My Home Advise

The Saint Louis real estate market is showing signs of solid improvement, with home sales increasing dramatically and foreclosures remaining relatively static. According to a May 25, 2010 article in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, “St. Louis-area home sales surged in April for the second straight month, as buyers took advantage of rock-bottom interest rates and the expiring $8,000 tax credit. Sales were up 25 percent compared with the same month last year, according to data compiled by the Post-Dispatch, and prices climbed across much of the region, a sign that foreclosures are making up a smaller share of the housing market.” The piece, written by Tim Logan, continued to note that “The news comes on the heels of a 22 percent bump in March, and it echoes a trend being seen across the country. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales were up 22.8 percent from the same month last year, and rose 7.6 percent from March on a seasonally adjusted basis.”

The Saint Louis real estate market also recently benefitted from a spike in construction downtown, according to a May 28, 2010 article from the Saint Louis Business Journal. This piece found that “Three former Pyramid properties – The Laurel, One City Centre and St. Louis Centre – have closed on financing since the start of the year, totaling $243 million in redevelopment. Add to that The Lawrence Group’s $109 million Park Pacific redevelopment, which closed on financing in April, and it totals $352 million in redevelopment downtown.” The piece, written by Lisa R. Brown, continued to say that “Combined, the projects will create more than 1,600 construction jobs and set in motion the biggest construction boom downtown has seen in several years.”

The effect of foreclosures on Saint Louis homes for sale remained static throughout the month of March, according to a May 7, 2010 article in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. This piece, written by Tim Logan, continued to say that “A troubling trend continued in March. The share of St. Louis-area mortgages that are at least 90 days behind, already at record levels, notched up yet again, hitting 6.22 percent, according to real estate data firm Core Logic.”