St. Louis Real Estate-Just Do It-NOW!

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch
November 24th, 2007
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!

HEY BUYERS!! How much more evidence do you need to see that NOW is the time to buy that DREAM HOME??

MORTGAGE RATES HAVE FALLEN AGAIN!! Read Chris Scheer’s article, “Lock it and Pocket the Money”, published in our blog or check out Inman News for proof. This last week we’ve seen some awesome activity on the mortgage rate side of our business.

Earlier this week, Inman News reported that the long-term mortgage interest rates were down and that the benchmark 10–year Treasury bond yield dropped to 3.83%. Inman News reports, based on data from Bankrate.com, that the 30–yr. fixed rate was down to 5.82% and the 15–yr. fixed rate fell to 5.4%. Bankrate.com’s data is composed of surveying 4000 banks in 50 states.

Inman News also reported this last week that the “sales rate for NEW HOME sales rose in October for the first time since April, but fell about 23.5% compared to October 2006. Also, the median sales price of new homes dropped 13% in October compared to October 2006.”

This last Wednesday, according to Inman News, the National Association of Realtors reported that the median price of re-sale homes fell 5.1% in October 2007 compared to October 2006. Also, another index released this week by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo, revealed that the NATIONAL median price of new and re-sale homes sold in the third quarter this year dropped 3.6% compared to the third quarter of 2006.

FOR ALL YOU JUMBO MORTGAGE BUYERS— Sorry, your loan will probably get a bit more expensive, as this last week, Inman News reported that the average 30 yr. JUMBO loan rose 4 basis points from a week ago to 7.24%.

SO…What does that mean for our St. Louis Real Estate Market??—That means BUY YOUR NEW HOME NOW, and LOCK IN YOUR LOAN.

With the St. Louis Real Estate Market this week showing more listings coming off the market, and pending ratios hanging in at 12–13%, the buyers that are serious are buying. There are some GREAT values out there, which doesn’t mean you can STEAL a home, just that this a great time to get excellent value for your hard-earned dollar. For homes that are priced within market value, we are still in a 2–4% market with our average sales to list price comparisons.

Thinking of buying or selling a home? Contact Us for additional information tailored to your specific needs.

St. Louis Real Estate St. Louis County Market Watch December 1st, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson County Market Watch December 1st, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch November 24, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report November 2007

The report begins by breaking the market into 17 distinct price ranges. Then we show current listings and current pending listings which creates a pending ratio, which is helpful on a week to week basis to see if activity is increasing or decreasing in a price category.

The report also shows the last 6 months of results and compares the data to the same 6 months of the previous year.

The Market Analysis includes data on:

Number of Active Listings (Current)
Pending Sales (Going to closing)
Pending Ratio (Active vs.Pending)
Sold (Last 6 months)
Expired (Last 6 months)1
Average List Price
Average Sale Price
Average List to Sales Price %
Days on Market (DOM)
Months worth of Inventory (Based on current pending rate)
Buyers Market: > 7 months of listing inventory

Transitional Market: 5 - 7 months of listing inventory (sometimes called a “balanced” market)

Seller Market: < 5 months of listing inventory

Average % Sale Price/List Price (0-30), (31-60), (61-90), (91-120), (120+)DOM

Notice that you’re paying a penalty for over pricing. . .hey. .it’s a fact!!

The Benchmark Report is produced monthly for: