The State of Real Estate Investing in St. Louis Part 1: Choosing An Area

Homebuyer’s and real estate investors are becoming increasingly aware of the opportunities for real estate investing in St. Louis. With the demise of the sub-prime mortgage market along with the faltering economy and unemployment rate increases, many people are beginning to realize that now is a great time to begin investing in real estate in St. Louis. Properties are routinely selling for 50-60% of the value they sold for during the boom years of 2005 and 2006. This provides an excellent opportunity to purchase properties, perform minor (or major) repairs and place them into a rental property management program. Our approach is to hold these properties for a minimum of 3-5 years to allow the economy and the St. Louis real estate market to rebound and begin to appreciate again.

One of the first things to address as a beginning real estate investor in St. Louis is where do you want to be? Where do you work and live? Many St. Louis real estate investors prefer to own rental properties near their place of employment or home. Theoretically, this allows the investor “to keep an eye” on the property. Other St. Louis real estate investors like to pick one area that provides good opportunities and purchase several investment properties in that area. When we began real estate investing in St. Louis, we chose the latter of the two approaches. We are currently focusing on neighborhoods in Florissant and St. Ann, primarily in the Ritenour, Pattonville and Hazelwood School Districts. Once each week (sometimes more) we make the 30 minute drive from our office to these areas. This allows us to keep up with the neighborhoods and the condition of our properties. This approach has served us well and we believe that in order to avoid the “horror stories” and pitfalls of real estate investing in St. Louis, you must be hands on and treat it as a full-time business. If you don’t have the time, it will suit you well to hire a professional property management firm that does. Check back here often for future parts of this series on real estate investing. Best of luck!