The median sales price for homes across the U.S. dropped last month—but in St. Louis, the market remains more hot than not.
Census data shows home prices nationally were down 2.9 percent from a year prior. But in St. Louis, prices are up 3.1 percent, according to data compiled by St. Louis REALTORS. And while the number of homes for sale across the U.S. has swelled, with 9.8 months’ supply of inventory, in St. Louis, there is only 2.4 months’ supply. That tight supply has helped keep prices high.
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Another sign of the St. Louis market’s strength? The fact that, while average days on the market prior to a sale ticked up slightly (24 days this past June versus 22 days in June 2024), that’s still well below pre-pandemic averages.
Local sellers are loving that heat. Brian Elsesser, an agent with Coldwell Banker Realty-Gundaker, was heading to Clayton Thursday afternoon to see a $1 million listing that had just gone on the market that day. By the time he left, they’d already garnered multiple offers. “That means it will almost certainly sell over asking,” he tells SLM, adding, “The $1 million houses of today were $750,000 houses just a few years ago.”
It’s not just posh suburbs seeing the action. Elsesser says he’s seeing intense competition for homes that would qualify as starters. “It’s extremely competitive at the $200,000 to $300,000 range,” he says.
Bridgette Fyvie, an agent with Garcia Properties, echoes that. The company, which specializes in city properties, is averaging 10 days for a listing to go under contract. “If it’s a good house in a good neighborhood, it’s still going under contract that first weekend, and it’s getting multiple offers and going over asking price,” she says.
Fyvie mentions another agent in her office, who just had a listing that drew 12 offers. “You don’t hear that too often anymore,” she notes. During the pandemic, she says, it was common for “a really desirable house in a desirable neighborhood” to get 10 to 15 offers. Now it’s more like a half-dozen. Even so, she notes, it only takes one good offer to close a deal.
Meggin Martin, a real estate advisor with Compass, agrees. She mentions a recent listing in Wildwood. “Two years ago, we would have had 35 to 40 showings in the first few days,” she says. “We had seven showings, but we got three incredible offers. And it went way over list price. Showings are a little bit down, but quality offers are still there.”
The demand is even higher on the pricier end of the market. St. Louis was recently named the nation’s top market for luxury homes, and a tight supply in the highly desirable central corridor means agents have to hustle just to find homes for prospective buyers. Says Martin, “I write letters, I knock on doors—at least in areas in which I won’t get arrested for trespassing on a giant property.”
The numbers include a few caveats. Data from St. Louis REALTORS shows that prices for condos and townhomes locally have fallen 7.3 percent from last year, while their average number of days on market is up 10 days, to 42 days. That’s even as condo/townhome sales prices have dropped 7.3 percent.
Fyvie also notes that the market seems to shift week by week, and houses that aren’t as well situated (or priced as competitively) do seem to sit longer than they did a year ago. But there’s an easy solution for that: “I say that there are no bad houses, just bad prices.”
Martin agrees, saying, “If you see a house that’s been on the market for like two weeks, it’s probably priced wrong.”
A recent study by Redfin suggests that 10 percent of St. Louis listings are at the risk of selling at a loss. The most vulnerable, it suggests, are people who bought during or after the pandemic as prices soared. A combo of high interest rates and overheated markets put some home owners at risk.
But Martin, citing the limited supply on the market, shrugs off the suggestion of a downturn locally.
“We’re on a roller coaster, so who knows,” she says. “But there’s just too much demand.” She adds, “I think everybody panicked last year. It seemed like everybody was like, Oh my gosh, it’s gonna slow down. And at least in my experience, I’m incredibly busy. I don’t see St. Louis slowing down.”
