Up to 17 million first-time homebuyers may buy a home during the next five years according to a new study just released by TransUnion. Of these 17 million homebuyers, almost three million are expected to buy next year throughout the U.S. The study reveled some interesting facts about the first-time homebuyer market, as well as the impact of the millennial generation on the market, such as: Continue Reading →
There were 293,190 foreclosure filings in the U.S. during the 3rd quarter of 2016, which is a decrease of 10 percent from a year ago, according to a report released today by Attom Data Solutions. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter in which foreclosure activity has decreased on a year-over-year basis and continues the steady downward decline in foreclosure activity we have seen for 6 years and has now finally fallen back to levels we saw prior to the housing bubble. Continue Reading →
Last month the median price of homes sold in the St Louis MSA was a very-affordable $169,000 however, during past 12 months, homes have sold for as much as over 50 times that amount in St Louis. That’s right, during the past year there was a home that sold for $9,000,000 in St Louis, over 53 times the median St Louis home price. The $9,000,000 St Louis home that was sold was at 2105 South Warson and sold in November of last year for $9,000,000. The next highest home sale was a $4,000,000 one at 760 Kent Road, followed by 2 more Ladue homes. In all, 13 of the 31 homes that sold in St Louis for more than $2,000,000 (based upon MLS data) were in Ladue, 7 were in Clayton (3 of those being condo’s), 3 in Town & Country, 2 in Huntleigh, 2 in Chesterfield, 2 in Creve Coeur and 2 in the Central West End (both were condos at the Private Residences in Chase Park Plaza). Continue Reading →
Over the past 5 years or so I have written a few articles on the topic of the mortgage interest deduction (MID) and how, in spite of what many others in the industry say, I didn’t think it was that critical to the housing industry. All the while, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) (of which I’m proud to be a member, just happen to disagree on this topic) has staunchly supported the MID and warned that if the deduction went away the housing market and home buyers would suffer. NAR published a fact sheet on the topic stating:
Repealing Continue Reading →
Yes, it is October and yes, home sales, and prices, do tend to soften around this time of year as we head into the winter months, but, having said that, it can still be a great time to sell a home, especially if you are in one of the areas I’ve identified below! Why? Well, for one, there is VERY LITTLE COMPETITION but good demand from buyers. So, even though the St Louis housing market, including home prices, can be following suit with the weather and cooling off, when you are in a market with good demand and no competition, you can sell your home for more than you could under normal conditions this time of year. Plus, it’s a lot easier to please a buyer and motivate a buyer to act when there aren’t many homes to choose from and the buyer feel’s they’ll miss out if they don’t act quick enough. Continue Reading →
There were 184 distressed homes (short-sales and foreclosures) sold in St Louis (the 5-county core market) during the month of August, an increase of 44 percent from July when there were just 128 distressed home sales. Continue Reading →
New home sales in the midwest region of the U.S. during August 2016, increased 39.7 percent to a seasonally-adjusted, annual rate, of 81,000 new homes from a rate of 58,000 homes a year ago. Continue Reading →
Existing home sales in St Louis during August 2016 were up 9.2 percent from August 2015, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS. There were 3,230 existing homes sold in the St Louis MSA during the month of August, an increase of 2.7 percent from the prior month, when there were 3,143 homes sold. Continue Reading →
For some time now, if you are a home buyer wanting to buy a home in St Charles County, you didn’t have a lot to choose from and had to move fast when you did find a home and, for at least the near future, it doesn’t appear this will change. Continue Reading →
Last week, National Mortgage News, published an article on a report which indicated home prices and homeownership rates are “out of whack”. Continue Reading →
For couples planning to get married before you spend the time doing the bridal registry thing at stores, picking out housewares, china and perhaps some other things you don’t really need or won’t use, consider putting a house on your list! Continue Reading →
One of the more controversial topics to discuss within the REALTOR community is the topic of agent bonuses, a bonus that a seller, by way of the listing broker, would pay to the agent that sells their home, over and above the normal sales commission. Sometimes seller’s, or their listing agents, see this as a way to draw more attention to their listing and to encourage buyer’s agents to show it and sell it. However, there are many conflicting opinions on this topic within the industry which creates some confusion for seller’s (and buyer’s for that matter), so I thought I would take some time to discuss it. Continue Reading →
If you are a home buyer looking to buy a house in Ellisville, you better move quick as the homes there are selling fast! As the table below shows, the average time it took to sell a home, for sales closed within the past 30 days, was just 13 days in Ellisville and, in fact, was below 30 days for all of the cities on the top 15 list. You can see where you city ranks by click on the table to see the current, complete list. Continue Reading →
St Louis area home prices, for the 12-month period ending July 31st, have increased from a year ago in all of the St Louis counties that make up the core St Louis market. As the table below shows, the median home price in the St Louis MSA for this period was $164,000, an increase of 5.81 percent from the same period a year ago. Two counties, Lincoln and Franklin, saw home prices increase at a higher rate than the MSA with increases of 7.88 percent and 7.69 percent respectively. The 3 top counties on the list are all outlying counties, Continue Reading →
Home sales in the St Louis area, for the 12-month period ending July 31st, are up from a year ago in all of the St Louis counties that make up the core St Louis market. As the table below shows, in spite of the fact that the St Louis MSA saw home sales fall 4.2% during the period from 33,840 homes sold to 32,415, all of the counties in and around the St Louis area on the Missouri side of the river saw increases. Continue Reading →
ATTOM Data Solutions just released their 2016 Natural Hazard Housing Risk Report, in which they score counties across the nation on risks posed to housing from natural hazards. As the heat map below illustrates, St Louis County has the highest natural hazard ranking in the St Louis area at 59.8, followed by the City of St Louis at 55.3. Continue Reading →
There were 26,039 homes sold in St Louis during the 12 month period ending July 31, 2016 (5-county core St Louis market), an increase of 5.9 percent from the prior 12 month period. As the table below shows, the median sales price during the past 12 months was $174,900, an increase of 4.4 percent from the prior 12 month period when the median price was $167,500. Continue Reading →
The St Louis real estate market is still going strong! As the video below illustrates, the St Louis real estate market continues to do well as we head into the end of summer. The inventory of homes for sale remains low in most areas, which is good news for seller who face less competition and pricing pressure often resulting in multiple offers and quick sales. From a home buyers perspective it may not be as fun as buyers find themselves often competing and frequently losing out to other buyers that either got their first or offered more. Let your heart Continue Reading →
The number of homeowners that are “seriously underwater”, or in a negative-equity position (meaning they owe more on their home than it is currently worth), increased during the 2nd quarter of this year, according to a report just released by Attom Data Solutions. During the 2nd quarter of 2106, 17.8% of the homeowners, with a mortgage, in the St Louis MSA were in a negative equity position, up from 16.6% the quarter before and up just slightly from 17.4% during the 2nd quarter of 2015. Continue Reading →
The St Louis metro area housing market continues to be a hot seller’s market with 35,703 homes sold during the 12 month period ended June 30, 2016, an increase of nearly 7 percent from the prior 12 month period. The median price of homes sold during the most recent period was $162,500, an increase of over 5 percent from the prior 12 month period. Continue Reading →
New home sales in the midwest region of the U.S. , like the temperature during the period, soared during June 2016 to a seasonally-adjusted, annual rate, of 85,000 new homes, an increase of 44.1 percent from June 2015 when new homes in the midwest sold at an annual rate of 59,000 homes, according to a report just released by the US Census Bureau. Continue Reading →
After the housing bubble burst in 2008 we saw several years of declining home prices before home prices finally reached bottom in late 2011 and early 2012. Due to the tremendous growth in foreclosure activity, as well as artificially inflated home prices as a result of sub-prime lending, many of St Louis’ lowest priced neighborhoods were hit the hardest. So, now that we have seen a solid real estate market in St Louis for a couple of years, and prices are recovering, how have home prices in these hard hit zips recovered? To determine this I have assembled the data Continue Reading →
The inventory of homes for sale in St Louis remains low making it a great time to be a home seller! Home sales and prices are up in the St Louis area although we are beginning to see home prices rescind slightly as we near the end of the summer market and prices historically soften a little. Continue Reading →
“Should I sell my home myself” is something that some sellers are asking today, particularly those in fast selling neighborhoods and areas where the inventory of homes for sale is low, after all, how hard can it be to sell a home if homes are in such high demand? Continue Reading →
Ok, this is the list that, if you are a seller, you don’t want to be on however, if you are a buyer looking for an opportunity, here are some places to consider buying a home where the competition from other buyers is not as fierce. As of today, there are 30 cities/municipalities in the St Louis area that are on our “Slowest Selling Neighborhoods List”, below are the top 10 on the list (click on the list to see the current entire list). At the top of the list is Byrnes Mill, one of 3 cities in Jefferson County that made the top 10 list, where homes for sale have been on the market an average of over 600 days. Somewhat surprising is the fact that St Charles county, which has been a pretty has 4 cities on the list. Continue Reading →
One of the many benefits to living in the St Louis area has long been the affordability of good homes in nice neighborhoods, but that has even gotten better in the past year in three of the 5 major counties that make up the St Louis market. As the table below shows, in Franklin County, due to lower home prices as well as interest rates, home affordability increased by 9 percent from May 2015 to May 2016. Continue Reading →
There have been 10,070 Homes sold in St Louis this year so far (through May 31, 2016), in the 5-county core St Louis market, an increase of 8.7 percent from the same time last year when there were 9,261 homes sold. As the table below shows, this years home sales is outpacing the prior 4 years thus far. The core St Louis market is comprised of the city of St Louis as well as the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin.
Pending home sales up as well but could show slowing trend…
At the chart below illustrates, Continue Reading →
Home sales continue at a brisk pace and the inventory of homes for sale remains low in all five counties that make up the core St Louis market with St Charles county having the lowest inventory with just a 1.9 month supply of homes for sale. Continue Reading →
If you want to buy a home today you have to be quick, especially in some neighborhoods where the demand is so high and inventory so low that many of the homes sell within a day or two of hitting the market. There are many ways to determine what are the hot neighborhoods in St Louis, but for the purposes of this article, I’m going to look at the average days on market of active listings to determine which cities in the St Louis where homes are selling the fastest. Continue Reading →
This legislative session, the Missouri State Legislature passed HB. 1862, which modifies provisions relating to the existing landlord-tenant law in Missouri, specifically, it repeals sections 534.350, 534.360, 535.030, 535.110, 535.160 and 535.300 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and replaces them with five new sections as described in the bill. Continue Reading →