St Charles Real Estate - St Louis Real Estate News

New Home Construction Trend In St Louis Is Down In St Louis and St Charles Counties

By Dennis Norman, on April 1st, 2019

For the 12-month period ended February 28, 2019, there were building permits issued for 785 new homes in St Louis County, a decline of 21.11% from the prior 12-month period, according to the latest data from the St Louis HBA. As the table below shows, St Charles County saw a decline of 13.05% during the same period however the other counties reported on by the St Louis HBA are all showing increased new home building activity for the period. From a percentage standpoint, Warren County saw the biggest increase at 30.04%.

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St Louis Area Home Affordability Best In St Louis City

By Dennis Norman, on March 31st, 2019

During the first quarter of this year, homebuyers in the City of St Louis needed to spend a median of just 16.9% of their annual wages to buy a median-priced home, according to data just released by ATTOM Data Services. This makes the City of St Louis the most affordable county to buy a home in the St Louis area. As the table below shows, St Charles County, where it takes 37.7% of annual wages to buy a median-priced home is the least affordable county for 1st quarter 2019.

On a positive note, St Charles County had an affordability index Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sale Trend Slowing Slightly

By Dennis Norman, on March 19th, 2019

Year to date, there have been 2,903 homes sold in the St Louis 5-County Core market, a decline of 3.6% from this time last year when 3,010 homes had sold. As the second chart below illustrates, the St Louis home sales trend (trailing 12 months and represented by the dark green line) peaked in October 2018 with 26,032 homes sold in the prior 12 months but then stalled and has begun a slight downward trend since with 25,756 homes sold in the 12 month period ending in February 2019.

Meanwhile, St Louis home prices continue to rise with the median Continue Reading →

St Charles County vs St Louis County Home Price Appreciation

By Dennis Norman, on March 8th, 2019

Since the announcement of the Better Together plans to merge the County and City of St Louis together into one big “Metro City”, there has been a lot of talk about the impact this would have on the St Louis real estate market. I’ve had several conversations with people in the real estate industry that feel St Charles County, as well as some of the other surrounding counties, will benefit if the Better Together plan succeeds. Their optimism is based upon the belief that, given what appears to be a tremendous groundswell of opposition to the plan from residents of Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Down Slightly, Prices Up, In Past 12 Months

By Dennis Norman, on March 7th, 2019

For the 12-month period ended February 28, 2019, there were 37,427 homes sold in the St Louis metro area, a decline of 1.22% from the prior 12-month period when there were 37,889 homes sold, according to our STL Market Report below. During the same period, the median price of homes sold in the St Louis metro area increased by 4.11% from $172,900 to $180,000. As the table shows, there is currently a 3.19 month supply of homes for sale in the St Louis metro area.

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STL Continue Reading →

St Louis New Home Construction Continues To Decline

By Dennis Norman, on February 27th, 2019

There were 4,471 building permits issued for new homes in the St Louis area during the 12-month period ended January 31, 2019, a decline of 5.20% from the prior 12-month period when there were 4,716 permits issued, according to information just released by the Home Builders Association of St Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA).

As the table below shows, St Charles County continues to see the largest decline in new home construction with 1,489 new home permits issued in the most recent 12-month period, down 13.03% from the prior 12 month period. Four counties in the St Louis Continue Reading →

Is The St Louis Housing Inventory Down 25 Percent Or Up 10 Percent? The Importance Of Understanding The Data.

By Dennis Norman, on February 23rd, 2019

I promise not to turn this article into one of my boring, lengthy diatribes that only a data nerd could enjoy, however, I do want to discuss something that I think is very important for all home buyers, sellers and investors. Given that today there is a plethora of “data” and “information” available to us thanks, in large part, to the internet, and that home buyer, sellers, and investors (as well as the real estate agents working with them) make decisions based, at least in part, to those things, it is imperative to know you have the right data and Continue Reading →

St Louis Area New Home Construction In 2018 Declines

By Dennis Norman, on January 25th, 2019

There were 4,140 building permits issued for new homes in the St Louis area during 2018, a decline of 3.16% from the year before when there were 4,275 permits issued, according to information just released by the Home Builders Association of St Louis & Eastern Missouri (St Louis HBA). The number of permits issued for new homes during 2018 was just slightly down from 2016.

As the table below shows, St Charles County has seen the largest decline in new home construction with 1,499 new home permits issued in 2018, down 12.85% from the year before and decline of 24.48% Continue Reading →

Cheaper To Buy Than Rent A Home In Six Out Of Eight St Louis Areas Counties

By Dennis Norman, on January 10th, 2019

According to a report just released this morning by ATTOM Data Research, it’s cheaper to buy a home than rent in 6 of 8 St Louis metro area counties covered in the report. The data reported also shows, however, that home prices are rising faster than rents in all of the counties, a trend that, if it continues, could make buying a home a less affordable option in the future. The data also shows, on a postiive note, that in 6 of 8 counties wages are rising faster than rents. The counties are split when it comes to wages vs Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Remain Steady But Trending Downward

By Dennis Norman, on December 21st, 2018

In the last week, I’ve seen several reports indicating declining home sales on both a nationwide basis as well as for the St Louis market. The reports vary widely but one local report indicated single family home sales were down 6 percent from a year ago, which, of course, should cause some concern for both agents as well as consumers since a 6 percent decline is significant. However, this is why, for this very reason, MORE, REALTORS® developed their own proprietary software to analyze and report the market data (the same MLS data as the aforementioned report was based upon) Continue Reading →

Median Price of Homes Sold in St Charles County In Past 12 Months Hits $230,000 – Sales Up Slightly

By Dennis Norman, on November 23rd, 2018

The median price of homes sold in St Charles County during the 12 month period ended October 31, 2018, was $230,000 according to the STL Market Report™ from MORE™, REALTORS®. As the STL Market Report™ below shows, this is an increase in the median price of homes sold of 4.55% from the prior 12-month period. During the most recent 12-month period, there were 6,081 homes sold in St Charles County, an increase of 1.11% from the prior 12-month period. There is currently a 2.52 month supply of homes for sale in St Charles County and listings have been on the Continue Reading →

St. Louis’ 10 Fastest Selling Cities In October 2018

By Dennis Norman, on November 3rd, 2018

Not only did the beautiful fall weather of October draw St Louis area families to the popular apple and pumpkin picking festivities at Eckert’s Millstadt Farm, it also brought out home buyers putting Millstadt, IL at the top of our fastest SOLD cities in the St Louis metro area for October. As our table below shows (an exclusive feature of MORE™, REALTORS® feature), homes in Millstadt took just an average of 8 days to sell in October. The next nine cities on the list were all in Missouri with 5 of those in St Louis County, 2 in Jefferson County, Continue Reading →

St Louis Real Estate Market Holding Steady

By Dennis Norman, on October 23rd, 2018

In contrast to reports from around the country of a cooling housing market and even a possible bubble in some markets, the St Louis real estate market continues to hold steady. As our exclusive, STL Market Report for the St Louis 5-County core market below shows, during the past 12-months homes have sold at about the same pace as the prior 12-month period, prices are up a little over 5 percent and the supply, while up, is still at a rather low 3 months.

St Louis 5-County core market home sales and prices

(click on table for live Continue Reading →

Home Affordability In St Louis Drops For All Counties In Third Quarter

By Dennis Norman, on October 4th, 2018

One of the nice things about St Louis has always been that it’s an affordable place to live and an affordable place to own a home. However, as St Louis home prices, and mortgage interest rates, continue to increase, home affordability in St Louis has declined.

As the table below, which is based on data from ATTOM Data Research, shows, all of the counties reported on in the State of Missouri saw home affordability decline during the 3rd quarter with the exception of Jackson County (Kansas City). All of the counties had a decline in home affordability from a year Continue Reading →

The Most Expensive Homes For Sale In St Louis

By Dennis Norman, on September 30th, 2018

One of the great things about living in St Louis is it is a very affordable place to live, including when it comes to home ownership. Home affordability in St Louis is certainly much better than the coasts but also beats many, if not most, metro areas. Having said that, we do have our share of expensive homes though. For example, there are currently 322 $1,000,000+ homes and condos listed for sale in the St Louis 5-county core market (City of St Louis and Counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin). The most expensive St Louis home listed Continue Reading →

New Home Construction Trend In St Louis Flat Overall

By Dennis Norman, on September 21st, 2018

There were 4,642 new home building permits issued for the 7 counties in the St Louis area covered by the St Louis HBA during the 12-month period ended August 31, 2018, just 2 more (0.04%) than the 4,640 that were issued during the prior 12-month period, according to data from the St Louis HBA.

This would indicate that perhaps the new home building market has peaked for the time being which, given that this is the best report for this 12-month period since August 2007 when there were 5,706 permits issued in the prior 12 months, it’s not bad.

St Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Trend Remains Flat While Prices Rise

By Dennis Norman, on September 20th, 2018

St Louis home sales remain consistent but fairly flat with 27,636 homes sold during the past 12 months, just slightly more than the 27,525 homes sold in the prior 12 month period, for the 5-County core St Louis market. As the table below shows, while home sales only increased by 0.40% during the period for the core St Louis market (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson, and Franklin) the median price of homes sold during the period increased 5.46% from a median price of $184,900 to $195,00. There is a currently a 2.55 month Continue Reading →

St Charles Makes Money Magazine’s 50 Best Places To Live In America List

By Dennis Norman, on September 19th, 2018

Money Magazine just released its “The Best Places To Live In America” list and St Charles came in at number 32 on the list and was one of only two cities in Missouri to make the list. The other was Lee’s Summit, in the Kansas City area, which came in at number 41 on the list.

In choosing the best cities to live in, Money Magazine looked at cities with populations of at least 50,000 people, then eliminated any place that had either a crime rate more than double the national crime risk rate, a median income of less than Continue Reading →

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Continue to Improve-St Louis Distressed Home Sales Falling

By Dennis Norman, on September 18th, 2018

Mortgage delinquency rates, the precursor to foreclosures, continue to fall as the real estate market continues to perform well. The 30-plus day mortgage delinquency rate for June 2018 fell to 4.3% of all outstanding mortgages down from 4.6% a year ago, according to a report just released by CoreLogic. Frank Nothaft, the Chief Economist for CoreLogic, attributed the good news to “A solid labor market” going on to say that June’s national unemployment rate of 4% was “the lowest for June in 18 years“.

St Louis distressed home sales falling quickly…

With the economy and real estate market doing so Continue Reading →

Who Wins When Buyer Buys From Listing Agent?

By Dennis Norman, on September 7th, 2018

One question that causes much debate among the real estate community and confusion among home buyers is “should you buy a home directly from the listing agent?”. Many home buyers feel like they will get a better deal buying directly from the listing agent, thinking that it will save the seller some money in the form of commission and that the savings will benefit them, the buyer. This premise is flawed though as it is extremely rare that this would result in any commission savings (for more info see an article I did on the topic a couple of years Continue Reading →

Report Today Says St Louis Housing Inventory Fell 26 Percent In Past Year…Maybe not though…

By Dennis Norman, on August 24th, 2018

This morning I noticed the St Louis Business Journal was reporting “In July, the local housing inventory fell to 2.6 months…That marked a 26 percent decrease since the same month last year“. This report immediately caused me some concern as I didn’t think the inventory was down nearly that much. Given that I personally spend a ton of time staying on top of local market data and our firm, MORE, REALTORS has even developed its own proprietary software to ensure that our agents and clients have the best and most accurate local housing market data, I would like to think Continue Reading →

Is There a Market Correction Coming To The St Louis Real Estate Market?

By Dennis Norman, on July 31st, 2018

This morning I watched a video from a firm that reports on the real industry and does so from a blunt, “call it as they see it”, perspective (pretty much my style too) in which they say “market correction indicators continue to roll in” and suggest that, to some extent, the party is over. This report looked at the national real estate market as a whole and specifically looked at the west coast so is not necessarily indicative of what is happening in the St Louis real estate market, however, can often be an early indicator.

As a result, I Continue Reading →

St Louis’ Millennial Population Shows a Shift From City To St Charles County

By Dennis Norman, on July 23rd, 2018

The millennial generation, people born from 1981 through 1994, is predicted to outnumber the baby boomer generation sometime in 2019. Given the size of the generation, as well as the fact many are getting married and starting families, the real estate industry is very interested in these young people. Much time is spent trying to figure out whether they want to buy or rent, whether they will consider the suburbs or just stick to urban areas, etc.

Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that more than a third of the residents in the city of St Louis are Continue Reading →

Top Ten St Louis Metro Cities Where Homes Sold The Fastest In June

By Dennis Norman, on July 11th, 2018

It took an average of just 9 days for homes to sell in Columbia, Illinois last month, making Columbia the fastest selling city in the St Louis MSA during June. Waterloo was the other Illinois city that made the list (#4) with the remaining 8 cities being in Missouri. Of the eight cities in Missouri on the list, 7 are in St Louis County and 1 in St Charles County.

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Search St Louis Homes For Sale Search St Louis Upcoming OPEN HOUSES St Louis MSA Top 10 Fastest SOLD Cities In June 2018

(click on Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Decline Slightly While Prices Rise

By Dennis Norman, on July 10th, 2018

Home sales in St Louis declined a little over 2 percent during the most recent 12-month period from the prior period while the median price of homes sold in St Louis rose 4.4%, according to the latest data from MORE, REALTORS.

St Louis home sales are trending downward slightly as well, as illustrated by the chart below. The light green line depicts year to date home sales for the St Louis 5-county core market (city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin) and reveals that through June of this year, there have been 13,237 Continue Reading →

St Charles County Residents Have Best Housing Affordability Threshold In St Louis Area

By Dennis Norman, on July 5th, 2018

Nearly 80 percent (78.8%) of the homeowners with a mortgage in St Charles County spend less than 30% of their household income for gross monthly housing costs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest data. As the table below shows, the 4-largest St Louis area counties are all within the green (good) level for housing affordability in all categories: Homeowners with a mortgage, homeowners without a mortgage and renters.

Of the three categories, St Louis renters have the worst housing affordability threshold with a median of 46.3% of St Louis renters spending more then 30% of their household income on Continue Reading →

St Louis Home Sales Trend Show Lower Rate of Increase

By Dennis Norman, on June 25th, 2018

Homes have sold in the St Louis area at an increasing rate for a little more than 3 years now, however, as the chart below illustrates, the trend is flattening. The chart below, which was created from software our firm developed which compiles data from the MLS, plots homes sales for the past 12 months for each month. So, rather than just seeing the activity for one month and all the seasonal fluctuation, you can actually see the sales trend.

Since March 2015, the 12-month home sales trend has steadily increased at a fairly steady pace however, it appears we Continue Reading →

St Louis Area Population Growth Nearly Flat But Asians and Males on The Rise

By Dennis Norman, on June 21st, 2018

The St Louis 5-county core had a total population of 2,027,996 in 2017, up from 2,000,405 in 2010. The population increase os 27,591 represents a very modest population increase of just 1.36% for the 7-year period, according to the latest date from the U.S. Census Bureau. As the table below shows, the number of Asian people in St Louis grew by 11,913 during the period, an amount equal to 43% of the total St Louis population growth.

The St Louis 5-county core consists of the city of St Louis and the counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin. Continue Reading →

Do Home Prices In A Growth Market Like Wentzville Perform Better Than An Established Market?

By Dennis Norman, on June 8th, 2018

One of the things that often attract homebuyers to a new or expanding area is the availability of new homes at affordable prices. This is something that is hard to find in older areas that have mature real estate markets due to the lack of available ground and the cost of the ground when it does become available. This is, no doubt, one of the things that have been responsible for the population growth in Wentzville in spite of the fact it is in the farthest west most area of St Charles County. As a result, the city of Wentzville Continue Reading →

Home Sales And Price Trends Between St Louis Area Counties

By Dennis Norman, on June 6th, 2018

The five counties I refer to as the “St Louis Core Market“, which include the city of St Louis and counties of St Louis, St Charles, Jefferson and Franklin, account for over 90% of the home sales in the 9 Missouri Counties that are part of the St Louis MSA. This is why I typically focus on those five counties when reporting real estate market stats as they give the “big picture” view of the St Louis market but in a more accurate way than the St Louis MSA stats.

The counties making up the St Louis core market vary Continue Reading →