August statistics for real estate market and more

On September 13, the Federal Reserve announced qe3.  No that is not a new luxury ocean liner, it is 'quantitative easing' which is a moniker from our government for the latest stimulus program.    A definition of quantitative easing is:  a government monetary policy occasionally used to increase the money supply by buying government securities or other securities from the market.  Quantiative easing increases the money supply by flooding financial institutions with capital, in an effort to promote increased lending and liquidity.  An awesome idea if it would work but unfortunately our government has no leverage with the powerful banking institutions.

Qe3 entails buying $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month. The end date remains up in the air. Critics are arguing that the only luxury associated with this program will be in the hands of the banks as they are recording higher gains because they do not pass these savings on to the consumer.  Read more:  Investopedia, CnnMoney, The Washington Post, Forbes

 

On a brighter note the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the national median price of homes rose on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month.  The last time there were six back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier was from December 2005 to May 2006.


Locally in St. Louis MO we are holding our own.  The number of sales in St. Louis County has been up every month this year over last year.  The median price has been hovering close to sales in 2011.  However, the months of inventory (absorption rate) has gone down showing we are still in a buyer's market but getting closer to the neutral zone where buyers and sellers are on an equal playing field.


 


Median sale price is where half of the homes sold for more and half for less and is a more accurate indicator than average sale price which is skewed by upper-end transactions.  The months of inventory is calculated by dividing the total number of available homes by the average number of sales per month and shows how many months it will take to sell the supply of homes on the market.

Resources:  NAR Research

Presented by Barbara Heise, Real Estate Sales Associate at Keller Williams Realty STL, 314-677-6046

"Unique Needs/Unique Solutions. Respecting individuality."

Barbara Heise, Keller Williams Realty, STL.  

 

UniqueSolutions@barbaraheise.com


    

 

0 Comments on qe3 - not a new luxury ocean liner just more $luxury$ for the banks!
What does the graphic say?
Leave a response…

(optional)
Spam Prevention:
 
Heise

Barbara Heise - Search for Homes for Sale in St. Louis

Saint Louis, MO

More about me…

Keller Williams Realty STL

Address: Attn: Barbara Heise, 10936 Manchester Road, St. Louis, MO, 63122

Office Phone: (314) 677-6046

Cell Phone: (314) 503-4856

Email Me



Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog