Heraclitus of Ephesus, a noted Greek Philosopher from the 6th Century said “the only constant is change” and, while that applies to many things today, it doesn’t really apply much to what features home buyers are looking for in homes they buy today. According to the results of the National Association of REALTORS 2013 Home Features Survey, which asked people that bought homes during 2012 to identify those features they were looking for in a home, reveals home buyers are still focused on many of the same features that, over the past several years, have been typical of what Continue Reading →
Sellers in most St Louis neighborhoods have had to lower the asking price of their homes in the past 90 days and, in fact, as of today, 11 St Louis neighborhoods have seen more than half the sellers lower their prices, according to MORE, REALTORS.
As the table below shows, almost 75% of sellers in the 63122 zip code area of Des Peres have lowered their home price in the past 90 days (this list is real-time and “live” so, depending upon when you are reading this, the data may have changed). Next on the list are three zip codes, Continue Reading →
St Louis home prices (core market) rose 12 percent rose from a median price of $125,000 for homes sold in September 2012 to $140,000 for homes sold in September 2013, according to MORE, REALTORS. The core market for St Louis includes the city of St Louis as well as the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin.
Home price appreciation during the past year in the core St Louis market, at 12%, was right in line with national home prices which, according to a report released today by CoreLogic, rose 12% as well during the same period. Continue Reading →
I decided to take a look at the age of homes in the St Louis area and determine if older homes in St Louis sell for lower prices than newer homes. My idea to do this was prompted by a report RealtyTrac published this morning revealing that 71 percent of the homes in the U.S. were built before 1990 and that there was less demand for these older homes thereby making prices more affordable than on their newer counterparts.
My research shows that the city of St Louis and St Louis county have a larger percent of older (pre-1990) housing Continue Reading →
Since I occasionally publish a slideshow of St Louis’s most expensive homes for sale, it only seemed fair to do a slideshow of St Louis’ cheapest homes for sale as well. Would you believe that, at the time of publication, there are actually two homes for sale for the price of $1.00? That’s right, one buck! Granted, they don’t look like much (actually they look like you should be paid to take it) but what do you expect for $1.00?
So, here goes:
It’s a fickle market…
The government shut-down and economy that is, at best, somewhat unstable, continues to keep home buyers somewhat timid. As the data shows in our just-released 5 minute market update, St Louis home prices and St Louis home sales have both increased in the past year, but the market is fairly fragile at this point.
Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll answer that question for you.
You can now subscribe to our ITUNES Podcast Channel to receive our updated market videos via podcast automatically Continue Reading →
St Louis has some top rated public school districts cranking out kids with high GPA’s but also has some districts facing real challenges, the most recent of which being the Normandy School District. I think most people agree that the quality of the schools has an impact on home values in that district as demand to be in the top districts is thought to help protect home values but to what extent?
St. Louis has school districts at the top, as well as the bottom, of the list.
Nearly one of every 4 St Louis homeowners with a mortgage are seriously underwater, meaning their mortgage exceeds the current value of their home by 25 percent or more, according to a report just released by RealtyTrac. As the table below shows, the city of St. Louis has the highest percentage of seriously underwater homeowners at 31 percent and Franklin county the lowest at 14 percent. In addition, there are another 104,000 St Louis homeowners in a “near-equity” or “resurfacing equity” position, meaning their loan equals 90 to 110 percent of the current value of their home. As long Continue Reading →
Home prices in St Louis (core market) rose from a median price of $145,000 for homes sold in August 2012 to $155,000 for homes sold in August 2013, an increase of 6.9 percent. The core market for St Louis includes the city of St Louis as well as the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin.
With all the talk lately about many St Louis neighborhoods going from the doldrums to a sellers market many would-be home buyers (and investors) are asking where are the buyers markets are in St Louis? The are looking for the areas where the opportunity still exists to negotiate a better deal and not have to worry about getting caught in a multiple offer situation like we are seeing in some of the hotter markets today. While the upside to a buyer’s market is less competition and perhaps a better price, the downside is there is a reason Continue Reading →
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 →
It’s a seller’s market in 60 St Louis Neighborhoods!
That’s right, according to the latest market data from MORE, REALTORS. 60 St Louis neighborhoods are experiencing a seller’s market while only 8 have a buyer’s market. Which ones you ask? Invest 5 minutes of your time watching my market up date video below and you will find out!
Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll answer that question for you.
Home prices increased during the 2nd quarter of 2013, on a year-over-year basis, in 87 percent of the metro areas in the U.S. according to data released today by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). Home prices increased in the U.S., from a median of $181,300 in the 2nd quarter of 2012, 12.2 percent to $203,500 in the 2nd quarter of 2013, according to NAR. (For complete NAR Report click here)
Locally, the St. Louis MSA saw a modest increase of 1.5 percent from $134,600 to $136,600 during the same period. Drilling down though to the 5 county core Continue Reading →
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:
(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 ]
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:
The results of a recent Rasmussen poll clearly reveal that American’s confidence in the housing market as a whole, and their home’s specifically, is returning with only 12 percent (12%) answering yes to the question; “Will home prices decline further?”, according to the poll. This is down from 14 percent that felt home prices would drop in the prior survey in June and is the lowest percentage since Rasmussen began doing this poll in April 2009. Home prices are expected to rise in the next year by 34 percent of those polled and 51 percent expect home prices to remain Continue Reading →
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 →
The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) reported that it’s pending home sales index for June slipped to 110.9 from the six-year high it hit in May at 111.3 as home sales slowed as a result of increasing home prices and interest rates. Even though home sales declined in June, the index was still 10.9 percent higher than it was a year ago when it was at 100. It just so happens, “100” in the index equals sales activity during the year 2001, which was the first year for NAR’s pending home sales index. NAR’s forecast calls for existing home Continue Reading →
I wrote about St Louis’ hottest real estate markets the other day however, just because we are seeing so many neighborhoods become seller’s markets, it does not necessarily mean that home prices are on the rise. In fact, in many neighborhoods large numbers of sellers are reducing their asking prices.
The table below shows the current list of St Louis neighborhoods with the highest percentage of listings that have had price reductions in the past 90 days. This table is “real-time” so will change as the data changes, but as of the writing of this article, there are 5 Continue Reading →
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 →
St Louis’ most expensive housing can be found in Ladue today where the median price of homes for sale, as of today, is $1,318,731, according to data compiled by MORE, REALTORS. Closely behind Ladue is Clayton, with a current median price of $1,149,788, then Town & Country at $897,308 and Des Peres (63122) at $864,169. As the chart below shows, all four areas have seen median home prices fall from their peak during the past year, but all four areas are still reporting home prices above where they were a year ago.
The list below shows the current median list Continue Reading →
St Louis Real Estate Home Prices On The Rise!
It’s still a seller’s market in St Louis, according to the latest market data from MORE, REALTORS. The inventory of homes for sale remains low while home sale and prices are increasing.
Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll answer that question for you.
Yes, I know how to spell “facts” and am aware that “fax” machines have went the way of the dinosaurs and therefore would never advise someone to get one, so what exactly am I talking about in my post title? Actually, my recent discovery of a company that was launched in 2012 called Housefax prompted me to do this post, hence “fax”, however, I also mean to suggest that you should get all the “facts” you can (about the house and market) before you buy a home.
First, about Housefax. The company was launched last year and it’s top Continue Reading →
Over the past few months we have seen St Louis home prices rise as the inventory of homes declines and buyers snap up the best deals about as fast as they hit the market. The question now is, “will home prices rise much more in the next year” and, if so, will they continue at the current pace? Well, 70 percent the agents surveyed during the month of June by Redfin say they expect home prices to rise “a little” over the next 12 months and just 16 percent said they felt prices would rise “a lot” (down from 44 Continue Reading →
There are St Louis Housing markets on the rebound with prices and demand on the rise and inventories down. For the 9 areas of St Louis where the real estate market is on the rebound listed below, I have charts showing what home prices have done over the past 3 years (the red line) as well as what our Market Action Index is for the area (an index that rates an area based upon supply and demand – the Olive colored line). As the data shows, these markets are seeing home prices on the rise and the market heating up!
A survey by LendingTree reveals that now is the time to buy a home if you want to beat the coming higher home prices and interest rates. According to the survey of individuals that say they are considering buying a home in the coming year, 68% say they feel home prices will rise and 64% think interest rates will rise in the next 12 months.
Of the would-be home buyers surveyed, 57 percent are first-time home buyers and 45 percent said they are “actively” shopping for a home while the remaining 55 percent said they are “casual” shoppers.
Click here Continue Reading →
It has only been recently that economists started using the word “recovery” in the same sentence as “housing market” and now there is talk about a possible housing bubble? CoreLogic, in it’s June MarketPulse report, citing a 12.1 percent increase in their home price index from April 2012 to April 2013 cautioned that the double-digit home price gains “prompt caution” and makes some ask “are we witnessing a new housing bubble?”
The CoreLogic report encompasses the largest metro areas in the U.S. so I decided to look at the St. Louis area specifically to see if what we are Continue Reading →
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 →
St Louis Real Estate Market Shows Strengthening in May!
The St Louis Real Estate Market remains in seller’s market territory this month, according to the latest market data from MORE, REALTORS. The inventory of homes for sale remains low while home sale and prices are increasing.
Thinking of selling and want to know if your neighborhood is a seller’s market? Contact us and we’ll answer that question for you.
This is not the market to be an uniformed participant in though or not have qualified, professional representation. This can lead to frustration as a buyer as you continue to “miss” Continue Reading →
St Louis was ranked number 2 on the list of “Lowest Performing Major Metro Markets” just released by Clear Capital. The Clear Capital report listed the top 15 performing housing markets in the U.S. as well as the 15 worst performing housing markets in the U.S. during the month of May 2013, based upon home price appreciation on a quarter over quarter basis. At the top of the list of top performing markets is Las Vegas with a 4.5 percent increase in home prices from the prior quarter and a staggering 27 percent increase over the past year. In Continue Reading →