Interestingly, the folks that seem the most suprised by the negative perception of St Louis are newer residents.  They hear all these negative viewpoints, then move here and enjoy the lower cost of real estate, lower taxes, and finally find that the negative slant is less than realistic.

Of late, the city has had better press.  St Louis has won awards for being a top Midwestern destination for the past 2 years, and folks are seemingly starting to appreciate what this town has to offer.

Last week me and the family took a mini vacation to Chicago for a few days.  It was nice, and Chicago is an urban town that has a lot to offer.  For some of the time there though, mostly while sitting in traffic, I thought, “wouldn’t it have just been nice to have a stay-cation?”   After all, as a busy professional, father, & husband, rarely do I have time to stop, hang out, go to night clubs, catch plays, etc. etc.  My professional life involves me talking about everything there is to do here, but I just find it hard to do it.

Today, a CNN reporter published his report on his family vacation to St Louis.  What started off with some skepticism seemed to result in a great time.    It seemed like there were a lot of things they still didn’t get a chance to do.  My observation was that it seemed that most of what they did was in the city.   Not that its a big suprise, people like the city because there’s a lot to do there.  Not that the surrounding areas don’t have things to do either.   The article was nice.

The urban renaissance is ongoing, and I started thinking about the things that area still in the pipeline that will make St Louis even better down the road, like the Arch Grounds project, the South Grand Great Streets Initiative, the Loop Trolley and the Blues Museum Downtown, just to name a few.

What makes St Louis a great place to visit is also what makes it a great place to live.  As the article said, there’s plenty to do that’s “pretty cool”.

The “Field of Dreams” approach of “Build it and they will come” has been particularly relevant to the City of St Louis. When I graduated from High School in the late 80′s, most of my classmates were anxious to get out of town. There was nothing “cool” about living in St Louis. The interesting architecture that is often associated with the city was mostly known for being underutilized and abandoned. Washington Avenue was best known as a place to get a hooker, and the young professionals that did reside in the region were mostly attracted to suburban apartment and condo complexes with little personality or character. The notion of rebuilding the city was out there, but it seemed to be a task that was insurmountable.

The past decade or so has seen some valuable changes. It started with pioneers that came into the city and saw the value in individual homes in places like Lafayette Square, and some larger developers like Craig Heller and Kevin McGowan taking on larger projects downtown. This group of pioneers were the foundations of the changes we’ve seen to date. It was the beginning of the urban renaissance in St Louis. They made it possible for urban living to be “en vogue” and mainstream. Now when someone makes the decision to live urban, they aren’t alone.

The Urban Affairs Committee of the St Louis Association of Realtors met last month and some of the attendees there commented about being at the very first Urban Affairs committee meeting about 20 years ago. That committee now has a regular attendance of at least 20 people with an additional 20-30 members in abstentia. It started with 4 or 5 people. 5 years ago, I gained clients that would tell me stories of trying to work with Realtors but were pushed into not to living in the city (in Missouri, this activity, called “steering” is illegal). Now, I’m encouraged by agents of all types of experience that call for help in understanding the urban market.

The Census itself is a valuable information tool. Estimates of population are often disputed and inconclusive. While it may not be for everyone, City Living is making a comeback. At this point, we’ve gotten farther into the “build it” phase than anyone would have expected. Seeing projects completed each year as well as some of the new ones in the pipeline (Archgrounds, Ballpark Village), we’re witnessing a conversion of an urban area that has been remarkable, and we’re also just beginning to see the “and they will come” phase. Regardless of the census data recieved today, we’re confident that we’re only seeing the beginning of what will be a giant shift in population and and a paradigm shift in how people choose their residence.

Priced to Sell at $119,900

Working with buyers, they give “wish lists” and “demand lists” about features they want in their new home.  One common stipulation I get from out of town buyers is that they want to be in close proximity to public transportation.

Having worked in some type of sales job for all of my adult life, I’ve always depended upon driving.  Public transportation wasn’t a priority of mine until recently.  Seeing the number of home buyer’s moving to the St Louis area that depend upon public transportation and base thier home decisions on proximity to bus or metrolink lines was a big motivator.  Last week I had that experience.

I worked with a man who’s family was relocating here for his new job.  The idea of buying a second car just so it can sit in a garage while he works didn’t make sense.  Several homes in south county had to be taken off his list because of possible cuts in transit that would result in the failure of our community to pass Proposition A this Tuesday. 

In thinking about this experience, I was curious to see what other perspectives people had about this.  I visited the a website and heard several different perspectives of current metro riders, from the new residents living in other more ‘transit friendly’ towns to the disabled, to those that simply ride it by choice.  In watching the videos and reading the stories, I considered the impact of so many additional drivers on the highway and how it would affect traffic and the environment.

Individual stories may not justify a ‘yes’ vote for many people, but the big picture of our metropolitan area is more of a motivating factore for me.   The negative folks that I’ve heard for years criticize our city for not being a Chicago or New York usually have a lot to say.  Having a ”second-tier” or worse transit system as a result of our own short sightedness and inability to jusify funding would have a negative impact on our city, its businesses, and residents far worse than the money it would cost to fund this service.  

Its always nice to hear great things about our city from new prospective home buyers,  Please consider supporting Proposition A this Tuesday so that ”our lack of decent pubic transportation” isn’t the prospective buyer’s first impression of St Louis, or even worse, a prospective business CEO considering a move to St Louis. 

SUPPORT PROPOSITION A THIS TUESDAY!!!

My first pick is Taste of St. Louis downtown. It started today and runs through Sunday. Beyond the typical Foodie event, there’s tons of Art and Music too. On my trips downtown I ‘ve been watching them get ready for this for nearly a week now. I’ll be disappointed if I can’t make it over on Sunday!!

I’m mostly excited about another event, partially because its new and partly because its practically in my back yard. The Morganford Music & Street Festival is only one day, Saturday. On a side note, its exciting because I remember when this section of Morganford consisted of mostly board up run down ugly buildings with a 7-11 and a ratty car wash. Now the ratty car wash and 7-11 are surrounded by an up and coming walkable community. Grocer, cafe’s, barbers, some great restaurants & bars and ending with the beautiful Marti’s Garden ( a memorial garden for St. Louis activist and St. Louis City Realtor Marti Frumhoff).

I noticed that the Funky Butt Brass Band (a very cool local act) will be on Morganford in the Afternoon and then Downtown at 7:30pm. What a day! Since I’ll be out of the area for the morning and most of the afternoon, I won’t be able to make it until Javier Mendoza goes on at 7. Since they don’t have a website, the fun is located at Juniata and Morganford in the Tower Grove South Neighborhood from 12pm to 9pm.

Lastly, the Historic Shaw Art Fair is not just another Art Fair. Growing up in the suburbs, I would attend art fairs on some vacant school parking lot and didn’t get too excited. Going to the Historic Shaw Art Fair is nothing like that! Set in the street of Flora Place surrounded by gorgeous historic mansions, great entertainment and plenty of great HOMEGROWN ART, Its an event I attend annually. When the real estate market picks up, I look forward to an art buying spree there. Maybe next year This year I’ll just have fun with my kids and start to scope out possibilities.

In a listing appointment yesterday, someone commented about living in the city.  They couldn’t understand why someone would want to live in the city. WHAT!?!?

Obviously the city isn’t for everyone.  Some people like suburbia.  Others like rural.   As a Realtor, I work with people to find what they want, so this blog isn’t about converting those folks.  Obviously.  I sometimes have to abandon my values completely when my clients want to live somewhere that I wouldn’t.

Living in Suburbia, my fantastic experience this evening would have been totally dissimilar.   Loading up the kids and driving.  Unloading.  Ordering.  Loading. Driving. Unloading.  Getting ice cream (only Dairy Queen or Ice Cream in the burbs, no place as cool as the Gelateria are out there). Loading.  Driving. Unloading. Getting Sushi.  Loading.  Driving. Unloading.  Eating…….you get the point.  St. Louis City can be so family friendly and you don’t have to own a mini van.

I rarely give credit to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, but they did have a nice pictoral _ _and video on the improvements on Morganford.  Now I might see my friends from Des Peres and Chesterfield lurking around 3 Monkeys to check out the new hip place in town.

Updated and Affordable Shaw Condo

Leading the spring surge was the long absent first time home buyer segment. Scared away from buying for some time, this group was largely more pragmatic than thier counterparts from past years. Receiving the $8000 tax credit was a big factor in buying, as well as the great selection and lower interest rates. One thing facing today’s first time buyer’s is the need for a downpayment, which for most people in 2003-2007 was unnecessary. Today’s buyer’s can still get 96.5% FHA loans as long as they qualify, but in some cases, FHA loans aren’t an option.

Tower Grove & Holly Hills (63116 zip code)

St Louis spring sales Tower Grove and Holly Hills

South Hampton, North Hampton, Lindenwood Park (63109, 63139 zip codes)

Lindenwood Park, South Hampton and North Hampton Spring Sales Data

Comparatively, the condo market in the downtown area appears statistically close to the above groups of neighborhoods except in one key catagory:  homes sold. 

Downtown, Lafayette Square, Soulard, Compton Heights Condos

Downtown, Soulard, Lafayette Square Sales Spring 09

This data, compared to the 2006 Spring when the market was just beginning to slow down shows about a 50% decrease in sales and a 100% increase in days on market. 

One positive thing that is evident when looking at practically any facet of the St Louis real estate market, is that things aren’ t as good as they have been, but they aren’t that far off.  The rush of first time buyer’s is expected to continue through the late fall since the $8000 Federal First Time Buyer credit is not presently scheduled to continue into next year.