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 moves into the bottom half of November with activity at a level much like the past several weeks-steady.  We are seeing a few less listings coming on the market, but our pending numbers (homes accepting contracts) is still very strong. 

Compared to last year at this time,  we are seeing over 200 more homes in the “pending” column with less active listings than last year.  Our average pending ratio this week sits at 16.043 percent compared to last year at 10.27 percent.

We hope to see our pending ratios through-out the winter months continue to better last year,  as the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit extension should keep buyers, and sellers, in the market during this time period.

We are talking to sellers who have told us that they are specifically in the  market now because of the tax credit extension.  They realize that if they wait until after the first of the year,  they have a short 4 months to not only get their home sold, but to find themselves another home and take advantage of the $6500 dollar move up buyer tax credit. 

NOTE: We will not be publishing our Market Watch report next weekend, as we will be in Pontiac, Michigan for a real estate “boot camp”. The boot camp will give us more insight and education on how to help people in our challenging real estate market  with unique solutions to getting their homes bought or sold.

   While we are there, we’ll scope out the Detriot Metropolitan real estate market and see if they are showing any signs of recovery and how the Tax Credit extension is working for them.

   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!! 

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 good activity in the lower price ranges, with pending ratios ranging from 17 percent up to 25.7 percent.  Some of the higher price ranges are also still showing pending ratios above 12 percent. 

As most of you probably already have read, President Obama signed into law last week the extension of the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit with a couple of new twists.  The extension runs until the end of June 2010.  There is a caviot to the June 2010 date, however.  All contracts must be in effect by April 30th and must close by June 30, 2010.

The tax credit remains at $8,000 dollars maximum (up to 10 percent of the purchase price) for first time home buyers or anyone that has not owned a home in the past three years.  For move-up buyers that have lived in their home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years, there is a $6500 dollar tax credit now available.  So it is possible that the homeowners that are selling to the first time home buyers may qualify for a tax credit of their own when they move up to their next home.

Income levels for the credits have also been increased.  Single tax filers earning up to $125,000 per year will qualify for the full credit.  Single tax filers earning $125,000 to $145,000 are eligible for a partial credit and those earning over $145,000 are not eligible for any credit.

Joint tax filers earning up to $225,000 are eligible for the full credit. Joint filers earning between $225,000 and $245,000 will qualify for a partial credit and those earning over $245,000 will not be eligible for the credit.

With the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit extension in place now, we expect to see good activity continue through the fall and winter months in St. Louis.  We will certainly see activity slow a bit as we get closer to all the Holidays, but that’s normal for our area.  After the Holidays, the tax credit extension will help to get buyers, and sellers moving again and into the market.

   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!! 

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 some signs of slowing down a bit.  Active listings have dropped by about 5 percent, from 4816 last week to 4568 this week. Every price range from $100,000 up to $350,000 has seen decreases in active listings, homes accepting contracts and pending ratios. 

At this time last year, however, even with over 400 more active listings, we were showing only 527  homes accepting contracts (pending) against  769 homes pending this year at this time.  Our average pending ratio last year at this time was 10.6 percent against a pending ratio of 16.83 percent this year.

You can make the arguement that something has affected the buying atmosphere this year.  The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit comes to mind as the number one reason, and  accounts for a large percentage of the increased activity.  The other reasons we can think of are…1) move up buyers; the homeowners that sold to First Time Home Buyers had to move somewhere. 2) Historically low interest rates are propelling a lot of buyers to act this year.   3) Buyers this year are realizing the great value for the dollar in the market and taking advantage of it.  4) Sellers and buyers both have become more “market educated” and are more willing to “work a deal out” instead of  holding fast to unrealistic expectations held over from the “boom” markets in 2004-2006. 

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension- We are hearing now that the Senate is expected to pass the legislation.  However, the details have changed somewhat. 

According to an article from the Associated Press (Andrew Taylor;10/26/09) and the Wall Street Journal (John D. Mckinnon; 10/27/09),  Florida Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson told reporters traveling to Florida with President Obama on Monday that he thought that the extension would be approved, but both senators and representatives are among those who think that there should be some fiscal offset for the cost of the extension. Spending any more money on the stimulus effort also could stir up a hornets’ nest in some circles.

The proposal in the Senate that appears to have the mosst chance of passage would extend the $8000 credit through March 31, then it’s value would drop by $2000 for each of thet subsequent three quarters of 2010.  This plan was offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat.

 SO…Stay Tuned, as they say….

We’ll continue to keep you posted on how the Extension of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit shakes out.

  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!! 

After months of speculation, discussion and planning by the legislature and Congress,  the much hoped for vote today on extending the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit has been delayed by the U.S. Senate.

The U.S. Senate won’t vote until next week at the earliest on proposals to extend the tax credit along with a vote on unemployment benefits for the nations jobless.

The Senate’s vote was delayed by a Republican demand that a vote be allowed on an amendment to to end the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program-TARP-at the end of this year.  You can read more about this action at Bloomberg.com.

For all of you keeping tabs on what’s happening with the Tax Credit, here’s where we are as of today- a brief outline of the major points:

The credit would be extended until April 30th, 2010.  It would include $8000 dollars for first time homebuyers AND $6500 dollars for “move up buyers” (from December 1st, 2009 through April 30, 2010)

Move up buyers would be eligible as long as they have lived in their current home for the last 5 years or more. 

The Tax Credit would expire on April 30th, 2010, BUT…if a buyer had a contract as of April 30th, they would still qualify for the credit as long as they closed the transaction within 60 days following April 30th.

Income limits for both classes of qualifying buyers would be $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers. 

Purchases made in 2010 could be claimed on their 2009 income tax returns.

Home buyers would not have to repay the credit, as long as they lived in the new home for at least 36 months after the purchase date.

The amendmemt also includes provisions for a military waiver,  including a provision that the “re-capture” provision would not apply to a member of the Armed Forces, military intellegence or Foreign Service who is on qualified official extended duty. Also, members of the Military who have been deployed overseas for 90 days or more in 2008 or 2009 would have until April 30th, 2011 to claim the home buyer tax credit.

Sounds pretty good to me; now if we can just get everyone “On the Hill” to act on this and get it voted before too long. 

Our suspicion is that the Senate is waiting until as close as possible to November 30th to act on this.  No one wants to see the activity that the tax credit has produced to date falter now or slow down due to an extended deadline.   Whether that would happen or not is a 50-50 debate, but it seems like no one is willing to take that chance.

So for now,  we keep telling all our buyer clients that they still need to close their deals before Thanksgiving to make sure they will qualify for the tax credit. 

We’ll keep you posted on any other developements as they happen in the next several weeks.

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  heads towards the end of October with activity very stable. Our average pending ratio continues to move in a positive direction, with more homes accepting contracts and getting sold.

Our average listing and selling prices are remaining stable also, with the average list price to sales price percentage still at 96 percent.  Inventory still remains at acceptable levels at an average of 5.8 months. 

In an article published by RISMedia.com, the National Association of Realtors proclaimed that existing home sales bounced back strongly in September. First Time Home Buyers drove much of this activity, which marks five gains in the past six months.  Sales activity is at the highest level we have seen since July 2007, when sales hit 5.73 million, nation-wide. 

According to the article, the Midwest existing home sales jumped 9.6 percent, or 1.25 million.  This is 7.8 percent above one year ago.  The median price of a home in the Midwest today is $147,600 which is 1.0 percent below September 2008.  CLICK HERE  to read the complete article.

 Speaking of First Time Home Buyers; Have you heard about all the fraud plaguing the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit??

How about this:

1.  19,300 people filed claims for homes they HAVEN’T bought yet.

2.  74,000 filers claimed a credit, but have owned a home in the last three years.

3.  580 people that filed for the credit were under 18 years old. One of these  claimants was only 4 years old!! 

4.  3,200 filers used an Individual Taxpayer ID number, not a social security number.  Taxpayer ID’s are usually used by immigrants not allowed to work in the US.  Non-resident aliens are not allowed to claim the tax credit. 

This may make you shake your head, or laugh, or both.  However,  when we are seriously approaching the November 30 expiration date of the tax credit, this may jeopardize it’s hopeful extension into next year.

The General Accouting Office (GAO) reports that over 1.4 million people have filed for the credit in 2008 and 2009, costing the government $10 billion in lost revenue.  The total amount of the program is limited to $13.6 billion. 

I have to ask-Congress is complaining about a measly $10 billion??? 

Looking at the BIG PICTURE,  if this $10-$14 billion helps stabilize the housing market, and helps provide homes for people that would have had to wait another year or so, I say that’s a far cry better than the Government pissing $10-$15 billion away on some other project we would probably never ever hear about.

  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!! 

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 starting to follow our typical Fall trends with fewer new active listings.  Of the active listings out there, we are still seeing pending ratios (homes accepting contracts) well above the 20 percent mark in the lower price ranges. 

The St. Charles County market is on FIRE in their lower price ranges.  In the $100,000 to $125,000 range, 42 out of 75 active listings have accepted contracts in the last 30 or so days, for a pending ratio of 56 percent-AWESOME! The other two price ranges, $125,000-$150,000 and $150,000 to $175,000 are also showing great activity with pending ratios at 44 and 33 percent, respectively. 

In these lower price ranges in St. Charles County, inventory levels are at 3 months and below.  Our St. Louis County inventory levels in these same price ranges are very low also, at 3.2 to 4.3 months of inventory.

Buyers in these price ranges won’t have the luxury of being too particular, or waiting for a price adjustment before deciding to write a contract.  If they don’t do it now, the home will probably be gone by next week. 

This type of activity is being seen all across the country, as the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit heads toward it’s expiration date of November 30th.  We also see the awesome low interest rates, and the great value for the dollar as contributing greatly to this activity.  

The Mortgage Banker’s Association, National Association of Realtors and National Association of Home Builders got together last week and drafted a letter to Treasury Secretary, Geithner, HUD Secretary Donovan, and National Economic Council Chair Summers,  in support of an extension of the Tax Credit and stating that it has had a major impact on the housing market stabilization and the U.S. economy as well.  

They state, among other items, that new home buyers spent an average of $12300.00 on furnishings, repairs, appliances, etc.. where the current homeowner only spent an average of $8900.00.   This spending, they state, has helped create jobs, and help boost our over-all economic situation.

Read the letter for yourself, and see if you agree with them-we do.             Click Here to read the article, courtesy of RISmedia.com.

 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!! 

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 Saint Louis Real Estate Market this week continues with good activity as Fall is upon us.  This is the time of year we start to see activity falling off a bit, but not so this year-so far.

Compared to this same week last year, we are seeing increased numbers of homes accepting contracts (pending) in all price ranges from $100,000 dollars up to $400,000 dollars.  Our pending ratio this week sits at 16.51 percent with 4887 active listings and 807 homes accepting contracts. Last year, this time, we had a pending ratio of 10.85 percent with 5218 active listings and 566 homes accepting contracts. 

 This year we are seeing some higher price ranges with better activity than this same time last year.   Homeowners who have sold to first time home buyers need to buy somewhere else, and a good number of them are buying bigger, higher priced homes.    

The Legislature recently passed a bill allowing the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit to be extended for another year for all Military Service Personal.  The reasoning is that if you have been deployed, or are deployed now, you will still be able to take advantage of the tax credit when you come home.  The Bill still needs approval by Congress and the President.

Extending the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit for the rest of us is still being debated and no definite answers yet.  We’ll keep you up to date as we get dangerously close to November 30th.

 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!! 

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 Saint Louis Real Estate Market this week  shows a few less active listings and a few less homes accepting contracts, but the number of homes being sold continues to climb.  Our lower price ranges, as usual this year, tend to account for the majority of the activity. 

First Time homebuyers are a large part of this activity, but we also see many active second time home buyers in the marketplace, knowing that there may not be a better time to get awesome value for their dollar.

We still have not heard anything definite about the Government extending the First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit, so the expiration date of November 30th looms closer and closer.  Buyer’s still hoping for the $8000.00 tax credit need to have an accepted contract within the next few weeks, or sooner, to assure themselves that they will be able to close the deal by November 30th.   Don’t forget about the four day Thanksgiving holiday at the end of November, make sure it figures into your planning to close your transaaction.

 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!! 

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 Saint Louis Real Estate Market this week continues to see buyers actively shopping for their first new home.  We are also seeing good activity from “move-up” buyers looking for their next home.  Some of these “move-up” buyers have recently sold, or are in the process of selling, their current residence to a First Time Home Buyer, and now need to find a another home.  

Homes accepting contracts (pending) are increasing somewhat each week, driving our average pending ratio up to 16.32% this week.  Pending ratios continue to be well above the 20 percent mark in our lower price ranges.

We continue to hear about the possible extension of the $8000.00 First Time Home-buyers Tax Credit going into next year.  With nothing cast in stone, and Congress debating Health Care Reform, it’s still uncertain whether anything will get done about the tax credit. 

A recent survey conducted by Zillow and Harris Interactiveasked first time home-buyers how an extension to the tax credit would impact their decision to buy a home.  18 percent said it would be a primary influence, 25 percent said it would be a significant influence and 27 percent said it would have some impact.  31 percent said it would have no impact at all on their buying decision.  RisMedia.com has the complete article, where the statistics above were obtained from.  Read the complete article, entitled, “The Possible Impact and Real Cost of Extending the First-Time Home-buyer Tax Credit”  HERE.   This extension could cost the Federal Government  15 Billion dollars. 

ALL HOMEOWNERS- Don’t forget the Residential Energy Property Credit.  The What?? 

This is a tax credit available to all homeowners through December 31, 2010 who improve their homes through energy efficient upgrades, such as windows, insulation, roofing, doors, heating and ventilating and AC systems, tankless water heaters, solar power, wind turbines, etc.

Once again, RisMedia.com has a great article detailing more specifics on this tax credit available to ALL homeowners.  Read the full article, “Plenty of Stimulus Money Available for Energy Improvements” HERE.

 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!! 

Waxman-Markey. . . it’s that Cap and Trade thingy!

Waxman-Markey’s intended or unintended consequences, will bring the Real Estate recovery to it’s knees.

“That bill contains 397 new regulations. One of them would affect almost everyone who buys or sells a home. If Waxman-Markey becomes law, homes for sale that qualify as “federally related transactions” — which is almost all of them — would be required to undergo an environmental inspection.”  read more - Politico

How’s that Hope and Change thing working out for you?

I would love to hear from you!