St. Louis Real Estate Tip of the Week: Summer Trends 2013 Recap, Fall Outlook

So What Were The Trends of Summer and What Does That Mean As We Head Into Fall?

Here are the top trends for summer:

Good Rates

First, mortgage rates were still low. For a 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace rates were hovering near historic lows, at 3.78 percent. Rates have increased slightly (this week is showing 4.53 percent), they’re not going to skyrocket suddenly, says Lauren Kattelman, Cornerstone Mortgage. “We don’t see major changes expected, but we have likely seen the lowest rates this summer. The Federal Reserve is likely to keep lower rates for the remainder of the year in order to accelerate the housing market. We believe rates will increase some over the next year.” Forbes Predictions Link

Very “Slim pickings” For Quality Homes

According to Forbes, as of February, slightly less than 2 million homes were for sale nationwide. This means a supply of less than five months, one month shy of normal. During the same period last year, the supply was 6.4 months. In some markets, there is less than a three-month supply of homes on the market! St. Louis market depends on the location, of course! In some areas, such as Kirkwood, homes barely hit the market before the first offer hit. Demand for homes outweighs the availability of homes in this area as well as others.  First time home buyers hit a low and represented about 30% of the total buyers.

Home “Stalking”

As demand from home buyers grows faster than the supply of homes for sale, many buyers are taking less conventional routes to find their dream home: They’re knocking on the doors of homes they like, writing handwritten notes, and tracking down the owners in hopes they may be willing to sell even though their home is not technically on the market. Some sellers have told me that they experienced calls from other agents and from buyers asking whether they were interested in selling their homes. 

Above Asking Price Offers

Because of low availability, high demand and great mortgage rates, bidding wars quickly become the norm for the most desirable neighborhoods. This trend is great for the “seller market” but difficult for first time home buyer who is still looking for the ideal home at a good price.  Cash offers have been the norm and contingencies less and less accepted.  This makes it difficult for existing home buyers wanting to sell their home first.

To recap, the national and St. Louis market was filled with good demand, but low inventory, and sellers receiving higher offers for their properties in at least four years.  Cash buyers outbid contingency buyers.  Buyers seeking a new home in the most desirable neighborhoods learned to work with agents immediately to know about properties as soon as they were available otherwise it was already under contract before the first showing.   

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Beverly Taki is a Missouri-licensed real estate broker who has successfully represented clients for 25 years.  She is a broker salesperson at Keller Williams Realty St Louis. 10936 Manchester Road, St. Louis, MO   63122. Beverly has earned a certificate in dispute resolution from Pepperdine University, specializing in negotiation and mediation. Taki can be reached at beverlytaki@kw.com or 314.677.6366.  Her website is beverlytakistlouis.com. Her blog is realestatestlou.com.