One-third of Homebuyers Surveyed Are Ill-prepared to Get a Mortgage
 Tyler Frank,
Paramount Mortgage
NMLS ID 942420 According to a survey recently conducted by Zillow, many homebuyers are really not armed with the information they should have before attempting to obtain a mortgage. For example, over one-third (34 percent) of the prospective homebuyers surveyed did not know that a qualified borrower can obtain a home loan today with less than a five percent downpayment.
In addition, many homebuyers have misinformation that can prevent them from obtaining the best possible mortgage interest rate. For example, 26 percent of the homebuyers said they thought they were obligated to obtain their home loan with the lender that pre-approved them, and 24 percent believed that all lenders are required to charge the same amount for credit reports and appraisals.
Continue reading “Survey Shows One-Third Of Homebuyers Lack Info Needed To Get Mortgage“
Tyler Frank,
Paramount Mortgage
NMLS ID 942420 “The (real estate) recovery has been much more like the tortoise than the hare,” said Stephen Blank, a senior resident fellow of the Washington-based Urban Land Institute. “We’ve become used to slow relief. But we have finally turned the corner.”
Real estate markets on both coasts in places like; New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston were the first to emerge from recession and will pick up their pace of recovery through 2013, said Blank, a principal researcher for Emerging Trends. He was the main speaker at the annual outlook presented by ULI’s St. Louis chapter.
Big investors scared away by the high prices in coastal cities will look more closely at properties in secondary markets, including St. Louis, experts predict. David Griege, executive vice president at Paramount Mortgage, believes home sales will be much stronger this spring and summer than in past years. Continue reading “Real Estate Recovery "On Its Way"“
Tyler Frank,
Paramount Mortgage
NMLS ID 942420 Housing Boom Era Type Home Buying Tactics Reappearing in St Louis Real Estate Market
During the home buying frenzy of the housing boom, which peaked in 2006, it was common to see home buyers, in an effort to beat out other buyers fighting for the same home, include price escalation clauses in their offers and make “naked” (contingency-free) offers. It was also common for a seller to purposely price their home low in an effort to rein in multiple buyers and pit them against each other in a bidding war. We are now seeing this all again as buyers compete to buy homes from an inventory of homes for sale that has shank dramatically in the past year.
 Continue reading “Housing Boom Era Home Buying Strategies Returning“
Tyler Frank,
Paramount Mortgage
NMLS ID 942420 Home Prices Nationwide Shooting Up Faster Than Anyone Thought Possible Not Long Ago
The US housing market has broken out of a deep slump, and prices are shooting up faster than anyone thought possible a year ago.
Prices of existing homes rose 10% in February nationally from a year ago. What is causing this increase?
Continue reading “Home Prices Set To Rise, Thanks To The Fed“
Tyler Frank,
Paramount Mortgage
NMLS ID 942420 Free Credit Scores are Not Part of the Free Annual Credit Report Consumers Currently Receive
Consumers currently have the right to request their free credit report once a year, but a credit report does not include free credit scores. These two items are often confused to be the same, which they are not.
You generally must pay to see your credit score. It’s a three-digit grade that predicts how risky you are to a lender.
Earlier this month, bills were introduced in the House and Senate to allow all consumers free access to credit scores once a year. The Free Access to Credit Scores Act was authored by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee.
Continue reading “Free Credit Scores As A Result of New Act“
By Dennis Norman, on March 7th, 2013 Tyler Frank,
Paramount Mortgage
NMLS ID 942420 Nationwide 30-year fixed mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level of the last five weeks according to last week’s rate survey conducted by Bankrate.com.
This has spurred concern from many home refinancers and potential homebuyers who “worry the low rates won’t last much longer as they try to beat the clock on rising mortgage fees and policy changes on low down payment loans,” reports Polyana da Costa, Bankrate.com.
Continue reading “St. Louis Borrowers in a Rush for Low Mortgage Interest Rates and Fees“
By Dennis Norman, on January 2nd, 2013 
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.
Other highlights from the report include:
Continue reading “Shadow Inventory In October Down Over 12 Percent from Year Ago“
By Dennis Norman, on November 14th, 2012 Annually, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) conducts a survey of people that bought and/or sold a home in the past year to learn about their shopping habits, what motivated them to do what they did, etc. The NAR “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” for 2012 was just released and shows, among other things, that 90 percent of home buyers used the internet in finding the home they bought and, of those, about half used a local MLS site and/or agent/company site.
What’s the best local St Louis website for searching homes for sale? For it’s ease of use, accuracy of content and and relevant information, “one-click” searches and the fact a real, live, professional agent is nearly always ready to respond to questions, I would have to say StLouisRealEstateSearch.com*
Continue reading “REALTOR Survey Shows 90 Percent of Buyers Use Internet To Search for Homes; What is Best St Louis site?“
By Dennis Norman, on October 9th, 2012 Shadow inventory, one of the “culprits” that eats away at the housing market and puts downward pressure on home prices, fell to 2.3 million homes in July 2012, down 10.2 percent from July 2011. This works out to a six month supply of shadow inventor and is roughly the same as things stood back in March 2009. Shadow inventory consists of properties with seriously delinquent mortgages (90+ days delinquent), in the foreclosure process or owned by a lender but not listed for sale in the MLS. In other words, shadow inventory is a glimpse of things to come in terms of distressed sales therefore when we see declines in the numbers like this, it is encouraging and yet another sign that a recovery of the housing market may be on the way. Continue reading “Declining shadow inventory paves way for housing market recovery“
By Peter Wright, on October 3rd, 2012 
If you are considering buying your first home you may very well be asking yourself if now is the time, have prices bottomed out and trying to weigh the risks of buying a home versus the rewards. Well, if this is the case, allow me to give you some things to put on the “rewards” side of the equation….
For starters, with mortgage rates at historic lows, your monthly mortgage payment in most cases should be much lower than what you are currently paying in rent! Remember this…”Your Landlord says Hi…& Thanks You for Paying His Mortgage.” Also, we have seen flexibility from sellers on negotiations and most are helping in paying for the buyers closings costs…so that just leaves the down-payment, and that may not be as much as you think…… Continue reading “Government funds of up to $25,000 available to assist first-time home buyers“
By Dennis Norman, on September 27th, 2012  If you’ve been waiting to buy a new home thinking that prices will continue to fall as builders get more desperate to sell homes, I think you may have missed the boat, er, house. The bruised new home market continues to show signs that the worst is over including numbers just released showing new home sales in the U.S. in August were up almost 28 percent from a year ago and new home prices were up 17 percent during the same period in the U.S. Here in St. Louis, the St. Louis HBA just reported that building permits for new homes in St. Louis are 15% through August compared with this time last year and St Louis new home prices, as you can see from the chart below, while down slightly August from July, are up significantly in the past year from a media price of $228,000 in August 2011 to a median price of $268,000 in August 2012.
 Be sure to click “more” to see the chart.. Continue reading “St Louis new home construction and sales showing signs of life“
By Peter Wright, on July 5th, 2012
Interest rates have been strong all year, last week however, we saw mortgage backed securities rally each day and with the release of unemployment figures on Friday we are now officially sitting at historic lows! If you have not taken advantage of these rates…what are you waiting for? Maybe you have been told that you don’t have enough equity in your home due to the housing market trending down over the past few years?
Well there is something here for you too! The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is a program developed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that helps folks with little or no equity in their homes take advantage of today’s fantastic mortgage rates. Continue reading “Historic low mortgage interest rates, Refinancing Options & New HUD program“
By Dennis Norman, on June 7th, 2012
Home prices in May expected to increase as well
CoreLogic released its April Home Price Index (HPI) report showing home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 1.1 percent in April 2012 compared to April 2011. This is the second consecutive month with year-over-year increases, and the first time two consecutive increases have occurred since June 2010. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 2.2 percent in April 2012. This marks the second consecutive month-over-month increase this year. Continue reading “Report shows U.S. home prices rose in April; predicts 2 percent increase in next month“
By News Desk, on April 17th, 2012 For the second month in a row, home prices have risen higher than a year ago. Median prices in March were an impressive 5.8% higher than March 2011 in the 53 metro areas surveyed for the RE/MAX National Housing Report. February marked the first time in 18 months that home prices rose higher than the previous year, and year-to-year price increases haven’t occurred in two consecutive months since August 2010. Home sales in March were 25.4% higher than February and 1.5% higher than March last year. For the last 9 months, sales have reached a level higher than the same month in the previous year. Following these trends, the spring and summer months should experience increased activity. With falling inventory and many markets witnessing multiple offers with bidding competitions, prices are likely to continue to rise in many areas. Continue reading “Home Prices Surge, Signaling Strong Selling Season“
By Dennis Norman, on March 21st, 2012  A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows that the current residential “shadow” inventory as of January 2012 was 1.6 million units, equivalent to a 6-months’ supply, and approximately the same level last reported in October 2011. The shadow inventory is down from a year ago though, when it was at 1.8 million units, or an 8-months’ supply. Currently, the flow of new seriously delinquent (90 days or more) loans into the shadow inventory has been offset by the roughly equal flow of distressed sales (short and real estate owned), according to the report.
“Almost half of the shadow inventory is not yet in the foreclosure process,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Shadow inventory also remains concentrated in states impacted by sharp price declines and states with long foreclosure timelines.” Continue reading “Report shows For Every Two Homes Available for Sale, There Is One in the "Shadow"“
By Bob Sargent, on November 18th, 2011  Over the past few years many people that had never faced financial trouble found themselves in foreclosure, doing a short-sale or deed in lieu or filing bankruptcy as a result of the burst of the housing bubble, record unemployment and a weak economy in general. People in this situation, many of whom were homeowners for years, were forced to lived with relatives or friends, or rent until they were able to get through their financial crisis. Now, many of these folks have been able to get back on their feet and want to buy a home again but don’t know when, or if they will be able to get a home loan again due to their past. Continue reading “How long after a foreclosure or short sale do you have to wait to get a home loan?“
By Dennis Norman, on September 30th, 2011  Mark Fleming, Ph.D., Chief Economist for CoreLogic, in a presentation yesterday, said the housing market is not out of the woods yet as the potential of a double-dip in our economy increases and as 30 to 40 percent of economists feel there is a chance of another recession. The economy’s “stall speed” was another issue Fleming said was a concern, describing it as similar to the stall speed of an airplane; that speed at which is still fast enough for the plane to be flying, but just on the edge of stalling and no longer able to maintain flight. Fleming said, for the economy, a 1 percent growth rate is historically the “stall” point and that is right about where we are presently. Continue reading “Housing market not out of the woods yet“
By Dennis Norman, on September 27th, 2011
A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows that the current residential “shadow” inventory as of July 2011 declined slightly from 1.7 million units in April to 1.6 million units, and was down from 1.9 million units a year ago. This current shadow inventory represents a 5 month supply. CoreLogic includes in it’s shadow inventory numbers properties that are either 90+ days delinquent on mortgages, in some stage of foreclosure, or an REO but not presently for sale in an MLS. Continue reading “Shadow Inventory Continues to Decline; Good news for the housing market“
By Bob Sargent, on July 12th, 2011 Would you like to buy one of those foreclosure or REO bargains, but don’t have the cash to have the necessary work done? There’s a new rehab loan program in St. Louis that will help homeowners do just this! This program allows buyers to buy Bank Owned or Foreclosed Property (let’s call them “distressed homes”) and also borrow funds for the rehabilitation of these properties. Continue reading “Local Rehab Loan Program Allows Buyers To Take Advantage of Distressed Sale Bargains“
By Dennis Norman, on June 22nd, 2011
A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows that the current residential “shadow” inventory as of April 2011 declined to 1.7 million units, down from 1.9 million units a year ago. This current shadow inventory represents a 5 month supply, same as the supply a year ago. Continue reading “Report shows shadow inventory continues to decline“
By Dennis Norman, on April 14th, 2011 
The 800 pound gorilla in the room has finally lost some weight!
RealtyTrac released their foreclosure report for the first quarter of 2011 which shows foreclosure filings were reported on 681,153 U.S. properties during the quarter, a 15 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 27 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. St. Louis did not see as big of a decrease but still the numbers are looking better! St. Louis had 5,023 properties with foreclosure filings during the first quarter 2011 which works out to one in every 248 St. Louis properties and represents a decrease of 17.82 percent from the previous quarter and a 11.80 decrease from the 1st quarter of 2010.
Continue reading “Foreclosure Activity Decreases 15 Percent during First Quarter of 2011“
By Dennis Norman, on March 30th, 2011
A report released this morning by CoreLogic shows that the current residential “shadow” inventory as of January 2011 declined to 1.8 million units, down slightly from 2.0 million units a year ago. This current shadow inventory represents a 9 month supply, same as the suply a year ago. Continue reading “Shadow Inventory Drops Slightly but still at Nine-Month Supply“
By Dennis Norman, on February 16th, 2011 Today, CoreLogic released its “U.S. Housing and Mortgage Trends Report” which stated “their research indicates that the most popular measure of existing home sales is overstated by 15 percent to 20 percent. ”
Continue reading “New report shows home sales may be worse than reported“
By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2010 Number of price-reduced homes on Market Rose 24 percent in September from 2009..
 According to a report released by ZipRealty, the number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 2.1 percent in September compared to August. ZipRealty’s monthly review of MLS-listed properties in 26 major markets found that 47.8 percent of “for sale” homes had at least one price reduction and the average seller actually slashed their list price twice to attract buyers. Continue reading “More Sellers Reduce Home Prices in September“
By Dennis Norman, on September 10th, 2010 “..if a buyer hasn’t walked through the door in 30 to 45 days, a seller needs to lower their asking price. If a home hasn’t had an offer in six months, it’s time to rethink the sale..”
According to a report released by ZipRealty, the number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 3.26 percent in August compared to July. ZipRealty’s monthly review of MLS-listed properties in 26 major markets found that 47 percent of “for sale” homes had at least one price reduction and the average seller actually slashed their list price twice to attract buyers. Continue reading “Nearly half of all homes listed for sale in August had price cut“
By Jim Carr, on August 12th, 2010 Ever wonder why one home will sell for more than a similar home in the same neighborhood? You’ll hear all sorts of reasons. One house has this feature or that feature while the other one doesn’t. That’s part of it but certainly not all. Continue reading “Why do Some Homes Sell for More Than Others?“
By Dennis Norman, on February 18th, 2010 Dennis Norman
When I received the Housing Market Report from Radarlogic, I was happy to see some good news; home prices increased in December from November and a 44 percent increase in the number of homes sold in December versus a year before. Unfortunately those numbers were based upon Radarlogic‘s RPX Composite Price, which tracks home prices in 25 major metropolitan areas (including St. Louis) and when I drilled down to the St. Louis Housing Numbers they were not as encouraging.
 The report shows St. Louis home prices decreased from November to December by 6.9 percent, as opposed to the increase of 0.2 percent for the 25 metro areas combined. Housing transactions in December 2009 in St Louis increased 5.5 percent from a year ago, however this is far less than the 44 percent increase in transactions for the 25 city composite. From November to December St Louis saw a decrease of 54.9 percent in the number of housing transactions, a much larger decline than the 11.0 percent decline for the 25 city composite.
Radarlogic’s report bases it’s home price data on the price per foot homes sell for versus the sales price of the home. I think this is a more “apples to apples” approach and results in more accurate data than looking at median home prices which could be affected by an increase in activity in a particular price range of home. Having said that I still wanted to check their data against data I compiled from the MLS. Here are my findings from MLS data:
- The median price of homes and condos sold in St. Louis in November 2009 was $131,500. For December the median price was $125,000 for a decline of 4.9 percent. Not far off from the 6.9 percent decrease in the Radarlogic report.
- There were 1,011 homes and condos sold in St. Louis in December 2009, a decrease of 2.97 percent from a year ago. The Radarlogic report showed an increase of 5.5 percent so there is some disparity here.
- December 2009’s home and condo sales of 1,011 was a decrease of 33.8 percent from November 2009 sales of 1,527 units. This is a smaller decrease than the 54.9 percent decrease shown in the Radarlogic report.
Overall I think the research I did supports the trend shown in the Radarlogic report for the St. Louis housing market; some softness in prices and a surge of home sales in November from the tax credits.
By Dennis Norman, on January 26th, 2010
- Dennis Norman
For the St. Louis area 2009 marked another year of “bad” records for the housing market; record numbers of foreclosures, mortgage delinquencies as well as sales numbers and prices lower than we have seen in several years. However, as I compiled St. Louis area home sales data for 2009 and compared it to the prior two years I realized this is some positive news. It appears we are perhaps seeing the bottom of the market and a flattening of the downward trends.
Unfortunately as our national debt balloons out of control, we continue to see double-digit unemployment and for us in St. Louis a continued trend of an inability to attract new companies and jobs to the area, the housing market could quickly take a turn for the worse, but for now lets bask in the glory.
The data I compiled is for the city of St. Louis and counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin, and is based upon sales data obtained from the local MLS provider, Mid-America Regional Information Systems (MARIS).
Here are the highlights from my report:
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There were 20,717 homes sold in 2009, down 1.81 percent from 2008 and down 14.67 percent from 2007
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The median sales price of homes sold in 2009 was $142,000, down 5.33 percent from 2008 adn down 12.35 percent from 2007
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The average sales price of homes sold in 2009 was $170,303, down 8.84 percent from 2008 and down 16.62 percent from 2007.
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The time it took to sell a home in 2009 was an average of 82 days, down 10.87 percent from 2008 and up 1.23 percent from 2007.
By Dennis Norman, on October 15th, 2009 Dennis Norman Last week I did a post on another blog about a report that had just been released by Trulia indicating that over 25 percent of the homes listed for sale in the U.S. had experienced a price reduction in the 5-month period from June 1 through October 1st and that the average price reduction was about 10 percent.
 In an effort to see how things here in St. Louis were stacking up to the national numbers from Trulia, I wanted to assemble the same data, for the same period that Trulia did and see how we compare. I was able to do this with the help of my friends at Mid-American Regional Information Systems (MARIS), the MLS provider for the St. Louis region. Continue reading “Over 30 percent of St. Louis homes for sale have had price cut“
By Dennis Norman, on August 24th, 2009
 - Dennis Norman
According to a report issued by First American CoreLogic national home price declines continue to improve citing that national housing prices fell 7.8 percent in June 2009 compared to June 2008 representing the small est year-over-year decline recorded to date in 2009. This was a 0.7 percent improvement over Mays decline of 8.5% from the prior year.
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