St Louis Home Prices - St Louis Real Estate News

Sellers reduce home prices as they struggle to compete with distressed home sales

By Dennis Norman, on November 17th, 2010

Price Reductions Surpass Highest Historical Levels in 15 U.S. Cities, Remain Flat Nationwide

According to a report released this morning by Trulia.com, 27 percent of the homes for sale in November have experienced at least one price cut. Following four-consecutive months of increases, this rate has now flattened out nationwide. However, locally the story is different as 15 major cities hit an all-time high for price reductions in November.

“Price reduction increases in many large U.S. cities can be attributed to the basic principle of supply and demand –– on that score, buyers clearly have the advantage this Continue Reading →

College Parents Buying Homes vs Rent or Dorms

By Dennis Norman, on November 12th, 2010

Dennis Norman

A study by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC shows that this fall as parents said goodbye to their college-bound kids, fewer of those kids were heading to dorms or apartments that are typically associated with college housing but instead will be heading to homes their parents bought for them to live in. In fact, 64 percent of real estate professionals in college towns surveyed said they had seen a significant number of “parent investors” buying homes for their kids to live in while attending college.

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Slow, Steady Housing Recovery Expected Ahead

By Dennis Norman, on November 5th, 2010

Dennis Norman

At the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo in New Orleans today, “a slow, steady recovery” was predicted for the housing market despite ongoing challenges.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors® chief economist, said that he expects “continuing improvement of underlying fundamentals of the current market in coming years.”

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What to do in 2010: Rent or Buy a home?

By News Desk, on November 4th, 2010

Five questions every potential buyer should ask when deciding whether to rent or buy a home

First time homebuyers have a lot to consider this summer when making the decision to rent or buy a home: interest rates are at all-time lows, there’s still plenty of housing stock and prices are at or near their lowest in years. Still, deciding whether to buy a home or rent an apartment can be a complicated decision. How do you know what’s right for you? Potential buyers should ask themselves several key questions before making this important decision.

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Report shows mortgage delinquency ‘Roll Rates’ peaked in summer of 2009; Sign that worst is over?

By Dennis Norman, on November 1st, 2010

Dennis Norman

Finally, some more good news about the housing market! TransUnion released a study of mortgage delinquency “roll rates” (when delinquent borrowers move to a more delinquent status, say from 30 days late to 60 days late, then 90 and so on) which showed that mortgage delinquency roll rates peaked in the summer of 2009. According to the study, approximately 24.4 percent of consumers who were 30 days past due on their mortgage payments in June 2009 became 60 days past due in July 2009 and nearly 37.6 percent of consumers 60 days delinquent on their mortgage Continue Reading →

New home sales rate up over six percent in September; down over 20 percent from year before

By Dennis Norman, on October 27th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau released new home sales data for September 2010 showing an increase of 6.6 percent from the month before, but a decrease of 21.5 percent from a year ago.

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Case-Shiller issues disappointing report on home prices

By Dennis Norman, on October 26th, 2010

Dennis Norman

This morning S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for August was released showing a deceleration in the annual growth rates of home prices from the month before in 17 of the 20 Metro areas covered by the report. The Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices for the 20 metros showed a decrease of 0.2 percent in home prices in August from July and an increase of 1.7 percent in home prices from the year before.

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Distressed home sales bring down prices in St. Louis

By Dennis Norman, on October 26th, 2010

Dennis Norman

According to a report issued yesterday by CoreLogic, home prices in the St. Louis area decreased in August 2010 by 3.53 percent from the year before, over twice the US rate of price decline for the same period of 1.5 percent. However, distressed home sale prices are to blame and appear to be causing more damage in the St. Louis housing market than on the US housing market on average.

I say this because the data shows if we exclude the distressed sales then home prices in St. Louis only declined 0.28 percent for the same Continue Reading →

Existing home sales rate increases 10.0 percent in September

By Dennis Norman, on October 25th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in September were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.53 million units which is an increase of 10.0 percent from August but is a a decline of 19.1 percent from a year ago.

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Home Affordability Index Indicates Housing Most Affordable in Over 40 years

By Dennis Norman, on October 21st, 2010

Dennis Norman

If there is a silver lining to the lousy real estate market we’ve witnessed over the past 3 years, maybe this is it….housing affordability!

According to the Beacon Economics Home Affordability Index, homes selling in August were at their most affordable level sinde data became available over 40 years ago (1969). The Beacon Index, quite similar to the National Association of REALTORS housing affordability index, takes into account the percentage of income an average family would need to make mortgage payments on an average home.

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Two-thirds of Americans less likely to buy a house due to poor economy

By Dennis Norman, on October 11th, 2010

Dennis Norman

According to a new survey released by FindLaw.com, nearly two-thirds of Americans say the current economic situation is making them less likely to buy a house.

The survey shows that sixty-three percent of American adults say they are less likely to buy a house because of the current state of the economy. So even with record-low interest rates, depressed home prices and plentiful inventory to choose from, only 8 percent of people say the current economic situation makes them more likely to buy a house. About a quarter of people – 28 percent – say they are Continue Reading →

Cities where home ownership is more affordable than rental

By Dennis Norman, on October 8th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Today, Trulia released it’s “Rent vs. Buy Index” which established a price-to-rent ratio for the 50 largest cities in America (by population), then, based upon that ratio, determined which cities it makes more sense (financially) to rent versus buy.

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More Sellers Reduce Home Prices in September

By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2010

Number of price-reduced homes on Market Rose 24 percent in September from 2009..

According to a report released by ZipRealty, the number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 2.1 percent in September compared to August. ZipRealty’s monthly review of MLS-listed properties in 26 major markets found that 47.8 percent of “for sale” homes had at least one price reduction and the average seller actually slashed their list price twice to attract buyers.

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Pending Home Sales Increase in August; Still down 20 percent from year ago

By Dennis Norman, on October 4th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Pending home sales rise for 2nd consecutive month in August –

The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for August shows an increase of 4.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), which is 20.1 percent below a year ago.

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Home prices rise slightly in July; home prices on average back to 2003 levels

By Dennis Norman, on September 28th, 2010

Dennis Norman

This morning S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for July was released showing that the annual growth rates of home prices in 16 of the 20 Metro areas covered by the report slowed in July compared to June. The Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices for the 20 metros showed a slight increase of 0.6 percent in home prices in July over June and an increase of 3.2 percent in home prices from the year before, down from June’s 4.2 percent increase from the year before.

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Existing home sales in August improve slightly reaching second-lowest rate in over fourteen years

By Dennis Norman, on September 23rd, 2010

Dennis Norman

After July’s existing home sales fell over 27 percent and hit ROCK BOTTOM, August didn’t fare much better…..

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in August were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.13 million units which is an increase of 7.6 percent from July’s dismal rate but is a a decline of 19.9 percent from a year ago and the second-lowest sales rate in over 14 years (July was the lowest).

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National Housing Survey shows 70 percent think it is a good time to buy a house

By Dennis Norman, on September 16th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Fannie Mae conducted a National Housing Survey poll between June 2010 and July 2010 to asses homeowners and renters’ confidence in home-ownership as an investment, the current state of their household finances and overall confidence in the economy. The finding from this survey were compared with a similar survey conducted by Fannie Mae from December 2009 to January 2010 as well as one conducted back in 2003.

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Tax benefits of home ownership

By Dennis Norman, on September 15th, 2010

Dennis Norman

While much of the talk (including mine) about the real estate market is somewhat negative, there are some positive things to talk about; home prices have fallen back to levels they were at 7 years ago or more and home mortgage interest rates have hit the lowest levels in decades making a home more affordable than ever. This is a great opportunity for someone to buy a home, particularly if a first-time buyer that doesn’t have to deal with selling a home in the current market. In addition, provided Congress doesn’t take them away, there are Continue Reading →

North Carolina Real Estate Speculator Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging in Real Estate Foreclosure Auctions

By News Desk, on September 11th, 2010

A Raleigh, N.C., real estate speculator pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids for public real estate foreclosure auctions held in multiple counties in eastern North Carolina, the Department of Justice announced today.

Christopher J. Deans pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Greenville, N.C., for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids during the real estate foreclosure auction process in eastern North Carolina from at least as early as April 2003 until at least April 2005. The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and eliminate competitive bidding on foreclosed properties and obtain selected real estate Continue Reading →

Nearly half of all homes listed for sale in August had price cut

By Dennis Norman, on September 10th, 2010

“..if a buyer hasn’t walked through the door in 30 to 45 days, a seller needs to lower their asking price. If a home hasn’t had an offer in six months, it’s time to rethink the sale..”

According to a report released by ZipRealty, the number of price-reduced homes on the market increased 3.26 percent in August compared to July. ZipRealty’s monthly review of MLS-listed properties in 26 major markets found that 47 percent of “for sale” homes had at least one price reduction and the average seller actually slashed their list price twice to attract buyers.

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The Five Best Places to Find Foreclosure Bargains

By Dennis Norman, on September 7th, 2010

Dennis Norman

When I first entered the real estate business in 1979, at the age of 18 which seems so long ago) foreclosures were a mystery to most people and certainly no one looking for a home to live in looked to buy a foreclosure. Homes that were being foreclosed upon were advertised in legal newspapers that no one other than some speculators, attorneys and bankers subscribed to basically. Here in St. Louis I was one of a couple of handfuls of real estate investors that would do the research then go out and try to buy foreclosures Continue Reading →

Dueling Economists: Home Prices Up or Down?

By Dennis Norman, on August 31st, 2010

Dennis Norman

Naturally, no sooner than I finish writing my post this morning about the Case-Shiller report on home prices in which I actually got to report somewhat “positive” news, my bubble is burst. RadarLogic, another company that has their own home price index that I like, came out with a report saying the Case-Shiller report was too optimistic and that their (RadaLogic) home price index was a better reflection of home values.

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Report shows home prices up modestly over last year

By Dennis Norman, on August 31st, 2010

Dennis Norman

This morning S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for the 2nd quarter of 2010 was released showing that the home prices improved slightly over a year ago in 17 of the 20 Metro Area’s their reports cover.

The Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices showed an increase of 4.4 percent in home prices in 2nd quarter after a decline of 2.8 percent in the first quarter. As of the end of the 2nd quarter U.S. home prices are, on average, up 3.6 percent from the year before.

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Homeowners with negative equity declines for second consecutive quarter

By Dennis Norman, on August 26th, 2010

Dennis Norman

After a couple of days of writing about bad reports on the housing market (existing home sales and new home sales to name two) I’m excited that I actually get to write something today that is positive! According to newly released data from CoreLogic, the percentage of homeowners in the U.S. with negative equity in their homes declined slightly at the end of the second quarter of 2010 making it the second consecutive month of declines.

According to the CoreLogic report, 11 million, or 23 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity Continue Reading →

Home Sales Plummet in July to Record Low

By Dennis Norman, on August 24th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Beginning last November I have written several articles about the “sugar-rush” effect of tax credits and other stimulus on the housing market and voicing my concern that these things are short lived (like a sugar rush on a child) and after the sugar wears off there is a crash….Well, as expected, here it is…

Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in St. Louis for July decreased 36.1 percent from a year ago. For the US as a whole, existing home sales in July were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual Continue Reading →

Is the housing market headed toward a ‘double-dip’?

By Dennis Norman, on August 20th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Just as we are talking more about home prices “stabilizing” there is yet another cause for concern as to just where the market is headed. Last week Celia Chen, senior director of the Moody’s Economy.com research staff, issued a report stating that the odds of a near-term “double-dip recession” have increased from about one in five to closer to in in four.

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Mortgage Delinquencies Fall for Second Consecutive Quarter

By Dennis Norman, on August 19th, 2010

Dennis Norman

For some time now I’ve been saying the precursor to the housing market recovering is for the mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates to fall from the present, near-record levels, down to closer to historical norms. The current mortgage loan delinquency report from TransUnion shows that, for the second consecutive quarter, things are headed the right direction. Granted the decline in loans that are 60 or more days past due declined only 1.48 percent to 6.67 percent but at least it is going the right diretion. The loan delinquency rate for the 2nd quarter of 6.67 percent Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Prices Increase in June; Rate of increase slows

By Dennis Norman, on August 16th, 2010

Dennis Norman

According to a report issued today by CoreLogic, home prices in St. Louis increased in June by 1.4 percent over June 2009. This ends the four-month streak of increasing year-over-year home prices which for May was 3.49 percent.

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Private Transfer Fee Covenants Draw Fire From FHFA

By Dennis Norman, on August 12th, 2010

Dennis Norman

Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency announce proposed guidance that would prohibit Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks from investing in mortgages with private transfer fee covenants. Considering that covers the lenders that originate, invest in or, or insure over 90 percent of the homes in the U.S. that pretty much puts the kibosh on financing a home with such a transfer fee.

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U.S. Home Values Fall In 2nd Quarter; Negative Equity Declines Though

By Dennis Norman, on August 9th, 2010

Dennis Norman

A report just issued by Zillow shows that home values in the United States continued to decline in the second quarter of 2010, with the Zillow Home Value Index falling 3.2 percent year-over-year and 0.6 percent from the first quarter to $182,500. The national rate of decline decelerated from the first quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter of slowing declines.

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