St Louis Home Prices - St Louis Real Estate News

Valley Park: The Hottest Market In St Louis?

By Dennis Norman, on September 3rd, 2014

I’ll be honest, there was a time, and perhaps not that long ago, when I wouldn’t have thought I would have used “Valley Park” and “Hottest Market in St Louis” in the same sentence but the day may have come! No, I have nothing against Valley Park, it’s just it has struggled in the past with perception issues but it appears it has overcome much of that and people today are seeing the value offered in this west county alternative to higher priced neighboring communities.

According to our Market Action Index (see below for the top 10 list) which looks Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Down In July While Prices Are Up

By Dennis Norman, on August 22nd, 2014

St Louis Home Sales were down slightly in July 2014 (2.25%) from a year ago however St Louis home prices increased 3.3% during the same period, according the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS.

As the table below shows, St Charles County and Franklin County both saw an increase in home sales in July 2014 from July 2014 while the other 3 counties in the core market saw a decrease in home sales during the same period. Home prices increased in the counties of St Louis, St Charles and Jefferson and declined slightly in the City Continue Reading →

Survey Shows Two-Thirds of Americans Think Now Is a Good Time to Buy a House

By Dennis Norman, on August 19th, 2014

The Fannie Mae monthly national housing survey for July 2014 shows 67 percent of those surveyed feel now is a good time to buy a home, down from 70 percent that felt that way the month before and down from 74 percent that responded in July 2013 that it was a good time to buy. Forty-three percent of the respondents feel now is a good time to sell a home, an increase from 40 percent the month before and up from July 2013 when 40% felt it was a good time to sell. Continue Reading →

St Louis Neighborhoods With Largest Price Gains In Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on August 12th, 2014

The largest price gains in home prices over the past year are found in a variety of St Louis area neighborhoods however there is a concentration of them in the 40 corridor from mid-county to west county. In compiling data for this article, I looked at what I feel is the best indicator of home price change, price per square foot, and selected neighborhoods that had at least a 10% increase in home prices during the past 12 months.

There are charts below showing the price per foot for the past year for each specific neighborhood as well as our Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-August 2014

By Dennis Norman, on August 11th, 2014

St Louis home prices have increased in the past year and you can find out by how much, as well as a ton of other useful information on the St Louis real estate market, such as where the HOT SELLERS MARKETS are in St Louis, the GOOD BUYERS MARKETS (down to just 11 neighborhoods this month) and a whole lot more in our 5-Minute Market Update Video For August 2014 below.

Many areas of St Louis have become sellers markets due to increasing demand and lack of inventory. If you have considered selling, or perhaps tried and failed in the Continue Reading →

Missouri Ranks Third In Nation For Lowest Mortgage Closing Costs

By Dennis Norman, on August 4th, 2014

Missouri, along with it’s affordable home prices, also has the 3rd lowest mortgage closing costs according to data just released today by BankRate. According to the report, in Missouri, the average mortgage closing costs on a $200,000 home loan are $2,387.00, almost 6% less than the national average of $2,539.00. Holden Lewis, senior mortgage analyst at Bankrate, said mortgage closing costs have risen 6 percent in the past year and says “new mortgage regulations are the biggest reasons why closing costs went up“.

Texas, at $3,046, had the highest closing costs in the nation, followed by Alaska at $2,897 and Continue Reading →

Will Paying A Higher Commission Rate Get Your Home Sold Faster?

By Dennis Norman, on July 23rd, 2014

During the 30+ years I have been in the real estate business I have debated this topic with my peers more times than I can possibly count and, it’s safe to say, rarely did we reach a consensus. The topic of commissions is a very sensitive one in this industry and there are strong opinions on both sides of the fence as to whether offering a higher commission rate to the selling agent will in fact get a home sold faster.

Before I go further I should pause and give some quick background info on real estate commissions and how Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales and Prices Increase From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on July 22nd, 2014

St Louis Home Sales as well as St Louis home prices have increased in the past year 3,179 homes sold in June 2014 in the St Louis core market (St Louis city and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) an increase of 3 percent from June 2013 when there were 3,086 homes sold. During this same period, St Louis home prices increased 5.81 percent from a median price of $155,000 in June 2013 to a median price of $164,000 in June 2014, according to the latest data available from MORE, REALTORS.

As Continue Reading →

The Importance Of Pricing Your Home Right From The Start

By Dennis Norman, on July 21st, 2014

While the St Louis real estate market is recovering from the aftermath of the housing bubble hurst, the market is still very price sensitive and therefore I cannot over emphasize the importance of pricing your home right from the outset at the beginning of the listing.

However, many sellers fear this strategy as they think no matter what price they list at the buyer will still offer less than the asking price. I will address this issue by saying that is simply not true. Buyers today, in my humble opinion, are more educated and savvy than homes buyers were during Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-July 2014

By Dennis Norman, on July 10th, 2014

More than 15 neighborhoods in the St Louis area are HOT SELLERS MARKETS while more than 15 are HOT MARKETS FOR BUYERS. If you are a home buyer, seller or investor, wouldn’t it be good to know where these areas are? Or, if you are a homeowner that has considered selling your home, wouldn’t it be good to know if your neighborhood is currently a sellers market? Well, you can find out all of this and much more with just a 5 minute investment of your time by checking out our July 2014 5-Minute Market Update Video below.

Many areas Continue Reading →

Consumer Confidence In Housing Market Increasing But Normal Housing Market Still In The Distance

By Dennis Norman, on July 8th, 2014

Consumers continue to gain confidence in the housing market but not enough to return us to a “normal” housing market, according to the June 2014 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey. In the survey consumers are asked, among other things, what their expectations are with regard to home prices and, while the expectation is for home values to increase 2.4% in the next 12 months, this is slightly lower than indicated in the previous few months. When asked about the expectation with regard to mortgage interested rates, 55% of the consumers think interest rates will rise in the next year, this Continue Reading →

St Louis Lofts Making Comeback

By Dennis Norman, on June 24th, 2014

St Louis Lofts are making a comeback both in popularity and price, according to the latest data available from Mid America Regional Information Systems (MARIS), the St Louis REALTOR® MLS. As the charts below show, loft sales in St Louis peaked in 2006 (when all real estate peaked) with sales of lofts hitting 218 for the year and the median price of lofts sold that year coming in at a record $215,700. After 2006 however, sales fell year after year finally hitting a low in 2010 when only 67 lofts were sold, a decline of almost 70% from the peak. Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices Increased Four Percent In Past Year on Fewer Sales

By Dennis Norman, on June 23rd, 2014

St Louis Home Prices rose 4 percent from May 2013’s median sales price of $150,000 to May 2014’s median price of $156,000 for the 5-county core St Louis housing market which consists of the City of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin, according to the latest data released by MORE, REALTORS. As the table below shows, the city of St Louis saw the biggest gain in median home prices with the median sales price increasing over 27% from May 2013 to May 2014.

St Louis Home Sales are still Continue Reading →

The St Louis Luxury Home Market

By Dennis Norman, on June 20th, 2014

The St Louis Luxury Home Market is concentrated within the central corridor of the St Louis area with the highest median home prices (of homes listed) currently being found in Frontenac, with a median price of $1,326,654, followed by Ladue, Town and Country, Clayton and Creve Coeur.

Like the rest of the St Louis real estate market, The St Louis Luxury Home Market suffered when the housing bubble burst a few years ago but is it on the road to recovery like the bulk of the St Louis housing market? To address this, I looked at the market from several Continue Reading →

Mortgage Default Rates Fall Almost 30 Percent From Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on June 17th, 2014

Mortgage default rates, as tracked by the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, on first mortgages were at .92 in May 2014, down from 1.01 the month before and down almost 30% (29.7%) from May 2013 when the first mortgage default rate index was at 1.31. The default rate index on second mortgages is improving as well with the index for May 2014 at .57, down from .63 in April and from .60 in May 2013, according to the report.

This is good news for the housing market and consistent with the trend we have seen lately of lower delinquencies and Continue Reading →

St Louis Inventory of Homes For Sale Drying Up In Many Areas

By Dennis Norman, on June 13th, 2014

The inventory of homes for sale in several St Louis neighborhoods is down to the lowest level we have seen in years. It would be great if that was the result of skyrocketing home sales however, it’s really a combination of home sales and a lack of sellers. While there are many different reasons people are not choosing to sell right now, I believe it is a lack of equity that is holding back many homeowners from selling, particularly in the lower price ranges. Last month I did an article about the fact that 40 percent of St Louis homeowners Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-June 2014

By Dennis Norman, on June 12th, 2014

St Louis home prices have, in some areas, recovered to around 95% of home prices during the peak of the housing bubble. Get the specifics on this as well as much more in our June 2014 5-Minute Market Update Video below.

Many areas of St Louis have become sellers markets due to increasing demand and lack of inventory. If you have considered selling, or perhaps tried and failed in the past year or so, now is the time to consider it again. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to let you know the value of your home in Continue Reading →

Almost Half Of Consumers Surveyed Think Home Prices Will Rise In Next Year

By Dennis Norman, on June 9th, 2014

Forty-eight percent of Americans surveyed feel home prices will increase in the next twelve months and only 7 percent think home prices will decline, accordion to Fannie Mae’s May 2014 National Housing Survey which was just released. As for the economy, consumers weren’t so optimistic as, according to the report, 57% of those surveyed feel the economy is headed the wrong direction.

Other highlights from the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for May 2014:

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Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices Close to Recovering Lost Ground After Peak

By Dennis Norman, on June 5th, 2014

St Louis Home Prices are close to regaining what was lost after home prices peaked during the boom and then crashed and burned, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. As the table below shows, home prices in the three major St Louis counties (St Louis, St Charles and the city of St Louis) have recovered to about 95% of what they peaked at during the boom. The outlying counties of Jefferson and Franklin have been slower to recover.

Find your home’s market value online in LESS THAN A MINUTE!

(We work hard on this and Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices Have Risen and Fallen In Past Year – Varies By Zip

By Dennis Norman, on June 2nd, 2014

St. Louis home prices have risen in the past year for the metropolitan area as a whole somewhere around 8 percent, according to Clear Capital’s home price index. As the chart below shows though, St Louis home prices over the past year have performed quite differently in different zip codes. As the chart shows, the highest performing zip codes in the St Louis area saw home prices increase about 20% in the past year while the lowest performing zip codes saw prices fall by a couple of percent in the last year.

(We work hard on this and sure would Continue Reading →

Distressed Home Sales in St Louis Metro Area Fall Almost 30 Percent From A Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on May 29th, 2014

Distressed home sales in St Louis accounted for just under eleven percent (10.7%) of all home sales in the St Louis MSA in April 2014, according to data released just this morning from RealtyTrac. This is a decline of 29.1% from April 2013 when distressed home sales in St Louis were responsible for 15.1% of all home sales. Distressed home sales include short-sales (when sellers sell for less than they owe with the agreement of their lender), REO’s (bank-owned real estate acquired through foreclosure and now being resold) and foreclosure auction sales (when homes are actually sold at foreclosure).

Since Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Home Prices Rose Just Over 2 Percent in Past Year

By Dennis Norman, on May 27th, 2014

St. Louis area home prices (the five county “core” market consisting of St Louis city and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Franklin and Jefferson) increased 2.2% from April 2013 to April 2014. The median home sales price in April 2013 for the 5 county core St Louis housing market was $139,900 and in April 2014 the median sales price was $143,000.

When we drill down to the county level, as the table below shows, the city of St Louis fared the best in the past year with the median sales price of homes increasing 32.62% and Franklin County Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Lagging Behind Last Year

By Dennis Norman, on May 22nd, 2014

St Louis Home Sales this year continue to be at a slower pace than last year with a total of 7,946 homes sold through the end of April, a decline of 11.5% from the same period last year when there were 8,978 homes sold in the St Louis core market (city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin). During April 2014, there were 22,457 homes sold in the St Louis core market, a decline of 9% from a year ago when there were 2,710 homes sold.

St Louis Home Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-May 2014

By Dennis Norman, on May 21st, 2014

The St Louis real estate market continues to show signs of improvement with lack of inventory begin the biggest problem in many markets. If you have considered selling, or perhaps tried and failed in the past year or so, now is the time to consider it again. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to let you know the value of your home in today’s market or, try our new online home valuation site and find your homes value in under a minute – go to StLouisHousePrices.com and find your home’s value now! Get complete information on the market Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Hottest Housing Markets

By Dennis Norman, on May 19th, 2014

St Louis’ Hottest Housing Markets are pretty well concentrated into an area within 3 zip codes and 3 municipalities, with the exception of Valley Park which is actually number on the list in terms of our Market Action Index. As the Hot Markets table below shows, after Valley Park, the next 4 markets are both zips in Ballwin, and then the 63122 zip area of Glendale and Kirkwood. The months inventory table gives a clue as to at least part of the reason these markets are hot as the inventory of homes is very low with all the aforementioned areas Continue Reading →

Where in St Louis can home buyers find a good deal?

By Dennis Norman, on April 16th, 2014

Everyone loves a deal! When it comes to buying a house, over the past few years there have been many “deals” out there as a result of the housing market meltdown. However, now that the worst of it is over, and many markets have already started recovering, the question for many are “where in St Louis can home buyers find a good deal?“. This is not easy to answer and what is a “good deal” for a home buyer looking for a place to call home for the foreseeable future is not necessarily going to be viewed in the same Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices and Sales Market Update VIDEO-April 2014

By Dennis Norman, on April 14th, 2014

St Louis home prices have increased over the past year however at the same time St Louis home sales have declined. Spring is finally here (although as I write this I think the forecast is for a low of 28 degrees tonight) and there is definitely increased market activity. The inventory of homes for sale is down from this time last year, but the months supply is up due to decreased home sales. If home sales increase a little, suddenly the months supply is going to drop due to the low inventory and we will definitely see market pressure for Continue Reading →

Consumers More Optimistic About The Housing Market Now Than A Year Ago

By Dennis Norman, on April 9th, 2014

In spite of a somewhat sluggish start to the spring housing market, consumers are more optimistic about the housing market now than they were this time last year, according to the results of the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey results just released. Survey results show that 38% of the respondents think now is a good time to sell a home which, while low, is still almost 50% higher than a year ago when only 26% felt it was. Consumers are also feeling more optimistic about the prospects of obtaining a home loan with 52% saying they believe it would be Continue Reading →

Vacation Home Market Surges In 2013

By Dennis Norman, on April 2nd, 2014

The vacation home market was hot last year with 717,000 vacation-home sales during the year in the U.S., an increase of 29.7% from the year before, according to the National Association of REALTOR’s (NAR) 2014 Vacation Home Buyers Survey. In spite of the large increase last year, vacation home sales are still down about one-third from the peak of vacation home sales activity seen in 2006.

What did vacation homes sell for in 2013?

The median price paid for a vacation home in 2013 was $168,700, an increase of 12.5% from 2012 when the median price was $150,000. In Continue Reading →

Where In St Louis Have The Most Sellers Lowered Home Prices?

By Dennis Norman, on March 24th, 2014

Spring is just around the corner however, as I write this I hate to say there is snow coming down outside my window, and St Louis sellers as well as St Louis REALTORS are anxiously awaiting the increased home buying activity that typically comes in spring. Many people equate the spring market with higher home prices however, there are many St Louis neighborhoods that have seen sellers busy lowering prices in the past 90 days. Perhaps, they were overpriced to start with or perhaps the sellers wish to give themselves a competitive edge going into the spring market, but Continue Reading →