2006 Market Data Pierces Bubble Myth Downtown

In 2006, Scottrade bought the naming rights to the Kiel Center. I think the stock brokerage industry may have bought most of the media too. All the talk of the real estate bubble finally bursting forced its way into the psyche of prospective homebuyer's everywhere. They say all's well that ends well, and that really describes our downtown real estate market for the year 2006.

Year--#Sold-------$/Sq Ft----Ave.Days on Market-------Ave.Price
2006----221-------$164---------------93--------------$223,063
2005-----121----------$156-----------------209-----------------$256,678
2004------84----------$141-----------------233-----------------$187,976
2003------53----------$135-----------------170-----------------$214,890
2002------25----------$121-----------------248-----------------$186,674
2001------19----------$104-----------------194-----------------$233,908


The above data was taken off the local multiple listings service. This service, of course, doesn't include all the downtown sales in this past year, or in any year. I do agree with the trend that more lofts are selling and downtown population continues to increase.

My personal experience this past year was working with fewer first-time home buyer's and more mature and experienced buyer's. While there has been a great deal of talk about the I-64 reconstruction amongst buyer's, it seems that fact hasn't been the primary motivator of our typical buyer. As this year continues and lane closures begin, I'd be suprised if the number of buyer's with traffic concerns didn't increase exponentially.

One interesting piece of data that isn't included above, was that the average size of unit dropped from 1690 sq ft to 1453 sq ft. This is undoubtedly because of the number of smaller new construction units hitting the market this year. That trend should continue as The Adler Lofts and Ventana lofts near completion.

Look for more Downtown St. Louis Loft information throughout the year. Exciting things are going to happen.