St. Louis Real Estate-Market Watch February 15, 2008

St. Louis Real Estate Market Watch by Art Wagner @ Keller Williams Realty Southwest, Sunset Hills, Mo.
February 15th, 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 again is showing more active listings and more accepted contracts (pendings), up from last week. The pending ratio, following that trend, is near 14%. We also see less expired listings, as sellers are beginning to get into the market or back into the market in anticipation of increased buyer activity.

The buyers we talk to are a bit more motivated with the lower interest rates and the anticipation of being in their new home by Spring.

One of the most important issues for a buyer now is to make sure they are qualified for a loan. With all the major shake-ups in the mortgage industry lately, buyers should be in contact with their mortgage lender BEFORE they look at a home. If a buyer was pre-qualified last month doesn’t necessarily mean they are still qualified for the same loan program. The other suggestion we strongly make to our buyers is to have a second mortgage lender in their pocket. A second opinion and a back-up plan is not only a good idea, it’s essential today.

The sellers we talk to are encouraged to see the interest rates at almost record lows, as they hope to have more showings on their home as more people should be able to buy at the lower rates. This is also a great time for sellers to get into the market to get ahead of the large influx of homes coming on the market once we do arrive at Spring.

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 15th, 2008

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

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

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 8:55 am 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.