2015 was another strong year for home sales in St Louis and across the country! St Louis metro average price appreciation was 5%, with an average sale price of $220,700, and the number of home sales was up 11%. First time home buyers are still below historical average, but price levels have come back to reach their peak from 2007. Foreclosures and underwater sellers continue to drop rapidly.
Other indicators worth mentioning are: Median Days-on-Market dropped to 25 from 47 in 2014, almost in half, a telling statistic on how quickly homes are selling. Sale price/List price ratio was 97.9%, meaning that sellers were only coming off their asking price an average of 2.1%. This is the lowest I can remember seeing that percentage in 26 years.
With low interest rates, a growing economy, and improved consumer confidence, the home market just rolled on the strength of buyers who saw the right timing and felt more comfortable, and sellers who were more able to move due to increasing equity. The last few years have seen both sides of the sale grappling with lower levels of confidence in their jobs and the economy, and lower equity (cash value) in their homes.
St Louis is running at a 5.0% unemployment rate, same as the national average. That is a significant drop from a year ago, and a large improvement from 2010. This one statistic, even though it doesn’t tell the whole story on jobs and income, is one of the biggest indicators of where the housing market is headed.
Our industry is expecting 2016 to be another strong year with similar price appreciation of 5%. On top of that, Realtor.com, one of the largest national real estate data providers, chose St Louis as the #2 metro in the country for hot home sales in 2016! They measured this by more listing page views, faster home sales, affordability, low unemployment, and a prosperous job market. Too bad Kroenke was not aware of this!
Gary Hoeferkamp, Broker - Owner of Hoeferkamp Real Estate 