St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch October 27, 2007

Filed under: First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, For Sellers, Real Estate News, Relocation Buyer, St. Louis Market Reports, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch 
October 27th,  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! 

The St. Louis Real Estate Market this week is continuing to show signs of slowing with less active listings, less homes accepting contracts and the pending ratio dropping to 11.32%.  However, we are still seeing the average listing price of homes that are on the market continuing to inch upward and the average selling price inching downward. WHAT!? One explaination may be that with less competition in the marketplace and with the market showing some signs of stability, new sellers entering the market now are pricing their homes a bit higher.  Sellers that have been on the market for 90 to 120 days or longer are accepting a lower offer now, as the frustration and stress of being in the marketplace for 3–5 months is taking it’s toll. 

Buyers that are in the marketplace now still know full well that we are still very much in a buyer’s market, but again, with less inventory, they may not be able to be as choosey and picky as they might have been this past summer. That being said, our over-all average selling price still fell by over $1000.00 from last week and almost $2000.00 from 4 weeks ago. 

We are still seeing less homes sold; about 300 less than a month ago and the number of listings that the market has rejected (expired) continues to rise, as some sellers are fed up with the process and are not re-entering the market. Their explaination for this is that they will “wait till the holidays are over” and try again. We still talk to sellers that tell us “we’re going to wait till next year when the market is better”.  We hope these sellers re-evaluate their situation over the holidays and do what is necessary to make sure their home sells the next time. PRICE, CONDITION, MARKETING; that’s what it takes. The sellers that hit the mark on these three points from the beginning are usually rewarded by having met their goals and their home sells.

As we’ve said before, our indicators tell us that the market we have now is what we will deal with well into next year also.

This is St. Charles Market Watch week and the St. Charles market is following the same trends as our St. Louis County market. The only major difference we see is that by following St. Louis trends, with only about half the active listings, St. Charles market times and months of inventory levels are higher.

TRIVIA: IF you’re a seller that also believes in LUCK AND PRAYER—There is a superstition here in St. Louis that by doing “something” outside in your yard will help your home sell. WHAT IS IT YOU MUST DO IN YOUR YARD? AND..it has nothing to do with perfect landscaping.

Answer next week.

 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 October 27, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson  County Market Watch October 20, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch October 27, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report September 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:

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

Art Wagner can be reached at art@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   10.27.2007

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch Report October 20, 2007

Filed under: For Buyers, For Sellers, Real Estate News, Relocation Buyer, St. Louis Market Reports, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch 
October 20th,  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! 

 Our St. Louis Real Estate Market seems to have stabilized itself over the last several weeks. This week we are actually seeing the pending ratio increasing slightly again, with additional listings and additional homes accepting contracts. Even the average listing and selling prices are inching a bit higher. The movement isn’t anything to get excited about yet, but at least it’s in the positive direction.  On the negative side, our days on market averages are remaining in triple digits and our average month’s of inventory still says we are definitely in a strong buyer’s market.  In the price ranges that actually move the St. Louis Real Estate Market, we are seeing somewhere between 6–9.8 months of inventory. When our market is “balanced” here in St. Louis, we typically see 5–7 months of inventory.  It tends to be the higher priced homes that are inflating our averages, with days on market over 125 and inventory as high as 24 months. 

This week, the Jefferson County Market Watch Report shows fewer active listings, but a bit of an increase in the pending ratio, moving from 9.6% two weeks ago to 10.5% this week.  The average listing and sales prices are also inching up a bit.  The average month’s inventory for Jefferson County has increased from 10 months two weeks ago to 12 months this week.  Sales seem to be slowing a bit, following the rest of St. Louis’ fall trend.

BUYERS AND SELLERS: We had a brief discussion with Eric West, one of our readers who also resides in the Midwest, and being in Real Estate, has developed a unique program to help buyers who have challenges qualifying for a mortgage and for sellers who are having challenges selling their home the traditional way. 

If anyone is curious or would like to have more information, please send us an e-mail with your request, and we will put you in touch with Eric.

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 October 20, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson  County Market Watch October 20, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch October 13, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report September 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:

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

Art Wagner can be reached at art@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   10.20.2007

St. Louis Real Estate-Steady As She Goes..

Filed under: First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, For Sellers, Relocation Buyer, St. Louis Market Reports, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch 
October 13th,  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! 

Over the last several weeks our St. Louis County Real Estate Market has seemed to stabilize a bit, with our total listing numbers still hovering above the 6000 mark and the pending ratio is remaining around 11.5%.  This week our listing numbers have actually inched upward over last week and the “market rejected” listings (expired’s) have increased by about the same amount. If you look closely, our average list price has inched up slightly in the last month along with the average selling price. Not very exciting, except that here’s proof again that we are a fairly stable market, unlike the other parts of the country that you see, read and hear about through the media.

St. Charles County Real Estate Market Watch will continue to be published on a bi-weekly basis, alternating with the Jefferson County Market Watch report. 

Thanks to our friend, Christian, in St. Charles, who is in the home selling process and has been using our St. Charles Market Watch to keep an eye on the market. Christian has been following us for some time now, and e-mailed us regarding the elimination of the St. Charles Market Watch. So…for Christian and the other St. Charles comments we received, we will continue to run the report bi-weekly.

The St. Charles County Real Estate Market seems to be following somewhat the same trends as St. Louis County.  The number of listings and homes with accepted contracts (pending) is holding fairly steady, even though we saw the pending ratio drop to 10.6% this week. This is the first time in a couple of months that the pending ratio has been below 11.0%.   The average listing and sales prices are also remaining fairly steady.  

Remember the Trivia question from last week??  What does the City of St. Louis have in common with Washington D.C. ? 

Answer: St. Louis City and Washington D.C. are the only two cities in the country that are not located within a county, or Township, or Parish. (depending upon where you live.) 

Interested in new home sales?  Check out these statistics here..New Home Stats

Check This Out– By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer– New Home Sales

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 October 13, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson  County Market Watch October 6th, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch October 13, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report September 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:

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

Art Wagner can be reached at art@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   1 Comment »   |   10.13.2007

St. Louis Real Estate – Home Staging – Top Ten Tips

Filed under: For Sellers, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

TOP TEN STAGING TIPS TO HELP YOU SELL YOUR HOME FAST! By Interior Designer and home staging expert- Natalie Pinson

#10 CURB ENTHUSIASM - If your home doesn’t have curb appeal, buyers won’t want to go inside! Trim square bushes (these look too dated!) and create a more organic, flowing shape. Landscaping should be soft and layered- and a little mulch goes a long way too! Make sure your front door is painted and in good condition. Your front steps, porch and entrance should make a great first impression.

#9 MR. CLEAN – Nothing attracts buyers more than a clean house. Spend time and money to deep clean your investment! Scrub tubs, windows, floors and don’t forget those closets.

#8 BRIGHT WHITE & OUT OF SIGHT – A quick way to give your home an instant face-lift: paint trim and baseboards with white semi-gloss paint. Off white trim screams DIRTY NICOTINE even if that’s not the case! This is especially true in older homes; the older the house, the brighter the white should be. (Historic homes may vary with this rule!)

#7 CLUTTER CONTROL – Pack up the stacks! Any excess papers, books, clothes and toys should be packed up and placed in storage. You’ll have to do it eventually, so you might as well start now. Bookcases should follow the 2/3 rule. Two thirds should be filled with books, while the other third should be open. Avoid personal photos and memorabilia.

#6 LET THERE BE LIGHT – When at all possible, remove any dark window treatments. Your goal is to create light, open and airy spaces. Shades, heavy drapes, and outdated aluminum blinds should be discarded. Replace with sheers or color coordinated fabric panels. (Hint: Buy longer sheers and panels 90”-96” and hang it above the window frame. This will give the illusion of higher windows.)

#5 SAY YES TO COLOR – No wall should be left white! (Leave that for the trim.) To create warmth you must use color. Soft taupes, beiges, greens and golds provide a great backdrop for your home without being overpowering.

#4 FUN WITH FURNITURE – Staging a home always requires removal of some furniture. IMPORTANT: Select key pieces that are the right scale and décor for the home! Most people have excess furniture placed around their home. Scaling down furniture, as well as proper placement, will create a spacious feel while showcasing your home. Big screen TVs are best removed or placed in an area created especially for the TV (i.e. large basement.) Always make sure fireplaces and pathways to doors are not obstructed by furniture. Less is more!

#3 BATHROOM BASICS – Bathrooms can make or break a sale. If your main or master bathroom is truly outdated, consider a remodel. If that is not an option, make small changes that are cost effective. Nickel fixtures and a new shower curtain can go a long way. Unattractive tile walls? Prime and paint with a neutral epoxy paint especially made for tile.

#2 KILLER KITCHENS – The kitchen is the heart of any home and it must have a heartbeat! It should be functional and inviting. If the cabinets are dark, lighten them up with white enamel gloss paint and modern pulls. If it is an eat-in kitchen, make sure the table is the right size for the room. Lighting is very important in a kitchen- spend money to update your fixtures if needed.

#1 THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME – After painting, furniture editing and clutter removal it’s time to make your house somebody else’s home! The finishing touches are what make a space “homey.” Carefully placed furniture, accessories, mood lighting and good smells are all key to getting a contract quickly. Contact Natalie Pinson, your Interior Designer and home staging expert, to turn these tips into reality!

Natalie Pinson has a B.S. in Interior Design and has worked in the field for over 12 years. She has helped numerous home owners and Agents “showcase” their property while creating the “designer-look” that buyers want.

Posted by Doug Aegerter   |   Read More   |   1 Comment »   |   10.09.2007

St. Louis Real Estate-Trudging Along..

Filed under: First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, For Sellers, Relocation Buyer, St. Louis Market Reports, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch 
October 6^th,  2007
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Home for Sale Team provides a weekly St. Louis County and St. Charles County Market 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 again looks a lot like last week, in our Fall slowing trend.  Our total active listings are dropping, and are expected to be under 6000 by next week.  Following the active listings of course is a drop in pending sales and our pending ratio is headed lower as well.  The only indicator headed up is the expired listing numbers, which would tend to indicate that more and more sellers are coming off the market.  For those sellers that are remaining in the marketplace, GREAT!  In the next couple of weeks, you should have a lot less competition, so price your home within market value and you stand a good chance of getting it sold.

This week, we have replaced the St. Charles County Market Watch report with the Jefferson County Market Watch report.  We feel this change will be more relevant to the readership we have attracted so far, as more of them work and live in either St. Louis County or Jefferson County. 

Here’s a bit of Trivia: What does the City of St. Louis have in common with Washington D.C. ? 

Hint-The two cities are unlike any other city in the country in this respect. Answer next week.

Interested in new home sales?  Check out these statistics here..New Home Stats

Check This Out– By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer– New Home Sales

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 October 6th, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson  County Market Watch October 6th, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report September 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:

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

Art Wagner can be reached at art@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   10.06.2007

St. Louis Real Estate-NOW WHAT?!

Filed under: First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, For Sellers, Relocation Buyer, St. Louis Market Reports, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch 
September 28th,  2007
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

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

Our St. Louis Real Estate Market seems to be “holding it’s own”, at least for the month of September.  The Pending Ratio (our comparison of number of listings to accepted contracts in the last month) has remained between 12%-13% and the the average list prices have remained fairly stable in all price ranges.  Some may say we’ve hit the bottom in this market.  Maybe, but this scenario is still following the yearly trends of Fall in the St. Louis Real Estate Market.  From now until the end of the year, we will continue to see the number of listings fall off a bit, with the buyer pool still remaining active.  Listening to the media touting the Lousy Real Estate Market has some people concerned and some sellers wary in St. Louis, but as we all know, the media will report the attention grabbing stories.  The St. Louis Real Estate Market, and many other Midwest markets are fairly stable and not very news-worthy.  The entire country as a whole is news-worthy, as the markets on the East and West Coast and Florida serve to make over-all averages look drastic.  Check out Doug Aegerter’s recent post here entitled “St. Louis Real Estate-Who’s Confused—ME??.  

Interested in new home sales?  Check out these statistics here..New Home Stats

Check This Out– By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer– New Home Sales

Next Week we will be replacing the St. Charles Market Watch with Jefferson County Market Watch.

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 September 28, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch September 28, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report August 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:

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

Art Wagner can be reached at art@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   09.28.2007

St. Louis Real Estate-Buck the Trend-Buy a House!

Filed under: First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, For Sellers, Real Estate News, Relocation Buyer, St. Louis Market Reports, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch
September 22th, 2007
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

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

St. Louis Real Estate’s annual Fall trends are proving themselves accurate again this year. We are seeing the pending ratios (homes with accepted contracts) in almost every price range dropping again. This week there are actually a few more homes on the market, but with the buyer pool shrinking slightly, we are only seeing 1 in 8 homes with accepted contracts. The number of homes that are being rejected by the market (expired) has increased again this week. Our average days on market are remaining constant at 106 days, and with an average of 8.9 months of inventory, we are still definitely in a buyers market.

The St. Charles market seems to be following St. Louis’ example with pending ratios dropping and increases in the number of homes rejected by the market. In St. Charles County, however, the number of homes on the market has declined a bit also. From the months of inventory in almost all price ranges in St. Charles County, they will be in a buyers market for quite some time.

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 September 22, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch September 22, 2007

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report August 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:

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

Art Wagner can be reached at art@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Tags: St.+Louis+Real+Estate, St.+Louis+Real+Estate+Market+Watch, St.+Louis+Real+Estate+Blog, MLS, Buyers, Sellers, FSBO, Relocation, First+Time+Home+Buyer, Real+Estate+Investors, For+Sale+by+Owner

Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   09.22.2007

St. Louis Real Estate – St. Louis Mortgage News (Part Two)

Filed under: First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, For Sellers, Mortgage News, Real Estate News, Relocation Buyer, Unrepresented Seller(FSBO)

If your Buying or Selling St. Louis Real Estate you better pay close attention to this advice!

Federal Reserve Throws A Punch At Housing Slump by Chris Scheer, Branch Manager, Cornerstone Mortgage, O’Fallon, Missouri

Well when Federal Reserve Chief Bernake took his first swing it was a big one. As previously written a .50% rate cut was not the consensus of the Fed watchers. Now we have the cut and we have to see how the markets react. Initially the Dow took off, but the bonds were slow to follow. At this time the mortgage backed securities are up 13/32 on the day which is just shy of .5% in our pricing, not quite the equivalent of .125% to the consumer. Should make 6.25% a hard number for tomorrow, but the question will be what about the day after and the day after that. Too many people are trying to guess what the next move will be.
Here is a link to the comments from the Fed Meeting today; Text of the FOMC statement.

Will this decision help the home buyers; in all probability this move will not make a difference. It is the next move and the next move that will drive mortgage rates to a level where buyers can afford more house again and we can help eliminate the credit debt that is piling up. If we start refinancing people again to get them out of the mess that they have created, will they have learned their lesson or will they pile the debt back on?

A follow up to last weeks post about the FHA Secure Mortgage. We now have one investor who has stepped up and will purchase these loans. As I listened to a conference call last Wednesday hosted by HUD, many companies across the nation where complaining that no investors were purchasing the loans. HUD had a presentation on Wall Street on Thursday to the top companies. Hopefully more will get into the game on this loan. This is the loan that will help all those people who were put into 2 year adjustable rate mortgages by the “Dark Side” figure out a way to hold onto their houses.

For more information on the FHA Secure Mortgage or any other mortgage information contact Chris Scheer at chrisscheer@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Posted by Doug Aegerter   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   09.18.2007