I am new to St Louis. Well not exactly new, I moved back after being gone for over 20 years. A friend of mine and I are looking to buy a place in Lafayette Square area and we have been surprised by the variance in prices. One place we are interested in is listed at 345K and another at 355K for under 1700 sq feet. Both have very nice finishes but these prices seem a bit high to me and my real estate agent says all of the comparable properties that have sold in the past 6 months have sold for about 300K. Both of these properties just came on the market so I am wondering if they are aiming high in hopes of getting at least 325K. I would like to find a house before May but I don't want to buy prematurely and want to stay in the 300K range for a rehabbed place with at least 2bdrm 2 ba, hardwoods throughout, some yard space and a garage. Am I being unrealistic?

That sounds a bit high to me.



Just looking on Coldwell Banker's site it seems like other houses in the area generally sell for under $300k for a 2BR.



This one sounds similar to your search, 2 BR, 1.5 BA, hardwood floors, garage, lots of amenities, $219k. A block from Lafayette Park. Click "Map this property" to see other properties around it.

http://www.cbgundaker.com/search/advanc ... num=766266



That may not have all that you're looking for, but I would expect that you could find a 2 BR, 2 BA for well under $350k.



Is this the house you were looking at, $344k for 2 BR, 2.5 BA. If so, that seems a little pricey

http://www.cbgundaker.com/search/advanc ... m=80011822



Honestly, it seems like you could get a nice 3 BR for that price. I would keep looking. Although in that area I'm guessing finding a garage would be the tricky part.



Good luck!

I've worked in the appraisal business recently and I'm currently rehabbing a house in Shaw. 200+ psf is HIGH for the market right now for single family rehab projects. I'm sure the owners will look at any and all offers. We priced our rehab (with all top end finishes) for about 123 psf and it is a complete rehab so I'm sure the construction cost isn't much diffent although the original purchase price may have been higher in LS.



If you have any interest in our rehab, check it out at www.4167fladavenue.com I'll put up some additional photos soon.



Shaw has much more reasonable prices and has not caught fire in terms of pricing yet.



Good luck.



Sean

Jeff707 wrote:rehab qulaity varies WIDELY in Lafayette Square, much less whether it was rehabbed at all. A lot of these places were re-designed and rehabbed in the 80s, and are desperately in need of redecoration.

I've been shopping Lafayette Square and Soulard for months. There seems to be little consistency and basis in terms of pricing. It's very difficult to find similar comps from home to home. I'm stumped on how some of these homeowners have established their price. I'm willing to bet the prices are comprised mostly of 'we [the seller] have to have $xxx,xxx' rather than the house is actually worth $xxx.xxx'.



I think Lafayette Square homes are typically beautiful from the outside, but as you mentioned, interiors can be atrocious. I don't have the funds to do a $50,000 kitchen and bath remodel after buying, which had prohibited me from purchasing a few homes I otherwise really liked. Some of the homes I've seen look like bad 1980's suburban apartments hiding behind a beautiful facade. It's quite a letdown.



It's a unique market, but I'm confident the $300 mark should be reasonable.



Edit to add: I'm more confident of buying in Lafayette Square versus Soulard because of the large amount of rental units in Soulard. From walking through various parts of Soulard many times, routine maintenance needed of buildings that age has been greatly neglected. Many buildings need tuckpointing, painting, sidewalk repair, windows, doors, roofing, landscaping and so on. I don't anticipate any rental property management coming up with such a significant amount of money to accomplish upkeep that would come with a hefty pricetag. As a property owner, it would make me nervous to have an adjacent property so open to neglect.

You should widen your search to some other SS neighborhoods. There are great areas of TGE, TGS, Benton Park, and Shaw with beautiful, large, nicely re-done old homes with conscientious neighbors who maintain their properties. Lafayette Square attracts a lot of attention because it is beautiful and one of the epicenters of the "back to the city, revitalization" movement in St. Louis. Everybody knows LF Square and many people think that it is the only really nice neighborhood on the SS because it has been established for decades and is familiar. The truth is that you are going to pay a premium for the brand name if you live there. You stand to get a better house for the money in the surrounding neighborhoods in my opinion.

What about this one at $215,000

http://tinyurl.com/3arhbj



Or this one at $299,000 ( it started out above $350,000)

http://tinyurl.com/2n36qr





This one at $339,000 needs to be lowered, so if you like it offer them $295,00 and negotiate from there:

http://tinyurl.com/2e2vfn





The one in STLousCardsBlues' post ifor $344,000 is new on the market and they haven't figured out yet that they will not get their price.



The one in his post on Kennett is priced reasonably, I think. Kennett is a lovely and very desireable street. But that house is attached and is smaller than the others of similar size and number of beds/baths so it's not an exact comp.



Actually the sales price of $350,000 isn't that far off. Just a copule of months ago an area realtor sent out postcard saying that $350,000 was the average sale price in the Square.



For those of you who wnat new kitchens and garages, can't you get a mortgage that includes money for those upgrades?

I've been in a couple of the series of houses on Kennett- they're very "condo-y". I wouldn't pay anywhere close to the asking price.



Where were you in 2002? You could have bought my house on MIssissippi for $220,000- 3 bed, 1.5 bath, 2000 square feet.



I agree with TGE-ATW- you'll get more for your $$ in a nearby neighborhood AND make more when you resell. As much as I love it, I tend to think Laf. Sq. is a little topped out at this point.

for the new buyer to the city ls is probably the safer bet. i liken it to buying a toyota camery to buying a ford taurus. both offer essentially the same end product but the toyota is going to hold its value better. ls by executing its comprehensive neighborhood plan has really distanced itself from he neighbors in terms of value.

alphalfa wrote:for the new buyer to the city ls is probably the safer bet. i liken it to buying a toyota camery to buying a ford taurus. both offer essentially the same end product but the toyota is going to hold its value better. ls by executing its comprehensive neighborhood plan has really distanced itself from he neighbors in terms of value.

So according to you, Benton Park, Soulard, Tower Grove East, Shaw, Tower Grove Heights, Compton Heights, Resevoir Square, CWE, Downtown Loft District, Holly Hills and LaSalle Park are Ford Tauruses, aye?

Our Taurus has run well for us for 10 years actually, and it was 2 years old when we bought it.

i drive a dodge. i m just saying ls commands a better price than other nabes. this shouldn t be news and should also be advice to folks buying bp etc. don t overpay. i ve said it before under other headings, don t overpay when there is a shell (or some other impediment) down the block. the first lesson of real estate is not to have the most expense house on the block. this is not a criticism, just economics.

Agree that the market is down in the area, but hopefully will pickup with springtime, Wachovia folks moving in, etc. Places that are priced well and show well should still sell...I think the crazy market of a couple years back gave people some unrealistic expectations ($200/SF for re-sales, etc).



Our place in LS went on the market not too long ago, and very quickly went under contract.