St Louis Real Estate News - Page 91 of 112 - Daily St. Louis real estate news, market analysis, home prices, and mortgage rate updates from local industry professionals.

New Limits for First Time Home Buyers Down-payment Assistance Program; St. Louis Interest Rates Update

By Robert Fishel, on June 8th, 2011

First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs.

Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) provides a competitive interest rate on a safe 30-year fixed rate 1st mortgage. Your 3% advance loan is treated as a 2nd mortgage completely forgivable after five years of continuous occupancy. New, Constant Funding means MHDC will have the monies available for the borrowers regardless of bond issuance. For further information go to http://www.box.net/shared/v0piidunf7 or www.mhdc.com.

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St Louis Homeowners with Negative Equity Increases Slightly in First Quarter of 2011

By Dennis Norman, on June 7th, 2011

A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 17.10 percent (97,772) of all St. Louis homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the first quarter of 2011, up slightly from 17.0 percent the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down” and refers to homeowners that owe more on their mortgages than the current value of their home.

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St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Declines in March; 3rd consecutive monthly decline

By Dennis Norman, on June 6th, 2011

Dennis Norman

The St. Louis foreclosure rate in March was 1.73 percent, down slightly from 1.78 percent the prior month, but up over 21 percent from a year ago, according to a report published by CoreLogic. The report shows that the St. Louis Mortgage Delinquency rate (Serious delinquency, 90+ days delinquent) decreased to 4.83 percent in March, down from 5.1 percent the month before and down 14 percent from a year ago. This is the first month the St Louis Mortgage Delinquency rate was below 5 percent since August 2009.

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St Louis Real Estate Market Update – June 3, 2011

By Dennis Norman, on June 3rd, 2011

Weekly I produce a short (roughly 5 minute) video update on the St. Louis Real Estate Market that is published on various web sites. I do a quick recap of the news in the St Louis real estate market for the week, then an overview of the St Louis housing market itself. 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 Continue Reading →

Will jobs fix the housing market or will housing fix the job market?

By Dennis Norman, on June 3rd, 2011

There is a lot of talk in the media today about the poor housing market and how an increase in employment would help bring the housing market back. However, the question is, will a recovery in the job market bring the housing market back, or will a recovery in the housing market bring the job market back?

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Advice for consumers looking to purchase a home or refinance their mortgage; St. Louis mortgage interest rate update

By Robert Fishel, on June 2nd, 2011

Thinking of purchasing a home or refinancing a mortgage? Here are some tips to help make the process smooth:

Know your current situation. Be aware of your credit history; your credit report may contain out of date, or inaccurate items. Carefully review your credit report and make a note of items that should be fixed. It takes time, but you can correct mistakes successfully with a written request to the individual credit bureaus. It is also a good idea to examine your monthly housing expenses to determine how comfortable you are with your budget without sacrificing important necessities.

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St. Louis Home Prices Declined 9.70 Percent in April 2011 Compared to Year Before

By Dennis Norman, on June 1st, 2011

A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows home prices in the St. Louis declined in April 2011 by 9.70 percent from the year before which is a larger decline than the month before when St Louis home prices were down 9.44 percent from the year before. If we take “distressed sales” (foreclosures, REO’s and short-sales) out then home prices declined by 3.53 percent in April from the year before.

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Report Shows U.S. Home Prices Hit Record Low in First Quarter; “No relief in sight”

By Dennis Norman, on May 31st, 2011

Dennis Norman

Today the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for the first quarter of 2011 was released showing home prices continue to fall and that the national home price index hit a new recession low. Nationally, home prices are back to their mid-2002 levels according to the report.

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What to do when moisture gets inside your home

By Gerry Loesch, on May 27th, 2011

Where do you begin?

Moisture can come from several sources. However, the most frequent sources of moisture inside the home are the plumbing, roofing, basement seepage and condensation. No matter where the source is it must be found and eliminated.

Moisture damage in some cases may take some time to become obvious. It is easy to see a wet spot or stain on the wall, ceilings, under cabinets or basement floors. In other cases, the moisture evidence or damage may not show itself for some time, thereby allowing for the growth of mold, rot or deterioration of some of the Continue Reading →

Foreclosures account for 28 percent of all home sales in first quarter 2011; Selling at discount of 27 percent

By Dennis Norman, on May 26th, 2011

RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report this morning for the first quarter of 2011 showing that foreclosure homes (sales of bank-owned homes and those in some stage of foreclosure) accounted for 28 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the quarter. This is up slightly from 27 percent the prior quarter and the highest percentage since the first quarter of 2010, when 29 percent of all sales were foreclosure sales.

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Should you get pre-qualified for a mortgage before buying a home?

By News Desk, on May 25th, 2011

Should you talk to you mortgage professional before house hunting?

Absolutely!

Even if you haven’t so much as selected a Realtor®, it’s important to talk with your mortgage professional first. Why?

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Mortgage Delinquencies Increase in April

By Dennis Norman, on May 25th, 2011

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies increased 2.4 percent in April, changing the downward trend we have seen in the prior few months. The good news in this report is that the U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate declined 1.6 percent from the month before.

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New home sales and prices increase in April; still down over 23 percent from a year ago

By Dennis Norman, on May 24th, 2011

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for April 2011 showing an increase of 7.3 percent from the month before, and a decrease of 23.1 percent from a year ago.

The seasonally-adjusted new home sales rate for April was 323,000 homes. The supply of new homes on the market decreased from an adjusted 7.2 month supply the month before to a 6.5 month supply in April. The median new home price increased for the month to $217,900, a 1.6 percent increase from a revised median price of $214,500 the Continue Reading →

New disclosure form aims to make home mortgage terms easier to understand

By Dennis Norman, on May 24th, 2011

The newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), one of the newest agencies under the Federal Government, created “to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans”. Hmm, sounds good, but as usual, I was skeptical. However, thus far, I’m pretty impressed with the CFPB’s approach to changing mortgage disclosure statements in an effort to make it easier for consumers to understand the terms of the home mortgage they have been offered as well as to shop “apples to apples” for the best home mortgage.

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45 Percent of Americans say government not doing enough to stop foreclosures; Other side of coin, over half of Americans want to buy a foreclosed home

By Dennis Norman, on May 23rd, 2011

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Trulia and RealtyTrac, 45 percent of American adults say the government is not doing enough to prevent foreclosures. Only 17 percent think the government is doing too much and 16 percent say just the right amount is being done.

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Survey shows over half American adults think housing recovery is years away

By Dennis Norman, on May 20th, 2011

UGH…

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Trulia and RealtyTrac, 54 percent of American adults believe that recovery in the housing market will not happen until 2014 or later. In a previous survey, six months ago, 42 percent of American adults said they thought the market would turn around by 2012 or had already turned around, but now only 23 percent think this will happen.

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Gas prices impacting where home-buyers choose to live according to survey

By Dennis Norman, on May 20th, 2011

What do gas prices have to do with real estate? Plenty, according to a new survey by Coldwell Banker among it’s network of real estate agents. According to the survey, 75 percent said that the recent spike in gas prices has influenced their clients’ decisions on where to live, and 93 percent said if gas prices continue to rise, more home buyers will choose to live somewhere that allows for a closer commute to their work.

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Loan-level price adjustments and how they affect home-buyers; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update

By Robert Fishel, on May 19th, 2011

“Ballparking” mortgage rates just is not the same anymore. Home buyers who obtain online quotes from popular websites are receiving nothing more than a starting point for what their final mortgage rate will be. This is due to a government-led pricing scheme called loan-level pricing adjustments or LLPAs.”

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St. Louis Home Sales Down Over 30 percent in April; Worst decline of 20 major metros

By Dennis Norman, on May 19th, 2011

St. Louis existing-home sales in April were down 30.1 percent from a year ago, after the prior month’s sales were down 20.3 percent from the year prior. This disturbing trend points to a decrease in the number of home sales in St. Louis in 2011 from 2010, even though industry experts are predicting an increase in U.S. existing home sales this year over last.

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Report Shows Little Improvement in Underwater Homeowners

By Dennis Norman, on May 18th, 2011

Negative equity is the dominant factor driving the real estate market according to CoreLogic in it’s “U.S. Housing and Market Trends” report that was released today. According to the report, as of the 4th quarter of 2010, over 11 million (23 percent) of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than the current value of their home.

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New Home Construction Declines in April; No Recovery in Site for Builders

By Dennis Norman, on May 17th, 2011

The U.S. Census Bureau and US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued their report on New Residential Construction for April 2011 showing a 1.8 percent decrease in single-family home building permits from the month before, and a 5.1 percent decrease in new home starts compared to the month before.

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Freddie Mac Offering Closing Cost Assistance to Home Buyers

By Dennis Norman, on May 16th, 2011

HomeSteps, the home-sale division of Freddie Mac, announced today it is launching a nationwide sales promotion on it’s inventory of foreclosed homes starting today. The promotion, titled “The HomeSteps Summer Sales Promotion”, is offering up to pay buyer’s closing costs, up to 3.5 percent of the sales price and a bonus to the selling agent for offers on Freddie Mac homes originated between today and July 31st and that close by September 30, 2011.

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Mortgage Loan Delinquency Rate Decreased for 5th Consecutive Quarter; Mortgage Loan Demand down as well

By Dennis Norman, on May 16th, 2011

The national mortgage delinquency rate for homeowners that are 60 or more days past due decreased in the first quarter of 2011 marking the fifth consecutive quarterly decline according to a report released today by TransUnion. The report shows mortgage delinquencies for the first quarter of 2011 were down 3.4 percent from the prior quarter and down 8.6 from a year ago.

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Housing and Economic Forecasts Point to Rising Activity and Flat Home Prices

By Dennis Norman, on May 13th, 2011

Speaking yesterday at a forum at a meeting of the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), several industry “experts” had reasonably optimistic opinions of the housing market and expect home sales to continue on an uptrend through 2012.

Among the experts at the forum was, of course, Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, who said he felt existing home sales would improve gradually, but unevenly. “If we just hold at the first-quarter sales pace of 5.1 million (home sales), sales this year would rise 4 percent, but the remainder of the year looks better,” Yun said. “We expect 5.3 million Continue Reading →

What First-Time Home Buyers Need to Know; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update

By Robert Fishel, on May 12th, 2011

What a great time to be a First Time Home buyer! Historically low interest rates and great home prices! However, the home buying “process” can be a difficult if the borrower is not prepared and have not done their homework.

Before making offers and writing contracts, talk to your mortgage lender and get Pre-Qualified for a loan. Pre-Qualify means you can confidently begin house shopping in the appropriate price range.

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Foreclosure Activity in St. Louis Area Down 23 Percent in April

By Dennis Norman, on May 12th, 2011

The St. Louis Foreclosure Rate declined over 23 percent in April from the prior month and was down almost 39 percent from a year ago, according to a report released this morning by RealtyTrac. Granted, some of this decline for April was no doubt due to the severe storms that hit the area April 19th triggering a moratorium on foreclosures for many (as I wrote about yesterday) but even without that, I ‘m sure the rate would still be down, which is good.

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Mortgage Relief and Foreclosure Moratorium for Missouri Homeowners Impacted by Recent Storms

By Dennis Norman, on May 11th, 2011

Spring storms in April caused 8 areas of the U.S. to be declared a National Disaster area, and another 9 more so far in May. As a result of tornadoes, severe storms and flooding on April 19th, five counties in Missouri, Butler County, Mississippi County, New Madrid County, Saint Louis County, and Taney County, were declared a National Disaster areas on May 9th, making homeowners eligible for assistance, including possible mortgage payment relief and/or protection from foreclosure.

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St Louis Home Prices Down 9.3 Percent from Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on May 10th, 2011

A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows home prices in the St. Louis declined in March by 9.3 percent from the year before which is a larger decline than the month before when St Louis home prices were down 7.24 percent from the year before.

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What will be the Five Best and Five Worst U.S. Housing Markets in 2011?

By Dennis Norman, on May 9th, 2011

Do you want to know which real estate markets are predicted to be the best and worst in 2011? Do you think St. Louis could be one of the top markets this year….or maybe one of the worst? Watch to find out…The Five Best and Five Worst U.S. Housing Markets in 2011

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How do I find my yard?

By Shelly Clark, on May 9th, 2011

It seems like a simple question, but do you really know the answer? Where is your yard? What do you really own? Do you own everything inside your fence or everything outside of your neighbor’s fence? Do you own up to where you’ve always mowed, or, do you own up to where the tree line is? Do you own to where the utility pole is or to where the electric box is located? Do you know the answer?

The answer is: none of the above. Unless you know where your property corners are located, you don’t know what you own, Continue Reading →