St Louis Real Estate NewsDaily St. Louis real estate news, market analysis, home prices, and mortgage rate updates from local industry professionals. |
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. Continue Reading →
The St. Louis Real Estate Market is still dealing with the effects of foreclosures and other distressed sales but continues to show some improvement, and even what I would describe as a sustained recovery in some neighborhoods though certainly not all. To get the latest St. Louis Real Estate Stats and the latest, best and most comprehensive St Louis Real Estate Data, check out our 5-minute video update below for January for the St Louis real estate market. The update includes charts with up to the date data on the St Louis housing market including St Louis home prices, average time to sell a home in the St Louis area as well as other data and charts to show where the St Louis real estate market is and where it is headed. (Check out all our market update videos on our YouTube Channel – click here. Continue Reading →
During 2012, 18,242 St Louis homeowners received a foreclosure notice, or were in some stage of the foreclosure process, according to a report just released by RealtyTrac. This means 2012 came to an end with 12.02 percent more foreclosures than the year before however there were over 16 percent fewer St. Louis foreclosures than in 2010 when foreclosure activity peaked. Continue Reading →
A report released today by Radarlogic suggests that the housing market is not really recovering as much as it may appear, particularly with regard to home prices. The report says that, the 9.2 percent increase they saw in their home price index for the 12 month period ended November 30, 2012 was the result of a “significant shift in the composition of home sales and overstates the appreciation in individual properties.” The report goes on to say if motivated sales (REO’s, foreclosures, short-sales) are removed from the data, then the “real” increase in home prices was just over half of what their index showed. Continue Reading →
Do you have a property in the flood zone? Do you question as to whether or not FEMA “got it right” when assessing the location of your property and if you really are in the flood zone? Typically, in order to find out if your home is located in a flood zone, you have to hire a land surveyor or engineer to perform an elevation certificate on your property. The certificate takes FEMA data and actual elevations of the structure and compares them to the FEMA Base Flood Elevation. If your structure is located above the Base Flood Elevation, then you most likely won’t be required to carry flood insurance. The problem is that FEMA does not store this data, unless you make a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) or Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) request. Continue Reading →
The foreclosure inventory in the U.S. dropped to 3.51 percent in November, a decline of 2.84 percent from the month before, according to the November Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services. This trend may not continue though as, during the same period, the mortgage delinquency rate (the precursor to foreclosures) increased 1.2 percent from the month before and has increased 3.7 percent since August. Continue Reading →
So…you are looking to buy a home in 2013 and are considering using a FHA mortgage for financing…don’t delay, because that FHA mortgage could end up costing more very soon. HR 4264 or The Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012 is a bill that has overwhelmingly passed the House and is on its way to the Senate. This bill among other things grants FHA the power to raise its mortgage insurance premiums to as high as 2.05% annually — nearly twice the 1.20% rate most FHA-Insured homeowners currently pay today. Continue Reading →
On a national real estate site I write for I did an article earlier today about a report that came out indicating the inventory of homes for sale in 35 major metro markets had dropped by 27 percent in the past year while the price per foot of those homes increased about 10 percent. This prompted me to take a look at the St. Louis market to see how it did in comparison and, as the chart below shows, St. Louis has seen a different result with the inventory of homes for sale increasing somewhat in the past year while home prices (on a per square foot basis) remained relatively flat. In January 2012, there were 13,304 homes for sale in the St Louis metro area and today there are 13,758, an increase of 3.4 percent. St Louis metro area home prices per foot are at $95.97 today and were at $95.86 a year ago. Continue Reading →
Mortgage Interest Tax Deductibility passed as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. This allows MI to be tax deductible for 2012 and 2013. The provision extends the ability to deduct the cost of mortgage insurance on a qualified personal residence. The deduction is phased-out by 10% for each $1,000 by which the taxpayer’s AGI exceeds $100,000. Thus, the deduction is unavailable for a taxpayer with an AGI in excess of $110,000. The bill extends this provision for two additional years, through 2013. Continue Reading →
dennis-norman-realtorIf you have tried to buy a rental property lately in St. Louis then you have discovered you are not alone and the competition for good rental property is quite intense. The reason is simple, experienced investors as well as new ones see real estate as a safe investment and, in many ways, a much better alternative to other investments. Part of the reason for this is the demand for rental housing, brought on as a result of many former homeowners that have been forced, or have chosen, to rent instead of own and “would-be” homeowners that are unable to meet tougher requirements for mortgages thereby forced to remain tenants. Continue Reading →
Fannie Mae has declared that housing is finally providing a tailwind to economic growth. The company’s December Economic and Strategic Report says that the market “has turned the corner and a sustained recovery is under way.” Looking into 2013, economists predict mortgage originations will increase by 15% while refinance volume is expected to fall 26%. Continue Reading →
Shadow Inventory (properties with seriously delinquent mortgages, are in foreclosure or owned by lenders (REO) but not currently listed on the MLS) are a leading indicator of future foreclosure rates so it is good to see that the shadow inventory in the U.S. in October fell to 2.3 million units, a decline of 12.3 percent from a year ago, according to a report from CoreLogic. Continue Reading →
The National Association of REALTORS’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales report for November, 2012 shows home sales increased 1.7 percent in November from the month before and increased 9.8 percent from a year ago. Pending home sales have now increased on a year over year basis for 19 consecutive months, according to NAR.
I don’t know that “hot” comes to mind when I think about any St Louis real estate market today, however, relative to the rest of the market, I think I can identify some St. Louis real estate markets that I feel are poised to perform better in 2013 than other St Louis markets. Below are my charts showing some key market data for the top markets. Included in my data are 4 pieces of information that I think are key to determining the health of a local real estate market:
Home prices – I show what prices have done over Continue Reading →
New home sales in November in the Midwest region were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 49,000 homes, a decrease of 12.5 percent from the month before and a decrease of 5.8 percent from a year ago, according to the new home sales for November 2012 just released by the Commerce Department. The new home sales numbers for the Midwest are in pretty sharp contrast to the national numbers which showed new home sales up 4.4 percent in November from the month before and up 15.3 percent from a year ago Continue Reading →
A panel of 105 professional economic forecasters from all around the country expect home prices to increase 3.1 percent in 2013, according to the December 2012 Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey. Forecasters are more optimistic about home prices than they were just three months earlier when they predicted 2013 home prices would only increase by 2.4 percent. Continue Reading →
“Every single thing about housing is flashing green,” stated James Dimon, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase, in an interview with CNBC last month. “Household formation is rising, inventory is falling, and affordability is near a record high.” This should mean many potential homebuyers will be assessing their finances in 2013 to get ready to buy a home. Checking your credit score is at the top of the list, and in turn credit myths and credit misconceptions are plentiful. Continue Reading →
The real estate recession and weak economy has not pushed homebuyers into downsizing their next home, at least not according to the results of a survey conducted by national home builder, PulteGroup. In fact, 84 percent of homeowners between the ages of 18 and 59 said they do not have plans to downsize their next home. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau supports this notion as well, with the average size of a new home increasing to 2,480 square feet in 2011, an increase of 3.7 percent from the year before. Continue Reading →
Photo by: John Pavelka
Lately we have seen several reports on the housing market that show the housing market is improving and may even be headed toward a recovery however some experts, including Cliff Rossi, Tyser Teaching Fellow and executive-in-residence for the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, say it may be premature to call this a “real recovery.” Rossi is not entirely negative on the housing market and does admit that home prices are stabilizing and inventories are declining, however he has concerns as a result of the “fiscal cliff”, regulatory reform and tightness of credit, to name a few. Continue Reading →
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) announced this morning that U.S. existing home sales increased in November 5.9 percent from the month before and 14.5 percent from the year before. The NAR report indicated the median home price in the U.S. in November was $180,600, an increase of 10.1 percent from a year ago. The St. Louis Real Estate market (the 5-county core St Louis Real Estate area (City of St Louis and the Counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin), as my chart below shows, saw home prices rise slightly in November from October to a median price of $122,000 which is an increase of 7.5 percent from a year ago. St Louis home sales in November on the other hand declined slightly from the month before to 2,523 homes but was up 19.6 percent from a year ago Continue Reading →
This morning, the Commerce Department released its new home construction report showing that, on a national basis, all aspects of new home construction, permits, starts and completions, slipped slightly in November 2012 from the month before but were up from a year ago. The Home Builders Association’s new home report shows somewhat better results in St. Louis with permits in St. Louis county up almost 25 percent in November from a year before, nearly a 47 percent increase in St. Charles County, a 1.4 percent increase in Jefferson County and modest decreases in Franklin and Warren County. The city of St. Louis has been hit the hardest with over a 50 percent decline in new home construction from a year ago. Continue Reading →
Freddie Mac says about 30% of borrowers this year have opted for shorter-term home loans when they refinance, with most picking a 15-year mortgage. Shorter-term loans are particularly attractive to people “who have been homeowners for a number of years…or who want the security of knowing they will own their home free and clear when they retire,” Continue Reading →