st louis home sales
Each week, I publish statistics for the Luxury Homes market in St. Louis. Luxury Homes by Keller Williams is dedicated to becoming the Luxury Real Estate broker of choice in St. Louis, Missouri. Data report is found here: August 2, 2010 update for St. Louis, Missouri, Luxury Homes market.
The current luxury market in St. Louis contains approximately 68 “Real Buyers” based on data drawn from the last 3 months of sales. 45% of these buyers will purchase homes between $800,000 and $1M. Approximately 25% of them will purchase homes between $1M and $1.25M. Another quarter will choose homes between $1.25M and $1.5M. A small percentage of the current buyer pool will select a home priced in excess of $1.5M.
If you are a seller, this report and the data contained therein should be used to help you make pricing decisions as you place your home on the market. For more information, and for a breakdown of new construction vs. resale, please contact me at 314.677.6560. You can always visit my St. Louis Luxury Homes Website.
Category : Blog &luxury &Luxury Home Statistics St Louis &St. Louis Real Estate Sales Statistics
If you currently are in a situation where you must sell your home and you owe more on your home than what it is worth to sell, a short sale can be a very good solution to your problem. Many myths have evolved over time, but understanding the reality is a way to help yourself. Seven short sale myths are:
- Short sales are impossible and never get approved. It is true that short sales are more difficult but they are not impossible. A Certified Distressed Property Expert has extensive training to help homeowners in distress.
- Banks Don’t Accept Short Sales. In reality, banks are doing whatever they can to avoid a foreclosure.
- You must be behind on your mortgage to negotiate a short sale. Many lenders today focus on verifiable hardship, monthly cash flow shortfall and insolvency – not just people in default.
- Buyers Avoid Short Sales. Many agents report that buyers call them looking for short sales. Short sales are becoming synonymous with a “good deal”, specifically with international buyers.
- Listing your home as a short sale is embarrassing. Recent estimates state that 1 out of 5 homeowners in the U.S. is in this situation. You are not alone!
- Banks prefer to foreclose. Banks do NOT want to foreclose. Banks, investors and the federal government have all publicly stated that if a person qualifies for a short sale, then the deal needs to be considered.
- There is not enough time to negotiate a short sale before my foreclosure. Many lenders today will stall a foreclosure up to the final day of the process, with a legitimate contract.
For more information about short sales go to About website.
Also, search for short sales on my free St. Louis home listing resource. I can be reached at 314-267-2636.
Category : Foreclosure &Home Buyer and Seller Tips &Real Estate Sales in St. Louis &Short Sales in St. Louis &St. Louis Real Estate Sales Statistics
Real Estate absorption rate for St. Louis is defined as the number of months required to sell the current, St. Louis real estate inventory. In a tough real estate market, this number is an important one to keep in mind. The chart below shows the absorption rate for a selection of zip codes and for St. Louis county.
| Location | # Homes Currently on Market | # Homes Sold Last Month | Absorption Rate |
| 63122 | 278 | 31 | 9.0 |
| 63124 | 91 | 10 | 9.1 |
| 63131 | 185 | 4 | 46.3 |
| 63141 | 132 | 12 | 11.0 |
| 63021 | 287 | 31 | 9.3 |
| 63011 | 202 | 30 | 6.7 |
| 63017 | 202 | 20 | 10.1 |
| St. Louis County | 6245 | 806 | 7.7 |
Particularly shocking is the number of home sales last month in the Des Peres/ Town and Country/ 63131 area. I’ve covered this area for a long time and am surprised to see only 4 sales in the zip code last month. I’m sure next month’s numbers will paint a different picture. We look at absorption rates as trends. Nevertheless, 4 sales is pretty shocking.
We look at absorption rate to help us gauge our expectations for our homes that are on the market. If you put your 63021 home on the market today, you will be competing with 287 homes. We can reasonably anticipate that only 31 of them will sell next month. So what do we need to do to get your home to be picked?
First, we need to price your home in light of the competition. We need to be priced lower than the competing properties of the same size, finish, and condition. This will enable us to stand out in the sea of houses on the market. I can advise you on how to price your St. Louis home competitively.
Second, we need to look better looking than the competition. Buyers are judging a beauty pageant. If you don’t stand out as the top of the heap in terms of condition and quality, you’d better be a real steal. Nobody seems to be interested in painting, removing wallpaper and carpet, gutting kitchens, etc. these days. The fact is, there is enough inventory out there that they don’t have to.
Category : Chesterfield, MO &creve coeur &Des Peres, MO &Moving to/from St. Louis &Real Estate Sales in St. Louis &St. Louis Real Estate Sales Statistics
I’m not a huge fan of Zillow.com. I feel that the Zestimate’s from Zillow are so often out of line. I do, however, use Zillow.com to analyze trends. I find that Zillow’s analysis of increase/decrease in value is usually well done. The limitation of Zillow, of course, is that it doesn’t have the ability to see the condition of the property. It can give a range of values — targeting the center of the range as the Zestimate. But it is unable to determine whether the property has updates and/or luxury appointments.
Recently, RisMedia wrote an article about how Zillow has noted record-breaking traffic and loan request activity on its site.
Consumers are interested in refinancing their St. Louis homes. And consumers are buying homes. We’ve got tons of traffic on our listings. For a great lender, please contact Matt Eversgerd at First Integrity Mortgage Services at 314-620-7227.
For more information about lending, please give me a call or visit my St. Louis Home Guide website.
Russell
314-267-2636
RISMEDIA, March 4, 2009-Amidst the announcement of President Barack Obama’s housing plan, and with mortgage rates reaching historic lows, real estate website Zillow.com reports record-breaking traffic and loan request activity within its free marketplace for custom mortgage quotes, Zillow(R) Mortgage Marketplace.
Over the past three months, as mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels in years, consumer interest in refinancing soared. More than 70,000 loan requests were submitted from borrowers on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace in the December through February time period, with the average number of daily loan requests up 142% in this same period versus November 2008. Refinancing requests accounted for more than 60% of all consumer loan requests over this three-month period.
Meanwhile, increased consumer interest in refinancing and dropping home prices resulted in a series of record traffic months for Zillow.com. February traffic reached 7.9 million unique users, which is up 60% year-over-year.
“It’s been fascinating to watch homeowners and potential buyers respond so quickly to these record low mortgage rates and to the economic news of the day. We saw borrowers react quickly when rates dove below 5% in early February; loan requests rose 16% compared to the previous week,” said Lloyd Frink, Zillow president. “Likewise, when President Obama announced his refinancing plan in late February, loan requests rose 56% over the average daily rate and remained at higher levels for several days, even though there was no movement in rates. Clearly, homeowners, and those seeking mortgages, were interested in what this plan could mean for them.”
Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is the new business arm of Zillow that aims to transform the process of obtaining a mortgage and finding the best rates by adding transparency and competition to an area that hasn’t before existed. Borrowers can shop for loans anonymously and get an unlimited number of real customized rates directly from lenders within this open and free marketplace. On average, each consumer loan request receives 14 customized loan quotes from lenders, with the first quote coming within seconds.
Interactive mortgage rate charts show the most current mortgage rates being offered on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, making it easy for borrowers to see when rates drop and get a sense of a rate they may be able to lock in.
Category : finance &Home Buyer and Seller Tips &Lenders in St. Louis &Mortgages St. Louis &Real Estate Sales in St. Louis &St. Louis Real Estate Sales Statistics
Last month, we discussed which home improvement projects have the most “bang for your buck.” Kitchens are a place where most homeowners are willing to spend some money. But, what if the budget’s tight? Most kitchens can benefit from even just one or two small changes, simply to make it look fresh again. Here are some ways that you can do this in a very cost-effective manner:
- Update Small Appliances – Keep all of your counter top appliances such as your coffeemaker, toaster and blender all in the same finish. Coordinating these very visible things really makes a big difference in the orderliness of your kitchen’s look.
- Window treatments – Don’t forget to add or update the treatments on your kitchen’s windows as they really can pull the whole design of your kitchen together, as well as add shade or privacy when needed.
- Lighting Fixtures – Get rid of that tired old 1980’s ceiling fixture in exchange for a pretty chandelier or a row of chic pendants, and try not to smile every time you enter your “new” kitchen!
- New Counter tops – Instead of an entire renovation, consider replacing just one thing. Your counter tops. You will be amazed at the variety of what is available now and at the incredible range of prices too. Counter tops remain one of the few things that will actually help sell a home.
- Paint – Whether you really need to or not, who doesn’t love the look of freshly painted walls in a new color?
- Under-Cabinet Lights – Easy to install puck lights are the way to go on this one.
- Sink Faucet – So many beautiful models to choose from and most of the new models can save you money on water and energy costs to boot.
- Cabinet Hardware – Changing cabinet hardware just so happens to be the easiest way to update your kitchen. Imagine simple nickel cabinet pulls in place of the dated ceramic ones you currently have. See what I mean?
Category : Home Buyer and Seller Tips &Real Estate Sales in St. Louis
Many people ask me why I maintain so many websites for my real estate business. As far as real estate research is concerned, the internet is the number 1 place to research and promote listings. According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 85% of prospective home buyers use the internet to do their research. Newspapers are becoming a less and less effective way to promote real estate listings.
So we provide lots of ways to find homes on the internet.
http://www.HomeGuideStLouis.com — This is a general real estate website that we use to provide information and broadcast our listings.
http://www.NoltingRealEstate.com — Our Number 1 Expert site, designed to promote our listings on almost 100 other websites. An agent must apply for Number 1 Expert status. Preview this Post
http://www.SearchHomesStLouis.com – Not ready to talk to a Realtor yet? Use this site to set up your own home search. You will receive a daily, map-based update of new listings and price changes.
http://www.HomePricesStLouis.com – Want to know what your house is worth, but don’t want to talk to a Realtor. Go to HomePricesStLouis.com and fill out our quick data entry form. You will receive a basic home analysis within 24 hours.
If you’re ready to talk to a Realtor, and you’d like a professional, give me a call.
Russell
314-267-2636
Russ@NoltingRealEstate.com
Category : First Time Homebuyers in St. Louis &Home Buyer and Seller Tips &Moving to/from St. Louis &Real Estate Sales in St. Louis &Relocation to St. Louis
