The Saint Louis real estate market is staying relatively steady even as much of the rest of the country remains enveloped in financial crisis. According to an April 30, 2010 article in the Saint Louis Business Journal, “Missouri has managed to avoid the worst of the residential mortgage debacle, with loan delinquency and foreclosure rates substantially lower than the national averages. That’s not the case in Illinois. ‘In Missouri, we haven’t had the serious highs or the serious lows that the ‘sand states’ and states with really big cities have had,’ said Dough Schukar, president of USA Mortgage in Creve Coeur, which closed $1.2 billion in mortgages in 2009.” The article, composed by Greg Edwards, continued to find that “The overall residential foreclosure rates – encompassing prime, subprime, FHA and VA loans – were 2.1 percent in Missouri and 5.62 percent in Illinois at the end of 2009. The national average was 4.58 percent.”

A bit of positive news for Saint Louis homes for sale was reported in an April 22, 2010 article from the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. This piece found that “Home sales surged 22 percent in the St. Louis-area in March, powered by low interest rates and prices an $8,000 tax credit that’s due to end next week. There were 2,620 single-family homes sold in the 11-county region, according to data compiled by the Post-Dispatch from local real estate services. Sales grew in every county from last March, and the median price increased across much of the region.” The article, composed by Tim Logan, continued to say that “The gains echo national figures released this morning by the National Association of Realtors, which reported a 16.1 percent bump in sales nationwide from last March, and a 6.8 percent increase from February.”

The same good news for Saint Louis real estate was echoed by a May 2, 2010 article from the Globe-Democrat. This piece, written by Joan Tabash-Cubow, found that “Existing home sales are showing a real fervor in March, year-over-year growth on a national level is roughly 15 percent. Tax credits and low interest rates are driving the strong sales.”