STL had another solid year in home sales, which I detail below. But first, big news about St Louis home demand - we were #1 in the country in home price appreciation! Homes.com issued a report last month that states St Louis had the highest home price appreciation in the nation in December. Here is the link to the article: These US housing markets are leading the nation in price growth, exclusive Homes.com data shows - Homes.com. While this may not be good for affordability, it underscores how a slow growth region in the midwest can outperform others due to our rich heritage, cultural attractions, lower prices and being a great place for singles AND for families (STL has been recognized for both!).

Onto the stats: I had my 4th best sales year in 2025 out of 35 years, with a closed home sales volume of $6,347,000, and in the top 8% of all STL Realtors. Since I opened my own firm in 2018, I have had 3 of my best 4 years ever, thank you everyone for being great clients and sending those referrals! Also in 2025, I passed $43,000,000 in sales volume since going on my own 7 years ago, which is over half of my total sales volume for my first 28 years of selling. Inflation does help, but that still shocks me, as 2018 does not seem that long ago, wow! 70% of my 2025 business was in West County, and I was the #1 agent in listings sold in Manchester.

The St Louis region saw a 6% rise in home prices for 2025, an above average year and similar to 2024, to an average sale price of $365,900. Days-on-market (DOM) went up a few days to a median of 13 days, and inventory levels rose a bit, both numbers indicating a slight slowdown in demand. I now consider STL a "normal" seller's market instead of a "strong" seller's market of a few years ago. The sale price-to-list price ratio figures in our MLS are not showing up, so I am unable to present or analyze those. Many homes are still selling over list price with multiple offers. But a growing number are selling under list, so I expect the average is close to 100% list price to sale price. The number of homes sold was about the same as 2024, and still 27% below the go-go days of 2021. This is partly due to lower buyer demand, the higher mortgage rate effect (which have dropped into the low 6's), but also due to lack of quality inventory. We are fortunate to live in an area with so many positive attributes, and still have reasonably priced housing. The national median home price is $426,800 while the St Louis median price is only $300,000 (note the difference between $300k STL median and $366k STL average). The national price appreciation was 2.2% for 2025 according to the FHFA, which lists St Louis appreciation at 3.6%, putting us in the top 30% of the country's largest 100 markets.

As for my unique look at our region's submarkets, the Central Corridor takes top position on price appreciation in 2025, sporting an average price of $651k and among the lowest DOM. This area concentrating around Hwy 64/40 from the city to 270 continues to have very high demand, with tear down/ new home activity being brisk in Kirkwood. 2nd in price appreciation is Jefferson County with ave price $302k. Surprisingly they have the highest DOM, I guess sellers and agents there are used to waiting. Tied for 3rd are South County with ave price of $331k, the lowest DOM and lowest inventory; and North County with ave price of $161k, near highest DOM and inventory. If you are looking for the most affordable area of STL, North County is your best bet.

The city came in 5th in price appreciation with ave price $262k, the highest inventory and near high DOM. This was the only submarket of the 7 that had lower DOM than 2024. The city also lowered their inventory, as did Jeffco, South Co, Cent Corridor and West Co. The bottom 2 were a big surprise, as these submarkets typically are in the top 3 for the region: St Charles with ave price $404k and one of 2 that increased their inventory; and West County ave price $536k and near low DOM. I don't have much explanation here, as my West County listings all sold quickly, and 67% went over list price and set record high subd prices for their model. Most sold the first weekend, and all sold in less than 2 weeks.

Another year in the books. I hope yours went well, and wishing an even better 2026 for you. I look forward to working with more sellers and buyers, please contact me soon if this is your time to move!