St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch May 2nd, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports, Uncategorized

Saint Louis Real Estate-Market Watch  by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
May 2nd, 2009
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 with great buyer and seller activity.  Active listings, homes accepting contracts and our pending ratios are all fairly consistent with last week’s levels.  We still continue to see a slight increase in homes being sold, and in some price ranges, we are actually seeing selling prices slighty above the averages from this same time period last year.  

This year we are beginning to see more buyers competing for a listing as buyers are becoming aware that inventory levels really are lower than last year at this time.  Our total listings this week are at 4806 compared to last years total of 5633.   

Check out our CHART showing a comparison of the past six months this year, compared to the past six months last year showing the increases / decreases of list prices and sales prices and average days on market in each price range. 

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

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Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   05.03.2009

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch April 25th, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate-Market Watch  by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
April 25th, 2009
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 with good buyer and seller activity with an increase in active listings and an increase in our pending ratio by almost 1 percent from last week.  Granted, this is the time of year we always see an increase in activity, but we are definitely seeing positive signs from the buyers and sellers we talk to. 

However, don’t confuse this increase in activity with pricing.  Home prices are still a bit behind last year at this time, but our St. Louis market has been fairly stable over the last 18 months.  We do not expect to see home prices heading upward by any significant measure for quite some time. 

There are still an above average number of foreclosures and short sales still in the marketplace, which will contribute to keeping home pricing at this level for some time.  With many neighborhoods in the St. Louis market having more than their normal share of short sales and foreclosures, these sales at lower than market value are entering into appraisals that are done on a “normal” real estate transaction. 

If you are thinking of buying or selling in this market now, education and information about the market is essential to a successful transaction. Contact us for a free, no obligation evaluation of your home and neighborhood or the area you are contemplating buying into. 

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

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Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   04.26.2009

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch April 18th, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate-Market Watch  by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
April 18th, 2009
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 shows continued strong buyer activity in the lower price ranges.  The higher price ranges, starting at around $350,000 and up are also exhibiting a bit of growth in activity;  a bit slower than the lower price ranges, but a hint of some improvement. 

The time of year has something to do with this, as Spring has usually created an increase of activity, but we are seeing more confidence in the banking industry and mortgage lenders and buyers are becoming more aware of the good values in our local real estate market now.

We also continue to talk to clients and prospective clients who are still “mortgage challenged” due to the decline in pricing and exotic mortgage products that are resetting.   One of their biggest concerns is how their credit and purchase power will be affected by having to sell their home as a “Short Sale” or letting the home go into foreclosure.

We continually advise our clients to first talk to their lender, as there may be a solution for them without having to sell their home, since lenders have new products available for restructuring existing loans. 

If the only choice is selling the home, we emphasis that missing payments or stopping to make payments is not the way for the bank to notice you or to make them talk to you.  Even if you must sell your home through a short sale, we recommend the homeowner continue to make payments throughout the process.  By staying current on payments and bills, if you can, will go a long way to help the short sale process not affect your credit after the sale. This also depends on how the bank reports and records the sale.  If the bank reports the sale as “paid satisfactorily” or “paid in full” credit is usually not damaged.

In Missouri, banks cannot file a dificiency judgement against a homeowner to try to collect the difference between the sale price proceeds and what is actually owed on the mortgage and there is still a moritorium on banks issuing 1099 statements for the difference.  Some banks may ask a homeowner to sign a promissory note, on a long term no interest basis, to pay the difference back, but a good negotiator may be able to thwart this strategy also. 

We find that the best way for the bank to notice you is to hire a professional realtor, who specializes in short sales and foreclosure procedures.  Authorize your realtor with the proper paperwork and let them talk to the bank regarding your situation.  Most banks will deal more effectively with a realtor as opposed to an emotionally involved homeowner.

Homeowners wishing to get specific information regarding their situation and how any of the above scenarios may affect them should consult their attorney and / or a CPA before making any major decisions. 

RisMedia.com and Bankrate.com have also had excellent articles regarding the new mortgage products, loan modification procedures and how to handle mortgage payments in these situations. 

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

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Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   04.19.2009

Saint Louis Real Estate- Market Watch April 11th, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate-Market Watch  by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
April 11th, 2009
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 with great buyer activity in the lower price ranges of $100,000 to $300,000.  Pending ratios in the St. Louis County area are remaining fairly consistent with previous weeks.

Buyers in the St. Charles County area should take notice- homes in the $100,000 to $300,000 price range are moving quickly. Pending ratios are as high as almost 50 percent, which means that almost one out of every two homes listed are accepting contracts within a 30-40 day time period.  Low interest rates, first time homebuyer tax credits various seller incentives are inspiring buyers to act now. 

Homes in the higher price ranges, both in St. Charles and St. Louis County areas are seeing a slight improvement in buyer activity as our overall average pending ratios in both Counties have jumped up around 2 percent in the last couple weeks.  

This is the time of year that no one, buyers or sellers, should be sitting on the fence waiting.  Sellers need to be in the market now, and buyers should not hesitate when they find their ideal home. 

From all of us at The St. Louis Real Estate Voice to all our readers, Have a Happy Easter.

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

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Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   04.12.2009

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch April 4th, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate-Market Watch  by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
April 4th, 2009
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 exhibiting continued increase in buyer activity, especially in price ranges of $300,000 and lower. 

First Time Homebuyers and buyers that were “sitting on the fence” this past year are starting to aggressively look at homes and are buying.  We have also seen evidence of multiple offers within days of a home going on the market, and buyers competing to get their offers accepted. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean that our real estate challenges are over, but these are good healthy signs that conditions are improving, at least for now with spring around the corner. 

Buying activity has definitely picked up, but we are still seeing home prices remaining fairly stable, as they have been for the past several months.  We expect buyer activity to continue to be good, but at the same time predict that home prices will remain at the same level they are at now. 

Our average inventory number is still at 7.6 months, signaling a buyers market for some time.  We expect our market to remain much the same as it is now for the next year.  There are still quite a number of challenged home owners who will be facing foreclosure or short sale situations this year, which will affect our average pricing, keeping it in the range that it is now.

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

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Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   04.05.2009

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch March 28th, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate-Market Watch  by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
March 28th, 2009
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 head into Spring with great activity.  Our lower price ranges from $100,000 to $300,000 continue to show activity well above our average pending ratios.  Some of these price ranges are approaching 20 percent with their pending ratios.

We continue to witness a lot of first time homebuyer activity as news of the new $8000.00 tax credit, which expires December 1st 2009,  reaching more and more buyers. 

We are also seeing a bit of an increase of activity in some of the higher price ranges, as Spring is here, pricing continues to remain fairly stable and the Stock Market’s small up-tick hasn’t hurt either.  There are difinitely some positive signs of our market improving a little bit. 

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

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Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   2 Comments »   |   03.29.2009

St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch March 21st, 2009

Filed under: St. Louis Market Reports

Saint Louis Real Estate-Market Watch  by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
March 21st, 2009
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 showing positive signs with over 100 more active listings coming onto the market and buyer activity increasing.

This increase in activity has pushed our pending ratio up over 13 percent this past week for the first time since August last year. 

Spring is in the air, first time homebuyers are getting out in force, interest rates are almost historic lows and the government announced last week that they are printing money again to buy “toxic assets.”

Finally, we have a number of positives all happening at the same time to help increase activity in our real estate market. 

The “Government Printing Money” thing, we feel is probably a good thing, short term.  As far as the long term ramifications, the jury is still out on that one.

 REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND FOR SALE BY OWNERS- Are your listings and / or home sitting on the market too long?? 120 days or more??  We have a program designed to get your listing or FSBO home sold.  Real Estate Agents get paid their commission in full.  Contact us for more info.

 WHO DO YOU KNOW NOW that is challenged with their mortgage payments OR needs to sell for less than their home is worth?? WE CAN HELP!! 

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Posted by Art Wagner   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   03.22.2009

St. Louis Real Estate Voice - Up on the Roof

Filed under: Building Inspection News, First Time Home Buyer, For Buyers, Relocation Buyer

LOW SLOPE ROOF SYSYEMS 

A client called for an inspection last week and was concerned because the house did not have a roof. Actually the house did have a roof and the reason the client was not able to see the roofing on the roof structure was because the house had a low slope roof. This system is also commonly referred to as a flat roof. 

It is critical during the inspection process of a flat roof to actually achieve access to properly determine the condition of the roofing. This can be challenging if the inspector does not have the proper equipment or if there is not interior access to multi-family two or three story buildings. Good inspectors will contract with a boom truck to gain access. Sometimes multiple ladders may be needed to go from roof to roof or rear deck to roof to gain access. No matter how challenging it is, the inspector must gain access to properly report on the conditions of the roofing for the client. 

Even though these roofs are sometimes referred to as flat roofs, there should always be a minimum amount of slope directed towards a means of roof drainage to prevent water intrusion to the interior spaces. This is true even though low slope roofs use water tight membranes as opposed to the asphalt composition shingles used on steep pitched roofs that shed the water. If there is no slope or drainage system, it is highly likely that this roof will always leak. 

The materials used on today’s low sloped roofs have changed and improved over the years, but the concept is still the same. The system generally starts with either metal or wood decking, topped with a rigid layer of foam insulation or a base sheet that is attached to the roof deck. Roll roofing, Built up roofing, Modified Bitumen roofing, and Sprayed Polyurethane Foam are some of the most common type roofing materials that you will typically see on these type roofs. Your inspector will be able to advise you on the advantages and service life on these type materials. 

The inspector will typically report on blisters or bubbles, splits in the membrane, inadequate seals around roof penetrations, cracks or (alligatoring) in the membrane, and signs of water ponding. If a roof or sections of roofing have been repaired repeatedly, there is a good chance that there is a leakage problem that is either still active or will be again. 

Generally speaking low sloped roofing does not have as long a service life as pitched roofs with composition roofing shingles. Ask your inspector to take as many photos as needed to confirm his findings. Buyers do not want to install new roofing one week after closing. 

Harry O. Morrell

ASHI Certified Inspector

Posted by Harry Morrell   |   Read More   |   Your Comments Are Welcome!   |   03.19.2009