By Dennis Norman, on August 10th, 2013
Home Price Appreciation for 2013 is expected to be 6.75 percent (year-over-year from 2012), according to the average estimate of a panel of 106 economists surveyed by Pulsenomics. Interesting enough, though the economists had varying opinions, not one panelist project a decrease in home prices for 2013, in fact the lowest estimation of home price increase for 2013 was 1.69 percent and at the other end of the spectrum, the highest projection was 15 percent.
Also worth noting from the survey was the fact that 88 percent of the economists on the panel did not feel that Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on August 8th, 2013
That’s right, along with very affordable home prices, Missouri also has almost the lowest closing costs in the nation at an average of $2,188 for lenders’ origination fees and third party fees, second only to the state of Wisconsin with average closing costs of $2,119, according to the 2013 closing cost survey by Bankrate.
See table below for survey results for all states:
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By Dennis Norman, on August 7th, 2013
Nearly three out of four people (74%) say now is a good time to buy a home, according to the July 2013 National Housing Survey by Fannie Mae. In addition, forty-percent of the people surveyed feel now is a good time to sell a home, this is up for 36 percent that felt that way the month before and matches the survey high since it’s inception.
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS:
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By Dennis Norman, on August 3rd, 2013
St Louis mortgage interest rates are on the rise and hitting levels we have not seen in the past year and a half and the 3.x percent rates we have become somewhat accustomed to are gone. However, before you panic or think the housing market is headed toward another crash as a result, you should keep in mind that todays rates (see below for current rates) of about 4.5 percent for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is still lower than the average monthly mortgage interest was for more than 40 years proceeding 2012. Granted, looking back, 2012 was Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on July 26th, 2013
The truth on the Mortgage Interest Deduction
Currently, lawmakers in Washington D.C., while looking for ways to “close loopholes” and cut spending, are looking hard at something once considered “untouchable”, the mortgage interest deduction (MID). While there is probably little chance of totally eliminating the ability for homeowners to deduct the mortgage interest they paid on their homes, there is a possibility the deduction could be altered significantly or capped, and, perhaps, even phased out over time.
Like most current events, there are stories out there with varying degrees of accuracy about the benefit of the mortgage interest deduction Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on July 23rd, 2013
The St Louis foreclosure rate fell in May to 1.16 percent, down 33 percent from a year ago when the St Louis foreclosure rate was 1.75 percent, according to newly released data from Corelogic. More good news in the data is the fact that the St Louis mortgage delinquency rate declined in May as well, falling to 3.88 percent of all mortgage loans, down 17 percent from a year ago when the St Louis mortgage delinquency rate was 4.7 percent.
Search St Louis Foreclosures HERE
For Advice on How to Buy St Louis Foreclosures From A 2000+ Home Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on July 10th, 2013 Foreclosures and Shadow Inventory are each down double digits from a year ago as the market continues to improve. In May there were 52,000 foreclosures completed in the U.S., a decline of 27 percent from 71,000 completed foreclosures a year ago, according to a new report from CoreLogic. The shadow inventory (foreclosed homes that are bank owned but not listed for sale) l falling below one million homes in April, a decline of 34 percent from it’s peak in 2010, when it reached 3 million homes.
Mortgage delinquencies are improving as well with less than 2.3 million mortgages (5.6 percent Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on July 8th, 2013 The number homeowners in a negative equity position (owing more on their mortgage than the current value of their home) during the first quarter of this year fell to just 7.3 million homeowners in the U.S. or less than 15 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, according to the most recent data from Lenders Processing Services (LPS). This represents a decline of almost 50 percent in the number of negative equity homeowners from a year ago. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 25th, 2013
St Louis Foreclosures fell in April to 1.2 percent of all St Louis homes with a mortgage, a decline of 33 percent from a year ago when the rate was 1.78 percent and is now at the lowest rate in well over 3 years, according to a report just released by CoreLogic. This puts St Louis foreclosures less than half the national rate for April of 2.65 percent.
In addition, the report reveals that St Louis mortgage delinquencies are also down significantly for April 2013 which 3.96 percent of St Louis mortgage being 90 days or more delinquent, a Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
St Louis Mortgage companies were not making many 30-year, fixed-rate jumbo mortgages a year ago, but now many St Louis Mortgage companies are offering fixed jumbos – with very competitive rates, including my firm, Paramount Mortgage.
As interest rates start to rise, homeowners are thinking they may not see rates this low in the future and if their ARM is maturing a couple of years from now, they could be in a tough spot.
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By Dennis Norman, on June 12th, 2013 There were 88,367 St Louis homeowners with negative equity during the first quarter of this year, according to a report just released by CoreLogic. This represents 15.7 percent of the St. Louis homeowners with a mortgage and is a decline of 10 percent from the prior quarter when there were 98,365 St Louis homeowners with negative equity, or 17.5 percent of all St Louis homeowners with a mortgage.
For the State of Missouri as a whole, there were 120,056 homeowners, or 15.3 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, with negative equity during the first quarter of this year. On Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on June 11th, 2013 Over three of every four people (76 percent) say now is a good time to buy a home according to the National Housing Survey for May just released by Fannie Mae. Would be sellers are also feeling better about the housing market with 40 percent saying now is a good time to sell a home.
When it comes to financing that home purchase, American’s are getting more optimistic as well, with 46 percent saying it would be easy to get a home loan today, however 50 percent believe it would be difficult to obtain a mortgage.
Thinking of Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 23rd, 2013 Slightly over 1 of every 4 (26.4 percent) St Louis homeowners with a mortgage are underwater or, in other words, in a negative equity position owing more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth, according to a report by Zillow. This is slightly higher than the national rate of 25.4 percent and, unfortunately, is predicted by Zillow to increase in the coming months to about 26.7 percent by January 2014.
In addition to the St Louis homeowners that are underwater, the report indicates that another 20.7 percent of the St Louis homeowners with a mortgage have less than Continue Reading →
One-third of Homebuyers Surveyed Are Ill-prepared to Get a Mortgage
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS 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 Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on May 9th, 2013 As of April 2013, there were 182,678 homeowners in Missouri (26.68 percent) that were underwater on their mortgage meaning that their loan balances exceeds 125 percent of the current value of their home, according to a report just released by RealtyTrac. As a comparison, Illinois’ underwater homeowner rate is 34.79, Florida 41.24, Nevada 52.07 and California 25.07 In a little more upbeat news, the RealtyTrac report also revealed that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions) in April affected 144,790 properties in the U.S. which is a decline of 5 percent from the month before and a Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS 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 Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on April 30th, 2013 Foreclosures were completed on 55,000 properties in the U.S. in March 2013, an increase of 6 percent from the month before but a decline of 16 percent from March 2012. Foreclosure activity has decreased over 50 percent (52) from when the number of foreclosures peaked back in 2010.
Looking to buy a foreclosure? Click here for current list of St Louis foreclosures for sale
Highlights of the Corelogic Foreclosure Report for March 2013:
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By Dennis Norman, on April 25th, 2013 Mortgage interest rates keep falling and this week the interest rate on a 15 year fixed-rate mortgage hit a new record low of 2.8 percent, according to a weekly national survey conducted by Bankrate.com. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on April 24th, 2013 The housing market continues to show signs that a recovery is underway with today’s report from LPS showing that mortgage delinquencies in March 2013 fell 3.13 percent from the month before and were down 3.03 percent from a year ago, according to a report just released by LPS. The foreclosure inventory rate fell slightly (0.41 percent) from the month before but was down almost 20 percent (19.61)from a year ago.
Almost all the data on the housing market, including the St Louis housing market, has been encouraging lately and pointing toward signs that a recovery is underway. Woo hoo!
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Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS 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 Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS 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?
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By Diana Davis, on March 21st, 2013 Making Sense of Confusing Real Estate Terms
If you are buying, selling or refinancing a home you will come across real estate terms and industry lingo that may sound foreign to you. To help address this issue, below you will find definitions for the most common real estate terms that you are likely to come across when buying, selling or refinancing a home. If you have other questions about title insurance, or the role of the title company in these transactions, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help.
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By News Desk, on March 12th, 2013 Attorney General Chris Koster today filed a lawsuit against two related businesses that purported to provide loan modification and mortgage relief to desperate homeowners. Koster’s suit is against Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, LLC and Mortgage Law Group, LLC, as well as the companies’ managing partner, Jason Edward Searns; senior partner, Thomas Macey; and senior partner, Jeffery Aleman. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 7th, 2013 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. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 27th, 2013 The St. Louis foreclosure rate declined in December 2012 to 1.29 percent of outstanding home loans, a 25 percent drop from a year ago when the foreclosure rate was 1.72 percent, according to a newly released report from Corelogic. In addition, the St. Louis mortgage delinquency rate for December was 4.39 percent, down 12.5 percent from the year before when 5.02 percent of the outstanding St. Louis home loans were 90 days or more delinquent. Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on February 27th, 2013 It is more important now than ever, as a result of increasing regulation and scrutiny of the mortgage industry, to plan ahead when you are planning on obtaining a mortgage loan to buy a house or refinance an existing loan to ensure that the process will go smoothly and as expected. Your loan approval is subject to the financial information you provide at the time of your loan approval. Any subsequent changes in your financial situation before the actual date of closing could jeopardize your loan approval and delay your closing. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 23rd, 2013 There were 23,348 fewer St. Louis homeowners underwater on their mortgage (owe more than the current value of their home) or, in other words are in a “negative equity” position, at the end of 2012 than there were at the beginning of the year, according to the Zillow® Negative Equity Report for 4th quarter 2012. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 20th, 2013 Conventional loans are traditional home mortgages used for primary residence, second homes or investment purposes. There are standard underwriting guidelines for conventional conforming loans up to $417,000. These loans are available as a fixed or variable (ARM) rate with a variety of repayment terms. Borrowers typically have the means for a down payment and good credit histories (680 or higher). Private Mortgage Insurance is required for loan to values greater than 80%. Used for primary residence, second homes or investment purposes Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on February 13th, 2013 “Nobody ‘wants’ to pay PMI, it’s just that we have no choice, especially if you want to buy a house and don’t have say an extra $50k to $80k lying around for a down payment, which most first-time buyers don’t.” Chris Durst, a first-time homebuyer and commenter on Investopedia.com. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 7th, 2013 Forty-one percent of the respondents to the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for January 2013 said they expect home prices to rise in the next 12 months which is down slightly from 43 percent last month but up significantly from a year ago when only 30 percent felt home prices would rise. Continue Reading →
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