St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch April 26th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
April 26th, 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 signs of activity in the lower price ranges; those between $125,000 to $300,000, as the pending ratios continue to perform above the average. Inventory in these price ranges continues to be in that “transitional” level with the $175,000–$199,999 price range showing signs of a sellers market, at least right now.

The $450,000–$499,999 price range is also showing great activity with a pending ratio at 22.6 percent and low inventory levels at 4.4 months. Sellers in this price range should be encouraged, at least at this poiint in time, as there is less competition and greater likelihood of selling close to listing price. Keep in mind, the home STILL must be priced within market value.

This bit of good news, however, does not mean we are headed back in time to “the boom years”. We think that we are still seeing results of slight increases in buyer activity coupled with our normal spring surge of activity on both the buyer and seller side of our real estate market. There are signs out there in the marketplace that some buyers and sellers are hesitant yet, waiting to see where this market will really end up.

A March 22^nd article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch annouces that according to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales dropped another 2 percent in March. St. Louis County experienced a 21 percent drop in sales and the median home price declined to $148,450. To read the complete article, go to STLToday.com; the article is entitled “Area Home Sales Continue Slump in March”.

In an April 23^rd article on RISMedia.com, Bank of America announced that after their aquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. closes in the third quarter of this year, they will implement new lending guidelines in it’s consumer mortage business to address the dramatically changed mortgage environment.

Bank of America said they will continue to offer an assortment of “first lien” products to retail consumers, including some forms of Adjustable Rate Mortgages, but will also implement enhanced borrower protections and re-define certain limits and penalties associated with these products. They are planning to discontinue non-traditional mortgages, such as option ARMs, and some low or no documentation loans.

Bank of America will also be providing customers with more tools to help borrowers understand completely the decisions they are making through education, disclosures, and fair sales practices.

Read the complete article at RISMedia.com, entitled “Bank of America Announces Home Lending Guidelines”.

For some great information regarding the real estate market and a really cool home-value calculator, check out the report just released by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) at http://www.ofheo.gov/.

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 April 26th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson County Market Watch April 20th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch April 26th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report March 2008

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:

Single Family Residence
Ranch Style
1300 – 2000 sq.ft.
3 Bedrooms
1.5 Bathrooms

Art Wagner can be reached at art@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 7:11 pm and is filed under St. Louis Market Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.