Interest rates are at a historic low right now. This allows prospective home buyers the ability to borrow more for a St. Louis house.
Because of these low rates, homebuyers’ budgets are larger, and they can spend more. Couple those rates with a historic shortage of inventory in the St. Louis and St. Charles area, and it is the perfect storm for a seller’s market.
With all this going on, you have to ask: Is now the time to sell your home for maximum profit?
In the following article, we’ll explain why you should sell your home now in St. Louis or St. Charles.
St. Louis House Prices
The reasons to sell your house now is as simple as supply and demand. A limited supply will drive up demand. If there are few homes out there, then the price for the limited selection goes up.
If we take a look at single-family homes in St. Louis County, you’ll see that compared to January 2020, active listings have plunged by 46%. And that little supply has fueled the surge in home sale prices for the county. Median prices are up 18% over that same time frame.
And this shortage isn’t isolated to the county. The city is seeing a similar plunge in inventory and home prices.
In St. Louis City, the active listings were down 30% from last January. Meanwhile, the median price was up an astonishing 26.5%.
St. Charles County Set to Surge
Desirable St. Charles county, the wealthiest per-capita county in Missouri, is also seeing an inventory crunch.
Active listings were down an incredible 59%! The median price for home sales from January 2020 to January 2021 wasn’t as dramatic as for St. Louis City and County, with a mere increase of 10%.
However, this makes sense due to the chronic inventory shortage. There just weren’t enough homes for sale to drive the median sales price higher.
If we go farther back in time and compare active listings for January 2021 to January 2011, you’ll see that St. Louis County and City down 82% and 78%, respectively. Meanwhile, St. Charles County was down 88%.
A Seller’s Market: What Does All This Mean?
The pandemic has created a seller’s market of historic proportion, and now’s the time to cash in.
People have hunkered down or doubled-up with loved ones across the country during the coronavirus pandemic. And many people sought ways to relocate — many permanently — to less congested areas.
Now, with spring right around the corner, there’s a pent-up demand for homes to buy. Spring is typically when families start to move as they set up for the upcoming school year. Older Americans may look to get out of their homes when temperatures are warmer and moving is easier.
What does this mean for the seller? Inventory shortages are at an unheard of low. Home sellers can expect multiple bids and prices well-over their asking price as buyers look to avert a bidding war.
St. Louis Real Estate: Now Is the Time to Sell
With the real estate market in unprecedented territory, a St. Louis house may never again command this type of selling power.
The search process will extend longer for buyers as sellers enjoy multiple suitors for their residential properties and a “fever” to win bidding wars. This spring might set never-again seen records for home prices.
Are you ready to sell your home? Contact us today to speak with a member of our team.