St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch January 3rd, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports, Uncategorized

Saint Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
January 3rd, 2009
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Home for Sale Team provides a weekly St. Louis County and Bi-weekly St. Charles County Market and Jefferson County Market Watch Report to review and plug into your home buying or selling scenario. Your questions and comments are welcome!

 The St. Louis Real Estate Market this week continues to show stable activity.  With the Holidays all around us this past week and a half, our active listing numbers and homes accepting contracts have dropped a bit, but that’s to be expected.  Our pending ratio, however, has risen slightly, proving that there is still buyer activity in the market. 

As we start this new year, we expect to see buyer and seller activity increase in the next couple months, driven hopefully by the continued low interest rates and the great values to be had in the market at this time. 

This year, we also expect to see our fair share of homes falling into short sale positions and foreclosures.  Fortunately, lending institutions are doing a better job of helping people in these tough situations. 

If you are one of those homeowners who may be headed for mortgage troubles, your first step is TALK TO YOUR LENDER.  We know it’s an embarrassing situation to admit, but if it helps, you are not alone by any means. There are plenty of homeowners in the St. Louis area that need some form of help with their mortgage.  Talking to your lender is the fist and most important step.  The second step may be to talk to a real estate professional for advice and consult regarding your situation. They can outline the steps in the short sale and foreclosure procedures so you are well educated as you proceed. 

Also…if you are RENTING a home, a friend of ours has a tip for you; one that they learned the hard way.  Make absolutely sure that your landlord is paying the mortgage  on the home you are renting.  Ask them to furnish proof to you each month.  Our friend has fallen victim to a landlord that was taking their rent money and not paying the mortgage.  Our friends now have two choices; move out of the house, as it has been bought by the bank (foreclosed) , or try to buy the home as a bank owned property (REO).  We are helping them try to buy the house, but buying from the bank is much different than buying from an individual homeowner. 

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

Fill out the form below to view the Market Report.

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   01.04.2009

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch December 27th, 2008

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
December 27th, 2008
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Home for Sale Team provides a weekly St. Louis County and Bi-weekly St. Charles County Market and Jefferson County Market Watch Report to review and plug into your home buying or selling scenario. Your questions and comments are welcome!

The St. Louis Real Estate Market this week continues to show good activity, especially in the price ranges of $100,000 up to $300,000.  It’s not that surprising, as these are the price ranges that keep our market moving.  These price ranges are also, co-incidentally, within the FHA financing limits. 

With FHA financing being many buyers choice of financing these days and interest rates lower than they have been in decades, buyers continue to buy.  The buyers in the market this time of year are finding very good value for the dollar and coming away with their “deal of a lifetime”.

As of late, we have talked to many buyers and sellers in the market that have heard and read in the news that since the mortgage industry has been “re-structured” (or whatever you call it) that it is a requirement now to have a 20 percent down payment and excellent credit to buy a home.  Everyones individual situation is different, but there are solutions and programs out there that don’t have such staunch requirements.  Buyers should talk to more than one lender and get two or three opinions before making a decision.  Not all lenders have the same resources for money to lend. 

This being our last Market Watch of 2008, all of us at The St. Louis Real Estate Voice hope all of you have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR. 

REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

Fill out the form below to view the Market Report.

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   12.28.2008

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch December 20th, 2008

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
December 20th, 2008
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Home for Sale Team provides a weekly St. Louis County and Bi-weekly St. Charles County Market and Jefferson County Market Watch Report to review and plug into your home buying or selling scenario. Your questions and comments are welcome!

 T’was the weekend before Christmas, and all through the St. Louis Real Estate Market buyers and sellers alike seem to be focusing on the Holidays and putting their home buying and selling process as a second priority.

 As usual at this time of year, we are seeing active listings and buyer activity falling off and more homes hitting the expired list. Our pending ratio has dropped to 10.39 percent. One positive note; the average listing prices have bumped up just a bit with the average selling prices remaining relatively stable.  

For homeowners thinking of giving themselves a Holiday gift of a remodeling project, such as a new kitchen, bath, office, lower level or family room in their existing home, check out the most recent report of home remodeling project cost versus value at this LINK. 

Once again, curb appeal seems to rule the day.  The report shows that exterior remodeling projects return the maximum value at re-sale followed by interior projects.  There are some interesting statistics in this report contradicting what we hear from some “experts” in our area. 

Once again, from all of us at the St. Louis Real Estate Voice- We wish each and every one of you and your family a very Happy Holiday Season.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

Fill out the form below to view the Market Report.

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   12.21.2008

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch December 13th, 2008

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
December 13th, 2008
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Home for Sale Team provides a weekly St. Louis County and Bi-weekly St. Charles County Market and Jefferson County Market Watch Report to review and plug into your home buying or selling scenario. Your questions and comments are welcome!

 The St. Louis Real Estate Market this week has our pending ratio ( homes accepting contracts) inching up slightly to 10.47 percent from last week’s 10.04 percent.  When you look at the segment of the market that moves St. Louis Real Estate; price ranges from $100,000 to $249,999; the pending ratios are continuing well above the average pending ratio.

Buyer activity is remaining fairly stable this month, as seller activity continues to decline.  It’s not unusual that these specific price ranges are doing well, as these are the ranges that fit into the FHA guidelines for financing.  We believe, as others do, that FHA loan programs will be the engine to help bolster the St. Louis Housing market in the next 12-18 months.   

On a National level, RealtyTrac, an online source for foreclosed properties and statistics recently reported that default notices, auction sales and bank repossessions fell 7 percent in November from the previous month.  That’s a good sign, but as compared to November 2007 we are still up 28 percent.  The top five states for foreclosures are still Florida, Nevada, Arizona, California and Michigan. Read the complete article at RisMedia.com

For homeowners looking for information and help with financial education as it relates to homeownership, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has recently launched a website to assist Americans.  A unique feature on the website is a cool Self-Assessment Tool to help homeowners learn about personalized options for purchaseing and refinancing a home.  The website can be found at www.HUD.gov and www.FHA.gov. 

REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

Fill out the form below to view the Market Report.

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   12.14.2008

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch December 6th, 2008

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
December 6th, 2008
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Home for Sale Team provides a weekly St. Louis County and Bi-weekly St. Charles County Market and Jefferson County Market Watch Report to review and plug into your home buying or selling scenario. Your questions and comments are welcome!

The St. Louis Real Estate Market this week gives evidence as to why sellers ought to stay in the marketplace and why buyers ought to be buying right now.

Active listings have dropped by 234 this week, followed by accepted contracts (pendings) only dropping by 10.  This has caused our pending ratio to bump up a bit to 10.04 percent.  Buyer activity has not declined nearly as much as seller activity. 

Our average listing price has remained fairly stable for the last several months, while our average selling prices has declined slightly.  4 weeks ago, our average selling price was $480,857 as compared to this week at $457,502.  Sellers want to get their home sold before the end of the year, and some are making concessions to get it done.  Even so, our average list price to sale price ratio remains at 95 percent.  When you remove the $800,000+ price range from the statistics, we see the average list to sales percentage increase to 97.5 percent. 

Buyers that are staying in the market may be finding even better value for the dollar from now until the end of the year.  

Thursday, this last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, spelled out more aggressive steps that the Government could take to help reverse the nationwide housing slump.  This report came a day after reports came to light that the Treasury Department is looking at steps that could put some mortgage rates below 5 percent, and a day before the Mortgage Banker’s Association reported record foreclosures and delinquencies from July to September this year.  Read the complete article with Mr. Bernanke’s suggestions on how to help fix this mess at RISMEDIA.COM. 

REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

Fill out the form below to view the Market Report.

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   12.07.2008

Let’s say THANKS!

Filed under: In General

Xerox has partnered up and is sending postcards (and goodie boxes) to our troops abroad.It costs you nothing but about 5 minutes of time to THANK and ACKNOWLEDGE the men and women (many of whom we know and care about) who are representing our country.  

THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT IN ANY MANNER, NEITHER EXPLICIT NOR IMPLICIT.  

Whether you agree or disagree about any war, keep in mind, the PEOPLE who are abroad are what’s important. Take a minute and let them know we are grateful for every hardship they face each and every day - often without respite (there IS NO VACATION when you are deployed). Say thank you for the sacrifices they (and their families) make and that we appreciate that they are someone who is doing what they do simply because they GAVE THEIR WORD AS THEIR HONOR to do so. With no expectations of glory. 

Notice that these postcards are designed by children. They are designed by future generations who one day may or may not agree with all of our country’s policies and behaviors - more importantly, they are the HOPE that we have that one day we will not need to send so many postcards to soldiers fighting abroad!! 

I’ve already sent two and will send one each day as long as Xerox is willing to keep the site going. Please join me in sharing some human kindness and generosity. (If you are hesitant, I invite you to check out the link “From the Troops” and then decide)

www.LetsSayThanks.com

Aprille Trupiano
Mortgage Banker
First Integrity Mortgage Services
Direct:  (314) 363-3913
Office:  (314) 878-7900

Posted by Aprille Trupiano   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   12.06.2008

St. Louis Real Estate - Mortgage News

Filed under: First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, Mortgage News, Relocation Buyer

Spreading the Good News . . . The bond market is alive and well! 

A very IMPORTANT change is going on and it is great news for our Realtors and clients. That news has a direct impact on why interest rates have been drastically falling.

There has always been a correlation between the bond market and the stock market.

In traditional times money would flow into or out of the stock market. When investors pulled money out of the stock market it would flow into the bond market. As money flowed into bonds interest rates would drop. We lost this ying and yang system for some time because money was placed in the cash markets instead of bonds. 

The bond market has now returned as an off-set to stocks. That is why with the decline in stocks money is now headed to bonds and your interest rates are declining.

NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOUSE! 

Aprille Trupiano
Mortgage Banker
314. 363.3913
Aprille@LoansByAprille.com

www.LoansByAprille.com

Posted by Aprille Trupiano   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   12.06.2008

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch November 29th, 2008

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
November 29th, 2008
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Home for Sale Team provides a weekly St. Louis County and Bi-weekly St. Charles County Market and Jefferson County Market Watch Report to review and plug into your home buying or selling scenario. Your questions and comments are welcome!

The St. Louis Real Estate Market this week continues to slow as we head into Holiday season with 100+ less active listings, almost 50 less accepted contracts and our pending ratio dropping below 10 percent to 9.76 percent.  This is the lowest pending ratio we’ve recorded since we started tracking these statistics in August of 2007.  Please remember that some of this slow-down is typical of the season we are in. 

The notable statistics are when you compare our current numbers to the same week last year.  Compared to last year, this week, we are down 700+ active listings, 255 less accepted contracts, and the pending ratio is below last year by almost 4 percent.

Sellers-this is a good time to stay in the market, as inventory is shrinking, and as long as you are priced at or below market value, you have a better chance of attracting a motivated buyer.  Buyer activity is still good, and buyers now are much more motivated than previous months.  

Buyers-you have less inventory to look at, which should make your decision easier when you find the right house for you.   For buyers who will be using FHA financing, better buy by the end of the year, as after the first of the new year, FHA guidelines will be changing.  FHA’s minimum 3 percent downpayment will be going up to 3.5 percent, and the upper limits of FHA loans will be lowered by $10,000. 

The good news from the Fed this past week is that they will be buying up to $500 billion of securitized home loans in the next 12 to 18 months.   This news alone is what has caused mortgage rates to drop so significantly this last week.  Read Bankrate.com’s article detailing the Fed’s actions HERE. 

REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

Fill out the form below to view the Market Report.

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   1 Comment »   |   11.30.2008