St Louis Home Prices - St Louis Real Estate News

St Louis Real Estate Market Update VIDEO – October 2015

By Dennis Norman, on October 19th, 2015

The St Louis Real estate market continues to out perform last year! However, as we head into winter, home prices in all five primary counties of the St Louis market are trending downward somewhat. However, as I’ve said so many times, real estate is very local so, as I would expect, some local markets are out performing others and home prices are trending upward.

So, if you are a homeowner, how do you know if now is a good time to sell? Well, if the supply of homes for sale in your market is low now could be a Continue Reading →

Best Neighborhoods In St Louis To Be A Home Seller Today

By Dennis Norman, on October 12th, 2015

If you live in Crestwood, Glendale, Warson Woods or Rock Hill and have considered selling your home, now is the time! With less than a 2 month supply of homes for sale, these four St Louis communities are definitely seller’s markets and now would be the time to list your home for sale. In addition to those 4 areas, as the list below reveals, there are 17 other St Louis neighborhoods that are also very attractive seller’s markets, each with less than a 3 month supply of homes currently listed for sale. Continue Reading →

Where Are The Buyers Markets In St Louis?

By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2015

Where are the buyers markets in St Louis? You cannot determine the health of a real estate market with just one piece of data, however, a good indicator of a potential buyers market would be areas with a high supply of homes for supply. Note that I said supply and not number. This is important, as some areas, such as Chesterfield for example, may have what seems like a large number of homes currently for sale, but given the size of the market and number of sales, it could still well be a sellers market. The supply of homes for sale on the other hand, takes into account the number of active listings as well as the rate of home sales and then determines how many months it would take to “sell out” of homes on the market if no new listings came on the market. A supply of around 4 -5 months has historically been pretty typical. The list below, which is from our real-time data that you won’t find anywhere else and is always up to date, shows the cities within St Louis with the highest supply of homes for sale based upon the current sales rate thus indicating a slow market with too much supply and very possible some good buying opportunities. Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Home Prices Have Rebounded From Crash And Passed Former Peak

By Dennis Norman, on September 30th, 2015

St Louis home prices have made a strong recovery since bottoming out in 2011 as a result of the housing market bubble bursting in 2008. In fact, for the 5-county St Louis area I often focus on (the city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) home prices have increased 27 percent to a median price of $168,313 after hitting a post-bubble low of $132,500 in 2011. In fact, as my chart below shows, the median 5-county home price for 2015 has topped the peak price of $160,000 at the height of the market in 2007 by over 5 percent. Continue Reading →

New Home Sales In U.S. Hit 7 Year High In August-Sales Slip In Midwest

By Dennis Norman, on September 25th, 2015

New home sales in the U.S. in August sold at the highest annual rate since February of 2008, according to a report just released by the U.S. Commerce Department. New homes sold in August at a seasonally-adjusted, annual-rate, of 552,000 homes, an increase of 5.7 percent from the month before an an increase of 21.6 percent from August 2014 when new homes sold at an annual rate of 454,000 homes. Continue Reading →

St Louis Distressed Home Sales Share Of Home Sale Market Declines Over 50 Percent

By Dennis Norman, on September 24th, 2015

St Louis distressed home sales share of the St Louis real estate market continues to decline minimizing the negative effect on home prices caused by distressed home sales. In August, distressed home sales, primarily consisting of foreclosures and REO’s (bank owned properties) at this point as short sales have fallen to the point to be statistically insignificant, accounted for just 6 percent of the overall home sales in the St Louis metro area, according to a report just released this morning by RealtyTrac. This is a decline of over 50 percent (56.3%) from a year ago when distressed home sales accounted for 13.7 percent of total home sales in St Louis. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO – September 2015

By Dennis Norman, on September 23rd, 2015

The St Louis Real Estate market is still doing well! However, some cities, like Valley Park for example, that were strong sellers markets not that long ago have now become more of a buyer’s market and other cities have flipped the other direction. To find out which neighborhoods are buyers markets, which are sellers markets, what home prices are doing and a whole lot more, check out our newly released 5-minute, market video update for September 2015, below. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Up Slightly In August From Year Ago…Big drop from July

By Dennis Norman, on September 21st, 2015

There were 2,370 existing homes sold in St Louis during July (in the 5-county core market) an increase of 1.5 percent from August 2014 when there were 2,335 homes sold. August home sales were down 16.9% from the month before as were St Louis home prices which fell from a median of $183,779 in July to $178,500 in August. The St Louis core market consists of the city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin. Continue Reading →

New Home Sales In the Midwest Decline In July But Prices Increase

By Dennis Norman, on August 25th, 2015

New home sales in the midwest declined in July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 54,000 homes, a decline of 6.9 percent from the month before when sales were at a rate of 58,000 homes, according to a report just released by the U.S. Commerce Department. The new home sales rate for the midwest in July 2015 was exactly the same as July 2014. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales and Prices Rise in July

By Dennis Norman, on August 24th, 2015

Home sales in St Louis, for the 5-county core market, in July totaled 3,226 sales, an increase of 16.8 percent from July 2014 when there were 2,762 homes sold. The St Louis core market consists of the city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin. While all of the 5 counties included in the core saw an increase in home sales from a year ago, the results, as the charts and individual results below show, varied widely by county. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO – August 2015

By Dennis Norman, on August 17th, 2015

The St Louis Real Estate market continues to be strong! Homes are selling quick in St. Louis and at prices that show solid appreciation over the past couple of years. Get the details on the current St Louis real estate market, as well as where in St Louis are the hottest markets as well as the coldest ones, and much more in our newly released, 5-minute, market video update for August 2015, below. Continue Reading →

The Ferguson Real Estate Market..one year later

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 still struggling to recover from the housing bubble burst in 2008 which had severely impacted the area. Continue Reading →

Home Prices Have Increased Over 30 Percent In Clayton School District In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on August 4th, 2015

I often talk about the effect the quality of a public school district has on home prices so decided to take a look at a few of the larger (and many of the top ranked) districts to see how home price appreciation has been during the past year. Continue Reading →

Homeownership In America Hits Lowest Rate In Nearly Fifty Years

By Dennis Norman, on July 29th, 2015

In the second quarter of this year, 63.4 percent of the households in the U.S. were homeowners, marking the lowest rate of home ownership since 1967, nearly 50 years ago, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Continue Reading →

New Home Sales Slip In June In The Midwest

By Dennis Norman, on July 24th, 2015

New home sales in the midwest slipped in June to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 56,000 homes, a decline of 11.1 percent from the month before when sales were at a rate of 63,000 homes, according to a report just released by the U.S. Commerce Department. Even though new home sales cooled off in June, the pace for June was still 5.7 percent higher than June 2014 when new home sales came in at a rate of 53,000 homes. Continue Reading →

Foreclosure Sales In St Louis Decline Over 4 Percent In June From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on July 23rd, 2015

Foreclosure Sales In St Louis (the 5-county core market) in June 2015 totaled 374 sales, a decline of 4.3 percent from June 2014 where there were 391 foreclosure sales. The median price of the homes sold in June 2015 was 60,150, and increase of 7.2 percent from a year ago when the median price was $56,100. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales In June Increased Over 15 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on July 22nd, 2015

St Louis Home sales, for the 5-county core market, in June totaled 3,542 sales, an increase of 15.4 percent from June 2014 when there were 3,068 homes sold. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-July 2015

By Dennis Norman, on July 21st, 2015

The St Louis real estate market, like the weather, is HOT! Many of our listings are selling the first day and then for full price or above! Naturally though, this is not true for all areas of St Louis nor all prices ranges. Find where the hot seller’s markets, as well as cold buyer’s markets are in St Louis in our newly released, 5-minute, market video update for July 2015, below.

If you have considered selling your home, or perhaps tried and failed in the past year or so, now is the time to consider it again. Give us a Continue Reading →

Are St Louis Home Prices Too High?

By Dennis Norman, on July 10th, 2015

The St Louis real estate market continues to be hot with many sellers benefiting from the low inventory of homes for sale resulting in buyers flocking to new listings and, when the homes are priced right, multiple offers being received in the first day. Happened for one of my clients again this week…took the listing live on Tuesday at noon, had over 8 buyers through that afternoon and evening and multiple offers in hand by the next morning, all above listing price. Granted, there were a couple of weeks of pre-listing marketing we did to generate interest, and the seller worked hard to make sure the home was in show condition, but still, it sold quick! Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Home Prices Have Surpassed 2006 Peak Prices

By Dennis Norman, on July 7th, 2015

The median price of homes sold in St Louis (the 5-county core market) this year thus far has been $169,000, an increase of 5.7 percent from when the market peaked in 2006 at $159,900. While the peak of the housing bubble is considered to be 2006, as the chart below shows, St Louis home prices actually peaked in 2007 at $162,000 but, in either event, St Louis home prices have not only regained what was lost when the housing bubble burst, but then some. Continue Reading →

Bank and Government Owned Home Sales Down But Selling For Record Percentage of List Price

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 Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Homes Are Affordable-Down payment Assistance Can Make Even More So

By Dennis Norman, on June 26th, 2015

St Louis area homes are already affordable based upon the relationship between the median home price and median income for the area, but can become even more affordable when home buyers take advantage of down payment assistance programs that are available throughout the area. Continue Reading →

How To Buy A Home In A Hot Market Like This One

By Dennis Norman, on June 25th, 2015

It wasn’t that long ago that sellers were practically begging buyers to purchase their home but that is not the case today. Today, in some very sought after St Louis neighborhoods the inventory of homes is so low and demand so high that when a new listing hits the market it’s like a feeding frenzy for buyers. This has led to frustration and disappointment for many buyers leading some to become a little too overanxious and buy a home that really is not right for them or overpay for one out of fear of “missing out”. Continue Reading →

St Louis County Cities With Highest Home Prices

By Dennis Norman, on June 10th, 2015

What cities in St Louis County have the highest home prices? Well, based upon homes that are either currently for sale or sold within the past year, the top 3 spots on both lists (current market or past 12 months0 are occupied by the St Louis County cities of Huntleigh, Country Life Acres and Ladue. Continue Reading →

City of St Louis Makes Top Spot on National List of Top Buyer’s Markets

By Dennis Norman, on May 28th, 2015

The city of St Louis came in at the top of list of RealtyTrac’s “Top Buyer’s Markets”, just released this morning. For the report, RealtyTrac analyzed average sales prices and estimated market values at time of sale for homes and condos sold in April in 315 U.S. counties to come up with a list of the Top Seller’s Markets and the Top Buyer’s Markets. Continue Reading →

New Home Sales in Midwest During April Increase 20 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on May 26th, 2015

New home sales here in the midwest region of the U.S. occurred in April at an adjusted annual rate of 78,000 homes, an increase of 36.8 percent from the month before when new home sales activity was at the rate of 57,000 homes per year and an increase of 20 percent from April 2014 when new homes were selling at the rate of 65,000 homes a year, according to data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. Continue Reading →

Home Price Appreciation Expected To Be At Historically Normal Rate Over Next Few Years

By Dennis Norman, on May 15th, 2015

Pulsenomics just released the results of it’s most recent Home Price Expectations Survey in which over 100 housing experts were questioned about their expectations for the housing market in the coming years. The report revealed that, overall, the panel predicts home prices from now through 2019 to increase at an annual rate of 3.6% which just so happens to be consistent with the overall historical performance of the market. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales In March Increase Nearly Seventeen Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on April 24th, 2015

St Louis home sales, in the 5-county “core” St Louis market, increased 16.9 percent in March from the year before, with 2,589 homes sold in March 2015 up from 2,214 sold in March 2014. As the chart below shows, there was the normal “seasonal” dip during the winter months, but the St Louis real estate market has come out of winter strong!

St Louis home prices on the rise too!

As the chart below also illustrates, the median price of homes sold in St Louis has increased from a year ago as well. The median price of homes sold in Continue Reading →

Property Tax Rates In St Louis County Highest In Area – Over Fifty Percent Higher Than Some Neighboring Counties

By Dennis Norman, on April 2nd, 2015

Real property tax rates in St Louis County effectively cost homeowners in that county about 1.43 percent of the value of the home which is 57 percent higher than Jefferson and Franklin counties were property taxes cost homeowners about .91 percent of their homes value. Continue Reading →

Are Home Prices Rising Faster Than Income, Again?

By Dennis Norman, on March 27th, 2015

RealtyTrac published a report earlier this week that prompted an article on Bloomberg Business with a headline of “U.S. Home Prices Are Surging 13 Times Faster Than Wages”. RealtyTrac’s report included a chart (below) showing several metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. where, over a recent two year period, home prices were outpacing wages and that “either wages are going to need to go up or (home) prices are going to need to at least flatten out and wait for wages to catch up”. Continue Reading →