The first quarter of 2013 recorded the lowest U.S. foreclosure activity since the second quarter of 2007. The first quarter foreclosure rate in Illinois was the nation’s third highest, but Missouri saw a 16 percent decline in activity from the end of 2012.
Foreclosure filings were down 25 percent nationally from a year ago, an indication that the crisis has finally been contained, according to numbers from RealtyTrac, a national foreclosure marketer. Foreclosures dropped 37 percent in Missouri when compared to a year ago. 12,671 properties saw a foreclosure filing in Illinois
Last year saw a 3 percent decline from 2011 levels nationally and a hefty 36 percent decline from 2010 when foreclosures were at their peak, according to RealtyTrac. Foreclosure filings rose 33 percent in Illinois but just 2 percent in Missouri.
Report finds that sales of pre-foreclosures outnumbered the sales of foreclosed homes in the third quarter of 2012. But the expiration of a debt-relief law could hinder this method of dealing with distressed properties.
The nation’s foreclosure rate rose by 1 percent in August but were down 15 percent from a year ago, according to Thursday’s report. Missouri’s monthly rate edged slightly upward.
Missouri and Illinois ranked among 33 states with annual increases in foreclosure starts in May, as total U.S. foreclosure activity rose 9 percent over April -- but was still down 4 percent from a year ago, according to a new foreclosure report.
Foreclosures continued to account for about one-quarter of all U.S. residences sold during the first quarter of 2012, reported RealtyTrac, but lenders were approving aggressive pricing on short sales during the first quarter of 2012.
April’s foreclosure activity in St. Louis changed little from March, but the metro area was among 11 in the U.S. with an increase from April 2011.
Long-dormant foreclosures are appearing in the pipeline in many local markets, says report. At one in every 258 homes, the St. Louis foreclosure rate is still better than the national rate.
The U.S. housing market stayed in the basement during the fourth quarter of 2011, as one in every four homes sold were either bank-owned or in some stage of foreclosure. Total foreclosure-related sales in 2011 numbered 907,138.
When you register with the Beacon, you can save your searches as news alerts, rsvp for events, manage your donations and receive news and updates from the Beacon team.
Take a look at our tutorials to help you get the hang of the new site.
Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.
When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.
Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley gave reporters less than a half-hour’s notice today when he announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s sculptured bust will be formally installed in the Capitol at 1 p.m.
The school, which was designed to help students who had dropped out come back to class to earn their degrees, started three years ago. But founder Stephanie Krauss said it was unable to overcome obstacles that had kept its target audience from succeeding in school.
When the first group of students who entered KIPP Inspire charter school in south St. Louis were ready to be promoted out to area high schools, seeing how they've done was a natural follow-up.
Hours before adjournment, a state Senate filibuster appears to have killed a tax credit package that had won approval from the House a couple hours earlier. The bill's death keeps in place higher limits for low-income and historic tax credits, but blocks new programs.
The Beacon's Mary Delach Leonard and Rob Koenig extensively covered flooding in 2011 in Missouri. Now this coverage is compiled in an iBook. Read the stories.
The feeling is openness, with soaring, airy spaces planned for easy and logical circulation and planned to reveal art not only to its best advantage but also appropriately and respectfully. Still, the building is notable more for its architectural reticence than its audacity.
When a Chicago photographer found more than a thousand unidentified slides, he set out to discover the couple behind them -- with a little help from social media.
The first reunion came about after Tom Hall broke his collarbone and musicians came together for a fundraiser. Then came two more. Hall simply says, “We decided that it’s fun to pay. We make good music. And people want to hear it.”
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Twenty winners will split a million dollars and a wide array of professional services after this year's Arch Grants competition. Victors will also see one-on-one business mentoring in their prize package. The diverse group includes everything from biotech concerns to fashion enterprises.
Eleven IT entrepreneurs vied for the attention of more than 70 investors at Capital Innovators' annual Demo Day. This year's crop of hopefuls wooed potential investors with eight-minute presentations on a wide variety of business ideas.
Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Vernon Bowman's challenge to Monsanto Co.'s patent on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds was billed as a David vs. Goliath contest. Goliath won and won big. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Indiana soybean farmer had violated Monsanto's patent on its genetically engineered soybean seeds.
St. Louis theater artist Andrea Purnell dramatizes mental health issues for a living. For her efforts and potential, she'll receive a Grand Center Visionary Award for Emerging Artist in May 13 event at The Sheldon.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
When the first group of students who entered KIPP Inspire charter school in south St. Louis were ready to be promoted out to area high schools, seeing how they've done was a natural follow-up.
Much as Americans may disagree over politics, we share a belief in the public's right to know. This week's controversies were a reminder that a healthy press is vital to a healthy democracy.
Hegel may explain the trajectory of politics: A thesis breeds its antithesis. The dissonance between these polar opposites results in a new state of affairs called a synthesis. That synthesis becomes the new thesis as the process repeats itself. Thus does history travel its tangled paths.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.