continue Reading →

New Home Sales Slip In June In The Midwest

By Dennis Norman, on July 24th, 2015

New home sales in the midwest slipped in June to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 56,000 homes, a decline of 11.1 percent from the month before when sales were at a rate of 63,000 homes, according to a report just released by the U.S. Commerce Department. Even though new home sales cooled off in June, the pace for June was still 5.7 percent higher than June 2014 when new home sales came in at a rate of 53,000 homes. Continue Reading →

Foreclosure Sales In St Louis Decline Over 4 Percent In June From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on July 23rd, 2015

Foreclosure Sales In St Louis (the 5-county core market) in June 2015 totaled 374 sales, a decline of 4.3 percent from June 2014 where there were 391 foreclosure sales. The median price of the homes sold in June 2015 was 60,150, and increase of 7.2 percent from a year ago when the median price was $56,100. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales In June Increased Over 15 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on July 22nd, 2015

St Louis Home sales, for the 5-county core market, in June totaled 3,542 sales, an increase of 15.4 percent from June 2014 when there were 3,068 homes sold. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-July 2015

By Dennis Norman, on July 21st, 2015

The St Louis real estate market, like the weather, is HOT! Many of our listings are selling the first day and then for full price or above! Naturally though, this is not true for all areas of St Louis nor all prices ranges. Find where the hot seller’s markets, as well as cold buyer’s markets are in St Louis in our newly released, 5-minute, market video update for July 2015, below.

If you have considered selling your home, or perhaps tried and failed in the past year or so, now is the time to consider it again. Give us a Continue Reading →

St Louis Rental Vacancies Increase In First Quarter – Still 3rd Lowest Level In 6 Years

By Dennis Norman, on July 16th, 2015

St Louis Rental Vacancies remain at historically low levels in spite of a slight increase in the first quarter of this year to 8.6% from 8.5% in the 4th quarter of 2014. The St Louis vacancy rate for first quarter of 2015 was also up significantly from the first quarter of 2014 when the vacancy rate for St Louis stood at just 7.2% although we have to remember that was the lowest vacancy rate we had seen in over 10 years. Continue Reading →

St Louis Foreclosures Increase In First Half Of 2015

By Dennis Norman, on July 16th, 2015

St Louis Foreclosures during the first half of 2015 increased in the St Louis metro area 26.52 percent from the second half of 2014 and 25.18 percent from the same period last year, according to a report released today by RealtyTrac. According to the report, there were 5,468 foreclosure filings in the St Louis metro area during the first half of 2015 which equates to 1 in every 224 housing units in the metro area.

As the table below shows, with the exception of St Charles County, all of the counties making up the St Louis core market saw an Continue Reading →

Only About One Third Of Low Income Missourians In Need Receive Federal Rent Assistance

By Dennis Norman, on July 15th, 2015

Within the last few days, STL Today published an article titled “The affordability crisis in the St Louis rental market”, based upon a study recently released by the Urban Institute, revealing that “there is literally no affordable, non-subsidized housing available to St. Louis low-income families.” Continue Reading →

Are St Louis Home Prices Too High?

By Dennis Norman, on July 10th, 2015

The St Louis real estate market continues to be hot with many sellers benefiting from the low inventory of homes for sale resulting in buyers flocking to new listings and, when the homes are priced right, multiple offers being received in the first day. Happened for one of my clients again this week…took the listing live on Tuesday at noon, had over 8 buyers through that afternoon and evening and multiple offers in hand by the next morning, all above listing price. Granted, there were a couple of weeks of pre-listing marketing we did to generate interest, and the seller worked hard to make sure the home was in show condition, but still, it sold quick! Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Home Prices Have Surpassed 2006 Peak Prices

By Dennis Norman, on July 7th, 2015

The median price of homes sold in St Louis (the 5-county core market) this year thus far has been $169,000, an increase of 5.7 percent from when the market peaked in 2006 at $159,900. While the peak of the housing bubble is considered to be 2006, as the chart below shows, St Louis home prices actually peaked in 2007 at $162,000 but, in either event, St Louis home prices have not only regained what was lost when the housing bubble burst, but then some. Continue Reading →

Insurance Claim Recommendations For Missourian’s With Storm Damage

By Dennis Norman, on July 2nd, 2015

The Missouri Department of Insurance issued some recommendations to Missourian’s that sustained property damage as a result of recent storms with regard to how to deal with the damage and handle insurance claims. Continue Reading →

Bank and Government Owned Home Sales Down But Selling For Record Percentage of List Price

By Dennis Norman, on July 2nd, 2015

St Louis bank and government owned home sales are down as banks and government enterprises such as Fannie Mae, FHA, VA and Freddie Mac whittle down their inventory of foreclosed homes while, at the same time, new mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure rates continue to decline. While this is Continue Reading →

St Louis Pending Home Sales At Highest Level In Years

By Dennis Norman, on June 30th, 2015

St Louis pending home sales in May hit the highest level we have seen in years with 2,558 pending homes sales during the month in the 5-county core market*, an increase of 8.9% from May 2014 when there were 2,348 pending home sales. Year to date this year, through the end of May, there have been 12,595 pending home sales, an increase of 7.8% from the same time last year. Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Homes Are Affordable-Down payment Assistance Can Make Even More So

By Dennis Norman, on June 26th, 2015

St Louis area homes are already affordable based upon the relationship between the median home price and median income for the area, but can become even more affordable when home buyers take advantage of down payment assistance programs that are available throughout the area. Continue Reading →

How To Buy A Home In A Hot Market Like This One

By Dennis Norman, on June 25th, 2015

It wasn’t that long ago that sellers were practically begging buyers to purchase their home but that is not the case today. Today, in some very sought after St Louis neighborhoods the inventory of homes is so low and demand so high that when a new listing hits the market it’s like a feeding frenzy for buyers. This has led to frustration and disappointment for many buyers leading some to become a little too overanxious and buy a home that really is not right for them or overpay for one out of fear of “missing out”. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Are Up But Amount of Increase Varies Widely By Area

By Dennis Norman, on June 24th, 2015

Further proof of just how “local” real estate is and how important it is for home buyers and sellers to have accurate, targeted, local data is the fact that today the St Louis Business Journal reported “home sales increased 17.9 percent year to date in the St. Louis metropolitan area, more than twice the national rate of 8.4 percent” which would if you are looking to buy a home, say in the City of St Louis, may influence your decision thinking it’s a hot selling area. Continue Reading →