Moving to STL - Which suburb? (St. Louis, Florissant: for sale, real estate, condos)

[Lewis123]

Hi,
My family and I are moving to St. Louis this summer. I will be working in the Near North River Front area off of I-70 by the Grand Ave exit. We may only be there for a few years and my wife works so we are looking for a suburb with excellent resale value, good schools and daycare, and we don't want to commute more than 30 min if possible. We are looking for newer construction and in the $450k price range. Is this realistic or do we have to think about further out? What suburbs would folks recommend?

Thanks,
Lewis

[SashaBlue]

Check out Florissant. Good schools, good shopping, good home prices.

[CellarBelle]

Hi Lewis. You may want to mapquest Edwardsville, Illinois to your place of employment. Ed has great schools, plenty of new construction, and is a growing community. It takes 30 minutes to get to downtown St. Louis from Edwardsville.

[northbayeric]

I have to say that I've got a couple of reservations about Florissant. On the good side, the location is excellent, with handy access to I-170 that would get you to your workplace quickly. You get a lot of house for the money you spend relative to many other communities. I don't even know if there are any houses for sale in Florissant for as much as $450K. The shopping is, I would say, decent, unless you frequent Tiffany and Co., or Saks Fifth Avenue all the time! The crime rate is good.

$450K is a HUGE amount of money, and with that amount you could vault yourself all the way up to Chesterfield if you wanted to. There are a lot of newer large houses out there. Other places like Town and Country would not be that far out of reach at all either. It's really upscale there.

Back to Florissant: I don't think the Ferguson-Florissant School District is as good as it used to be, though it's nowhere near as horrendous as the St. Louis (city) Public Schools or Riverview Gardens east of Florissant. I don't know enough about the quality of daycare to comment on that. I'm concerned about home resale values in Florissant, especially on the higher end of the scale, because the city is known for being pretty right down the center middle class, and heavily blue-collar.

So: Once again, as I've done with other researchers here, I'm going to recommend Fenton, near the intersection of I-44 and I-270, for the best balance of commute time, excellent schools, and home resale values. Many of the newer homes are down between State Highways 30 and 21, further away from I-44, so you'd probably take 30 to northbound 270 to eastbound 44 through downtown St. Louis, then north on I-70 a short distance. Chesterfield will actually be more than 30 minutes away to your workplace given the I-64 (Highway 40) construction.

Edwardsville, IL is a real contender too, but my main concern is you getting over the Poplar Street Bridge into downtown St. Louis from Illinois each morning. But maybe if you send CellarBelle a direct message, she can give you more info, including whether you could easily take a different, less heavily-trafficked bridge across the state line. Let us know what happens, OK?

[aragx6]

I would say that most of St. Louis's upscale neighborhoods (places in West County are typically the most desirable in the area and have the best schools) - which are really the only places you'd need to spend 450k- are mostly older construction- If you want newer construction Fenton is probably a pretty good bet.

[jojojohnson76]

How about checking out the city?

[STLCardsBlues1989]

You could probably get a decent house in Lafayette Square for $450k-$475k, and it's a beautiful neighborhood. There are wonderful areas in the city itself. A lot of those houses aren't new, though, often they've been restored (which I tend to like better). I'm not sure about schools.

Here's some Lafayette pics Urban St. Louis - View topic - STL visit Part Seven :: Lafayette Square
Soulard Urban St. Louis - View topic - Saint Louis in August :: Soulard
Lots of other pictures on that site, as well as a forum which should help you.
Some South St. Louis Urban St. Louis - View topic - STL visit Part Six :: Is it the South Side?

Good luck in your decision!

[WhyteWing]

Hi and Welcome to St. Louis!

I am house-hunting as we speak, so I can say with some degree of authority:

450K is BIG money in the St. Louis housing market, no matter where you shop. Congrats, you get to own a mansion!

The good news is that the St. Louis housing market has been stable while the rest of the country was shooting for the stars (and is now falling, tragically, downward). In other words, this is a good place to invest for a few years, and you can expect to realize a fair profit.

Kirkwood is a beautiful place to shop for houses and is just a short freeway hop from where you will be working. Webster Groves is another attractive option. Those are both "suburban" areas - lots of space and beautiful old trees between houses, newer construction, etc. I put "suburban" in quotes because St. Louis is SUCH a drivable city that even the "outlying areas" are scant minutes away from the urban center. I have heard good things about the schools in that area (which includes florissant on the eastern edge), but (since I have no children) I haven't researched it much - just hearsay.

I would recommend against the Soulard area simply because it is a bit overpriced right now. With so many other (nearby) areas of the city being revitalized, I don't think the "above the market" prices are going to hold. That is something to consider if you are planning for resale value as well as livability.

Good luck... and have fun! You will be at the top of the market here, so go for what you REALLY want.

[shunda_henderson]

Hi Lewis, I am a realtor here in the ST. Louis area with Coldwell Banker Premier. To tell you the truth that is very possible. You pretty much have a large pic because the riverfront is but 15min. from South county areas which is a relaxing areas to stay in. They have excellent schools and daycares, excellent resale, and an easy commute to and from work. There are also new construction being built up every where here. Trust me, my husband worked in the city by the River Front when we lived in South County. It never took more than 20 min to get to work because the I55 is never really busy. I would love the opportunity to help with your relocation to STL.

Shunda Henderson

Originally Posted by Lewis123

Hi,
My family and I are moving to St. Louis this summer. I will be working in the Near North River Front area off of I-70 by the Grand Ave exit. We may only be there for a few years and my wife works so we are looking for a suburb with excellent resale value, good schools and daycare, and we don't want to commute more than 30 min if possible. We are looking for newer construction and in the $450k price range. Is this realistic or do we have to think about further out? What suburbs would folks recommend?

Thanks,
Lewis

[kirkwoodginger]

If you are moving here and are most interested in resale values than you should definately check out the Webster Groves and Kirkwood school districts. They have historically had the best resale values in all of St. Louis and that includes the past year when much of the rest of St. Louis has been lagging. Glendale in particular was rated the top muncipality for resale in 2007 (sits between Webster and Kirkwood).

Realistically you won't get a "mansion" in these areas as others have mentioned. You can get a much larger house north, south or west but in the central St. Louis County area it is all relative. Top property values, most popular communities and lots of housing options never = bargain. You are paying for location, lifestyle and charm. I live in Glendale and my house is probably valued at around $500K but it is only 2400 square feet, 100 years old, very charming, and located in the heart of Glendale. That is pretty typical although you can find similiar homes in the $350-$450K range.

It is really important that you get to know the different areas as St. Lous is a city where location (muncipality) and high school mean a lot to people. They can pretty much sum up who you know, what type of house you live in, how much money you make and how well educated you are by the area you live. It's kinda weird like that.

I happen to be a realtor as well but I specialize in central St. Louis county so I know the area like the back of my hand. I'm not hawkin any sales pitch here but I would definately check out the homes in the Webster, Kirkwood, Lindbergh and Ladue school districts (all top notch) if you want to live central. If you are willing to drive 30-60 minutes to work you can check out Chesterfield and Wildwood (Rockwood or Parkway school districts) but they are your more typical suburban neighborhoods. Lots more house for the money out west but you lose some lifestyle amenities (I grew up in Town & Country).

Anyway if you want to learn more about the Webster and Kirkwood school districts check out websterkirkwood.com Webster Groves MO Real Estate | Kirkwood MO Real Estate | Condos - Homes for Sale | MLS Listings It's my web site but it's pretty comprehensive and it's free to look all you want.

I would suggest you talk to your agent about spending a day touring the different communities so you have a better idea of what St. Louis is all about.

Hope that helps and good luck!