"Is Now a Good Time to Buy?"

Lately I've become a bit of a CNN junkie. All the politics and economy talk seem to get me every time.

With the economy on the ropes people are looking for serious advice.

Well don't start stuffing the mattress just yet.

Based on the news, I wouldn't think it was feasible to get a home loan right now. "You watch too much TV!!" was what one lender told me when I asked if they had any money to lend. The question made sense. All we hear about lately is frozen credit markets, blah blah blah. Restrictions and changes keep coming, yes. So far though, it seems like qualified borrowers haven't been denied.

Rates continuet to drop. Lenders are still lending and home prices, though fairly stable, do continue to favor buyers. The way it looks, the housing market may help pull us all out of the recession.

The Boom Downtown

Loft style has become mainstream in America. Black Granite, high ceilings, slab cabinets, modern decor. Tre Chic. Many loft buyers take this modern style and make their loft space into an attempt at self-expression. Stylish artwork, photos, great designs and modern furniture.

A few years down the road, a different style can evolve. Cool ultra modern stuff begins to share the space with more pastels. Bright colored objects stashed around the floors. Mobiles. Rubber duckies in the spa-like master baths. They become "baby-fied".

With our traditional St. Louis values, some people decide to move away. But what if they don't? Is it acceptable to have children in downtown St. Louis?

Fair housing laws were established in 1968 to protect the rights of people to live where they want regardless of who they were. Race, Color, National Origin, Religion, Sex, Familial Status, or handicap are the "protected classes" in the US.

Recently I heard of a couple that was being harassed by neighbors due to their child crying at night. The condo president got involved, trying to be helpful and resolve the matter. What actually resulted was clearly discriminatory.

They decided to sell their loft because they didn't feel welcome in their building.

One thing about downtown St. Louis, we have our very own office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Discussing this situation with the investigators, they advised that any attempt to control the behavior or living conditions of an individual or couple based on the fact that they have a child is discriminatory and violates the rights of a protected class of people (familial status). Regarding this situation, they told me that the intent of the person making discriminatory actions was less important than the perceptions of the persons being discriminated against.

In light of this situation, it might not be a bad idea for several of the downtown loft condo boards to hold a joint informational meeting on this topic. The folks at the HUD office seemed very open to meeting to talk about Fair Housing matters and to educate those who may be involved. While downtown residents may establish expectations about fellow residents, they should always remember that the neighborhood is open to everyone and the last thing a condo association needs is for its board members to waste time and money dealing with complaints from HUD.

So That's What's Happening?

Working in many city neighbhorhoods gives me a picture of St. Louis that is optimistic. I remember in my former occupation when a client of mine was buying a home in Lafayette Square. He was excited about all the development and changes going on. It was 1997. I just didn't see it.

Now Lafayette Square is a vital urban neighborhood that has stimulated progress in surrounding areas (Old City Hospital, the Gate District, etc.).

Urban sprawl still takes place, but at a much less forceful rate than it has in the past. Also, the people I've worked with looking in places like Wentzville are generally in the entry level price range where the average suburban home buyer in the 1970's was often time able to afford significantly more than what home prices were going for in the urban core.

Other than gentrification, revitalization or adaptive re-use, there is a term that is used to describe what has been happening in St. Louis and other inner city areas in the past few decades. This article in the New Republic describes the process as "demographic inversion". It was a good read; worth sharing. In a times like today when massive amount of development drastically slows down, the false conclusion that there is a problem with downtown. This article reminds me that the trends underlying the shifts in population are still active, and are much more subtle than the amazing transformation that has taken place in such a short time downtown and elsewhere in the city.

The subject of demographic inversion isn't always perceived as positive though. So much talk of displacement of the poor disenfranchised citizens seems to be present when areas are gentrified. The problem (poverty, crime) still remains but just moves elsewhere. Some agree on this point, but another observation is that while gentrification often gradually changes the demographics of a neighborhood, the areas where the poor relocate vary and are never as concentrated as what took place when the inner cities were summarily abandonded by the middle class.

More will be revealed as time goes on. Progress in St. Louis keeps moving.

Today's Action

Between the Cardinals game this afternoon and my open house at the Banker's lofts from 12-2, one wouldn't think there was room for anything else downtown, but what does one know?

Metropolis is an organization that is hosting "The Lot" and a worthy event it is. Who would want to miss the Funky Butt Blues Band?

Really though, the mission of Metropolis has always inspired me in that St. Louis should never have become a place where entire generations sole focus is to move away. While it seems that the city and downtown's re-birth seems to be happening naturally by participation of several types of entities (government, quasi-government, developers, businesses and residents), the voice of Metropolis has been a positive force throughout the past decade worth hearing.

Happy Birthday to Metropolis and Come on out and enjoy the LOT!!

Buy Here!

Homevestors, a nationwide company working mostly in residential real estate ranked St. Louis as the eight best city for real estate investment according to this weeks Business Journal Update. This is really no suprise. Predicting the success of any investment is tough, but with the combination of low home prices and tremendous amount of infrastructure improvements in the area, the opportunity to find great investments is definately out there.

It's a Neighborhood Stupid!

There was plenty of stories about downtown in this weeks St. Louis Business Journal. Downtown's biggest critic (Post Dispatch parent co Lee Enterprises) has hit an all time low, Ballpark Village might be coming together, a new branch of Lindenwood College is coming to
1409 Washington

The article that stood out for some reason was about the decrease in loft sales over a record 2007.

Its not a bad article, really. It just states the facts. It talks about how some builders plans are changing in response to the market.

What's nutty, is that there is an implication that lofts are supposed to be like barrels of Budweiser. "Condo Sales Lag". Building lofts and condos downtown should be more about quality than quantity. Stories about the neigbhorhood should focus on how things come together, and how they add to the area, not look at homes sold like they're a commodity.

Most strange is that everyone knew the day would come when the developers would fade away and refocus on other types of construction or other areas. Most people knew that all the condo units projected to be built would be limited by the market. By comparison, the city of Creve Coeur has a larger population of approximately 16,500. Creve Coeur only had 307 homes sell last year (per the MLS). Why no write-up for Creve Coeur? The reasons are obvious: 1. Sales of homes everywhere are lagging and 2. It's ok for a neighborhood to stabilize.

It's great to hear about Ballpark Village and Lindenwood College. Downtown progress isn't over by a long shot. The great surge in owner occupied residences in since the turn of the century may be coming to an end, but the foundation has been laid for much growth and prosperity in the future.

Online Free Downtown

I heard on KMOX this morning that the new free wireless access was available today. I didn't see any news online about it, so I decided to log on when I had a chance.

Having just been on a trip, I really value having this service here.

It only took me a couple minutes while parked at 9th and St. Charles to not only create an account but to add this post. In adding the account, look for "STLMETROFREE" networks. There were about 5 of them to choose from. There's also the opportunity to buy a membership for faster access, VPN ability and no ads. (although the ads are just a large bar on the top of the screen, hardly a nuisance).

Only 19 hours left, but still nice for the occasional need to access the web while on the run in downtown St. Louis.

My Day at the FHA: part 2

Finding out that the Knickerbocker lofts are the only lofts in downtown St. Louis that have undergone the full FHA approval process was disconcerting. It makes perfect sense though.

A visit to the FHA office in the Robert A. Young Federal Building would clear up all my questions about getting more loft buildings FHA approved.

Getting an FHA loan on a condo doesn't require it to be previously "FHA Approved". The "spot approval" process works to get an individual unit approved. This usually means less work for the lender and a speedy resolution; both important when obtaining financing.

The only problem is that the next time a lender tries to get an FHA loan in that building, the 'spot approval' process must be done again, and again.......

Discussing the situation with lenders, its been said that if one unit in a building is approved, in a perfect world, all other units would also be FHA approved. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case.

So that's the problem in a nutshell.

My first thought is, if the buildings and the residents benefit from easier, smoother or more available financing through FHA, can they participate in getting thier buildings on the FHA approved list?

That was a question that seemed to confuse our friends at the FHA office. "The lender gets the buildings approved, " is what I was told. My reply, "why are lenders choosing to do "spot approvals then?"

The truth is, lenders don't have the time, money, access to condo association records, and really, any motivation to get buildings approved unless it adds to their bottom line. That's just how the system works.

My second thought involes adding to the workload of the condo board members and board presidents out there. The last thing I would want to suggest. Being on a condo board is often a thankless job that must be done for the good of the building. Adding the task of assisting an FHA approved lender at getting the qualified buildings on the FHA Approved Condo List may mean more "up front" work but may reduce the overall workload down the road.

With an increase in market share projected in the neighborhood of 45%, it makes sense for condo associations to start working with lenders and encouraging them to approve the building.

It also is worth a call to your local Congressman to find out why FHA financing is limited to condo projects with less than 30% commercial use. That provision is biased against urban "mixed use" projects and is not something the fine folks at the FHA are even able to explain.

FHA loans are a program that got left in the dust of the mortgage boom of the past decade. Its terms weren't as easy to deal with and there were better options available in the conventional marketplace. With FHA streamlining its programs and making them more "user friendly" combined with the current lending crisis on our hands, it just makes sense to hop on the bandwagon or else suffer the fate of buyer's being steered away from downtown.

My Day at the FHA; part 1

Rapid changes in the financing markets have me thinking quite a bit lately. Last week a lender advised a client that if she wanted a loft downtown, she should check a list of FHA Approved Condominium projects in St. Louis FHA%20approved%20St.%20Louis%20Condos.pdf

"FHA loans" are really bank loans that are insured by the federal government. They were created in the great depression as a way to encourage home ownership by those unable to make the substantial downpayment required to own a home (providing 97% loan to value (LTV) instead of 80% loans to value). For about the past 8 years, FHA loans were nearly obsolete with the availability of "piggyback" loans that allowed for two loans equaling 100% of the purchase price. Due to the corrections going on each day in the lending markets, the Federal Housing Administration estimates that the percentage share in the market of FHA loans will jump from 2% in 2007 to 48% in 2008.

With conventional lenders pulling most loan products off the shelf and the federal government anticipating the increase in FHA loans, one interested in downtown real estate may wonder why only 1 Loft building is FHA approved and what can be done about it.

That information to follow.

Coming Soon To MacroSun

Gil Williams, owner of Macrosun, stopped in the Washinton Ave Post on Friday. He spoke of his long trip to the far east. Buying jewelry apparel and home furnishings from places like Indonesia and Tibet has a tremendous amount of logistics involved. He expects his large cargo shipments to be arriving with some great new material starting in late May or early June. Check it out!

What's up with Tony's?

The last month, news about the floundering Busch's Grove in Ladue has suggested that Vince Bommarito saving the historic restaurant with hints of uncertainty for downtowns Tony's.

This week, Vince made an offer and hinted about the possible changing of the guard at Tony's in an article that included talk about suitors to Pyramid's projects.

Developing the Arcade under a different plan would be a great thing for the city for several reasons. For starters, the ultra-luxury plan envisioned by Pyramid wasn't marketable. Even the developer's have to remember that St. Louis is still a conservative midwestern city. Many "high end" buyer's start out looking for the penthouse and end up spending less.

The next phase of developers that take on downtown will hopefully stick to a more realistic business plan. As admirable as John Steffen and Pyramid are, it seemed that the past year or two that operations were more based on a fantasy than on a business plan. Many other developer's seemed to be caught up in the same notion. Of course, that's just an outsider's perspective. It was an issue that came up with each buyer and seller I worked with.

With the brakes slammed on so many projects downtown, it will give the market a chance to settle down. Despite all the hoopla, progress is being made and downtown is still in business!

The True Lofts

The history of lofts is fascinating. Not a SOHO History expert, past reading talks of the starving artist--unable to afford residential apartments--rents out "space" in the largely abandonded structures zoned and equipped for commercial use. So began the attraction of the loft. A subversive element. A Soho Lofts website had this to say about the original lofts, "Most of these spaces were also used illegally as living space, being neither zoned nor equipped for residential use, but this was ignored for a long period because the occupants were using space that would probably have been dormant or abandoned..."

The beauty of these spaces involves personality.

In the mid 60's and into the 70's, getting a loft space in soho took on the personality of the occupant. The challenge was to make the space "yours" without having to add traditional building of walls and halls. Creativity and unconventional style was born and nurtured. The concept in various forms has spread and evolved.

Most of today's lofts from St. Louis loft builders don't have as much in common with the spaces in Soho. Here, the developer is the main source of creativity. Modern elements are produced in mass. Most loft dwellers today don't have the time for the creative lifestyle. The mostly open large spaces are being carved up into classy apartments with more conventional 2 and 3 bedroom units. The loft concept has evolved into the mainstream here and in many other towns.

Enter the King Bee Building. Located at 1709 Washington, the building resembles a converted commercial structure because that's what it is. Spaces rented out as office or artist studios were subdivided and sold as condos. The building and the lofts within are the closest thing to the Real Thing that downtown has to offer.

This weeks RFT highlighted a long brewing controversy within the building in its typical melodramatic and one sided approach. The article seemed to paint the "King Bee 9" as blameless victims. They may be. What seemed evident was the details conveniently left out of the story.

One thing that has been evident is that not everyone should live downtown. High density living favors people that can "play nice in the sandbox" with the patience and sincerity to work towards resolution. Various disputes in condo associations everywhere repeatedly confirm this fact.

Good luck to all at the King Bee for a amicable end to the story.

Urban Beauty

The Urban Roots planting days are today and tomorrow.

According to the Downtown St. Louis Residents website, meeting location for tomorrow is at the South sidewalk along Kiener Plaza. Show up at 8 and put in some time to make Downtown St. Louis a more attractive place to live, work and visit!

Another event set up to make downtown more beautiful is a fundraiser tonight at
Railway Lofts unit 901. For a long time, there have been various grass roots attempts at beautification of Lucas Park. One group was more or less dismantled after Pyramid (in its free time) was going to use MODESSA state tax credits to recreate the landscape of the park. The next group is fully active and organized to get things moving.

Lastly, yesterday the story broke that the National Park Service is beginning the process to re-evaluate the use of the Arch Grounds. The St. Louis Business Journal article discussed the process in the most detail. Most importantly, the public is being asked for its support and guidance throughout the process. Meetings will be held and input is being solicited. As has been said all along, good public support will go a long way into turning the riverfront into a world class destination.

If you love downtown, now is the time to remember we're in the "Show Me" state.

The Calmer Tour

This year's loft tour was 'right sized.'

Each year it seems the loft tour is more and more hyped, with more and more new projects to see. Gimmicks, promotions, and lots of hooplah surrounded the fact that a neighborhood is being built. This year was calmer, except for the street level tension of having so many misguided cubs fans walking our streets.


According to Matt Schindler at the Downtown St. Louis Partnership, 900 people officially registered for the tour. My guess, based on the number of wrist-bands and blue bags full of information, was that about half the people "touring" had registered for the tour. Many people were just down, walking around, and trying to hit all the open houses. The overall experience is that as each year passes and downtown surges forward, more of the attendees are seriously considering a move downtown. I guess now that there's a Schnucks, its not such a novelty.

Also shared was that the fall tour will most likely be a 1 day event. Welcome news.

This year, my take on the tour changed slightly after being more actively involved with the Downtown St. Louis Partnership. The tour represents a big welcome mat, even for Cubs fans, to see what our downtown living in St. Louis has to offer. I take for granted that people know how great it is to be downtown and what urban living is like. In reality, people judge "what downtown is like" based on experiences they might have had decades ago. Just like being born a Cubs fan, that's just not fair.

St. Louis Loft Sales in April

Lately it seems like things have really been picking up. Downtown is buzzing, sidewalk cafe's are going, foot traffic is increasing, the Cardinals are playing. All the things I love about Spring in Downtown St. Louis.

Loft sales may have been a drop off from last month. More will be revealed as the next few days go by.

Speaking of the next few days.....The Annual Spring Downtown Living Tour is being held this Saturday and Sunday. It should be a great tour this time. Weather will be ideal for long walks and downtown will put its best foot forward.

We hope to see lots of friendly faces this weekend!

Here are the current sales for April. (Updated 5/5)


210 N 17th St #308------------427-----79,900
210 N 17th St #1408------------------82,400
210 N 17th St #1106------------------139,140
1123 Washington #710-----------------144,000
2020 Washington Ave #307---1198----155,000
2020 Washington Ave #413---1300----157,000
721 N 17th St. #405------------1285----182,500
2201 Washington Ave #302---1358----192,635
314 N Broadway #1108-------968-----239,900
901 Washington Ave #411-----1711----242,500
1619 Washington #201-------2268----267,000
1611 Locust #703-----------2062-----312,000
1015 Washington #702-------2532----558,535

"Did You Hear....."

The month of April 2008 will henceforth be known as the "Did you hear about Pyramid?" month. I must have been asked that question 500 times in 3 days, followed of course by "What do you think?".

There are a whole lot of bad things about Pyramid closing. I can go on forever. Seeing so many really good people with such dedication and vision finding themselves out of work in these times is terribly depressing. I hope and pray that they all land on thier feet.

Aside from the personal side, I can't help but say that the whole thing happening wasn't a big suprise. How it happened yes. Anyone following downtown development was skeptical about their ability to pull off so much work. My thought all along was that they had a good "poker face" and that they would eventually shelve or change plans. The way things were going was just too wierd. It didn't make sense.

When John Steffen was quoted in the St. Louis Business Journal, saying that he was just doing deals because banks wanted to work with him, I was confused. Banks are always wanting to do deals with me. I get 20 credit card offers per week it seems. When I bought my first multi-family apartment building, I was approved to buy 6 of them. That would have been a recipe for disaster for sure.

As far as downtown real estate goes, despite the way things happened, its a good thing for these projects to slow down or go away for a time. Getting more focus on improving the quality of life downtown and attracting more businesses is best for downtown and the region. Getting more residences is needed, but not yesterday. Having hundreds of vacant condos sitting around won't help anyone.

Yesterday I was working with a buyer wanting to live downtown. We spoke of the advantages to living downtown as we walked into the Printer's Lofts building. As we walked in I saw a medical transport van from Mt. Vernon Missouri parked out in front. "Steve must be coming back home!" I thought. Today I read his blog post. Hearing his simple endorsement of downtown living is a wonderful focal point to consider regarding downtown development. That's what is important to me.

Propaganda Dispatch

The biggest failure downtown is the continued failed attempts at journalism coming from the Post Disgrace.

The old saying, "maybe if we ignore them, they'll go away" seems apropos here.

Down By The River

Talk has gone on about the state of the riverfront, but not enough.

The topic that sporadically comes up in the news was brought up again a few weeks ago on the Mayor's Blog Hoping to wrest control over some of the 91 acres in order to establish a better landmark that, in the words of Former Senator Danforth, "We want something that transforms our image of ourselves and transforms the rest of the world's image of St. Louis."

Presently, the Gateway Arch grounds are controlled by the National Park Service. Most St. Louisan's have been there at some point or another. The Museum, a trip up to the observatory. The visit would normally take a few hours. Without sounding too critical, it doesn't really transform the image of St. Louis much.

A tremendous landmark, the Arch can become the focal point of so much more that it presently is.

Currently, local Mayors and the Danforth Foundation are calling for more local control of the arch grounds. Even the ability to control and enhance a fraction of the arch grounds could benefit the city and our central focal point. Gaining this local control of the Arch grounds won't be easy.

According to the article from the Post Dispatch, gaining local control will require broad level support from the community, not just a few in power.



William Lacy ClaySt. Louis City office:
625 North Euclid Street, Suite #326
St. Louis, MO 63108
Phone: (314) 367-1970
FAX: (314) 367-1341
Office Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Contact

Out Like a Lion

As busy as things were in March, it was looking like the monthly sales were not going to reflect the newly active market. Seven lofts closed on the last week of the month.

So things are starting to pick up; most notably in the price column. Sales in the range of $250,000 to $600,000 accounted for eight of seventeen sales last month.

Maybe all the flooding is starting to encourage vertical moves. Here are the St. Louis Loft Sales from March 2008

210 N 17th St #1410----------427----------$84,890
210 N 17th St #210------------419----------$87,650
507 N 13th St #209--------------------------$131,000
210 N 17th St #912--------------------------$135,400
1501 Locust St #501-----------980---------$139,000
2201 Washington #307--------911---------$140,203
2020 Washington #307-------1198---------$155,000
1511 Locust St #302----------1235---------$160,000
1501 Locust St #903----------1053---------$161,000
1511 Locust St #106----------1343---------$190,000
721 N 17th St #502------------1236---------$202,000
1015 Washington #309-------1499---------$211,372
1635 Washington #312--------1105--------$229,000
2201 Washington #310--------1442--------$248,306
1123 Washington #513----------------------$255,000
1619 Washington #604--------1595--------$260,000
314 N Broadway #1602-------1126--------$285,000
1015 Washington #604--------1965--------$325,000
507 N 13th St #410-------------2700--------$395,000
1015 Washington #701--------2109--------$459,825
1015 Washington #703--------2523--------$486,604
1015 Washington #702--------2532--------$558,535

St. Louisans Bitch

The concept of Ballpark Village was one that was tough to understand. So we have this stadium with about 80 games per year--then we have a entertainment, retail living center nearby. Baseball heaven maybe?

So the whole idea has gone through some changes. First Condos, then corporate headquarters, who knows what's next. A corporate hub seemed to be the most attractive of the options.

The day Centene announced it's intentions to move downtown, we rejoiced. One big pat on the back for the downtown revitalization. No one seems to know their plans today. They could stay in Clayton, they could move out of state, they could find another place to move downtown.

What sort of baffles me is the whining and negativity surrounding this deal not coming together.

Who really cares if Centene and Busch Stadium are neighbors? Sure it would give some useful density to the project, but is it vital to the project? It wasn't originally in the plans, so it mustn't be that important.

Listening to Charlie Brennan on Thursday the skeptics were crawling out of the woodwork. Maybe they're always out of the woodwork, talk radio is rarely in my schedule. Suddenly, the City, the Cardinals, Cordish, and anyone else involved was corrupt, spineless, failures that should be banished. The fact that so many people needed Centene to be a part of Ballpark Village was confusing. Should it have been re-named "Health Care Village?"

Bill McClellan put his usual anti-development spin on his column and made some good points about local business not getting the same favoritism being granted to Ballpark Village. The comparison to Ballpark Village to St. Louis Center is a tired cliche though. He should just come out and admit that he prefers the downtown of 1990 over the one of today.

After reading Bill's column though, something seemed to come into focus that had never been so clear about Ballpark Village. It's being built for him. Ballpark Village is being created as a suburban oasis in the heart of the City. It will bring comfort to those looking for a bit of home in downtown. It will still happen.

While the naysayers still ponder the fate of Ballpark Village, downtown development moves on. I can't shake my optimism about the right thing happening for the beloved "hole by Busch stadium". St. Louis shouldn't be so impatient and cynical. It casts a negative shadow on the immense progress and the bright future of our downtown. These major projects deserve time, attention, and the opportunity to tweak the plans until the right concept evolves.

Let's face it, the Cardinals are easily the number one attraction (besides work) downtown. Let's stand behind their goals to make the baseball experience more fulfiling in Downtown St. Louis.