St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch August 16th, 2008

Saint Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
August 16th, 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 our summer of 2008 trends as we see fewer homes coming on the market again. However, we are seeing a few more homes selling this week as our pending ratio inches up to 14.18 percent. Our list prices and sales prices are holding steady, as well, evidenced by the List to Sales Price average of 95.4%.

In some price ranges, that average may be a bit higher, or lower, but a 95.4% average IS something to shout about, especially when you consider that all transactions in the St. Louis County area make up that average INCLUDING Foreclosures and Short Sales. Other parts of the country, such as Las Vegas, parts of Florida and areas in California where almost 70% of their business is foreclosures and short sales, would have a tough time matching our local statistics. Our local statistics show that foreclosures and short sales make up only about 8–10 percent of our total transaction volume.

Interest rates are still at historically low levels, inventory is below 2005 levels and in the first quarter of 2008 we have seen pricing / appreciation increases of about 1.7 percent. We should be thankful we live in St. Louis. You don’t hear much, if at all, from the news media about these statistics; I guess they’re not doom and gloom enough to report.

BUYERS AND SELLERS– Go to RISMedia.com and check out the article from John Benson, who compiled information from a White Paper he authored entitled, “60% of the U.S. Can Stop Worrying about Housing Market”. He claims that a lot of the negative thinking and talk of recession is more of a “mental recession” than anything.

SELLERS– While you’re visiting RISMedia.com, check out this article, by Kathleen Lynn, which gives one frustrated seller’s insight into his experiences with his home selling process. “8 Reasons Your Home Hasn’t Sold Yet-Advice for Frustrated Clients”, is the title of the article. It mimicks what we have been telling our clients and prospective clients during our discussions about their home selling process.

ARE YOU thinking of buying or selling a home? Contact Doug Aegerter or Art Wagner for more information and a FREE Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of your home or your neighborhood.

St. Louis Real Estate St. Louis CountyMarket Watch August 16th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson County Market Watch August 9th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch August 16th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report July 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, August 17th, 2008 at 4:57 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.