2012 Downtown St. Louis Loft Sales

Ringing in the new year, the downtown loft market has a lot to be cheerful about.  

For those looking for the prices to bounce back to 2007 levels, we're still not there, but the real estate market has strengthened in 2012 and is back on the right track.  Sales are at a 4 year high based on number of lofts sold (102).  In 2008, when there were 109 lofts sold, there were 583 lofts on the market compared to 277 this year.

While pricing isn't going through the roof just yet, we did see an increase in prices this year.  Lofts sold at an average of $113.37 per square foot, up from $109 per square foot last year.

While the sales news for the entire year may not be worthy of any major excitement, average price per square foot for the fourth quarter 2012 jumped to $131.55/square foot.  



Several things are encouraging for the years to come:

1. As progress continues downtown, the number of condominiums probably won't be             increasing - creating more demand.  
2. Our recent REALTOR Magazine had exciting news about how FHA loans are becoming more "condo friendly" with the possibility of allowing for "spot approvals" in the future.
3. MEDIA RULES - the downturn seemed to be exacerbated by the fact that news about the downturn was broadcast 24/7 with articles trying to over dramatize the state of the real estate market.  Lately, positive news seems to be having the opposite effect on the public.

Here are the Downtown St Louis Lofts sold in 2012:

Blu City Spaces  210 N 17th Street

#911     $28,500
#610     $29,995
#908     $29,995
#411     $30,000
#403     $37,000
#305     $42,000
#404     $44,995
#1210   $50,000
#803     $54,995
#406     $55,000
#312     $59,995

Knickerbocker Lofts  507 N 13th Street

#502     $49,100
#204     $78,023

Lofts at 2020 (Sporting News Lofts)  2020 Washington Avenue

#605     $83,000
#604     $84,000
#703     $85,000
#711     $101,000
#313     $105,000
#201     $105,500
#803     $128,500
#714     $133,000
#706     $137,750
#101     $205,000

Motor Lofts 2201 Washington Avenue 

#208    $51,000
#408    $83,000

Westgate Lofts  410 N Jefferson Blvd. / 2323 Locust Street

#307     $80,000
#405     $96,750
#406     $94,000

Terra Cotta Lofts 1501 Locust Street

#402     $94,000
#503     $99,000
#804     $171,500
#707     $200,000

Ventana Lofts 1635 Washington Avenue

#509     $100,100
#912     $222,500

Railway Lofts 1619 Washington Avenue 

#603     $120,000

#405     $157,000

#505     $169,000

#705     $191,000

#304     $195,764

#802     $140,500

Kingbee Lofts 1709 Washington Avenue 

#602     $69,900

Windows Lofts 1601 Washington Avenue 

#304    $140,500

#210    $155,000

Meridian Lofts 1136 Washington Avenue 

#209    $102,000
#710    $156,000
#712    $168,500
#903    $215,000

Lucas Lofts 1123 Washington Avenue 

#409     $110,000

#304     $112,500
#308     $117,050
#216     $152,000

#716     $159,430

#215     $311,000 

Marquette Condominiums 314 N Broadway

#1805   $100,000
#1404   $120,000
#1604   $120,000
#1601   $129,900
#1808   $145,000
#1101   $165,000
#1403   $230,000

Ely Walker Lofts  1520 Washington Avenue

#316     $153,500
#608     $175,000

Printer's Lofts 1611 Locust Street

#502     $165,000
#601     $184,000
#303     $195,000

Printer's Lofts 1627 Locust Street

#305     $158,000

#406     $163,000

Annex Lofts 1511 Locust Street

#508     $90,000

#806     $115,000

Alexander Lofts 1121 Locust Street

#302     $372,000

Banker's Lofts  901 Washington Avenue

#505     $200,000
#704     $390,900

10th Street Lofts  1010 Saint Charles Street

#703     $120,000
#803     $240,000
#1102   $350,001
#1004   $416,800

Dorsa Lofts    1015 Washington Avenue

#509     $119,795
#302     $240,000
#304     $249,000

Edison Condominiums  400 S 14th Street

#1108    $229,000
#1206    $242,000
#1203    $246,500
#1114    $275,000
#1113    $290,000
#1216    $300,000
#1202    $330,000

Syndicate Condominiums   915 Olive Street

#1502   $193,950
#1504   $218,000
#1410   $226,200
#1308   $226,900
#1310   $230,900
#1207   $237,800
#1305   $315,000
#1612   $448,200

Elder Shirt Lofts  703 North 13th Street

#503     $455,000


Here's to a brighter 2013 in the Downtown Market!

Loft Sales Busy in late Spring

Despite the negative PR campaign the Post Disgrace has for Downtown, sales have been steady in the past few months.  


Twenty-two lofts sold in May and June, which is AWESOME!  


The St Louis loft expert may point out that last year we sold more.  The same period saw 25 sales in 2011.  The 2011 market was a different market.  


Last year, 9 of the 25 sales were the dreaded FDIC liquidation sales at the Dorsa Lofts.  There was also a bit of a foreclosure glut of lofts at 2020 Washington last year, accounting for 2 sales.  


The 2012 market has its share of distressed sales, but nothing like FDIC sales or a frenzy of foreclosures in the same building competing against each other.  


Nationwide reports are showing an overall price increase in a majority of home markets, signaling a housing recovery.  This recovery takes place on a market by market basis.   Based on the lack of inventory (as of this posting, only 64 lofts are on the market downtown ranging from $44,995 to $1,300,000) and a drastic increase in market rate sales, the downtown market seems to be in the recovery phase too.


Like most markets,  downtown has 'pent up demand' to sell.  Many of these presumptive loft seller's are waiting for prices to reach a higher level.  Like all markets, this may take time.  This is consistent with most markets where the percentage of new construction going into the housing peak was as high as it was in Downtown St Louis.


Here are the Downtown Loft sales for May & June of 2012:

Blu City Spaces  210 N 17th Street

#305     $42,000
#404     $44,995
#1210   $50,000
#406     $55,000
#312     $59,995

Knickerbocker Lofts  507 N 13th Street

#502     $49,100

Columbus Square Condominiums

#33       $65,000

Lofts at 2020 (Sporting News Lofts)  2020 Washington Avenue

#703     $85,000
#706     $137,750

Westgate Lofts  410 N Jefferson Blvd. / 2323 Locust Street

#406     $94,000

Terra Cotta Lofts 1501 Locust Street

#503     $99,000

Ventana Lofts 1635 Washington Avenue

#509     $100,100

Marquette Condominiums 314 N Broadway

#1404   $120,000
#1604   $120,000
#1403   $230,000

Ely Walker Lofts  1520 Washington Avenue

#316     $153,500

Printer's Lofts 1611 Locust Street

#601     $184,000

Banker's Lofts  901 Washington Avenue

#505     $200,000

10th Street Lofts  1010 Saint Charles Street

#803     $240,000

Dorsa Lofts    1015 Washington Avenue

#304     $249,000

Edison Condominiums  400 S 14th Street

#1216   $300,000

Syndicate Condominiums   915 Olive Street

#1612   $448,200

Elder Shirt Lofts  703 North 13th Street

#503     $455,000

Loft Education Revisited

November was a tough month. 


Having to live with a euphoric fog of having another World Series Championship in the bag, enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures, then the beginning of the holiday season.  The whole month just flew by.


One of the events I missed was the Condominium Education Event held by the Partnership for Downtown Saint Louis and Wells Fargo.  This type of class being held downtown for free gets me giddy;  not because of its entertainment value - more of a life-long mission.


That mission starts with my belief that there is a good amount of ignorance pertaining to condominiums.  This theory applies to professionals as well as the general public.  Some people say this is a St Louis thing, since we're not as experienced as a whole compared to South Florida or Manhattan.  Many of the mortgage lenders, insurance brokers and realtors in St Louis just assume that working with lofts and condos is the same as dealing with a single family home, or a mutifamily apartment.  In observing and speaking with other professionals, I've gotten the sense that if they've never lived in a condominium or if they only work with them occasionally, that they have limited understanding of how they can assist their clients. 


I've seen more lenders attempt to finance a loft and fail, I've seen hundreds of underinsured condos, and I've worked with other Realtors that make huge errors that would have been avoidable with proper condominium education.  


As far as non-professionals go, the biggest mistake I see generally is not considering what a prospective home buyer or their buyer's agent would perceive of decisions made on condo bylaws or management decisions.  Crazy stuff can happen.  I've heard some condo associations have decided not to maintain their buildings FHA approved status because they think that status will allow Section 8 tenants to live in the building or less than stellar buyers needing government assistance will buy!   These are both 100% false, yet once the decisions are made with false information, they're hard to be reversed, and often times aren't even realized by anyone else in the building, due to the same ignorance.
   
This brings me back to the event hosted by the Partnership and Wells Fargo.


I ran into one of the partnership folks a few weeks back, and they boasted of the success of the Condo Education event in November and said they were looking at another one soon.   Its a great event for Realtors, Loft owners, condo association memebers, board members, and property managers.  


The event will be held at the Laclede Gas Building in the New Yaeger 1st floor conference center.  NEXT TUESDAY (January 31st) at 6:30pm.  


While I'm not 100% sure of the topics involved, I know that this is information that will benefit the Downtown St Louis neighborhoods and can ultimately lead to better price appreciation and overall market stability.  


BE THERE! 

2011 Loft Market At-A-Glance

While St Louis loft sales increased last year, they seemed to do so at a price.  As expected, average prices dropped. 

The culprit this year in particular, is the foreclosure agent.  Aside from the FDIC take-over of the Dorsa Lofts sales, one trend we've seen this year is truly below market pricing on foreclosure listings.  This has been great for the downtown buyers this year. 

We're still working on the release of 2011 Loft Sales by Building, which should be posted within the week.  The executive 'market summary' is below.  While downtown residents may look at these numbers with some disappointment, these sales numbers reflect some necessary answers to questions we've had on the horizon for a few years. 

In looking at the individual numbers, as we've observed all year, it seems less a matter of the dreaded 'prices dropping' as it does that more higher value lofts sold in years past.  For example, several sales took place in Downtown West buildings that aren't eligible for conventional financing, Like Motor Lofts, Packard Lofts, and Kingbee Lofts, where virtually no sales took place last year.  Also, there seemed to be an inordinately large number of foreclosures in the Lofts at 2020 (Sporting News Lofts) all at the same time.   That 'competition' between foreclosures led to steep price drops by sellers (banks) that have very little patience for inactivity.   Basically the same thing happened in Dorsa Lofts with the FDIC slashing prices even as lofts were selling at a fast rate.

St Louis Lofts Market Analysis

Downtown

Downtown St Louis neighborhood is bound by Chouteau on the South, the Mississippi River on the East, Cass Avenue on the North, and Tucker Boulevard on the West.

Average Price=                     $193,204    - Down from $222,816
Average Size=                       2 bed / 1.9 bath   1605 square feet
Average Market Time=         180 days
Total Volume Sold=               $8.68 million  -up from 6.68 million


Downtown West


Downtown West St Louis neighborhood is bound by Chouteau on the South, the Tucker Boulevard on the East, Cass Avenue on the North, and Jefferson  Avenue on the West.

Average Price=                     $119,559 - Down from $141,429
Average Size=                       2 bed / 1.6 baths 1310 square feet
Average Market Time=         94 days
Total Volume Sold=              $5.49 million -down from 7.08 million


Looking at the numbers, 2011 was a hard pill to swallow, but just like any other tough pill, it needed to happen for the market to fully recover.

Search the new and improved Downtown St Louis real estate site, http://www4SaleStLouis.com/downtown-homes to search for St Louis lofts by building, size and area.

Need Affordable Housing Downtown?

Ever since Downtown St Louis started its renaissance in residential housing, some phenomenal homes have been built. As is the case with most newly constructed homes, the prices weren't considered "affordable" by many. Times have changed, and there are some phenomenal deals downtown. Unless someone is really familiar with the market, its difficult to realize what's a great deal, and what's not. Someone working with an agent from another area might miss out on the best opportunities. This home at the Terra Cotta Lofts is a GREAT DEAL! When you open the front door to this home, you're greeted with a view of the Gateway Arch and Downtown St Louis skyline. The layout is spacious and roomy.

Many downtown St Louis lofts have a 'shot gun' layout with bedrooms in the rear and no windows. This unit has a master suite with great views adn plenty of light.

During the peak of the market, units like this would get scooped up in a matter of days. So if you're interested in seeing what downtown living is all about, check out this space for starters. Getting this kind of views of the downtown skyline is a great way to experience the urban renaissance in downtown.

A Turning Point....

Something is happening today that signals a turning point for the downtown neighborhood. The last developer owned unit at the Dorsa Lofts is scheduled to close, which is great news for the Dorsa building and for downtown.

When the Dorsa project was first unveiled I was excited. This was in september 2005. We were in a housing shortage downtown. Buyer's were looking downtown, only to find that the space they were looking for hadn't been built. Buyers were flipping their newly built lofts for large profits, and pricing was creeping up towards the $200/square foot mark. The Dorsa, an attractive building with timber ceilings and exposed brick was promised to be finished similar to the newly completed Banker's Lofts. Pricing started at $122 / square foot. It seemed like a safe bet on a great block. The opening party held by Pyramid Construction casual. We showed up at the beginning and started pouring over the sales materials, pricing and such to get a grasp on what was going on. We had several clients showing up and more that were interested.

The first unconventional thing about the Dorsa was that, unlike other new construction sales downtown, Pyramid failed to convert its reservations into executed purchase agreements for over 6 months. It wasn't long until the market started to cool down and lots of reservations were cancelled. It still was a good value. The location was great. We kept our reservation.

Closings started happening in Summer 2007, Pyramid collapsed in April 2008. Premier Bank took over as the 'builder' and ran the building. For over a year, the vacant units, over 50% of the building, sat empty with no visible efforts to sell. The Bank thought that selling off the units as a large block would be in its best interest, despite the negative implications for the building. With virtually no commercial lending available for anyone to buy the remaining units, they allowed a prospective buyer to start renting out units and a few went on the market. Sales started trickling in. Eventually in the fall of 2010, Premier Bank was taken over by the FDIC. Assets were going to be sold quickly. Regardless of the market, prices were slashed drastically. Rentals were terminated and some ended up buying. Finally the building started to fill up.

While the road to completion for the Dorsa took significantly longer than the buildings sold during the boom, after today, we can say that its SOLD OUT!

How is that a turning point?

When the stock market crashed in 2008 and banks started failing was when the St Louis real estate market went from slow to scary. The additional burden that downtown struggled with was the public perception that there was a glut of unsold lofts downtown.

Now that the inventory of Dorsa Lofts have sold out, we're a step closer to a balanced market (between a buyer's and seller's market) and most likely a more favorable climate for appreciation and more new construction.

Sales Up, Prices Stabilizing

Last week was a busy week at the title companies as the 1st half of 2011 came to an end and Festivities for Independence Day started up. The million dollar question remains in every real estate market, when will the market "come back?"

In the past few months, the inventory of available downtown lofts has been less than what we've seen in past years. A search for 2 bedroom, 1 bath spaces for less than $240,000 produced only 39 possibilities. Not what we're used to seeing. I double checked to make sure there wasn't a mistake.

This year it seems that several great things are happening downtown that indicate a turnaround is on the horizon. A sweep of the Reds over at Busch Stadium would have been icing on the cake.

Looking at the numbers, there were 53 condos sold in downtown St Louis during the first half of 2011. That is based on Realtor sales on the MLS. Last year there were 41 sales in the first 6 months. While the median sale price dropped by about $20,000.

From the Realtor perspective, it seemed like seller's in this years market seem to realize what they're up against more than in years past. One big factor in the increased sales this year also was the failure of Premier Bank of Jefferson City, the owner of the remaining lofts at the Dorsa. That change of the guard made the prices of these attractive units drop substantially overnight. As of today, the building is 90% Sold. The FDIC doesn't mess around when it comes to unloading property. Other foreclosures still pop up, and some are ridiculously priced. One would think that in this market, getting multiple offers on a property in less than a week wouldn't occur, but it does when a foreclosure agent prices a condo $50,000 to $100,000 below market, that happens.

Despite the number of distressed sales taking place in all areas right now, it seems that compared to 2009 and 2010, there are more loft buyers that are interested in buying a place on more factors than just price alone. I had a conversation with one agent earlier this year about how her listing was substantially overpriced. It was! It didn't matter though, someone scooped it up for nearly $180 per square foot. Most seller's aren't that lucky, but just seeing it start to happen is reasurring that prices are beginning to stabilize. Considering the inventory is lower and only the 24 Grace Lofts have been added to the number of available condos in the past 4 years, we may start to see a housing shortage again downtown; the condition we were in back in 2005 when pricing began to spike.

Lastly, one thing has continued to drag pricing down, which is the number of non-warrantable condos in the downtown area. Some of these were non-warrantable from the beginning, and others became non-warrantable when developers chose to rent out unsold inventory or some other factor. Lofts in buildings like Ely Walker, Ventana, Packard Lofts, King Bee, or Ballpark Lofts have been unable to entertain anything except cash offers; they've been sold for the lowest prices of all.

We'll see about the future, but here are the sales for the past 6 months:

2207 Washington Ave #307 47,250
1709 Washington Ave #904 58,000
210 N 17th St #205 65,000
210 N 17th St #1011 75,900
2020 Washington Ave #214 90,000
2020 Washington Ave #707 92,250
1511 Locust St #303 95,000
2020 Washington Ave #404 95,040
1501 Locust St #601 97,000
2020 Washington Ave #406 97,000
1627 Locust St #504 100,500
1511 Locust St #205 102,500
1312 Washington Ave #4a 104,000
901 Washington Ave #308 106,000
2020 Washington Ave #402 St 118,000
1720 Chouteau Ave #402 120,000
1511 Locust St #606 St 125,000
1611 Locust St #504 129,000
314 N Broadway #1301 St 134,900
2323 Locust #403 140,750
1123 Washington Ave #507 152,000
314 N Broadway #1307 St 154,000
2323 Locust #308 161,000
1123 Washington Ave #605 162,500
1123 Washington Ave #213 165,000
507 N 13th St #509 168,000
1123 Washington Ave #316 168,000
400 S 14th St #1106 184,000
1601 Washington Ave #205 200,000
2020 Washington Ave #101 St 207,000
1611 Locust St #301 211,000
1015 Washington Ave #301 213,500
901 Washington Ave #509 225,500
2020 Washington Ave #813 233,500
703 N 13th St #404 255,000
315 N 11th St #703 265,000
400 S 14th St #1214 275,000
915 Olive St #1209 285,000
915 Olive St #1401 287,900
901 Washington Ave #706PH 399,000
901 Washington #204 345,600

Dorsa Lofts
1015 Washington Ave #503 158,000
1015 Washington Ave #607 159,000
1015 Washington Ave #608 159,500
1015 Washington Ave #407 169,000
1015 Washington Ave #601 171,000
1015 Washington Ave #505 179,250
1015 Washington Ave #405 180,440
1015 Washington Ave #404 185,200
1015 Washington Ave #605 193,000

1015 Washington Ave #706PH 306,000
1015 Washington Ave #708PH 325,000
1015 Washington Ave #707PH 389,000

Loft Prices Surge

There are few things I hate more than the over-generalizations the media has been so graciously making about the real estate market in the past few years. Headlines like "HOME PRICES DROP" have been common place. It all goes back to the fact that news media has placed more focus on attention getting drama than on true reporting. I guess that sells more papers.

Well, if you can't beat 'em, JOIN EM! is what I say.

Looking at the sales for the first two months of the year, the number of sales increased and the average price increased by nearly $7,000, which is meaningless considering that doesn't allow for the size condition or location, but hey, "Loft Prices Surge" is a great headline, so there!

Also encouraging is that the number of sales jumped, and the days on market dropped by over 100 days. It underscores how bleak things were in early 2009.

Unfortunately the price per square foot has dropped. The good news, is that we are going to be seeing more short sales until prices raise to 2006 levels, and banks may be absorbing some of those drops as well as paying realtor commissions.

In truth, prices aren't really surging.  Some great deals are out there, and its best to hang onto your space and ride this market out if its possible. 

The data is below. Here's to the turn around!


             2009 Sales   Listing $    SqFt    Listing Pr/SqFt    CDOM      Sale $      Selling Pr/SqFt
                (12)         $190,244  1364      $147                314       $179,692        $139

2010 Sales                Listing $    SqFt     Listing Pr/SqFt   CDOM      Sale $      Selling Pr/SqFt
   (21)                      $197,090  1346      $150                207       $184,954         $132