Unlike single family homes which have different trends across the 3 counties that make up the St. Louis market, condo sales followed a similar pattern in St Louis City and County during 2009. St. Charles County’s sales distribution differed in that there were no sales above $500,000.
Though plenty of single family homes sold under $100,000, the numbers are dramatically lower for dirt cheap condos. Regardless of the county, the majority of condos are selling between $100,000 – $200,000.
2009 Condo Sales:
Take a look below to see the differences in sales of condos for the 3 major counties that make up the St. Louis region. The charts below include condos and villas that closed during 2009 which were listed in the MLS. The data is obtained through MARIS and deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Is the Market Getting Better or Worse?
It depends on your price range and your county.
Compare the 2009 charts above to the same time period during 2008.
2009 Report Summary:
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St. Louis City:
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18% of condos sold for under $100,000
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49% of sales were priced between $100,000 – $200,000 and 20% of sales were between $200,000 – $300,000
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87% were priced under $300,000
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St. Louis County:
- 25% of condos sold for under $100,000
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54% of sales were priced between $100,000 – $200,000 and 11% of sales were between $200,000 – $300,000
- 90% were priced under $300,000
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St. Charles County:
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20% of condos sold for under $100,000
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69% of sales were priced between $100,000 – $200,000 and 9% of sales were between $200,000 – $300,000
- 98% were priced under $300,000
The most dramatic difference is not in condo sales by county, but between condo and single family home sales. With only 2,702 closed condo sales across all 3 counties, there is very low demand for condos compared to single family homes (17,645 closed sales). With only 13% of closed sales in the condo category, it’s simply much harder to sell a condo than it is a single family home.
How Long Does it Take to Sell a Condo?
Compared to home sales where just over half of the closed sales got a contract in 60 days or less, condos take a much longer time to sell. Take particular note at how much the sellers came down from their list price. Sellers that wait it out for that needle in a haystack buyer, end up coming down dramatically lower in order to sell.
If you factor in the low number of buyers that are looking for condos overall and your price range, you can see that finding a buyer will be tough if you are not priced to meet buyer expectations.
Let’s assume you are trying to sell a condo in St. Louis County that is priced in the $200,000s. With only 13% of the region’s buyers looking at condos, you have a shot at about 1 in 10 buyers. But, when you factor in the county and the price range (6% of the condo buyers bought in St. Louis County in the $200s), you would need to find that needle in a haystack buyer.
What does all this mean?
If you are trying to sell a condo, there just aren’t many buyers in any price range. If you aren’t priced between $100,000 – $200,000, it will be extremely hard to sell and you need to price it aggressively if you hope to get it sold. But in EVERY price range, you need to be competitively priced if you hope to sell at all.
If you are trying to buy a condo, you should have a lot to choose from compared to buyers of single family homes. With a high level of inventory available and very low demand for condos, buyers are getting great deals.
To see more market statistic charts, see the market reports by community or zip codes.
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Last year I reported that the majority of buyers were choosing lower priced homes with little demand in the higher price ranges.
Even with the daily bad economic news, people have continued to buy homes throughout 2008 and 2009. However, buyers concerned about the economy clearly made conservative spending choices. Homes appropriate for first time buyers and investors made up a big portion of the sales in the last 2 years.
2009 Home Sales:
Take a look below to see the differences in sales of single family home sales for the 3 major counties that make up the St. Louis region. The charts below include residential sales that closed between in 2009 and were listed in the MLS. The data is obtained through MARIS and deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Is the Market Getting Better or Worse?
It depends on your price range and your county.
Compare the 2009 charts above to sales in 2008.
2009 Report Summary:
There isn’t much of a demand in any of the counties for high priced homes. The vast majority of homes that sold were priced below $300,000. However, there are big differences between the trends in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County.
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St. Louis City:
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more homes sold under $100,000 than in any other price range (50%)
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88% of sales were priced under $200,000
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96% were priced under $300,000
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St. Louis County:
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more homes sold under $100,000 than in any other price range (37%)
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70% of sales were priced under $200,000 (with almost as many selling between $100-200k (33%) as in the $1-100k price range)
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85% of the homes sold under $300,000
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St. Charles County:
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6% of sales were under $100,000 (dramatically lower than both other counties)
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63% of sales were priced under $200,000 (with 57% of home sales between $100-200k)
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90% of the homes sold under $300,000
If you are trying to sell a home that is priced over $300,000, less than 1 in 10 home buyers are looking in your price range. When you break it down by county, there just aren’t many buyers.
Let’s say you are trying to sell a house priced in the $600,000s in St. Louis County. About 2% of St. Louis County home buyers might be interested with only 1% of the region’s home buyers in the correct price range. With only 215 St. Louis County buyers closing on a home in this price point in the last 12 months…or 18 per month for all of St. Louis County, you can’t afford to overprice your home and miss out on the few buyers that are out there.
How Long Does it Take to Sell a Home?
Contrary to popular opinion, there are homes that are selling quickly. Just over 3 in 10 homes sold in 30 days or less, and slightly more than half of the homes sold in 60 days or less.
I work hard to price my home listings correctly on day 1, and then extensively market the homes using today’s newest technologies to reach internet searching buyers. The result is that my listings sell quicker and closer to the list price than the general market.
What does all this mean?
If you are trying to sell a home and it is priced above or below the average sale prices for your county, there just aren’t a lot of buyers. You need to consider pricing your home aggressively if you hope to get it sold. If you don’t need to move, it might be smarter to stay put for a year or two until sales pick up in your price range.
If you are trying to buy a home, don’t be surprised if you end up competing with other buyers if you are looking at the same price range as the majority of buyers. If you are in a position to purchase a higher priced home, you should be able to find a great deal.
To see more market statistic charts, see the market reports by community or zip codes.
Check back for Part 2 of this series covering condo sale prices.
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