St. Louis’s best investment neighborhoods
Think the stock market is too risky?
You worked hard for it. It’s your money, and you would like to put it to work for you. The stock market feels a lot like a bad roller coaster ride lately. You’re probably thinking about tucking your money away in real estate instead. But where should you start?
Finding the right neighborhood
One of the big upsides to becoming a real estate investor is becoming a bigger part of the communities where you own property. It’s vital that you find the right neighborhoods to invest in. What makes one neighborhood “good” and another neighborhood “bad”? It’s pretty simple—look for neighborhoods that are changing and developing, meaning they just keep getting better. A quick way to do this is to check property values. If they’re going up, chances are it’s because of increasing demand for homes there—because people know it’s good and getting better.
Not just about price
You can’t make a decision based purely on price action. With real estate, it pays to take a walk around the neighborhood where you want to buy. Talk to people. Get a feel for the people who already live there because it’s likely they’ll become your residents if you do choose to spend your real estate investment dollars there. There’s nothing better than a walk around the neighborhood in St. Louis.
Suggested Neighborhoods
- Benton Park: It’s been around since 1864, though in the past decade or so it’s taken on a character of its own. Anheuser-Busch InBev HQ is nearby, although the neighborhood used to host two now-defunct breweries of its own. Results gained first in Benton Park are spilling over into surrounding neighborhoods like McKinley and Marine Villa.
- Fox Park: Just north of Benton Park but west of McKinley Heights—this is another up-and-coming neighborhood just a little farther away from the premiere Soulard neighborhood. Your tenants won’t have a riverfront view, but rents are definitely cheaper even if they are rising.
- The Gate District: If you’re willing to invest in newer homes even farther west of the Mississippi, some real gems can be found in this neighborhood. Everything is newer, which means fewer repair bills and fewer expensive, recently renovated and restored project houses to pick through.
St. Louis doesn’t stop there.
There’s a lot more to St. Louis than meets the eye when it comes to real estate investing. You’ll be working with people who have been doing it for a long, long time. But your money can go a long way in St. Louis.
*Updated June 2020
