St. Louis Multifamily Report – October 2023
Slow but steady, the market largely displays sound fundamentals.
St. Louis rent evolution, click to enlarge
St. Louis showed steady fundamentals entering the second half of the year, despite figures slightly moderating. The average asking rent was up 0.2 percent on a trailing three-month basis through August, to $1,210, matching the U.S. rate of improvement. Year-over-year, St. Louis rents advanced 3.2 percent, more than double the national figure. However, occupancy in stabilized assets slid 90 basis points in 12 months, to 94.4 percent as of July. The upscale Lifestyle segment registered a much steeper drop, down 160 basis points, to 94.5 percent.
St. Louis sales volume and number of properties sold, click to enlarge copy
St. Louis added 24,600 jobs in the 12 months ending in June, for a 1.8 percent increase, 100 basis points lower than the national figure. The metro lost 6,800 jobs across four sectors and its unemployment rate was 3.7 percent as of August—the highest figure since early 2022—but it remained slightly below the U.S. average, according to preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Still, employment is getting a boost from larger projects, such as ICL’s battery-manufacturing plant. The $400 million project broke ground in August and should come online in 2025.
St. Louis. Photo by Sanya Kushak/iStockphoto.com
Developers had 6,464 units under construction as of August. Of these, 1,574 units broke ground this year, not far from the 1,661 apartments that started construction during the same period of 2022. In the eight months ending in August, multifamily deals totaled $404 million. This marks a significant slowdown from 2021, when almost $1.3 billion in assets traded for the year.
