America is still short nearly 4.7 million homes, but St. Louis is moving in the right direction. The St. Louis metro housing deficit fell by 392 homes in 2024 to 16,976, according to a new Zillow analysis. That may not sound like a dramatic change, but it stands out when the national shortage increased by more than 43,000 homes during the same period.
The more interesting number for St. Louis buyers is affordability. In May 2026, 59.1% of St. Louis homes listed for sale were considered affordable to a household earning the area’s median income, up from 54.5% a year earlier. Nationally, only 35.2% of listings met that standard. Among the large metropolitan areas included in the report, St. Louis remained one of the more affordable housing markets in the country.
This does not mean buying a home in St. Louis is easy. Mortgage rates, insurance, taxes and limited inventory continue to create challenges. However, compared with markets where fewer than 15% of listings are affordable to the typical household, St. Louis continues to offer buyers something that has become increasingly difficult to find…a realistic path to homeownership.
