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This forum doesn’t appear to get much traffic, hopefully someone is checking in and can assist! I looked through some older threads but didn’t see anything that quite answered my question.
I may be relocating for a job in Clayton. When I did a quick search on some real estate web sites, the cost of houses in Clayton kind of shocked me. I guess I expected the prices to be lower in a midwestern town. There were properties in my price range but were primarily condos. And it looks like most of the houses there are older, historic homes.
I am a single, forty-something female. My preference would be to stay around $350K to $400K for a house (less would be nicer ), but would be willing to go to $450K for a neighborhood that had a reputation for good resale value. I do have a preference for newer homes; while living in a charming 1930’s bungalow sounds nice, the reality of maintaining an older home and missing the modern conveniences of large closets, attached two-car garages, etc. would eventually frustrate me. While I would consider a condo/townhouse, I’d prefer a house. It doesn’t have to be big; 1500 square feet would be fine.
A safe neighborhood is most important. A commute to work of less than 30 minutes max, 20 preferred. Close to grocery stores, restaurants, gym. A walkable neighborhood is nice but not a requirement, especially if a nice park or walking trail is nearby. School system isn’t of big importance since I don’t have kids, but of course being in a good school district helps resale value.
It's not newer housing, but the area of University City right outside of Clayton would have good resale value but lower prices because they aren't in the Clayton School District. It blends right into Clayton though.
Brentwood, again, there are some newer houses, but mostly a bit older, but it's a nice safe and very popular area right now and close to everything. Similar age houses, but you could find a smaller home in Kirkwood or Webster Groves at that price possibly.
Newer housing is mostly going to be farther out. Creve Coeur might give you something more in the 50s-80s age range and is also a very popular area with bigger yards. More suburban, not as walkable
It's not newer housing, but the area of University City right outside of Clayton would have good resale value but lower prices because they aren't in the Clayton School District. It blends right into Clayton though.
Brentwood, again, there are some newer houses, but mostly a bit older, but it's a nice safe and very popular area right now and close to everything. Similar age houses, but you could find a smaller home in Kirkwood or Webster Groves at that price possibly.
Newer housing is mostly going to be farther out. Creve Coeur might give you something more in the 50s-80s age range and is also a very popular area with bigger yards. More suburban, not as walkable
Clayton is pretty much the most expensive town in the area. Finding newer homes close to Clayton can be harder because most everything in the general vicinity was developed like 70+ years ago. If you want to stay close, you'll be looking for something built as a result of a teardown, probably.
General guidelines to stay within 20-30 minutes: stay east of 270. Don't go too far south because there's no real highway to efficiently get to Clayton. Probably best to stay north of Chippewa for traffic reasons. 170 makes living north of Clayton easier - but North St Louis County is a mixed bag in terms of how nice things are. There's just been a lot of disinvestment. West of Clayton is more upper or upper middle class - and the prices reflect that.
A few ideas as someone who works in Clayton and values a short commute--I just searched zillow for things built in the last 30 years:
1. This one in University City, which borders Clayton but is cheaper because of meh schools. Still has a lot of fun amenities - like Delmar Loop, nearby universities, diverse area (though I'd look into flood maps - River Des Peres close to there has flooding problems in UCity. Hanley also gets a pretty large volume of traffic). Grocery store, restaurants, parks nearby. It's in a more middle class part of UCity - generally, the south part is wealthy, central middle class, and north of Olive is poorer. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9...2733916_zpid/?
2. Something like this one in Dogtown, St Louis City (biased, this is the neighborhood I live in). St Louis City gets a bad rep but there are plenty of areas that are safe and quiet, especially if you have a garage - most stuff in our neighborhood has to do with people checking for unlocked cars on the street at night. Dogtown is close to Clayton, has it's own cute little restaurant/bar area, lots of nearby grocery stores, and borders Forest Park, a jewel of St Louis. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...9724066_zpid/?
3. For more suburban, try Creve Coeur - this is a more suburban style area overall. Olive Blvd has just about any retail convenience you'd want, lots of restaurants (though a good number of franchises). https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...5692494_zpid/?
Clayton is pretty much the most expensive town in the area. Finding newer homes close to Clayton can be harder because most everything in the general vicinity was developed like 70+ years ago. If you want to stay close, you'll be looking for something built as a result of a teardown, probably.
General guidelines to stay within 20-30 minutes: stay east of 270. Don't go too far south because there's no real highway to efficiently get to Clayton. Probably best to stay north of Chippewa for traffic reasons. 170 makes living north of Clayton easier - but North St Louis County is a mixed bag in terms of how nice things are. There's just been a lot of disinvestment. West of Clayton is more upper or upper middle class - and the prices reflect that.
A few ideas as someone who works in Clayton and values a short commute--I just searched zillow for things built in the last 30 years:
1. This one in University City, which borders Clayton but is cheaper because of meh schools. Still has a lot of fun amenities - like Delmar Loop, nearby universities, diverse area (though I'd look into flood maps - River Des Peres close to there has flooding problems in UCity. Hanley also gets a pretty large volume of traffic). Grocery store, restaurants, parks nearby. It's in a more middle class part of UCity - generally, the south part is wealthy, central middle class, and north of Olive is poorer. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9...2733916_zpid/?
2. Something like this one in Dogtown, St Louis City (biased, this is the neighborhood I live in). St Louis City gets a bad rep but there are plenty of areas that are safe and quiet, especially if you have a garage - most stuff in our neighborhood has to do with people checking for unlocked cars on the street at night. Dogtown is close to Clayton, has it's own cute little restaurant/bar area, lots of nearby grocery stores, and borders Forest Park, a jewel of St Louis. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...9724066_zpid/?
3. For more suburban, try Creve Coeur - this is a more suburban style area overall. Olive Blvd has just about any retail convenience you'd want, lots of restaurants (though a good number of franchises). https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...5692494_zpid/?
Thanks so much for the detailed info. I like all three of the homes you selected - you may have a career in real estate
Thanks so much for the detailed info. I like all three of the homes you selected - you may have a career in real estate
Well I live in Kirkwood and work in Clayton (pre-covid) and most days its 15-20 minutes. It's not cheap either but it's not Clayton. Check out Webster Groves, Brentwood, Glendale, Kirkwood, to name a few.
For a more northern tract check out Olivette and Creve Couer.
Yea, $450k will get you into most places in St. Louis in a fairly new home...however you'll be harder pressed to find a new home in Clayton for that price. Surrounding areas near there have quite a few older homes, but the newer properties tend to get pricy, as they're often teardowns...You say you want safety first too, so i'd check west of Clayton along I-64...I think for us in Maryland Heights, we can reach Clayton in about 15-20 minutes (good highway access). But I wouldn't say we're CLOSE. Recently we've had a few neighbors with similar homes (2800-3200 SF) sell between $425-500k...which is still think is insane...but I guess it is what it is.
I think it's the "new" criteria that really hurts this search...as there are PLENTY of amazing homes near Clayton that you could get into, with amazing communities...but they're all established communities and older homes. But your price point would be awesome in Richmond Heights, Glendale, or Kirkwood!
Yea, $450k will get you into most places in St. Louis in a fairly new home...however you'll be harder pressed to find a new home in Clayton for that price. Surrounding areas near there have quite a few older homes, but the newer properties tend to get pricy, as they're often teardowns...You say you want safety first too, so i'd check west of Clayton along I-64...I think for us in Maryland Heights, we can reach Clayton in about 15-20 minutes (good highway access). But I wouldn't say we're CLOSE. Recently we've had a few neighbors with similar homes (2800-3200 SF) sell between $425-500k...which is still think is insane...but I guess it is what it is.
I think it's the "new" criteria that really hurts this search...as there are PLENTY of amazing homes near Clayton that you could get into, with amazing communities...but they're all established communities and older homes. But your price point would be awesome in Richmond Heights, Glendale, or Kirkwood!
Thank you. I did look at places online in the areas that all of the posters have suggested. Even though the homes are older, they do look like they are turn-key and very nice. I might be willing to compromise on the age of the home for a shorter commute. The one must-have is an attached garage, even if it’s a one-car garage. It looks like many of the older homes do have that feature.
15-20 minute commute would be fine. Just don’t want a 30+ minute commute each day. As I’ve gotten older, my patience for sitting in traffic and wasting my time has gone way, way down. I had a 10-minute drive to my last job on side streets, no highways. It was heaven. So now I’m spoiled
This forum doesn’t appear to get much traffic, hopefully someone is checking in and can assist! I looked through some older threads but didn’t see anything that quite answered my question.
I may be relocating for a job in Clayton. When I did a quick search on some real estate web sites, the cost of houses in Clayton kind of shocked me. I guess I expected the prices to be lower in a midwestern town. There were properties in my price range but were primarily condos. And it looks like most of the houses there are older, historic homes.
I am a single, forty-something female. My preference would be to stay around $350K to $400K for a house (less would be nicer ), but would be willing to go to $450K for a neighborhood that had a reputation for good resale value. I do have a preference for newer homes; while living in a charming 1930’s bungalow sounds nice, the reality of maintaining an older home and missing the modern conveniences of large closets, attached two-car garages, etc. would eventually frustrate me. While I would consider a condo/townhouse, I’d prefer a house. It doesn’t have to be big; 1500 square feet would be fine.
A safe neighborhood is most important. A commute to work of less than 30 minutes max, 20 preferred. Close to grocery stores, restaurants, gym. A walkable neighborhood is nice but not a requirement, especially if a nice park or walking trail is nearby. School system isn’t of big importance since I don’t have kids, but of course being in a good school district helps resale value.
Any suggestions? Thanks so much!
Reread your own post.
1. You are shocked by the prices in the area, so why are you even considering buying anything?
Housing prices right now are inflated, and the value of home ownership is not positive. It may have been in the past, say from the 1950s-1980s, but no more. There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that credit is too easily available, and that drives the prices of houses way above what they are worth.
What we have now is a "suckers market", where the new home owners are given incentive to get in the the game.
Also, the transaction costs of buying property is very expensive, and over looked.
Don't fall for it. Buying is only good when you are holding a lot of cash (at least 50% of the home you are consideirng buying), if the real estate market is a buyers market (we are in a sellers market right now), and you plan to live in that area for at least 5 years, but closer to 10 years.
Renting is alway the smarter play, because it will give you:
1. Less stress. Taxes, insurance, and general upkeep of a house is very time consuming and costly.
2. You have more flexibilty to find a place you like. Get a six month lease or less, if possible. If you get caught in a place you don't like, you can move around. Or if you get a goofy neighbor, then you can move as well.
One last thing: it is ALWAYS wise to keep your money in your pocket. Think about that. Making a large purchase, and being a general consumer in this world, is for suckers.
Rich people and others that want you to place material things above everything else, are the ones that are full of crap, and their ideas are not in YOUR best interest. Trust me on this. I have learned this the hard way in life, and now I am winning in life by a long shot with my minimal lifestyle and stress free life.
Best to you !
Last edited by unicus; 05-30-2020 at 07:39 AM..
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), but would be willing to go to $450K for a neighborhood that had a reputation for good resale value. I do have a preference for newer homes; while living in a charming 1930’s bungalow sounds nice, the reality of maintaining an older home and missing the modern conveniences of large closets, attached two-car garages, etc. would eventually frustrate me. While I would consider a condo/townhouse, I’d prefer a house. It doesn’t have to be big; 1500 square feet would be fine. 
