St Louis Home Sales Decline In January

St. Louis home sales cooled off in January with 1,592 homes sold in the 5-county core St Louis real estate market (the city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin), a decline of over 15 percent from January 2013 when there were 1,876 homes sold. St Louis home prices, on the other hand, rose almost 12 percent (11.85%) from a median price of $115,000 in January 2013 to $129,625 in January 2014. As the table below shows, all the St Louis core areas so a decline in home sales in January from a Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Affordability Drops Dramatically From Year Ago

St Louis home affordability has fallen significantly in the past year as a result of increasing home prices as well as rising interest rates, according to a report by MORE, REALTORS. As the table below shows, the hardest hit area was the city of St. Louis where a house payment on a median priced home has increased 50% from the 4th quarter of 2012 to the 4th quarter of 2013. Jefferson county and St Charles county, with the lowest increases in home prices (2% and 7% respectively) had the least amount of damage done to home affordability.

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Million-Dollar Plus Homes For Sale In Clayton-Slideshow

Homes for sale in Clayton easily top the $1 million mark and in fact it’s not uncommon to find homes in the $2 million+ range with a few $3 million and $4 million thrown in to boot. The city of Clayton is the, self-described, “chic suburban community with urban flair” and serves as the county seat for St Louis county.

The slideshow below shows the current million-dollar plus homes for sale in Clayton.

 

Piqued your interest? If you would like more information on any of these homes or for a private viewing, click here.

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Is Buying a Home a Good Investment?

When asked “Is Buying a Home a Good Investment” about half (49%) of the Americans surveyed in a recent Rasmussen Reports survey said yes that a home would be a good investment for their family. Before you “glass is half empty” people say that means then the other half don’t agree, that is not accurate as only 27% percent said they felt that a home is not a good investment for a family presently while the remaining 24% just weren’t sure whether buying a home would be a good investment or not.

The survey results above are pretty consistent with Continue Reading →

Top 20 St Louis Neighborhoods For Reduced Home Prices By Sellers

Even though the St Louis real estate market is improving, there are still plenty of sellers out there who have had to lower the asking price on their homes in an effort to attract the attention of the increasingly savvy St Louis home buyer. The table below showing the top 20 St Louis neighborhoods for reduced home prices by sellers includes areas of the city of St Louis, and the counties of St Louis, Franklin and Jefferson but none of St Charles county made the list.

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St Louis Foreclosures Increase In January But Down Almost 50 Percent From Year Ago

St Louis foreclosures increased in January to the point where 1 of every 1,649 housing units in the St Louis metro area had a foreclosure action on it during the month, an increase of 21.70 percent from the rate in December 2013, however a decline of almost 50% (47.06%) from January 2013, according to the latest data released today by RealtyTrac.

As the table below shows, all the counties that make up the core of the St Louis real estate market (on the Missouri side of the river) saw declines in foreclosure activity from a year ago with the exception Continue Reading →

Mortgage Delinquency Rate Falls To Lowest Level In 5 Years

The mortgage delinquency rate for homeowners 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgages fell below 4 percent during the last quarter of 2013, the first time the delinquency rate has been below 4% since 2008, according to TransUnion. According to the report, every state in the U.S. saw a decline in mortgage delinquency rates from to the 4th quarter of 2012 to the 4th quarter of 2013 with only two, New Jersey and New York, not seeing a double digit decline. See the info graphic below for more info.

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St Louis New Home Construction Increases 25 Percent in 2013

St Louis area new home construction in 2013 was still very low compared with the normal rate of home construction, however increased 25% from the year before and saw the highest level of sustained activity in years. The decreased levels of new home construction over the past 6 years is leading to a shortage of homes in some areas throughout the country and setting the stage for a somewhat robust recovery of the new home market. Here in St Louis new home recovery will come at a slower pace due to our low levels of population growth here however at Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-February 2014

Frigid Temperatures Put The Chill On St Louis Real Estate Market….

Not to worry though for there is plenty of good news about the St Louis real estate market in spite of the recent decline in home sales…Get this, and much more by only investing about 5 minutes of your time watching our newly published video update below.

Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll  answer that question for you.

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St Louis Home Prices and Sales Fall In January

St Louis home prices and home sales fell in January from the month before for the five-county core St Louis market (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin). In January 2014 there were 1,569 homes sold, down 29% from December and down 16.2% from January 2013 when there were 1,873 homes sold in the St Louis core area. St Louis home prices for homes sold fell to $129,000 in January 2014 down from $141,000 the month before but up over 12% from a year ago when the median price of St Louis homes Continue Reading →

20 Best Neighborhoods in St Louis To Buy A Home

What are the 20 best neighborhoods in St Louis to buy a home? With the market improving many St Louis neighborhoods have become sellers markets so home buyers and investors looking for a “deal” may feel left out in the cold. Remember real estate is local so not ALL neighborhoods today favor sellers and there are still many buyer’s markets in St Louis. So, where are the Best Neighborhoods in St Louis To Buy A Home?

The list below of the best neighborhoods in St Louis to buy a home is based upon supply and demand and not which Continue Reading →

20 Best Neighborhoods in St Louis To Sell A Home

What are the 20 best neighborhoods in St Louis to sell a home? Well, it depends on how you look at it, but I like using the “Market Action Index” (or “Market Heat Report”) published by my firm, MORE, REALTORS. The reason I like the index, aside from the obvious, is that it gives an unbiased, objective analysis of the St Louis markets and rates them based primarily upon supply and demand which is what drives a market and ultimately drives home prices.

Please note, being on this list does not necessarily mean home prices are rising, in fact, perhaps Continue Reading →

St Louis Rental Vacancy Rate Falls To Lowest Level In Over A Year

The St Louis rental vacancy rate for the 4th quarter of 2013 was 10.1 percent, the lowest rate since the 3rd quarter of 2012 when the rate was 8.2 percent, according to the latest dates just released by the Census Bureau.

See the table below for quarterly vacancy rates from 2010 through 2013.

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St Louis Real Estate Market Outlook 2014

What is the St Louis real estate market outlook for 2014?  Where are home prices and sales headed? Are we out of the slump and on the path to recovery in the St Louis housing market?  What about St Louis new home construction activity and St Louis new home sales? 

I had the pleasure this morning of discussing this and much more with Kristi Carson, host of “Today’s Issues” , her show that airs on  KSHE 95, Classical 107.3, KHITS 96.3, 105.7 The Point and FM NewsTalk 97.1.  In case you don’t catch the show on the radio, you can get it here.

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Where are home loan rates headed?

Home loan rates have been near historic lows for a while now but the $64 question is, where are home loan rates headed in the future?  While there are, of course, a variety of opinions out there, the majority of the noteworthy ones are thinking interest rates are headed upward.  In the Well’s Fargo Securities Economic Outlook report for 2014, interest rates in the year ahead (2014) was addresses, saying “we expect long-term rates to exhibit an upward bias as Fed tapering moves forward. However, the extent of any increase in long-term rates should be modest, given continued low inflation Continue Reading →

St Louis Housing Market Bubble to Burst

The St Louis housing market bubble of 2006 was followed by the bursting of the bubble shortly thereafter and, even though many of us tried to convince ourselves it would not happen, reality set back in. The reality was, when it came to home prices, the “greater fool theory” would only work so long until the reality of the underlying fundamentals of what makes up the value of a home would rear it’s ugly head and bring everyone down from their real estate high.

So, now that several years have passed, and many market prognosticators (including yours truly) say Continue Reading →

St. Louis Distressed Home Sales Fall Sharply

St Louis distressed home sales continue to fall, according to a report published by MORE, REALTORS based upon data released by RealtyTrac. This report supports other market data that indicates the St Louis real estate market is recovering from the devastation brought on it when the real estate market bubble burst back in 2008.

The market crash brought many institutional buyers into the market, buying up homes as prices fell, but the recovery of the St Louis real estate market has slowed this activity as well. Home sales fueled by institutional investors fell 23.6% in December 2013 from the Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Rise 12 Percent In 2013; Prices Up Too

St Louis homes sales (the 5-county core market*) for 2013 increased from 24,134 for the 2012 to 26,979 for 2013, an increase of 12%, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS. St Louis home prices rose in 2013 to a median sales price of $149,900 an increase of over 11% from 2012 when the median home price was $135,000.

For the past few months I have been saying that the St Louis real estate market is definitely in a recovery and the home sales data continue to support this notion.

(We work hard on this and sure would Continue Reading →

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Fair Housing

Today, as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is hard for me to believe that, during my lifetime, there was a time when it was legal to refuse to rent or sell a house to someone because of their race or skin color, but it was. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also referred to as the “Fair Housing Act of 1968”, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, just one week after Dr. King’s assassination, corrected this and made it illegal to refuse to rent or lease a home to someone based upon their race. Continue Reading →

Foreclosures in St Louis Metro Area Down Over 40 Percent From Year Ago

Foreclosures in the St Louis metro area during the 4th quarter of 2013 were down 13.79% from the prior quarter and down 40.64% from the 4th quarter of 2012, according to a report released today by RealtyTrac. As the table below shows, the foreclosure rate for 3 of the 5 core St Louis counties declined in the 4th quarter from the prior quarter and all declined from the year before.

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Search St Louis Foreclosures For Sale

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St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-January 2014

Recovery is underway!

Yes!  St Louis home prices are on the rise and the St Louis real estate market is recovering!  Find out why I feel this way and where the market is headed in my newly published 5 minute video update below.

Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll  answer that question for you.

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St Louis Foreclosures For Sale – Slideshow

St Louis foreclosures are on the decline, however there are still some “deals” out there for buyers on homes that were previously foreclosed upon. Presently, there are 714 bank-owned or government owned homes in the St Louis 5-county core area (city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) listed for sale in the St. Louis area MLS.  St Louis foreclosures typically sell at a discount of 25% – 40% off retail, and sometimes even more, however you can bank on the fact that the better the price is the more work Continue Reading →

More than 1 in every 4 St Louis homeowners still seriously underwater on mortgage

Over 1 of every four St Louis homeowners (28%) with a mortgage are seriously underwater on their mortgages, meaning the current value of their home is at least 25 percent less than the total of their mortgages as of December 2013, according to a report just released by RealtyTrac. On a national level, in December 19% of the homeowners with a mortgage were considered seriously underwater.

At the other end of the spectrum, 11 percent of St Louis homeowners with a mortgage are “equity-rich“, meaning their mortgages total less than 50% of the current value of their home. On a Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Top Ten Neighborhoods For Home Price Increases

Where in St Louis are home prices rising the fastest? As the St Louis real estate market settles into what appears to be a sustainable recovery, home prices are on the rise in most St. Louis neighborhoods. The table below shows the 10 St Louis neighborhoods where home prices have increased the most over the past year. Keep in mind, this data is based upon the asking price of homes for sale and does not necessarily indicate an increase in the property values of all homes in the areas shown, however, in general, if the prices of homes for sale Continue Reading →

St Louis Neighborhoods Poised For Strong Spring Housing Market

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that home prices typically rise in the spring as the St Louis real estate market heats up however, it is more of a challenge to find those areas that may out perform the others. So, which St Louis neighborhoods are poised for a strong spring housing market?

As I wrote about earlier this week, a recovery of the St Louis real estate market is underway, however, some areas will fare better than others of course. For some home buyers the “investment” aspect of their next home is secondary as the school district, Continue Reading →

Important Changes to FHA Home Loans Now In Effect

Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420

The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has made some changes for 2014, which took effect January 1 and affect FHA home loans. First and foremost, you will see a drop in the maximum allowable loan. In the St. Louis metro area, for example, the new max loan amount for a single-family home has been lowered to $271,050 from $281,250.

Other items of note regarding FHA have not changed; so as a refresher let’s look at FHA qualifications and rules:

Borrower must put 3.5% down based on sales price. 100% of the buyer’s contribution Continue Reading →

St Louis Housing Market Recovery Underway

It’s hard to believe that it has been over 5 years since the housing market bubble burst but, as we begin this new year, it is good to continue to see market data that supports a St Louis housing market recovery is underway!

As we have been reporting here on St Louis Real Estate News, over the past few months we have seen a solid recovery trend in the St Louis real estate market. Home prices have increased as have home sales, the new home market continues to make progress with new home construction and sales on the rise and Continue Reading →

Happy New Year!

In What St Louis Neighborhoods Have Home Prices Increased?

The table below shows the top 25 St Louis neighborhoods where the prices of homes listed for sale have increased in the prior 90 days. This could be an indicator of rising home prices in the area or could be an indicator of a lot of investor or speculator activity resulting in homes being purchased and immediately put back out on for sale to “flip” it at a higher price. This is why it is always important to look at more than just one statistic when trying to determine what is going on in a particular market and why it Continue Reading →

Midwest New Home Sales Plummet In November

After a 34 percent increase in October from the month before, Midwest new home sales gave back a chunk of the gain in November, falling 26.6 percent from October. New home sales in the midwest region of the U.S. in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 47,000 homes, down from a rate of 64,000 homes the month before however up slightly from a year ago in November when the rate of new home sales was 44,000 homes.

Looking at actual home sales and not “seasonally adjusted annual rates” we find that, through the end of November 2013, Continue Reading →