2016 Stats for St Louis Home Sales

2016 ended up as another strong year for home sales in the St Louis area.  We were predicted by the National Association of Realtors to be one of the hotter selling markets in the country, and we were not disappointed!

Price appreciation, which is always difficult to determine exactly, went up around 4% for our area as a whole.  The number of sales was up 7%, average days on market was down 12%, and months of inventory (ratio of homes on the market to how many have sold) was down 18%, showing a decreasing supply with higher demand.  It was a blessing to buyers that prices did not increase more than they did, but that is a benefit to being in the Midwest.  Historically, even considering the recent recession, home prices have averaged an annual appreciation between 3 and 5% around the country, so a 4% rate is very sustainable, and slightly above long term inflation rates.  Bear in mind that this entails an average amount of repairs and improvements being spent on the home every year.

There are always differing submarkets with hot/cold school districts and ZIP codes in a metro the size of St Louis.  After reviewing days-on-market, average price negotiation amount, months-of-inventory and sale price increase; it appears that St Charles County was the hottest, followed closely by South County, West County, and the Central Corridor.  STL City, Jefferson County and North County followed behind but showed surprising strength.  Those 3 markets took longer to sell with less demand, but prices rose above average, perhaps catching up a bit to the higher priced areas.  Single family homes came out ahead on all statistics over condo sales, and continue to have higher demand, especially one stories.

One of the biggest surprises to me was the 2016 list price to sale price ratio – the average amount the seller negotiates off the list price to sell and close the sale – was only 1.5%!  That is the lowest I can ever recall in 27 years of home sales, quite amazing.  Only 5 years ago this number was 5%, the highest amount I can recall.  Note this percentage does not include any closing credits from seller to buyer, which was likely higher 5 years ago in the slow market.

Here’s to a prosperous 2017!  If you are planning a move this year, please contact me to get going!

10 Ways to De-Stress After a Move

I received the following from Fry-Wagner, a large moving company, that I thought was worth passing along:

Studies show that moving is the third most stressful life change anyone will ever experience. Moving can be both a physical and emotionally exhausting experience. Once you have finally settled into your new home, it is important to take some time to relax. Below you will find 10 helpful ways to de-stress after your move.

1. Meditate: Take a few minutes out of your day to sit quietly with your eyes closed and relax. Listening to relaxing music, burning a candle, focusing on one specific image, and breathing deeply can help you relax.  Meditation allows your brain to shift into a neutral gear. During this time, it is easier to let go of all the thoughts that may have been weighing heavily on your mind. Research shows that those who meditate a few times a week become more resilient to stress over time.
2. Exercise: Exercise is usually the last thing that anyone wants to do when they are stressed or overwhelmed. However, when exercising, your brain releases “feel good” endorphins that help reduce stress. No matter if you go for a walk, or have an intense gym session, any kind of exercise is great for taking out all your stress.
3. Do Something Fun: Having a little fun is a great way to distract yourself from any stress. Try meeting up with some friends, going to see a movie, eating out for dinner, or practicing your favorite hobby. Whatever you love to do, do it. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself!
4. Listen to Music: Take some time out of your day to listen to your favorite music. Whether it be in the car, in the shower, at work, during exercise, or just at home when you’re alone; music can easily fit into your day. Just like exercise, listening to music releases “feel good endorphins”.  If you are unsure as to which genre is the best to listen to for relaxation, try listening to meditation music, instrumental, or classical.
5. Take a Bath: Dipping into a hot bath is a good way to reduce physical stress, especially after a move. Moving can take a toll on your body and put a lot of strain on your muscles. To relax your body, take a hot bath for twenty minutes.  Try adding things to your bath to help you relax like coconut oil, lavender, Epsom salts, or bath bombs.
6. Make an Un-Do List: Instead of overwhelming yourself with making a list of all the things you need to do, make a list of all the things you want to stop doing. The undo list or brain dump, is a new trending stress relieving technique where you write down all the things that are bothering you or that you wish you would stop doing/thinking. By writing all your negative thoughts and worries down on a piece of paper, you are releasing them from your thoughts in a healthy way.
7. Eat Healthy: It seems that when we are stressed our bodies tend to crave foods that are not healthy for us. We typically gravitate toward ice cream, fast food, pizza, or anything deep fried and greasy. It is important to remember that those kinds of foods tend to increase our stress levels instead of lowering it. Some good foods to eat to help you de-stress are celery, garlic, licorice, chocolate, nuts, and berries.
8. Turn off your Phone: It’s funny to think that a little inanimate object can cause so much stress, but our cell phones are our lifelines. Our phones house our list of reminders, important dates and appointments, which seem to always cause stress. Not to mention there always seems to be someone trying to contact you. Sometimes it’s hard to get a break from it all. When you see fit, set aside some time during the day or once a week to be away from your phone. Turn it off, or put it on silent and tuck it away in a drawer or leave it in another room. During this time, you can even practice some of the other stress relieving exercises above to keep you occupied.
9. Color: Coloring is one of the newest stress relieving trends. You can find an adult coloring book almost anywhere these days. As silly as it may sound, coloring is a major stress reliever. Pick up a book and a box of colored pencils, markers, or crayons, and color away all your stress.
10. Laugh: Laughter is the best medicine after all! Laughing actually lowers cortisol levels. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. Try watching a funny movie, comedy skit, or talk to a friend who never fails to make you laugh!

Of course, you don’t have to wait til you move to do these things either; go de-stress somewhere!

School District Rankings

One of the main factors of house hunting for many families is the public school district it is located in, which can substantially affect the value of the property.  Thus buyers moving in from out of town ask me frequently what school districts are the best.

Below are links to four different websites that rank public schools across the nation, I have narrowed to Missouri results.  Information on private schools are not as easy to find.  Of course, they all use different criteria thus affecting the rankings.  Ladue high school, long considered one of the best in the area, is listed as extremely high (3 out of 528) on the US News list, but only 7 out of 10 on GreatSchools.  Zillow and Realtor.com have incorporated the GreatSchools system and make those rankings available on each home listing for easy reference.  Those are not ranked in relation to each other, just on a scale of 1 to 10 but includes middle and elementary schools.  While rankings based only on state-supplied test results is the quick and easy method, they can vary significantly year to year, and do not take into consideration other factors you may consider important.  There is no easy answer to the best school for your family other than doing some research, asking questions and visiting the schools.

FYI:  (1) We put our 2 kids thru Parkway South and think highly of it, although there are many excellent schools in the area, public and private, in STL County, city and surrounding counties;  (2) I attended Lutheran South.

Niche:

https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-school-districts/best-overall/s/missouri/  —  based on eight factors including academics, diversity, health/safety and sports.

 

GreatSchools:

http://www.greatschools.org/missouri/  —  each school is given a number from 1 to 10 based on test scores in most states, including Missouri.  Student Growth and College Readiness are added factors in certain states like IL.

 

SchoolDigger:

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/MO/districtrank.aspx  — based on test scores from the MO Dept of Education.

 

US News:

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/missouri  —  public high schools based on state testing adjusted for economically disadvantaged students, graduation rates, and college readiness (AP testing). 

 

 

Happy Schooling!