Multi-family housing across the nation is on the uptick due to restricted credit markets and other economic issues. More and more people are shifting towards lifestyles that involve a lot of flexibility and all of this comes together to broaden rental markets. Because more people want the flexibility to move, should opportunity arise for better job prospects and because many people are hesitant about taking out mortgages, more people are renting rather than buying. Saint Louis rental trends have definitely been seeing the results of that.
There’s a huge trend towards properties that offer lifestyle choice options, combined with location. Younger people in particular want a closer proximity to the places they want to be: shopping, work, quality schools, ready transportation options. These are all things that the Saint Louis metro area has to offer in a very condensed area. This is reflected in the statistics on the area. Multi-family vacancies went down in 2013- where they had once stood at 7.3%, for the year, they were 6.9%. Rental rates rose about 1.4% on average, and each submarket showed rising gains respective of rental rates. Clayton held the highest at $1,400, with The Central West End, or Forest Park in a tight secondary position at $1,140.
One of the premier luxury apartments, Clayton on the Park, began as a hotel but was turned into senior apartments in the late 2000s. From there, the Koman group bought it and working with lavish renovations, turned it into one of the most impressive apartment buildings in the region. This pet friendly high rise offers a host of amenities, and is on the high end of the rental scale, but still yet boasts over 95% leased. This is just one example of the flourishing rental market in the area. The downtown area of the city is also seeing a surprising surge: the apartment residence numbers doubled in a ten year time frame. One of the Clayton areas biggest draws is its school system. Both Clayton and Ladue have very well funded public school systems in addition to a broad spectrum of highly rated private schools. Several of the nearby colleges are ranked frequently in the top 10, nationally.
The surrounding suburban areas are also a good bet, if you’re looking to invest in a market that continues to grow. The appeal there is that these outlying areas often offer country living with a twenty minute or less ride to all the city has to offer.
This is the first in a series about various regional housing markets across the United States. If you’re interested in seeing your city written about, or are curious about a certain area: please feel free to list it in the comments.
