St Louis Home Prices - St Louis Real Estate News

Advice to sellers from a St. Louis REALTOR – part two of a series

By Dennis Norman, on August 12th, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

We’ll pick up where we left off in part one of this series about selling a home in this market:

Question- How should a seller select an agent? What should they look for in an agent and what should a seller avoid?

Answer- Years of experience is not as important as it once was. Certainly, the seller needs an agent with market knowledge, but the fact is today’s market is new territory for all REALTORS(R). I believe a seller in today’s market needs to be certain their REALTOR(R) has a firm grasp of marketing a property to Continue Reading →

Advice to sellers from a St. Louis REALTOR – part one of a series

By Dennis Norman, on August 11th, 2009

By: Dennis Norman

If you are a homeowner looking to sell your home today I don’t think I need to tell you it could be a challenge. In an effort to address some of the questions you may have about selling your home now as well as provide some useful tips and information

Now, lets find out what it takes to sell a home in this market:

Continue Reading →

Survey shows shift in consumer real estate decisions; more making move for the better

By Dennis Norman, on August 9th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Relocation.Comconducted a survey in June which shows that 50 percent of people who recently moved did so to improve their living situation, whether to move into a bigger home or move to a better neighborhood. The results of Relocation.Com’s most recent survey is a dramatic reversal from a similar Relocation.Com survey in March 2009 that found the recession played a much larger role in the decision to move.

As the primary reason for moving, No. 1 on the list was to live in a bigger/better home (26 percent), followed by living in a Continue Reading →

June pending home sales increase
Midwest up 11.6% from a year ago

By Dennis Norman, on August 4th, 2009

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR

By: Dennis Norman

Today the National Association of REALTORS(R) issued their Pending Home Sales Index Report for June showing pending sales in the U.S. were up for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six-years for such a streak.

Here in the Midwest pending home sales were only up 0.8% from May, but were up a whopping 11.6% from this time a year ago, the largest year over year increase of the four regions in the U.S.

The pending home sales index for the Midwest rose 0.8% to 89.9 from a level Continue Reading →

Fed Reserves publishes “5 Tips for Shopping for a Mortgage”

By Dennis Norman, on August 1st, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Buying a home should be a dream come true not a nightmare of worry and stress. A new Federal Reserve Board publication, “5 Tips for Shopping for a Mortgage,” will help consumers avoid potential pitfalls and make well-informed decisions when choosing a home loan. Financing the purchase of a home is one of the most complex financial decisions that consumers make. The Federal Reserve’s latest “5 tips” guide is designed to help home buyers find the mortgage that is best for them. The complete guide is available here however a summary of Continue Reading →

New home sales in Midwest increase a whopping 43.1% in June

By Dennis Norman, on July 27th, 2009

Dennis Norman

This morning the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing the sale of New Homes in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, an 11% increase across the US from May.

However, here in the Midwest the numbers were significantly better showing a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 73,000 new homes sales in June, a 43.1% increase over Mays rate of 51,000 homes. In addition, the Midwest was the only of region of the four in the U.S. that showed an increase in sales from the year prior. In the Midwest, June’s Continue Reading →

Home sales and prices increase in Midwest in June

By Dennis Norman, on July 23rd, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS(R) released its existing home sales report for June showing an increase in sales for the 3rd month in a row as well as higher prices in June.

Existing home sales, including single-family, town-homes, condominiums and co-ops increased 3.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units. This rate is almost identical to last years sales at the same time which is a first in a quite a while. May’s rate was down 3.6% from a year ago and June is down just 0.2% from a Continue Reading →

St. Charles County Association of REALTORS(R) Presidents’ view of the market – Final Post

By Dennis Norman, on July 23rd, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

For the past two days I have written about my E-View with Karen Vennard, the 2009 President of the St. Charles County Association of REALTORS(R) to get her take on the real estate market in St. Charles County.

Today will be the final post in this series in which Karen has been shared her insights with us on the real estate market in St. Charles County. Now we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday:

Karen Vennard, 2009 President, St. Charles County Association of REALTORS

Dennis – We hear a Continue Reading →

St. Charles County Association of REALTORS(R) Presidents’ view of the market – Part two

By Dennis Norman, on July 22nd, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Yesterday I began my E-View with Karen Vennard, the 2009 President of the St. Charles County Association of REALTORS(R) to get her take on the real estate market in St. Charles County.

Karen’s extensive knowledge of the market was apparent in her informative answers in yesterdays E-View. Now we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday:

Karen Vennard, 2009 President, St. Charles County Association of REALTORS

Dennis – Where do you see the real estate market in St. Charles County at now?

Karen – I see the market recovering; there has Continue Reading →

Report shows St. Louis metro prices to decrease by 2% in next 12 months

By Dennis Norman, on July 20th, 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

A report published by Local Market Monitor, Inc. predicts the St. Louis metro area will see real estate values decline 2% in the coming 12 months. This projection does not sound bad and would support the possibility that the market is leveling off and perhaps we have seen the bottom.

Local Market Monitor Graph – St. Louis Metro Area, Home Values Forecast vs. Actual

The report also states that in the St. Louis metro market jobs have fallen by 2.5% in the past year, compared with a drop of 4% nationwide. Continue Reading →