Almost one of every five (19.9 percent) St. Louis home sales in 2012 was a distressed sale, about 5 percent more than 2011 and 2.65 percent fewer than in 2010, according to a report released this morning by RealtyTrac. During 2012 there we 8,932 foreclosure sales in St. Louis at an average price of $93,699 or a discount of almost 40 percent (39.66 percent) compared to non-distressed home sales. Continue Reading →
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The St. Louis foreclosure rate declined in December 2012 to 1.29 percent of outstanding home loans, a 25 percent drop from a year ago when the foreclosure rate was 1.72 percent, according to a newly released report from Corelogic. In addition, the St. Louis mortgage delinquency rate for December was 4.39 percent, down 12.5 percent from the year before when 5.02 percent of the outstanding St. Louis home loans were 90 days or more delinquent. Continue Reading → It is more important now than ever, as a result of increasing regulation and scrutiny of the mortgage industry, to plan ahead when you are planning on obtaining a mortgage loan to buy a house or refinance an existing loan to ensure that the process will go smoothly and as expected. Your loan approval is subject to the financial information you provide at the time of your loan approval. Any subsequent changes in your financial situation before the actual date of closing could jeopardize your loan approval and delay your closing. Continue Reading → New home sales in January were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 437,000 homes, an increase of 15.6 percent from the month before and an increase of 28.9 percent from a year ago, according to the new home sales report for January 2013 just released by the Commerce Department. The median price of new homes sold in January 2013 was $226,400 and the inventory of new homes for sale at the end of the month worked out to a 4.1 month supply. Continue Reading → More than half (52 percent) of current renters said they anticipate buying a home in the next five years, according to a survey conducted by ORC International. Tenants with children under 13 are most likely to buy a home with 69 percent of them responding that they anticipate becoming a homeowner in the next five years followed by single family tenants in general, with 60 percent of those tenants anticipating buying a home and just 44 percent of apartment renters planning on buying a home within five years. Continue Reading → There were 23,348 fewer St. Louis homeowners underwater on their mortgage (owe more than the current value of their home) or, in other words are in a “negative equity” position, at the end of 2012 than there were at the beginning of the year, according to the Zillow® Negative Equity Report for 4th quarter 2012. Continue Reading → Over 84 percent (84.1) of the homes sold in St Louis during the 4th quarter of 2012 were affordable to a family earning the St. Louis median income of $70,400, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) that was just released. This is actually the lowest the affordability index for St. Louis has been since the 3rd quarter of 2011 when it was 81.5 but is significantly better than it was a little over 5 years ago, in the 3rd quarter of 2007 when only 70.4 percent of the homes sold in St Louis were affordable to a family with a median income. Continue Reading → First off, no I have not lost my mind, I can actually support the idea that there may be somewhat of a housing shortage soon but, as the headline implies, I don’t necessarily think it’s going to happen in St. Louis, unfortunately. However, its’ a distinct possibility in many markets throughout the U.S. particularly those with population growth and an increasing supply of jobs. Continue Reading → Conventional loans are traditional home mortgages used for primary residence, second homes or investment purposes. There are standard underwriting guidelines for conventional conforming loans up to $417,000. These loans are available as a fixed or variable (ARM) rate with a variety of repayment terms. Borrowers typically have the means for a down payment and good credit histories (680 or higher). Private Mortgage Insurance is required for loan to values greater than 80%. Used for primary residence, second homes or investment purposes Continue Reading → The St. Louis Real Estate Market is heating up in many areas and, in fact, some neighborhoods are beginning to take on the appearance of a seller’s market. A decline in the inventory of homes for sale along with some increased demand is helping spark life into many markets…I show the impact on two of these markets in this months video but we can easily show you how your neighborhood is doing as well. Or, if you are trying to decide if not is the time to buy, contact us and we’ll help you answer that question and see specifically what areas are the best for buyers at this time. Continue Reading → The real estate market is definitely heating up in many cities throughout the U.S. as well in many areas of St. Louis. A decreasing inventory of homes for sale, and even a shortage of homes for sale in many areas, along with increased confidence from consumers in the real estate market, has driven many cities from a “buyers market” to a “sellers market”. Continue Reading → Foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) were reported on 1,430 properties in St. Louis in January, an increase of 6.64 percent from the month before and a decrease of 7.62 percent from a year ago, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac. Continue Reading → Apartments and their residents in Missouri contribute $11.6 billion to the Missouri economy and support 276,000 jobs, according to a report by The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA). The report says there are 409,198 residents living in 271,500 apartment homes in Missouri with spending power of $4.6 billion. Continue Reading → “Nobody ‘wants’ to pay PMI, it’s just that we have no choice, especially if you want to buy a house and don’t have say an extra $50k to $80k lying around for a down payment, which most first-time buyers don’t.” Chris Durst, a first-time homebuyer and commenter on Investopedia.com. Continue Reading → It’s funny what you can do with stats….without any dishonesty (well, maybe a little deception) you can use statistics to paint just about any picture (or create any headline) you want. For example, we all know the new home market in St Louis, like the rest of the country, has suffered tremendously since 2006 (perhaps I know this better than many) and it is improving but sometimes the media I think paints a picture that does not always convey the big picture. For example, lets look at the following statements about building permit data for new homes in St Louis, all of which are based upon the same data from the HBA and all of which are true statements: Continue Reading → Before you get all excited, no, St. Louis did not make the top ten list of the best cities in America for young singles to relocate for love. Wait, before you think I have lost my mind, or are using a cheesy seasonal top-ten list for readership, it’s not my doing….it’s actually Zillow’s idea. This week, Zillow introduced their “In the Move for Love Index”, which lists the best cities for young singles to relocate for love. In evaluating locations for their list, Zillow considered the cost of rent versus income, walkability of the city as well as “supply and demand”…well, um, “the ratio of, and abundance of, single males to single females under 35”. Continue Reading → Missourians have received more than $112 million of mortgage relief as a result of the National Mortgage Settlement reached a year ago with the nations largest lenders, according to Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster. Koster, along with Attorney Generals from other states, sent a letter to Congress last November urging them to extend a measure that was due to expire at the end of 2012 that would provide tax relief for some people receiving mortgage relief in the form of principal reduction and short sales. January 1, 2013, Congress passed the extension as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Continue Reading → Forty-one percent of the respondents to the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for January 2013 said they expect home prices to rise in the next 12 months which is down slightly from 43 percent last month but up significantly from a year ago when only 30 percent felt home prices would rise. Continue Reading → FHA Interest Rate Change: MHDC’s Cash Assistance Loan (CAL) is now 4%! (APR 4.93) MHDC is raising mortgage interest rates offered to first-time homebuyers. First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs. Continue Reading → Over 35 percent (35.1) of tenants were previously homeowners, according to a survey by Apartments.com conducted in the 4th quarter of 2012. This is a fairly significant increase from a year ago when 33.6 percent of tenants reported they were previously homeowners. The most common reasons given for the change from homeowner to tenant were affordability and the flexibility in location. While it was just 5th on the list, it is worth noting that the loss of a home due to foreclosure or divorce increased nearly 90 percent in the past year as a reason for converting from homeowner to renter. Continue Reading → A survey conducted by Prudential Real Estate revealed that 75 percent of Americans associate owning a home with the “American Dream” and 96 percent feel home ownership is important and 77 percent of the 25-34 year olds feel home ownership is VERY important. The top reasons given for wanting to own a home include to control their living space, safety and for the investment aspect of it. Interestingly, tax benefits, such as the mortgage interest deduction that REALTORS® have fought to preserve for years, finished a distant 6th on the list of reasons. Continue Reading → There are fewer people losing their homes in foreclosure today than there were during the peak of the foreclosure crisis after the real estate market crash, however we still have a long way to go until we will see a “normal” number of foreclosures. According to a report released today by Corelogic, there were 767,000 homes foreclosed on in the U.S. during 2012, down almost 11 percent from the total for 2011, so a definite improvement, however, this is still three-times the “normal” number of foreclosures before the real estate market crash. From the period of 2000 – 2006, there were an average of 252,000 homes foreclosed on per year. Continue Reading → Almost 3 of every 4 housing units (73.8 percent) in St. Louis is occupied by a homeowner making St. Louis 4th in terms of homeownership of the 75 largest major metropolitan areas in the U.S. In spite of the real estate market meltdown that began back in 2007, homeownership in St. Louis has remained fairly steady falling just one-half of one percent since 4th quarter 2006 when the rate was 74.3 percent. Homeownership rates in St. Louis are 3 percent higher than those for the state of Missouri which, for the 4th quarter of 2012, was at 70.8 percent. On a national level, the homeownership rate in 4th quarter of 2012 was 65.4 percent which is down from 68.9 percent in the 4th quarter of 2006. Continue Reading → Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol Galante recently announced a series of changes to be issued that will allow the agency to better manage risk and further strengthen the health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMI). FHA will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium for most new mortgages by 10 basis points, or 0.10%. The FHA will also require most borrowers to continue paying annual premiums for the life of their mortgage loan. The St. Louis foreclosure rate in November 2012 was 1.27 percent of all outstanding home mortgages, a decrease of 26.6 percent from a year before when the rate was 1.73 percent, according to a report just released by Corelogic. Foreclosure rates in St. Louis were well above the national foreclosure rate for November 2012 of 2.97 percent. In addition, mortgage delinquency rates declined in November 2012 as well falling to 4.39 percent of all mortgage loans (90 days + delinquent), down from 5.00 percent in November 2011. Continue Reading → New home sales activity slowed at the end of 2012 with new homes selling in December at a seasonally adjusted rate of 369,000, a decline of 7.3 percent from the month before but an increase of 8.8 percent from December 2011, according to the December 2012 new home sales report from the Commerce Department. This means 2012 ended with an increase of almost 20 percent in new home sales from 2011 when there were just 306,000 new homes sold. Also on a positive note, the median price of new homes increased from $218,600 in December 2011 to $248,900 in December 2012 while, during the same period, the inventory of new homes for sale in the U.S. declined from a 5.4 month supply to 4.9 months. Continue Reading → The number of homeowners with an intent to sell that think now is a good time to sell, increased almost 50 percent in the Redfin survey that was just released today from the prior survey three months ago. Today, 22 percent of the homeowners surveyed said now was a good time to sell, up from 15 percent in the prior quarter. Eighty-one percent (81%) of those surveyed feel home prices will rise in the coming year and that is up from 75 percent in the prior quarter. Continue Reading → As part of the fiscal cliff deal, Congress extended the cancellation of mortgage debt relief provision for 1 year, through the end of 2013. It seems there is little focus on the importance of this law, it is crucial to foreclosure mitigation efforts such as principal forgiveness and short sales. Continue Reading → One of the most important accomplishments of Dr King and the Civil Rights movement was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was signed into law on July 2, 1964 and prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for integration of schools and made employment discrimination illegal. It did not, however, make discrimination in housing illegal which Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement continued to work toward. Continue Reading → Rising home prices helped 100,000 homeowners in the U.S. crawl out of a negative equity position during the 3rd quarter of 2012, according to a report just released by CoreLogic®. During the first nine months of 2012, there were a total of 1.4 million homeowners that found themselves moving from a negative equity position on their homes to a positive equity position. In spite of this vast improvement, twenty two percent of homeowners in the U.S. with a mortgage owe more on their homes than they are currently worth. 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