By Dennis Norman, on April 19th, 2010 Dennis Norman
Housing is stabilizing but excess inventory and shadow supply are hindering recovery according to the April 2010 Economic Outlook released today by Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group.
The report projects that new home sales (which are at record lows) will be slow to recover until inventory of existing homes and the foreclosure overhang are worked off. The comments about existing home sales were more optimistic saying key indicators for existing home sales, including pending home sales and purchase applications, are showing good signs of a pickup.
Jobs, a driving force for housing, are Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on April 13th, 2010 Dennis Norman
The month of March brought us some pretty great weather and also helped bring some home buyers out into the market. The homebuyer tax credits that are set to expire at the end of April probably played a role as well.
As you can see from the chart below, March brought sales to the metro area, but as the average prices of homes sold show, it is definitely the lower end, or first-time homebuyer, market that is seeing the bulk of the activity. In most of the counties the average price of the homes sold in March Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on April 9th, 2010 Dennis Norman
I thought I would end the week by giving everyone something to dwell on and contemplate over the weekend. Actually, I set out this morning to do a post about the National Association of REALTORS(R) (NAR) Housing Affordability Index for February which was recently published. As I was reviewing the data in the report I started giving “affordability” a lot of thought, went down a few rabbit trails, did a few hours of research and ended up with an analysis of home affordability.
The NAR Report:
Since this was the initial topic I thought I should Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on April 6th, 2010 Dennis Norman
At the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on March 16th it was suggested that “economic activity expanded at a moderate pace in early 2010″. Unfortunately, when it came to the housing market, the news was not as good and it was noted that “housing activity remained flat and the nonresidential construction section weakened further.” The staff went on to say that activity in the housing sector appears to “have flattened out in recent months” and that “sales of both new and existing homes have turned down, while starts of single-family homes were about unchanged despite the substantial Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 30th, 2010
Dennis Norman
Annual Rates of Decline In Home Prices Improving
This morning the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for January was released showing that home prices in their 10 city and 20 city composite indexes decreased from December, the 10-city index was down 0.2 percent and the 20-city index down 0.4 percent. The 10-city January index was exactly even with January 2009, and the 20-city January index was down 0.7 percent from a year ago. The indexes include the major metropolition areas in the U.S. (details for metros included are in chart that follows).
All 20 metro areas and Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 25th, 2010 Dennis Norman
The U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing the sale of New Homes in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 308,000, a 2.2 percent decrease from the revised January rate of 315,000 and is 13.0 percent below a year ago. The inventory of new homes (seasonally adjsuted) at the end of February is 9.2 months a slight increase from January’s inventory of 9.1 months.
My Mantra
As has been my long-running mantra, I don’t like “seasonally adjusted” numbers and “rate” of sales. Why, for one I can’t figure out how in the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 24th, 2010 Dennis Norman
According to the latest report from the National Association of REALTORS(R), existing home sales in the US in February decreased 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 5.02 million units in February from a revised level of 5.50 million units in January, however this does represent an increase of 7.0 percent from a year ago when the rate was 4.69 million units (seasonally adjusted).
February’s Numbers Show Real Estate is “Local”
Reinforcing the fact that “all real estate is local” the February Existing Home Sales report paints quite a different picture of the housing market depending Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 19th, 2010
Dennis Norman
Increased prices on distressed home sales in St Louis are the reason for St Louis’s home price gains.
A report released by First American CoreLogic shows St. Louis metro area home prices, including distressed sales, increased 0.60 percent in January 2010 compared to January, 2009. December 2009’s home price index for St. Louis was up 1.54 percent from the year before. Excluding distressed sales, the January 2010 home price index was actually down 0.55 percent from a year ago, compared with December 2009’s home price index which was up 0.59 percent from the Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on March 5th, 2010
Dennis Norman
St. Louis Mortgage Delinquencies and St. Louis Foreclosure Rate hit Record Highs
A report released by First American CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in January of 1.42 percent up slightly from December’s rate of 1.36 percent and an increase of 46.39 percent from the year prior when the rate was 0.97 percent.
The national foreclosure rate for January remains over twice the rate of St. Louis at 3.19 percent and was an increase of 60.3 percent from a year ago when the national Continue Reading →
By Robert Fishel, on March 3rd, 2010
Low foreclosures, stable home prices and affordability make eighth-ranked St. Louis a good bet for home buyers, according to a report released by Forbes.com last Friday. Forbes gathered data from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo’s Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). The index measures median home prices against median incomes. Additional data overlays included Moody’s one-year forecast for the Case-Shiller Home Price Index of home prices and RealtyTrac’s 2009 foreclosure report. Rankings from all of these data sources were considered in determining the overall score. The top ten best housing metro areas: Pittsburgh, PA Louisville – Jefferson Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 25th, 2010 Dennis Norman
According to a report issued this morning by the the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) St. Louis area home prices increased by 1.32 percent in 2009. Granted that’s not much but, hey, after what we’ve seen the last couple of years in the housing market I think this is very good news.
This information comes for the FHFA’s purchase-only price index which is based upon repeat sales of the same single-family properties therefore making it a much more accurate barometer of the market than just looking at median prices of homes sold as many reports do. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on February 18th, 2010 Dennis Norman
Radarlogic Housing Market Report Shows First November-December Increase in Home Prices Since 2004 For the US – However It shows a Decrease For December for St. Louis –
When I received the Housing Market Report from Radarlogic, I was happy to see some good news; home prices increased in December from November and a 44 percent increase in the number of homes sold in December versus a year before. Unfortunately those numbers were based upon Radarlogic‘s RPX Composite Price, which tracks home prices in 25 major metropolitan areas (including St. Louis) and when I drilled down to Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 27th, 2010 Even in Tough Times, 77 Percent of Americans View Homeownership as a Part of Their Own Personal American Dream
A national survey released yesterday by Trulia shows that many Americans feel that President Barack Obama has not lived up to the hope he created during his campaign and his first 30 days in office. In Trulia’s latest American Dream survey conducted online on its behalf by Harris Interactive from January 19-21, 2009 President Barack Obama scored considerably lower marks on the topic of restoring the American dream of home ownership compared to a survey conducted February 20-24, 2009 after his Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 26th, 2010 Dennis Norman
For the St. Louis area 2009 marked another year of “bad” records for the housing market; record numbers of foreclosures, mortgage delinquencies as well as sales numbers and prices lower than we have seen in several years. However, as I compiled St. Louis area home sales data for 2009 and compared it to the prior two years I realized this is some positive news. It appears we are perhaps seeing the bottom of the market and a flattening of the downward trends.
Unfortunately as our national debt balloons out of control, we continue to see double-digit Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 20th, 2010 Dennis Norman
We are long overdue for some good news on the St. Louis housing market and data from December home sales brought just that. Based upon my comparision of homes sold in December 2009 with the year prior, it appears to me the St. Louis housing market may have found it’s bottom and now be starting to level off.
There are still disturbing aspects of the data, like the fact that for the St. Louis metro area there were almost 8 percent fewer homes sold in December 2009 than in December 2008 but there is light at Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 13th, 2010 St. Louis mortgage rates this week remain unchanged on fixed rate loans this week but dropped slightly on ARM’s according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – January 13, 2009 *
30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.125% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.000% no points
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 7th, 2010 St. Louis mortgage rates this week bounced around a bit with 30 year fixed rate mortgages and ARM’s decreasing slightly while 15 year fixed rate mortgage rates increased according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – January 6, 2009 *
30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.125% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.00% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.125% no points
For more information or if you have Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on January 6th, 2010 Dennis Norman
In the past I think closing costs associated with the purchase of a home were pretty much a mystery to many, if not most, home buyers with many not even being sure what they were paying for. Most buyers simply went through the process, paying for closing fees, notary fees, title examination, title insurance, survey, flood letters, courier fees, recording fees, etc. without ever realizing that these fees and costs may vary with other vendors.
January 1st changes went into effect in the RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) which will require lenders to fully disclose all Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 30th, 2009 St. Louis mortgage rates inreased again this week bringing 30 year rates above 5 percent according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 30, 2009 *
30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.25% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.25% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 4.50% no points
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact John Frank by Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 28th, 2009 Dennis Norman
In a just a few days we will say goodbye to 2009; a year that has been brutal to the housing market. So as the new year comes in, what will 2010 hold in store for the housing market?
To answer this question I turned to the housing forecast just released by Fannie Mae to see what their economists were predicting. Here are the highlights from the report, showing actual numbers for the 3rd quarter of this year as well as Fannie Mae’s projection for 4th quarter of this year as well as 4th quarter of 2010:
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 22nd, 2009 According to NAR 51 percent of recent homebuyers are first-time buyers and 39 percent of recent home sales have relied on an FHA loan
Dennis Norman
The National Association of REALTORS just released a report showing that 51 percent of the homes sold recently have been to first-time home buyers and that 39 percent of all recent buyers have turned to an FHA loan for financing for their home purchase.
I think this clearly illustrates that the first-time home buyer tax credit, coupled with record low interest rates and drastically reduced home prices, is giving buyers, at least Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 15th, 2009 St. Louis mortgage rates inched up slightly this week but remained at near record-lows according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 15, 2009 *
30-year fixed-rate mortgage 5.00% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.75% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact John Frank by phone Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 9th, 2009 St. Louis mortgage rates remained at near record-lows this week, with only the 30 year fixed rate mortgage rates increasing slightly, according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 9, 2009 *
30-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.875% no points 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.375% no points 3/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.625% no points 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.875% no points
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 2nd, 2009 St. Louis mortgage rates remained at near record-lows this week according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – December 2, 2009 *
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on December 1st, 2009 Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR
Is the increase real or have the tax-credits created an “artificial” market that cannot be sustained?
Today the National Association of REALTORS(R) issued their Pending Home Sales Index Report for October showing pending sales in the U.S. rose again for the ninth consecutive month – marking the longest streak since since NAR began the pending home sale index in 2001.
As I have expressed previously, I’m somewhat cautious about getting too excited about these recent encouraging reports on the housing market as I feel we still have many challenges out there.
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 25th, 2009 St. Louis mortgage rates remained at near record-lows this week according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – November 25, 2009 *
Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 23rd, 2009 Dennis Norman
National Association of REALTORS released a report today saying US Home Sales in October increased 10.1 percent for the month and are 23.5 percent higher than a year ago; I did an analysis of the data based just on ACTUAL sales and came up with an increase for the month of 6.6 percent and an increase of less than 1 percent from a year ago…When looking at the Actual sales number for US home sales, the St Louis market is performing pretty close…(to see my complete post and analysis of the NAR report click here)
Here Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 19th, 2009 Dennis Norman
According to a report issued by First American CoreLogic national home prices continue to decline with their HPI (Loan Performance Home Price Index) declining by 9.8 percent in September 2009 compared with the year before. If you take the distressed sales out (foreclosures, short sales, etc) the nation decline in HIP for the same period was 6.2 percent.
St. Louis home prices did better according to the report with the HPI declining 3.85 percent in Sepetember 2009 from the year before. This is an improvement over August which was down 4.09 percent from the year before. Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 18th, 2009 Dennis Norman
Home sales in the St.Louis area through October 31st are down 4.8 percent from the same period a year ago, however this is a decrease of almost 40 percent from the month before when sales were down 7.9 percent from the same period the year before. St. Louis area median home prices for the period are down 6.5 percent from a year before however this is also an improvement from the 7.1 percent decrease for the month before. The average time it takes to sell a home in the St. Louis area is 2.2 percent less Continue Reading →
By Dennis Norman, on November 17th, 2009 St. Louis mortgage rates dropped this week to almost record lows according to St. Louis-based Paramount Mortgage Company.
Lower interest rates, low prices and the extension and expansion of the home-buyer tax credit should be pretty tempting to buyers out there.
St. Louis Mortgage Rates – November 17, 2009 *
Continue Reading →
|
Recent Articles
Helpful Real Estate Resources
|
