By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2016  Last week, National Mortgage News, published an article on a report which indicated home prices and homeownership rates are “out of whack”. While the article never actually said home prices were too high, per se, it pointed out that when home prices peaked in 2006, homeownership rates began to decline as a result, implying that home prices caused home ownership to slow. It goes on to state that, while home prices have recovered to the levels they peaked at in 2006, the homeownership rate, on the other hand, has continued to decline.
Are home prices to blame on the decline homeownership rates?
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Continue reading “Are Home Prices Too High In St Louis?“
By Dennis Norman, on September 2nd, 2016 One of the more controversial topics to discuss within the REALTOR community is the topic of agent bonuses, a bonus that a seller, by way of the listing broker, would pay to the agent that sells their home, over and above the normal sales commission. Sometimes seller’s, or their listing agents, see this as a way to draw more attention to their listing and to encourage buyer’s agents to show it and sell it. However, there are many conflicting opinions on this topic within the industry which creates some confusion for seller’s (and buyer’s for that matter), so I thought I would take some time to discuss it.
Why not just offer a higher sales commission?
The first thing that comes to mind when addressing bonuses is, if a seller wants to offer more compensation to a buyer’s agent, why not simply agree to a higher commission rate and/or higher payout to the buyer’s agent (the portion of the commission the listing agent shares with the buyer’s agent). Well, this is where some of the problems with bonuses arise. The reason seller’s don’t do it this way is the bonus is usually conditional, meaning it will only be paid, if certain terms prescribed by the seller or listing agent are met, whereas the buyer’s agent commission must be paid at the rate published in the MLS no matter how good or bad the seller feels the deal is they accept. For example, below are some bonus offers from the “agent only” remarks section of the MLS (comments only agents see and not the public):
- *Buyer’s agent bonus of $2000 for accepted contract on or before 8/21/16″
- “ATTENTION!!! $5,000 AGENT BONUS FOR AN ACCEPTED OFFER BY 9/15/16!!! “
- “$1000 Buyer Agent Bonus @Closing if FULL net price Seller accepted contract on or before 7/11/16.”
- “AGENT BONUS!!! $3,000 with successful closing by mid August.”
- “Seller is offering a BUYERS AGENT BONUS PAID DIRECTLY TO THEM of $5000 for bringing an offer that is accepted and closes prior to Sept. 15, 2016!!”
So, as you can see, the bonuses are conditioned upon some sort of “performance” on the part of the buyer’s agent, such as producing an acceptable offer by a deadline, closing the sale by a deadline or even netting the seller seller full price. Therein lies the answer to the question of why not just raise the commission…the seller wants something in return for the additional payment.
What’s wrong with the seller wanting something in return for the bonus?
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Find The Fastest Selling Cities In St Louis Here – Updated Daily!
Get a Market Report with LIVE up to date Home Sales, Prices and Inventory for ANY St Louis Area HERE
Continue reading “Should You Pay An Agent Bonus To Sell Your Home?“
By Dennis Norman, on June 28th, 2016 Mortgage interest rates have been falling since last Thursday when the referendum passed for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union. As the chart below shows, interest rates on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage today averaged 3.44%, a new 52-week low and a decline of nearly 3/4 of 1 percent from a year ago when they were 4.20%. The payment on a $160,000 home loan at today’s rates would be $713 (principal and interest), a decline of nearly 9 percent from a year ago when the payment on the same loan amount would have been $782.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
LIVE Mortgage Interest Rates – Updated Daily Continue reading “Falling Interest Rates Make St Louis Homes Even More Affordable“
By Dennis Norman, on May 6th, 2016 In mid-April the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a new program aimed to help homeowners with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan that are seriously underwater on equity, meaning that their mortgage balance is at least 115 percent of the current value of their home. This new principal reduction modification program offers, to those that qualify, a one-time reduction in the balance of their mortgage to bring them out of a negative equity position.
Below is an outline of the program details as well as link to Principal Reduction Fact Sheet:
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
Principal Reduction Program Fact Sheet
Find the Current Value of your home in under a minute!
Continue reading “Help For Underwater Homeowners – One-time principal reduction plan“
By Dennis Norman, on February 14th, 2016 For those that have been reading my articles for a while, you know I am not a Pollyanna when it comes to the real estate market, opting instead to tell it like it is, even when the news is not so encouraging. For that reason, as well as the data behind my opinion, I think my suggestion that now is a good time to buy a home in St Louis should be considered to be a credible opinion from an industry insider.
So, why buy a home in St Louis now?
- Interest rates are LOW. As the chart below shows, the current average 30 year fixed rate mortgage interest rate in the U.S. is 3.65%, almost an historic low. Interest rates are not forecasted to remain this low. Freddie mac, as the table below shows, is forecasting that mortgage interest rates will rise this year to 4.5% by year end and continue to rise in 2017 until hitting 5.25% by the end of 2017. An increase from the current rate, even to just the projected rate by year-end of 4.5% increases the payment on a typical St Louis home by over 10%, therefore, the same money buys less house!
- Home prices are on the rise. As the chart below shows, St Louis home prices have risen about 4% during the past year and the trend has been fairly consistent. As the median list prices show (the blue line on the chart) list prices of homes for sale is on the rise at a greater rate than the increase in recent sold prices. Granted, this may be the result of overly optimistic sellers that believe spring will bring increased home prices (as is the norm) but even if prices remain flat, increased interest rates will still make the home more costly.
- Gas prices are low and forecasted to remain the same. As the chart below from the U.S. Energy Administration illustrates, gasoline prices this year have hit the lowest price level in about 14 years and the forecast for the rest of this year and through 2017 shows gas prices remaining low. This, along with the other issues noted, should help the St Louis real estate market remain healthy and fairly strong in the short term which will most likely result in continued price appreciation, particularly for areas that are farther out and subject to gas prices.
- More affordable to buy than rent but may change soon. There are two charts at the bottom of this article that illustrate what I’m talking about here. The first is a chart from the St Louis Federal Reserve that shows the St Louis home price index and home rental rates from 1970 to present. The chart illustrates that rental rates increase at a very consistent rate and home prices follow along at a similar pace. Presently, home prices have fallen behind rental rates which, based upon history, will result in home prices increasing. Therefore, currently, in many markets it is more expensive to rent than it is to buy but the savings of homeownership will probably shrink, and perhaps disappear, as home prices rise going forward, particularly if home price appreciation begins outpacing rental rate appreciation, which is likely the happen. The next chart, the Housing Affordability Index from the St Louis Federal Reserve, also illustrates how affordable home ownership is presently. Granted, not as affordable as when home prices hit bottom in 2012, the result of the housing bubble burst in 2008, but illustrating that home ownership is more affordable now than at any time prior to the housing bubble burst in 2008.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
St Louis Home Price Trends By City/Municipality
2016 SMART Guide For Home Buyers
2016 SMART Guide For Home Sellers
Continue reading “4 Reasons Why You Should Buy A Home Now In St Louis“
By Dennis Norman, on January 27th, 2016 Before I begin, I should point out that what I’m about to tell you runs contrary to what the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the largest trade association in the country and one I belong to and support, will tell you. The NAR position on the mortgage interest deduction (MID) is, quoting from their website, “the mortgage interest deduction (MID) is a remarkably effective tool that facilitates homeownership.” Many St Louis REALTORS® will echo the message of NAR but I think if more people took the time to look into the MID, and do a little simple math, they would see that the mortgage interest deduction does not appear to offer any real benefit to the ordinary, typical homebuyer in St Louis.
What brought this to mind this morning was a friend of mine on Facebook (who is a loan officer for a St Louis mortgage company) posted a link to an article written by an owner of a Chicago real estate company outlining the benefits of the MID and, while I think he did an excellent job of laying out the potential tax savings of deducting mortgage interest and property taxes on a home, I think he left out a key component, namely, the Standard Deduction.
Why the MID doesn’t help the normal home buyer in St Louis:
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
Find Your Home’s Value Online NOW!
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Get The Latest LIVE St Louis Home Prices, Sales and Other Market Data HERE
Continue reading “The Truth About The Mortgage Interest Deduction“
By Dennis Norman, on December 28th, 2015 I have the honor of serving as chairman of the St Louis Industry Forum which consists of leaders of professional and trade associations that are engaged in some aspect of the real estate industry in St Louis (such as REALTORS, Builders, Mortgage Lenders, Bankers, etc) and at our bi-monthly meetings millennial’s are often the topic of conversation with regard to this generations thoughts on home ownership vs. renting, where they want to live and other related matters. It’s no surprise our industry would be so focused on the millennial generation since this group of teens to 30-something year-olds represents the largest generation (and group of future homeowners or tenants) we have seen.
In other articles I have addressed the issue of homeownership by the millennial generation so in this one I am instead going to look at where the millennials are moving. I prepared the table below which shows all of the major counties in the MSA’s in Missouri, home affordability in those areas as well as the change in population with regard to the millennial generation as well as their parents generation, the baby boomers.
Millennials are heading to the city of St Louis…
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Chart Showing St Louis Home Prices Versus St Louis Rents
Continue reading “St Louis Millennials Are Moving To The City and Their Parents Are Moving Out“
By Dennis Norman, on December 17th, 2015 As of the end of the 3rd quarter this year, 7 percent of all St Louis homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position meaning their current mortgage balance exceeds the current value of their home, according to a report just released by Corelogic. In addition, another 4.6 percent of St Louis homeowners with a mortgage are in a near-negative equity position putting a total of 11.6 percent of St Louis homeowners with a mortgage in a position where it would be hard for them to consider selling their home, without bringing money to closing.
For the state of Missouri, the negative equity rates is 6.3 percent and nationally it is 8.1 percent.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
5 Key Strategies To Assure A Quick Home Sale At The Maximum Price Continue reading “Seven Percent Of St Louis Home Mortgages Are Underwater“
By Dennis Norman, on November 17th, 2015 According to a report just released by TransUnion, the mortgage delinquency rate for borrowers that are 60 days or more delinquent, declined almost 30 percent during the 3rd quarter of 2015 from a year ago. During the third quarter of this year, the mortgage delinquency rate was 2.40%, down from 3.36% during the third quarter of 2014.
Mortgage Delinquencies Down 65% From Peak
The current mortgage delinquency rate of 2.40% is down 65% from when the delinquency rate peaked at 6.94% in the 1st quarter of 2010 as a result of the housing market bubble bursting in 2008.
Millennials Pay Their House Payments!
According to the report, the age group with the lowest mortgage delinquency rate fell in the millennial category having a delinquency rate of just 1.62%. Right behind the young borrowers were the old ones (well, relatively speaking) with the 60+ age group having the 2nd lowest delinquency rate with 1.77%.
Out with the bad in with the good…
Joe Mellman, vice president and mortgage business leader for TransUnion, attributes the mortgage delinquency improvement to a combination of factors including:
- Continued “funneling” of delinquent accounts through he foreclosure process
- Strong performance by recent borrowers
- Improving home prices
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
5 Key Strategies To Assure A Quick Home Sale At The Maximum Price
By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2015 There were 123,546 St Louis homeowners with negative equity, or in a seriously underwater condition on their mortgage meaning they owe more than the current value of their home, in the St Louis MSA during the 2nd quarter of 2015 according to the most recent data by RealtyTrac. This works out to 17 percent of all St Louis metro area homeowners with a mortgage being underwater on their mortgage which is an improvement from 21 percent just 2 quarters prior.
As the table below shows, for the immediate St Louis, MO area, the city of St Louis had the highest rate of underwater homeowners at 1 out of every 4 homeowners with a mortgage and St Charles county had the lowest percentage at 7%.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Find your home’s market value online in LESS THAN A MINUTE!
Search all St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
Search St Louis Short Sales HERE
By Dennis Norman, on August 13th, 2015 The Federal Reserve Bank of New York just released it’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the 2nd quarter of 2015 in which some encouraging facts were revealed with regard to the home mortgage market, including:
- New home loan originations during the quarter increased to $466 billion…this marks the fourth consecutive quarterly increase since originations hit a 14-year low a year ago
- As the chart below illustrates, roughly 95,000 individuals had a new foreclosure add to their credit report during the quarter, marking the lowest number of new foreclosures since the data was first tracked 16 years ago.
- Mortgage delinquencies improved with the share of seriously delinquent mortgages (90+ days) dropping to 2.5% from 3.0% during the prior quarter.
- Mortgage delinquencies improved again, with the share of mortgage balances 90 or more days delinquent decreasing slightly;
- The median credit score for borrowers obtaining a home mortgage during the 2nd quarter, as the chart below shows, rose to above 750, while the bottom 10th percentile of borrowers, also known as “sub-prime”, rose to 650. As the chart illustrates, back in 2000 the median was around 700 and the lowest percentile was barely above the 550 mark.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
5 Key Strategies To Assure A Quick Home Sale At The Maximum Price
Continue reading “Mortgage Originations In 2nd Quarter Rise…4th Consecutive Rise Since 14 Year Low“
By Dennis Norman, on August 12th, 2015 In case you are concerned that the real estate industry is not subject to enough regulation, do not let your heart be troubled as new regulations imposed by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law back in 2010, affecting home mortgages go into effect October 3, 2015. There has been much talk in the industry about the changes, which are fairly wide-sweeping including changes in the timing of, and type of required disclosures to the borrower as well as a brand new combination loan disclosure form and closing statement. Below, is an overview of some highlights of the changes that I think will most affect St Louis home buyers and sellers as well as links to several additional resources as well.
The New TRID…
Presently, a home buyer, at closing, receives a Truth In Lending Disclosure as well as a HUD-1 closing statement. The former provides the details of the loan including interest rate, APR, costs associated with the loan as well as other details to comply with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) CFPB Guide (TILA) and the latter provides a summary of the home purchase transaction such as purchase price, credits or charges to the buyer as well as other details required by the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
Beginning October 3, 2015, the two forms above will be combined into one, consumer-friendly, TRID (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure) form. The new TRID will present all the important financial details of the loan and home purchase into one form which will be much easier for the typical consumer to benefit form than the current forms.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
5 Key Strategies To Assure A Quick Home Sale At The Maximum Price
Continue reading “How Will Implementation of Dodd-Frank Affect The Real Estate Market?“
By Dennis Norman, on August 9th, 2015 One year ago today, the small city of Ferguson gained international attention after Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an incident which spurred weeks of violence and property destruction in Ferguson. This delivered a blow to the Ferguson real estate market which was, at the time, already struggling to recover from the housing bubble burst in 2008 which had severely impacted the area. Now that a year has passed, I wanted to see how the real estate market in Ferguson was doing.
Time to sell a home is down…
As the chart to the right shows, the median days on market for homes for sale in Ferguson shot up immediately after the shooting. Since then the trend has been downward and last month the time had dropped back to slightly below a year ago.
By Dennis Norman, on July 31st, 2015 The number of St Louis homeowners that are underwater, or have negative equity in their homes, has shown an upward trend lately, while those St Louis homeowners that are “equity rich” has trended downward. According to data just released by RealtyTrac, 17.4 percent of homeowners in the St Louis metro area were seriously underwater (meaning their mortgage balance is 125% or more of the current value of their home) during the 2nd quarter of 2015. This is showing a slight upward trend as, during the 4th quarter of 2014, just 17 percent were underwater.
As the table below shows, homeowners in the city of St Louis are in the worst shape, equity-wise with nearly one of every 4 (24.4%) housing units being seriously underwater St Charles County is in the best shape, of the counties in our core market, with just 7.4% of homeowners being seriously underwater.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
5 Key Strategies To Assure A Quick Home Sale At The Maximum Price
Continue reading “St Louis Underwater Homeowners Rises Slightly-Equity Rich Owners Declines“
By Dennis Norman, on July 28th, 2015 For the month of May, 2015, less than 3 percent (2.95%) of St Louis mortgages were seriously delinquent (90+ days) marking a slight decline from the month before and a decline of 13 percent from a year ago, according to data just released by CoreLogic. The St Louis foreclosure rate also hit the lowest level in a long time in May at 0.67 percent, a slight decline from 0.69 percent the month before and a decline of 10% from a year ago when the foreclosure rate was 0.77 percent.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Foreclosures For Sale HERE
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE Continue reading “St Louis Mortgage Delinquency and Foreclosure Rates Drop To Lowest Level in Years“
By Dennis Norman, on July 2nd, 2015 St Louis bank and government owned home sales are down as banks and government enterprises such as Fannie Mae, FHA, VA and Freddie Mac whittle down their inventory of foreclosed homes while, at the same time, new mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure rates continue to decline. While this is good for the St Louis real estate market, it makes it tough on investors, as well as owner occupants, who are looking for a deal on a distressed sale, as the competition is growing fierce driving prices up and opportunities down.
St Louis Bank and Government owned home sales down over 30% from year ago:
As the charts below show, year to date, through the end of May, there have been a total of 1,598 bank or government owned homes sold in the St Louis 5-county core market (the city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin), according to data available from MARIS, the REALTORS® MLS for the area, which is a decline of 31.4% from the same time a year ago when there were 2,100 bank and government owned home sales.
St Louis Distressed Home Sales Selling At Record Percentage of List Price:
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Want be successful buying distressed property? Check out my video on how to buy distressed sales here. Continue reading “Bank and Government Owned Home Sales Down But Selling For Record Percentage of List Price“
By Dennis Norman, on June 11th, 2015 That’s right, Zombies are very real and very present in St Louis…at least Zombie foreclosures that is! That’s right. According to a foreclosure zombie report just released this morning by RealtyTrac, St Louis made the list of “Top 10 Zombie Foreclosure Rates Among Major Markets”, coming in at number 6 on the list with 1 of every 1,627 housing units being a zombie foreclosure. In the number 1 spot on the list was Tampa Florida where 1 of every 217 housing units is a zombie foreclosure (the complete list, and infographic, is below).
What is a Zombie Foreclosure?
Yet another new term that is common place in the real estate community now, but was not 10 years ago, is “Zombie Foreclosure”. This term has been applied to homes whereby the homeowner is in default on their mortgage and headed to foreclosure but vacates the home prior to actually losing it in foreclosure. This often results in the property becoming blighted while going through the process, and until the bank obtains ownership of the home, as no one is there taking care of it and the owner has given up. Zombies are not good for neighborhoods nor home values of the surrounding homes.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Foreclosures For Sale HERE
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
Continue reading “St Louis Makes List Of Top Ten Metros In U.S. For Rate Of Zombies“
By Dennis Norman, on May 18th, 2015 The mortgage delinquency rate (home owners that are 60 days or more delinquent on mortgage payment) dropped to 2.95 percent in the first quarter of 2015, marking the first time the mortgage delinquency rate has been below 3 percent since the 3rd quarter of 2007 when the rate was 2.61 percent, according to a report released this morning by TransUnion. This is also the 13th consecutive quarter the mortgage delinquency rate has declined from the prior quarter.
Subprime delinquency rate is over 9 times higher…
The report also shows that the mortgage delinquency rate for subprime borrowers fell in the first quart of this year as well, down to 27.23 percent from 29.76 percent during the prior quarter. Even with the improvement, the mortgage delinquency rate for subprime borrowers is still over 9 times greater than for borrowers overall. This is a great improvement from the peak however, in the first quarter of 2010, when the rate was 40.48 percent for subprime borrowers.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend Continue reading “Mortgage Delinquency Rates Drop To Pre-Bubble Level“
By Dennis Norman, on May 12th, 2015 There have been many recent articles and reports about the millennial generation and why they are not buying homes at the same rate as earlier generations did at their age. Many point to the burden of student loan debt as a cause of their inability to qualify for a mortgage thereby holding the millennials back from buying a home. However, a new study by TransUnion suggests this may not be the case.
The study by TransUnion, which looked at people with student loans and their participation in various types of loans, both at the beginning of their student loan repayment period and two years later as well, for a period beginning in 2005 and then again in 2012 and then compared these rates to a “control group” which consisted of people without student loans. As the table below shows, participation rates for home mortgages, credit cards and auto loans all dropped significantly between the 2005-2007 and 2012-2014 timeframes for both groups, the people with, and without student loans. The report suggests that, for both starting periods (2005 and 2012) the fact that the student loan group had lower participation rates in credit was related to them just completing school and having little or no income. This theory appears to be supported by the fact that when you look at the two year period following, the “student loan borrowers were actually more credit active” in obtaining auto loans than their counterparts and the rate of new home mortgage originations during the next two year period were nearly identical between the student loan and control groups for periods looked at.
Student loan borrowers may be better credit risks…
The results from the TransUnion study also showed that consumers in the age group of 18-29 (typical age for consumers with student loans) that have a student loan in repayment “generally had better performance on new accounts than their peers without student loans.”
Millennials with student loans should be viewed as an opportunity for lenders…
The report concludes saying their findings are important “because it shows lenders that rather than being concerned about student loan borrowers’ ability to manage new credit, this may actually be an attractive marketable group, both in terms of higher credit demand as well as potentially better repayment performance,”
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
5 Key Strategies To Assure A Quick Home Sale At The Maximum Price
Continue reading “Student Loans May Not Be Impacting Home Ownership For Millennials As Much As Some Say“
By Dennis Norman, on April 1st, 2015 Seriously underwater homeowners, those people whose mortgage debt is 125 percent or more of their current home’s value, increased to 13.2% of all home loans during the 1st quarter of 2015, marking the first increase in rate from the prior quarter since February 2012, according to a report released this morning from RealtyTrac. As the chart below shows, the percentage of homeowners that are seriously underwater, peaked during the 2nd quarter of 2012 at 28.6% and has decreased every quarter until reaching the most recent low of 12.7% during the 4th quarter of last year.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend Continue reading “Percentage of Underwater Homeowners Increases For First Time In Nearly Three Years“
By Dennis Norman, on March 19th, 2015 This week FNC, Inc., a large company that provides real estate market information to mortgage lenders across the country, published their FNC Residential Price Index™ report which, as the table below shows, reported that St Louis home prices declined slightly in January from the month before (0.4%) and were also down slightly (0.7%) from a year ago. However, all is not as it may appear as this data, like most data you see reported nationally, and even often-times locally, it is based upon the St Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which consists of a total of 17 counties, 9 of which are in Missouri and the other 8 in Illinois. So, while the data for the St Louis MSA is an accurate reflection of what is going on in our region as a whole, you must remember, real estate is very local, so the more targeted the data, the better and that’s where we come in.
Our 5-county core market, which consists of the city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin, contains about 72% of the overall population of the St Louis MSA and makes up the bulk of the St Louis real estate market, hence our focus on the 5-county core. As the chart below illustrates, the median home prices for homes sold in the St Louis 5-county core market, did decline 6% from $179,900 in December to $169,000 in January, however, home prices increased from $167,500 in January 2014, to $169,000 in January 2015 so, not a large increase (0.8%) but an increase. Below that chart is a chart for just St Louis county showing that St Louis county home prices slipped slightly in January (0.9%) to a median price of $183,300 from $185,000 the month before, however, increased 6%, from January 2014, when the median home price was $173,000. Finally, the bottom chart shows St Charles County home prices fell 8.8% in January to a median price of $191,500 from $210,000 the month before, but were up slightly from January 2014 when the median home price in St Charles county was $190,900.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Continue reading “St Louis Home Prices Declined In January…or did they?“
By Dennis Norman, on March 12th, 2015 Almost half (42%) of the residents in Missouri plan to buy a home within the next five years, according to the recently released BMO Harris Home Buying Report. Buyers surveyed indicated they plan to pay an average of $242,000 for a home when they move and almost half of the potential home buyers have indicated they are willing to get into a bidding war to get the home they want.
Report Highlights:
- Buyers expect to make a down payment of 20 percent on average
- Seventy-five percent are confident they will have the money they will need to make a down payment on their next home.
- Thirty-five percent of current tenants are worried they will not be able to afford to purchase a home.
- Twenty percent expect to buy a home within one year, twenty-three percent within two years and forty-two percent within five years.
“Going from renting to buying is a big step, so it’s important to work with someone who knows the ins and outs of mortgages,” said Jeff Fothergill, St. Louis Mortgage Market Manager, BMO Harris Bank. “Whether you are a first-time home buyer or a veteran homeowner, it’s important to have a mortgage professional who will be able to explain the process, breakdown the numbers, and identify the mortgage options that are suitable for your particular situation.”
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Contact a BMO Harris Loan Officer Today for More Information
Continue reading “Almost Half Of Missouri Residents Expect To Buy A Home In The Next Five Years“
By Peter Wright, on March 5th, 2015 Traditionally the only Rental history that gets reported to the credit bureaus is negative! If you fail to make your payment to your landlord…look for a collection account or even a judgment to show up on your credit profile and potentially drop your credit score like a rock!But what about tenants that pay their rent on time? Remember rent is often an individual’s single largest monthly bill, and the impact of that reporting to the credit bureaus could be huge!There are over a 100-million renters in the U.S. and less than 1% of them have had any positive rental payment history reported to the credit bureaus…but that is all about to change! (We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
See ALL Homes That Will Be Open In St Louis This Weekend
Continue reading “Renters Get Respect!“
By Dennis Norman, on February 18th, 2015 Mortgage Delinquencies (borrowers that are 60 days or more late on their house payment) declined in the 4th quarter of 2014 marking the 12th consecutive quarter of declines in the mortgage delinquency rate, according to data just released by TrasnUnion. As the table below shows, the mortgage delinquency rate for the 4th quarter of last year was 3.29%, a decline of 2.1% from the quarter before and a decline of 14.5% from the 4th quarter of 2013.
Foreclosures and better borrowers are the reason…
Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting at TrasnUnion, said the improvement in mortgage delinquencies are driven “primarily by the ongoing clearance of the foreclosure backlog” and also notes that recent borrowers “have been performing exceptionally well“.
Young borrowers show best improvement….
Although mortgage delinquencies improved for all age groups, the youngest group (age 30 and under) had the largest improvement from a year ago with the mortgage delinquency rate dropping to 2.21% for 4th quarter 2014, a 24.3% decline from a year ago when the delinquency rate was 2.92%.
More home loans to “Non-Prime” borrowers…
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Continue reading “Mortgage Delinquencies Drop 14 Percent in Past Year- More Non-Prime Borrowers Getting Home Loans“
By Dennis Norman, on February 13th, 2015
The seriously delinquent mortgage rate (90+ days late) fell to 1.91 percent of all outstanding mortgages in November, the lowest level since December 2008, according to a report just released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The percentage of loans that were 30-59 days late rose in November to 1.69% from 1.39% the month before and the 60+ day delinquency rate rose from 2.32% in October to 2.36% in November.
The tables below have complete mortgage delinquency data.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Continue reading “Seriously Delinquent Mortgage Rate Falls to Lowest Level In Six Years“
By Dennis Norman, on February 10th, 2015 St Louis had 6,215 completed foreclosures in 2014 putting it 7th on the list of metros in the U.S. in terms of the number of completed foreclosures. As the table below, which lists the 25 top metro areas for foreclosures, shows, Tampa saw the most foreclosures with over 18,000 being completed during 2014, according to newly released data from Corelogic.
According to the Corelogic report, there were 563,294 completed foreclosures in the U.S. during 2014, the lowest total for any 12 month period since November 2007 when it was 589,570.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Foreclosures For Sale HERE
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
Continue reading “St Louis Ranked Seventh In Number of Completed Foreclosures In 2014“
By Dennis Norman, on February 4th, 2015 Down payment help is available for 87 percent of the homes in the U.S., according to an analysis completed recently by RealtyTrac and Down Payment Resource. This analysis looked at the geographic location of homes to see if they were within areas where down payment assistance are available to purchasers meeting the qualifications of the program.
In the St Louis area, there are several down payment help, or down payment assistance programs, available, most of which are administered by the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC). These programs include:
- Cash Assistance Loan Program (CAL)
- Qualified first-time homebuyers may receive a second mortgage equal to 3% of their mortgage amount which can be used for down payment or closing costs.
- The loan is a five-year loan at 0 percent interest with no monthly payments required. The loan will be forgiven after the buyer has occupied the home for 5 years.
- Non-Cash Assistance Loan Program (NON-CAL)
- Qualified first-time homebuyers that do not need down payment assistance can obtain a lower interest rate home loan than those that use the CAL program above.
- Because of the lower interest rates, borrower will have a lower monthly payment.
The best down payment assistance program in St Louis though is the BMO Harris Bank Affordable Housing Grant Program. This program is available to all qualified home buyers (not just first-tome buyers) and, instead of being a loan that may be forgiven after living in the home for a period of time, it is a no-strings attached grant that can be used for down payment or closing costs. Grants of up to $3,000 are available to home buyers that purchase homes in specified neighborhoods throughout St Louis. Click HERE to find out more about this great down payment help program!
By Shelly Clark, on February 3rd, 2015 Flood zones are land areas identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Each area of land is mapped and labeled into a flood zone. FEMA flood maps include zones that are broken into several areas.
Here are the most common flood zone areas that you will see in Missouri:
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Search St Louis Homes For Sale HERE
Continue reading “What Does It Mean To Be In A Flood Zone?“
By Dennis Norman, on January 9th, 2015 Yesterday, President Obama announced that he will, by executive order, direct FHA to lower the mortgage insurance premium charged on FHA loans to home buyer from 1.35 percent to .85 percent, lowering home buyer’s house payments by about $900 per year on average. Chris Polychron, the President of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) showed his organizations support of the President’s action and highlighted the positive impact NAR felt it would have on the housing market stating “we (NAR) are optimistic that more affordable FHA loans will have a positive impact on first-time buyers who have been entering the market at a lower than normal rate.” NAR has stated that the lower cost of an FHA loan would add 90,000 to 140,000 additional annual home purchases.
The cost of the mortgage insurance premium on an FHA loan was .90% back in 2010, increased to 1.15% in 2011, then to 1.25% in 2012 and finally 1.35% in 2013. NAR first addressed this issue back in April 2014 when, then President, Steve Brown wrote a letter to Carol Galante, the Assistant Secretary for Housing at the time, to draw her attention to the impact the higher fees were having on the housing market and urging her to take action to lower the premiums. In the NAR letter, it was pointed out in 2014 FHA fees accounted for nearly 20 percent of a homeowners monthly mortgage payment.
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Continue reading “FHA To Lower Fees Opening The Door To Around 100,000 Home Buyers“
By Dennis Norman, on January 6th, 2015 As a result of the real estate market crash in 2008 and the subsequent downturn in the economy, many homeowners with prior stellar payment records on their mortgages ended up losing their homes in foreclosure or being forced to do a short sale to get out from under it. Most of these former homeowners then became renters but have the desire to buy a home again once back on their feet. However, depending upon just how severely their credit was impacted as well as whether they had a foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy, they may have to wait as long as 7 years to obtain a home loan again. However, thanks to an FHA program called “Back to Work”, which, surprisingly, has received little attention, there is hope for these homeowners including the opportunity to obtain a home loan again without the normal waiting period if their problems were related to a job loss and they meet certain criteria.
The Back to Work program allows borrowers that may be otherwise ineligible for an FHA-insured mortgage due to FHA’s waiting period for bankruptcies, foreclosures, deeds-in-lieu, and short sales, as well as delinquencies and/or indications of derogatory credit, including collections and judgments, to be eligible for an FHA-insured mortgage if the borrower meets certain guidelines, which include:
(We work hard on this and sure would appreciate a “Like”)[iframe http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLouisRealEstateNews&send=false&layout=standard&width=50&show_faces=false&font&colorscheme=light&action=like&height=35&appId=537283152977556 100 35 ]
Continue reading “Program To Help Short Sellers and Foreclosed Owners Buy Again“
|
Recent Articles
|
