Economic Reports

Housing Trends

Statewide first-quarter home prices slide
Springfield prices “buoyant,” realtors report

First-quarter single-home prices for Missouri metro areas are slipping overall, the National Association of Realtors announced in May. While Springfield shows a price rise of 2.6 percent over the past year, prices fell in Columbia (-1.1 percent), Kansas City (-4.3 percent) and St. Louis (-9.7 percent) metropolitan areas.

National single-home prices dropped 7.7 percent since March 2007, according to the realtors association, although the nation’s Northeast section gained 3.2 percent. Declines continued in the Midwest (-7.9 percent), the South (-7.5 percent) and West (-12.3 percent).

In 20 metropolitan areas outside of Missouri, single-family home prices fell 14.1 percent in the first quarter from 2007, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller national home price index.

In Missouri, total sales for all housing, including apartments and condos, fell eight percent over the past year, compared to national sales price decrease of 22.2 percent, the realtors association reported. Read more online.

Over one-third of Missouri households are Housing Cost Burdened

Missouri households with housing costs greater than 30 percent of income are considered “housing cost burdened.” Based on 2005 American Community survey data, 633,853 Missouri households are housing cost burdened, or 38 percent of 1,647,749 total Missouri households. Additionally, 260,848 households are “very” housing cost burdened. A comprehensive table showing housing cost burden is available here.