224 N. Newstead in the Central West EndLots of people ask me just how the real estate market is doing. Most expect me to say that I've put my house up for sale and I'm moving out of the city to some small island where I can start a career in sea shell selling to small beach shops. Not true. Although the idea of warm weather in the middle of January is most tempting!
2009 proved to be the best real estate year this company has ever seen! A surprise to most people. What has driven our business this past year? Several things:
Because of the number of foreclosurs and short sales, there are a large number of wonderful homes at extremely good prices out there and the investor is having a field day! There are truly some wonderful bargains to be had and many folks are taking advantage of that. What does an investor want with all of these homes? Rental and rehab. All of which spell money in their pockets. Investment is about 40% of our business right now.
The second purchaser is the first time home buyer. Because of the extension in the $8,000 tax credit, the first time buyer who was not able to purchase last year has until April 30 to write a contract this year. About 40% of our business last year was the first time buyer. Anxious to take advantage of the credit, the months of October and November were crazy with buyers trying to just find a house before the deadline. I'm sure this March and April will prove to be the same.
And 20% of our business was the regular, normal buyer. Now our office is located in the heart of the city of St. Louis, right in between our largest employer, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and two large university's, St. Louis University and Washington University ( and both of their Medical Schools), and so we have a steady stream of students and professors who are looking to move close to work/school. With the Central West End being the most densely populated area of the city, we are usually very busy.
I'm interested to discover what will happen after April 30. With spring/summer normally being pretty busy in real estate, if the economy is to get back on its feet, on its own, without the falseness of government infused help, we will see a normal pick up of buyers and sellers after April 30. If the real estate market is only busy because of the false economic push of the tax credit, the market will take a dramatic slowdown after the deadline. I'm hoping the market continues to grow.
Now St. Louis has never truly been hit very hard by the downturn. Our city had its slowdown and markets fell off a cliff, but on the whole, the markets are coming back very nicely. The average sale price is lower than it was, but that's to be expected. I see St. Louis returning to a normal market again within five years.
Thank you for your past, present and future business. We love to sell St. Louis!
