Real Estate News

St. Louis Real Estate - Did You Bail?

Going Up! Last week was indeed a mess. Panic to the left of me, panic to the right, bail out, sit tight, . . .!

Thought I was going to lose it when I heard about the mortgage re-negotiation plan . . . sounded like a sure fire way to take a 5% problem and turn it into 15% problem overnight.

Anybody get excited when the news came out that there were 5 million mortgages in default because loans were issued to illegal aliens?

So the media does its thing. . . something like shouting “FIRE” in a theater and fear takes over.

That was last week. Today, last week is just a memory to the media . . . however . . .

I’m a fan of John Hussman, President, Hussman Investment Trust, I think his news letter this week is worth sharing with you. Here are a few excerpts with a link to the entire article.

“The only thing we have to fear is the fearmongering of Wall Street itself.”

“Look - a few weeks ago, there was a $700 billion pile of money on the table, but the only way for Wall Street and bureaucrats to get their paws on it was to scare the public out of its collective gourd. They succeeded, but created the psychology that the U.S. was on the verge of depression if the bailout wasn’t passed. Having created that psychology, the crisis took on a life of its own. ”

“Property appreciation should be traded for mortgage reductions.”

“The proper way to address homeowner distress is not for the government to buy troubled mortgages and simply reduce the principal. That idea is utterly insane. If that policy was enacted, every homeowner in America would have an incentive to immediately go delinquent on their mortgage. Rather, Congress should provide for a relatively modest alteration in bankruptcy laws, allowing judges to write down mortgage principal but at the same time provide the mortgage lender with what I’d call a “Property Appreciation Right” (PAR) that would give the lender a claim on some amount of future price appreciation of property owned by the borrower. In that way, the mortgage lender would have the prospect of being made whole over time, homeowners who have faithfully made payments on their own mortgages would not be discriminated against, and homeowners in trouble would surrender some future price appreciation for immediate reduction in their monthly payment burden. ”

Read the entire article Four Magic Words: “We Are Providing Capital”

Posted by Doug Aegerter | Read More | Your Comments Are Welcome! | 10.13.2008

St. Louis Real Estate - Financial Meltdown

Filed under: Real Estate News

“Too weird for words”…that’s our financial world right now.

As a result, Chicken Little is running wild! And he is providing fuel for every single media outlet in this country. “The sky is falling, the sky is falling…” Well, unless you’re willing to live in a bomb shelter that your grandparents or great grandparents built and eat canned goods for the next 12-18 months, you would do well to be calm in the face of this storm that we’re in today. Because let’s face it, the storm’s hit and the fan is blowing at high speed.

So let’s talk reality about the financial marketplace. What are some fundamental truths that most people aren’t aware of today? Consider that historical studies show that the Dow Jones typically experiences a sharp and sudden drop every 4.3 years. The last one we had in the US was in 2001, so we are 2.7 years overdue. The S&P 500 historically experiences a sudden drop of similar magnitude as we’re seeing every 10 years. We haven’t had one since the crash of 1987, making us 10 years overdue. What we are experiencing, while painful and frustrating, is not unexpected for those who understand the marketplace. What IS unexpected is the fact that it this occurrence coincides with all of the backlash of the real estate failures we are seeing.

I will not waste time pointing fingers or laying blame. There aren’t many who are without responsibility in this mess. However, what I will highlight is the element at the HEART of our circumstance that can have the most effect at an individual level. That is, unequivocally, consumer sentiment. This is the only thing that we as individuals can affect personally…put our minds on the positive and move forward with life. While unemployment has risen, it is still nowhere near the 9.0 and 10.8 percent levels of our worst recessions as a nation. Nor is it at the average recession level of 7.6 percent. We are at 6.2 percent in the St. Louis metro area. That means that 93.8 percent of us do have work and we can continue to give 100% when we are fortunate to be able to go.

In the long run, if consumer sentiment continues to drop and panic continues to rise in our hearts and minds, we as individuals will only perpetuate what has befallen us. Spending tightens up because people are afraid-afraid to lose their jobs, afraid to run out of gas (which is at a new low of $80/barrel by the way, eyes on the pumps), afraid to lose their houses.

Panic is infectious and it is paralyzing. The media has done a fine job of spreading the virus. But let’s face it, no matter how the fat cats on Wall Street have squandered or mismanaged, we as individuals still have work to do, mortgages to pay, families to raise and nurture. No matter what gas costs, we have to buy it to do the things in life we need to accomplish each day. No matter what milk and eggs cost, we have to buy them to feed our children. And we will. Because that’s what we do. I’m not playing Pollyanna; I have the same worries and concerns, the same bills to cover each month. Yet I say that we are resilient. The United States has had 10 recessions throughout history and, on average, they’ve lasted 10 months, on one occasion it lasted as long as 14 months.

What to do? No sense complaining, losing sleep, worrying. Know that the nation will take care of itself. We have more resources and opportunities to restructure and rebound from the financial situation of today than in any other era in which such tribulations occurred. Be concerned for yourself. Take actions to make sure your future is secure. Review your financials with your financial planner (or your spouse/partner) and create a strategy for rebuilding. Give 110% at work and make yourself so valuable if a staff cut should come down the pike, you’re not on the short list. Eat well, perhaps just less extravagantly. Your health is important. Spend normally, just more wisely. It will stimulate the economy and support your communities. Love your children and teach them courage and faith, not fear and scarcity. It will be your legacy to them and their future. The rest is all temporary.

How justified (or accurate) do you think the media panic is about our financial climate?

Posted by Aprille Trupiano | Read More | Your Comments Are Welcome! | 10.11.2008

Mehlville MO Real Estate - Market Snapshot

Filed under: Real Estate News, St. Louis County Unincorporated

Successfully pricing homes in the Mehlville Missouri Real Estate market. by Doug Aegerter, Keller Williams Realty Southwest.

The St. Louis Home For Sale Team is resuming neighborhood snapshot reports and this is the sixth in the current series, featuring Mehlville, MO.

The Mehlville MO Market Snapshot reviews the Mehlville Missouri Real Estate market during the past six months and touches upon the complete spectrum of property that was listed and sold.

If you want to drill down deeper into an area, maybe a subdivision or your street. . .fill out a free CMA request and we will be happy to accommodate you. This service is absolutely free and without obligation.

To learn more about Mehlville MO visit the Mehlville WIKI.
Doug5_26_08

Doug Aegerter can be reached at doug@stlouisrealestatevoice.com

Don’t want to miss a Neighborhood Snapshot? . . . Free RSS here. . .or email me the post!

Tags: Mehlville+MO+Real+Estate, St.+Louis+Real+Estate, Market+Snapshot, Neighborhood+Reports

Posted by Doug Aegerter | Read More | Your Comments Are Welcome! | 07.04.2008

St. Louis Real Estate - Opps

Filed under: Real Estate News

Oh No! Holy Cow, we just found out our email accounts are down. Please use the post “comments” to contact us. We expect to have this resolved in the next couple of days. Thanks for your patience.

Tags: St.+Louis+Real+Estate, e-mail

Posted by Doug Aegerter | Read More | Your Comments Are Welcome! | 03.04.2008

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

Filed under: Real Estate News

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
February 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 show better buyer activity as evidenced by the pending ratio pushing up over 15% for the first time since August 2007. In some of the price ranges between $125,000 and $299,000 pending ratios are as high as 18.7%. Homes that are on the market now are selling, and those that are priced at market value are selling quickly.

HOWEVER, don’t get buyer activilty and increased home sales confused with pricing. Home prices still continue to decline, and by all indications and predictions by the “experts”, we will continue to experience home price declines into the third quarter of this year. Some predictions even say we’ll go into 2009 before things start to improve significantly.

For sellers and buyers that need to be in the marketplace now, this is a great time before spring. The market is what it is and we have to deal with it.

For a 180 degree look at the housing and mortgage situation, check out Lou Barnes’ article at http://www.inman.com/ entitled, “Starved credit wrecked housing, not vice versa”.

One of our readers, who has been following the real estate market and doing their due diligence sent us this comment this past week:

“Your write-ups are so routinely biased to the bullish side of the equation. You choose to focus on the year over year and ignore the 4^th quarter number. Clearly, Saint Louis is just beginning to break down as the 4^th Quarter in Saint Louis is among some of the worsst cities. I have been watching listings routinely slash prices over the last month. This should not be taken lightly. Of course, when your trying to sell houses…obviously your information will be biased. I wish everyone knew that real estate agents are basically a worthless source of information. I know you can’t help yourself…buyers just need to be informed how real the conflict of interest is with regards to agents.”

Our response was fairly lengthy, so we won’t print it here, but in a nutshell we said that they were correct that the 4^th quarter home pricing statistics for St. Louis were indeed one of the worst of the cities surveyed. Out of the top 34 markets surveyed, St. Louis / Illinois area ranked no. 32 out of 34 with a 6.52% decline in home prices in the 4^th quarter of 2007. We went on to say that we are striving to portray the St. Louis market as it really is, and not as the media and national averages tend to portray us. Unfortunately, now after the 4^th quarter last year, we really do mirror the national averages.

Our goal at the St. Louis Real Estate Voice is to educate buyers and sellers, whether they be “first timers” or “old hats” at the game of real estate. If we seem a bit “bullish” so be it! If we can offer some positives in this market that tends to dwell on all the negatives, we will. The goal here is honest, accurate information to help anyone who is in the real estate market.

We love to see the comments, so bring it on!!

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 February 29th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson CountyMarket Watch February 22, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch February 29th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report January 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

Posted by Art Wagner | Read More | 1 Comment » | 02.29.2008

St. Louis Real Estate - Market Watch February 22, 2008

Filed under: Real Estate News

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
February 22nd, 2008
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

Our St. Louis Real Estate Market moves forward with increased activity spurred by the latest interest rate activity and the anticipation of Spring. Check out our current Market Watch Reports below for the current details.

More news on the St. Louis Real Estate front comes this week from and article published by Inman News entitled, “Q4 home prices fall in 76% of U.S. zip codes tracked.”

According to the article, a mortgage data aggregator, First American CoreLogic tracked 7,472 zip codes in the U.S. and found that in 76% of them home prices have dropped. They also stated that “just over half the zip codes in the U.S. saw price declines for the year, with trends varying widely by state.”

Their report, the “LoanPerformance Home Price Index” saw 30 of the top 34 markets tracked by the Index showed price declines. “All but 10 of those markets saw year-over-year price declines.”

The St. Louis-Ill. Real Estate Market showed a fourth quarter price drop of 6.52% and a year over year price drop of 3.98%.

3.98% as a year over year price drop is one of the smallest price drops reported in the article. SO…our market may be a bit slower than a year ago, and prices may be a bit deflated, but we are in a lot better shape than a lot of the markets in the country.

Read the complete article and check out the other markets surveyed at Inman News.

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 February 22, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson CountyMarket Watch February 22, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch February 15th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report January 2008

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:

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 » | 02.23.2008

St. Louis Real Estate - Home Staging - 101

Filed under: Home Staging, Real Estate News

Today we welcome a new guest to the St. Louis Real Estate Voice. We are pleased to have Sue Rector from HomeStaging Innovations, LLC and her team from http://www.stlstaging.com/ join us as contributing members. Sue and her team will post bi-monthly articles about Home Staging and how it could make the difference in getting your home SOLD! – Doug Aegerter and Art Wagner, St. Louis Home for Sale Team.

STAGING®….The New BUZZ Word in St. Louis Real Estate by Sue Rector, ASP Stager, HomeStaging Innovations, LLC

Home Staging is a fairly new concept here in the Midwest; however, this process of preparing a home for sale has been around for a long time, especially on the West Coast. The word “STAGE®”, as it refers to turning a home into a product for sale, was coined by Barb Schwarz, over 30 years ago. Barb Schwarz began her career in residential real estate in 1976 in Bellevue, WA. She realized that challenges existed in how she communicated to her clients about ways to get their homes in the best possible showing appearance, without offending them. Barb started educating her clients on “how to set the scene and how to set the STAGE®” in order to get their properties sold fast and for the most dollars. This is when she coined the phrase “Staging the home for sale”. In 1990, the US Government granted Barb, the Stage® Federally Registered Trademark. The rest is Real Estate history! Barb Schwarz is the CEO and Founder of Stagedhomes.com, which prides itself as “The World Standard in Staging Education”. Through Stagedhomes.com, Barb has developed the “Accredited Staging Professional™ (ASP™) Course”. An ASP is an Accredited Staging Professional trained under strict guidelines using proven Staging techniques developed and used successfully by Barb. The ASP™ designation, which is earned through this course work, is one that consumers have begun to recognize as the True Professionals in this fast growing business…which is part of the Real Estate Industry and not the Decorating Industry.

In addition to developing professional staging education, Barb Schwarz was also instrumental in the creation of the “International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP)”. In any industry or profession, it is the standard to have a professional association to build its members’ level of knowledge and abilities, as well as maintaining a standard of excellence. In addition to professional development, IAHSP has also dedicated itself to widening community service projects through its annual “World Wide Staging Services Week” in the fall of each year. These are the goals of IAHSP with over 50 chapters in the United States, as well as Canada. The local St. Louis Chapter of IAHSP meets monthly for all interested area ASP Stagers and ASP Realtors to share ideas, learn new ideas, and to perform community service activities.

Need to find an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) in your area? Want to find out more consumer-related information about Staging? Maybe you want to become an ASP.

I encourage you to visit www.stagedhomes.com for information regarding the above and/or feel free to contact our Staging Team at homestaging@stlouisrealestatevoice.com.

Be mindful when looking for an ASP in your area. It is important to find one with an established business, insurance, references….and equally as important are success statistics for their staged properties. What is their average days on market until an accepted contract and what is their average % of the List Price at the time of closing? These will be important questions to ask and have answered as you consider staging services for your home.

More Staging information in the weeks to come from our Staging Team to keep sellers, as well as Realtors updated on how they can make their listed property STAND OUT among the large “for sale” home inventory in our St. Louis market.

Sue Rector, ASP Stager
HomeStaging Innovations, LLC
Part of the http://www.stlstaging.com/ Team

Posted by Doug Aegerter | Read More | Your Comments Are Welcome! | 02.15.2008

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch February 8th, 2008

Filed under: Real Estate News

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
February 8th, 2008
The Anatomy of St. Louis Real Estate

The St. Louis Real Estate Market this week continues to show positive signs with more active listings, more homes accepting contracts (pendings) and consequently our average pending ratio has climbed above 13% for the first time since November 2007.

Our St. Louis Real Estate Market seems to be keeping ahead of the national trends, however. Check out Inman News’ article by John Burns untitled, “Real Estate’s February Report Card”.

In his article, John Burns gives an overview of the current National Real Estate Health and talks about our current economic growth, the Leading indicators, Mortgage rates, Consumer behavior and New home Markets.

In his review of Existing or Re-sale home sales he states that nationally, existing home sales have dropped to 4.89 million which represents a 22% decline over the past year. The declining pending home sales index means that sales are likely to fall further.

He goes on to say that pricing in the re-sale markets have fallen 6.5 percent in the last 12 months according to the National Association of Realtors.

The positive note in this is that the number of homes for sale continues to decline nationally, to 3.9 million homes or about 9.6 months of inventory. However, the supply of homes for sale still remain above year-ago levels.

The St. Louis Real Estate Market one year ago at this time had 300 fewer homes for sale (active listings) but showed a bit more buying activity with 200 more homes accepting contracts. Our pending ratio was at 19% one year ago; 6% above where we are now. One year ago today, there were also almost 1000 more mis-priced (expired) listings.

The point to all this— follow real estate trends through the news media, but when you need timely, accurate LOCAL information, look locally and contact your real estate agent and mortgage lender.

BETTER YET-Contact Doug Aegerter or Art Wagner at The St. Louis Real Estate Voice for up-to-date accurate market information.

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 February 8th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Jefferson County Market Watch February 8th, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate St. Charles County Market Watch February 1st, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Benchmark Report January 2008

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:

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: