Austin’s MLS Opens to Non-REALTOR® Agents—Could It Happen in St. Louis?

Big changes are coming to Austin’s real estate market, and while they might seem far away, they could signal future shifts in St. Louis. The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR), which owns and operates Unlock MLS (formerly ACTRIS), has announced that starting in June 2025, real estate agents will no longer be required to be REALTOR® members to access the MLS. This means agents in Austin can now choose whether or not to join the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) while still being able to list homes on the MLS. Could something like this happen in St. Louis? Not without Continue Reading →

St Louis County Circuit Court Judge Strikes Down St Louis County Landlord License Ordinance

On June 2, 2017, in a victory for landlords, St Louis County Circuit Court Judge Gloria Clark Reno declared St Louis County’s landlord license ordinance unconstitutional. Going into effect on December 31, 2015, after being passed by the St Louis County Council, in a surprise vote, the St Louis County Landlord Licensing Ordinance required landlords to obtain a license annually to have the right to rent out their property. Continue Reading →

Florissant Tramples the Rights of Landlords and Tenants With Passage of Crime Free Bill

On October 10th (well, technically October 11th since the final vote was not taken until reportedly 1:00 am) the city of Florissant dealt it’s latest blow to landlords and tenants clearly, in my humble opinion, sending a message that they (Florissant) want neither within their city limits. Continue Reading →

Check Out St Louis’s $2Mil+ Home Sales From The Past Year

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 →

Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order To Stop St Louis County From Implementing Rental Licensing Ordinance

Yesterday, St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Gloria Reno granted a temporary restraining order against St Louis County to stop implementation of their recently adopted rental licensing ordinance. This is a huge victory for landlords, and property owners in general, as the new ordinance, as I wrote about previously, trampled property rights in many ways. Continue Reading →

Update on St Louis County Residential Rental Property Licensing Ordinance

Last month I wrote an article about a residential rental property licensing ordinance that was proposed in St Louis County by Councilman Michael O’Mara which I felt was a bad piece of legislation and an egregious violation of the private property rights of property owners. I heard from many readers that felt the same way I did and in fact, many of you turned out at the County Council meeting earlier this week to voice your opposition to the bill. I’m happy to say that the ordinance, which was on the agenda to be perfected, was in fact not voted Continue Reading →

How Will The Government Shut Down Affect The St Louis Real Estate Market?

As we enter the 7th day of the government shut down, concern grows among home buyers and sellers as to how this may affect the transactions here in St Louis. The short answer is that, fortunately, it appears the impact will be minimal for the most part. This morning at a meeting of the St Louis Industry Forum, which I chair, this topic was discussed and from the input of the real estate-related professions represented, it appears the impact of the government shutdown on real estate transactions here will be minimal.

Shelly Clark, President of Cardinal Surveying, said that there Continue Reading →

Tina Niemann – A tribute to an amazing person

I once heard it said that people remember you, not by what you said, not by what you did, but by the way you made them feel. I cannot think of another person that this statement applies to more than Tina Niemann.

If you haven’t already heard, Tina passed away on June 14, 2013 after suffering a heart attack. The last time that I saw Tina, was at a luncheon at Bellerive Country Club. Tina saw me and came over and said “I just had to come over and speak to my favorite REALTOR “. Was I really her favorite Continue Reading →

St. Louis Real Estate Market Facts and Figures for July 2009

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The National Association of REALTORS(R) and the St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R) have just released information on the St. Louis real estate market for July. Following are some highlights from the data which is for St Louis city and county.

Sales for July (existing homes-does not include new):

Single family homes – 1446 for the month 48 percent had 3 bedrooms Condos and Coops – 243 for the month 77 percent were 2 bedrooms or less Continue Reading →

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

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Earlier this week I did part one , and yesterday part two of my E-View with Carole Baras, CRS, GRI, ePRO, the 2009 President of the St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R) to get her take on the St. Louis real estate market.

Today I’ll pick up where I left off and complete my E-View with Carole:

Carole Baras, 2009 President, St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R)

Dennis – Carole, What do you feel are the best opportunities today for buyers in St. Louis?

Carole – Buyers that are looking to purchase a Continue Reading →

St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R) Presidents’ view of the market – Second Post in a series

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Yesterday I did part one of my E-View with Carole Baras, CRS, GRI, ePRO, the 2009 President of the St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R) to get her take on the St. Louis real estate market.

Today I’ll pick up where I left off and complete my E-View with Carole:

Carole Baras, 2009 President, St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R)

Dennis – Carole, obviously many things are affecting the real estate market at this time, many in a negative way unfortunately. What negative forces do you see working against the St. Louis real Continue Reading →

St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R) Presidents’ view of the market – First Post in a series

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Last month I published 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. Now it’s time for the St. Louis side of the Missouri River.

To find out the status of the real estate market in St. Louis County, as well as the City of St. Louis, I turned to Carole Baras, CRS, GRI, ePRO, the 2009 President of the St. Louis Association of REALTORS(R) to get her take on the market.

Continue Reading →