Connecting with investors who are in the St. Louis market
I am new to BiggerPockets and looking to get some thoughts/advice from others who are very familiar with the St. Louis real estate investing market. We currently own two single-family homes and one duplex. We just completed our first BRRRR on a single-family property. Overall, it worked out decently, although we had several major hiccups along the way. Now that it's complete, we learned a lot from the process.
I’m trying to figure out whether St. Louis is still a worthwhile market to invest in, and if so, which areas make the most sense moving forward.
On our last single-family purchase, the city had a new mayor who also served as the inspector. The inspection requirements felt more in line with a $500k neighborhood rather than a $125k–$150k property. Even after a full renovation, we had to go through two inspections and spend an additional $7,000 just to satisfy the punch list, including landscaping items.
Other two properties are in areas where appreciation values have gone up considerably since we purchased 7-8 years go, but so now have taxes and other expenses, really squeezing cash flow.
For the next property, I'm open to a single-family, duplex, or multifamily investments. The goal is to continue acquiring one or two properties per year and scale enough to replace my W2 income within the next five years.
Would love to hear from anyone actively investing in St. Louis:
Are you still bullish on the market?
Which areas are you focusing on today?
Are you prioritizing appreciation, cash flow, or value-add opportunities?
I really appreciate the help.
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#1 New Member Introductions Contributor
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH
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#1 New Member Introductions Contributor
- Real Estate Agent
- Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH
A lot of Midwest investors are dealing with rising taxes, stricter inspections, insurance increases, and higher rehab costs, cutting into what used to be easy cash flow. The good news is you already completed a BRRRR and learned the hard lessons early, which honestly puts you ahead of a lot of people. From what I’ve seen, St. Louis can still work, but the buy box has gotten way tighter, and operator skill matters a lot more now. A lot of investors are leaning more toward value-add duplexes and small multifamily instead of relying purely on appreciation, and some are even diversifying into other Midwest markets like Ohio, where off-market and under-valued deals still cash flow without needing perfect assumptions. The investors scaling fastest right now seem to be the ones staying disciplined on acquisitions and building strong local teams instead of forcing deals.