While the St Louis housing market is improving, unfortunately the homeowners that can afford it the least are the ones that are still the hardest hit with 41.5% of all homeowners with a mortgage on a home in the bottom price tier (the 25% lowest valued homes in St Louis) being underwater on their mortgage, meaning they owe more than their homes are worth. This is according to the newly released Zillow Negative Equity report which shows that, at the opposite end of the spectrum, in the top tier, only 11% of St Louis homeowners are underwater, or in a Continue Reading →
Indicating continued stabilization of the housing market, the first mortgage default rate dropped in April to 1.01%, the seventh-consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level seen since July 2006, according to the just-released S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indice report. In April, 2013, the first mortgage default rate was 1.31%.
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St Louis’ Hottest Housing Markets are pretty well concentrated into an area within 3 zip codes and 3 municipalities, with the exception of Valley Park which is actually number on the list in terms of our Market Action Index. As the Hot Markets table below shows, after Valley Park, the next 4 markets are both zips in Ballwin, and then the 63122 zip area of Glendale and Kirkwood. The months inventory table gives a clue as to at least part of the reason these markets are hot as the inventory of homes is very low with all the aforementioned areas Continue Reading →
St. Louis Metro Foreclosure Activity declined in April with 1 of every 1,013 housing units in the St Louis metro area having a foreclosure action on it during the month, a decline of 16.56 percent from the month before and a decline of 20.36% from April 2014, 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) had decreased foreclosure activity in April from the month before. Three of the five counties saw double Continue Reading →
UPDATE 10/10/14 -You missed out, it’s sold! The sale of Chris Carpenter’s house closed today for the price of $3,000,000.
UPDATE 7/02/14 -If price was holding you back from buying Chris Carpenter’s house, maybe this will help…today he lowered the asking price to $3,500,000!
Click on the photo to view all photos and details. Cardinal pitching legend Chris Carpenter has listed his 8,000+ square foot home on a acre lot in Ladue for sale at $3,650,000. The home, at 809 South Warson, sits at the end of a secluded private drive of only 3 homes and boasts some outstanding features Continue Reading →
New home building permits issued in the St Louis metro area during the 1st quarter of this year were down slightly (4%) from the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the Census Bureau, there were 979 permits issued for new single family homes in the St Louis MSA during the first quarter of 2014, down 4 percent from the same period for 2013 when there were 1,024 permits issued. Continue Reading →
Do you think the assessor’s property value on your house, or other real property, too high thereby making your property taxes higher than they should be? If so, then now is your chance to do something about it by filing an appeal the valuation. Many homeowners I talk with think that because property value reassessment is only done by the assessors office every two years on the “odd” numbered years, that you are stuck with your value until the next reassessment but that is not the case.
Missouri state law requires all assessors in the state to “determine the fair Continue Reading →
Last month I wrote an article about a residential rental property licensing ordinance that was proposed in St Louis County by Councilman Michael O’Mara which I felt was a bad piece of legislation and an egregious violation of the private property rights of property owners. I heard from many readers that felt the same way I did and in fact, many of you turned out at the County Council meeting earlier this week to voice your opposition to the bill. I’m happy to say that the ordinance, which was on the agenda to be perfected, was in fact not voted Continue Reading →
The homeownership rate in the U.S. was 64.8 percent during the 1st quarter of this year, the lowest level since the 1st quarter of 1995 when the the rate was 64.2%, according to data released by the Census Bureau today. The Midwest region, with a 69.3% homeownership rate, was the region with the highest rate in the U.S. and the West region, with a 59.4% rate, was the region with the lowest homeownership rate in the U.S..
Homeownership increases with age:
The age group with the highest level of homeownership were seniors….age 65 and over with a 79.9% rate followed Continue Reading →
St Louis Home Sales are off to a slower start in 2014 than they were last year with a total of 5,467 homes sold during the first quarter of 2014 in the St Louis core market (city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin), a decline of 12.8% from last year when there were 6,268 homes sold during the same period. For March 2014, there were 2,194 homes sold in the St Louis core market, a decline of 19% from last March when there were 2,709 homes sold.
St Louis distressed home sales declined during the first quarter of this year with distressed home sales (foreclosures, REO’s and short sales) in the 5-county core St Louis market (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) accounting for 15.0% of all home sales, This is down 18.5% from the first quarter of 2013 when St Louis distressed home sales accounted for 18.4% of all home sales, according to newly released data from RealtyTrac. As the table below shows, all the counties that make up the core of the St Louis real estate market Continue Reading →
New home sales here in the midwest slid over percent (21.5) in March from the month before making the midwest the region of the US with the biggest decline in new home sales from February with the west being next with a decline of 16.7 percent. This is on the heels of a 36.7% increase in home sales in February from the month before. Nationally, new home sales in March 2014 were down 14.5 percent from the month before, according to a report just released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales in the Continue Reading →
Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates both declined in March to the lowest levels since October 2007 and 2008, respectively, according to data just released by Black Knight Financial Services (formerly LPS). The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (30+ days delinquent) in March 2014 was 5.52%, a 7.57% decline from the month before and a 16.29% decline from a year ago. The U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate in March 2014 was 2.13%, a decline of 4.23% from the month before and a drop of 36.69% from March 2013.
There are still several states with double-digit mortgage delinquencies, Mississippi being the one with Continue Reading →
Almost 1 of every 4 St Louis homeowners with a mortgage (23%) are seriously underwater, meaning their mortgage(s) total at least 125% of their homes current value, according to a report for the 1st quarter of 2014 just released this morning by RealtyTrac. According to the report, there are 161, 310 St Louis homeowners that are underwater while 138,492 homeowners (19%) have “resurfacing equity” meaning their mortgage totals are 90% – 110% of their homes current value, allowing them to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Throughout the state of Missouri, 22% of homeowners with a mortgage Continue Reading →
Everyone loves a deal! When it comes to buying a house, over the past few years there have been many “deals” out there as a result of the housing market meltdown. However, now that the worst of it is over, and many markets have already started recovering, the question for many are “where in St Louis can home buyers find a good deal?“. This is not easy to answer and what is a “good deal” for a home buyer looking for a place to call home for the foreseeable future is not necessarily going to be viewed in the same Continue Reading →
St Louis home prices have increased over the past year however at the same time St Louis home sales have declined. Spring is finally here (although as I write this I think the forecast is for a low of 28 degrees tonight) and there is definitely increased market activity. The inventory of homes for sale is down from this time last year, but the months supply is up due to decreased home sales. If home sales increase a little, suddenly the months supply is going to drop due to the low inventory and we will definitely see market pressure for Continue Reading →
St Louis foreclosures increased during the first quarter of this year in the main areas of our St. Louis metro area market located on the Missouri side of the Mississippi with St Louis city foreclosures, St Louis County foreclosures and St Charles county foreclosures all increasing from the 4th quarter of 2013, according to information real eased this morning by RealtyTrac.
St Louis foreclosures for the MSA were down during the first quarter of 2013 1.6% from the 4th quarter of 2013 with a foreclosure action occurring on 1 out of every 452 housing units in the St Louis metro Continue Reading →
In spite of a somewhat sluggish start to the spring housing market, consumers are more optimistic about the housing market now than they were this time last year, according to the results of the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey results just released. Survey results show that 38% of the respondents think now is a good time to sell a home which, while low, is still almost 50% higher than a year ago when only 26% felt it was. Consumers are also feeling more optimistic about the prospects of obtaining a home loan with 52% saying they believe it would be Continue Reading →
A residential rental property licensing ordinance has been proposed in St Louis County by Councilman Michael O’Mara which would prohibit an owner of residential property in unincorporated St. Louis County from renting or leasing their property without first paying a fee and obtaining a residential rental license. The bill, which has been kept relatively quiet and is impossible to find on the website for the St Louis County Council other than listed on the agenda, will most likely be passed at the meeting of the St Louis County Council tomorrow evening.
While there are several municipalities in the St Louis area that currently Continue Reading →
Investment property sales in 2013 fell to 1,104,000 properties, down 8.5 percent from 2012 when there were 1,2o7,000 investment properties sold, according to a report just released by the National Association of REALTORS. The median sale price of investment homes purchased during 2013 was $130,000, a 13% increase from 2012 when the median price was $115,000.
Who is the typical real estate investor?
According to the NAR report, the typical home investor in 2013 was a median age of 42 years, had a median household income of $111,400 and more than half (59%) were in a two income household.
What Continue Reading →
The vacation home market was hot last year with 717,000 vacation-home sales during the year in the U.S., an increase of 29.7% from the year before, according to the National Association of REALTOR’s (NAR) 2014 Vacation Home Buyers Survey. In spite of the large increase last year, vacation home sales are still down about one-third from the peak of vacation home sales activity seen in 2006.
What did vacation homes sell for in 2013?
The median price paid for a vacation home in 2013 was $168,700, an increase of 12.5% from 2012 when the median price was $150,000. In Continue Reading →
St Louis pending home sales were down in February from a year ago and, thus far, 2014 is off to a slower pace than 2013 in terms of St Louis area home sales. For the 3-county area, which includes St Louis county, St Charles county and the city of St Louis, there were a total of 2,249 pending home sales in February, down 21% from February 2013 when there were 2,848. Year to date through the end of February, there have been 4,433 pending home sales in that 3-county area, down 20.4% from a year ago when there were 5,569.
New home sales in the midwest region of the U.S. shot up 36.7 percent in February from the month before and was up 1.5 percent from February 2013, according to a report just released by the U.S. Commerce Department. New home sales in the Midwest were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 67,000 homes, up from a rate of 49,000 homes the month before and up slightly from a year ago when new homes in the midwest were selling at at a rate of 66,000 homes per year.
Actual new home sales in the midwest for the first two months Continue Reading →
Spring is just around the corner however, as I write this I hate to say there is snow coming down outside my window, and St Louis sellers as well as St Louis REALTORS are anxiously awaiting the increased home buying activity that typically comes in spring. Many people equate the spring market with higher home prices however, there are many St Louis neighborhoods that have seen sellers busy lowering prices in the past 90 days. Perhaps, they were overpriced to start with or perhaps the sellers wish to give themselves a competitive edge going into the spring market, but Continue Reading →
Homeowners are feeling more optimistic about their investment in their homes as reflected in a new Rasmussen Reports survey which shows only 18% of homeowners think their homes is worth less today than when they bought it. This is down from 24% in the last survey and is the lowest level since the survey began 3 years ago.
On the flip side, more than half (57%) of homeowners surveyed feel their home is worth more today than when they first bought it.
To find out what your home is worth, you can check out the online resources below, or you Continue Reading →
St Louis’ fastest-selling neighborhoods today can be found throughout the St Louis area, however, as the list of the 15 fastest selling neighborhoods below shows, the lions share are found within St Louis County. Ten of the neighborhoods are within St Louis County and then primarily mid-county and west county, then 3 can be found in St Charles county and then finally 1 in Franklin county and 1 in the city of St. Louis.
Beneath the list you will find a slideshow of the homes currently available in St Louis’ Fastest-Selling Neighborhoods. Better move quick, before Continue Reading →
July 18, 2014 Update -After 4 months on the market and no sale, the price on the Capps’ home was reduced today by $355,000 to $5.295 million.
Yesterday, the home of the former Plaza Motors CEO, John Capps, and his wife Deborah, hit the market with a $5.65 million price tag. The home, at 12 Huntleigh Woods, in the exclusive Huntleigh community, was built in 2005, has almost 10,000 square feet of living area and sits on over 2 acres according to the information available. Homes in this price range are not common in St Louis, in fact, at the Continue Reading →
According to a survey just released by Pulsenomics LLC, almost one of every 11 renters in St Louis (9%) plan to buy a home in the next year and 5 percent of all households said they plan to buy. The survey, which covered 20 major metro areas in the U.S., calculated a “Housing Confidence Index” for each city based upon the survey responses and St Louis, with a 58.9 out of a possible 100, was at the bottom of the list for the 20 cities. However, on the “Homeownership Aspirations Index“, a barometer of the level at which current renters Continue Reading →
Two of the larger players in the real estate search website world, Realtor.com and Zillow, have come to blows over the past few weeks first with Zillow hiring Errol Samuelson, the former Chairman of Move, Inc. (the owner of Realtor.com) and then, most recently, hiring Curt Beardsley who, ironically, was the person promoted my Move to help fill the empty shoes of Samuelson. Yesterday, REALTOR.com fired back at Zillow filing a lawsuit against both Zillow, Inc. and Errol Samuelson for “breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets among others actions.”
In a statement, Steve Berkowitz, Continue Reading →
New Home Construction in the midwest region of the U.S. is off to a slow start for 2014, according to newly released new home construction report from the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the report, new home construction starts of single-family homes in the midwest during February was at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 76,000 homes, down 19.1% from a year ago when the rate was 94,000 homes. Building permits for single-family homes in the midwest issued during February were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 88,000 homes, down 5.4% from a year ago when the rate was 93,000 homes. Continue Reading →