Rental Property - St Louis Real Estate News

Harvard Report Sounds Alarm: Nearly Half of America’s Renters Are Struggling With Housing Costs

By Dennis Norman, on June 18th, 2026

Harvard Report Finds Nearly 1 In 2 U.S. Renters Struggling With Housing Costs

A new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies confirms what many consumers in the St. Louis area already know. Housing affordability remains a challenge, not just for homebuyers dealing with higher mortgage rates and home prices, but also for renters who are seeing a larger share of their income go toward housing.

According to Harvard’s 2026 America’s Rental Housing report, nearly half of all renter households in the United States are now considered cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income Continue Reading →

So You Want to Be a Landlord? Here’s What No One Mentions.

By Karen Moeller, on February 8th, 2026

There’s a moment almost every first-time landlord has. It usually happens right after the first rent check clears. They lean back and think, This is great. Why didn’t I do this sooner?

Fast forward a few months and they’re in the basement with a flashlight in their mouth, halfway through a YouTube video titled “Easy 5-Minute Pipe Fix,” wondering how a tiny drip just turned into a much bigger problem.

Rental ownership is often sold as passive income. In reality, it’s a small business with safety rules, maintenance standards, inspections, permits, and real liability. Collecting rent is the fun part. Continue Reading →

St Louis Makes Top 10 for Rent Growth in 2025

By Dennis Norman, on December 6th, 2025

While rents have declined nationally over the past year, St. Louis is one of the exceptions. According to the December 2025 National Rent Report from Apartment List, the St. Louis metro saw a 4.3% year-over-year increase in rent prices, placing it among the top ten large U.S. metro areas for rent growth.

The national picture looks very different. Rents fell by 1.0% in November alone and are now down 1.1% compared to the same time last year. This marks the fourth straight month of nationwide rent declines. In fact, national median rent has dropped 5.2% from its August 2022 peak Continue Reading →

Investor Purchases Hit 5-Year High Nationally… What About Here in Missouri?

By Dennis Norman, on December 6th, 2025

St Louis home buyers losing out to investors on homes.

Real estate investors accounted for a record-high 33% of all single-family home purchases in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest Investor Pulse™ Report from BatchData. This marks the highest share in five years and reflects a growing trend of investor activity in the housing market, particularly from “mom-and-pop” buyers who now own over 90% of all investor-held homes. In contrast, large institutional investors have been net sellers for six straight quarters. Despite this national trend, Missouri’s investor footprint remains relatively modest, coming in just under the national average, based on visual analysis of the Continue Reading →

Landlords Targeted Again? Illinois Rental Bill Could Backfire on Tenants

By Dennis Norman, on October 30th, 2025

A pending bill in the Illinois Senate, HB3564, aims to limit rental fees and increase transparency, but it raises real concerns for landlords and property managers. While I’m fully in favor of transparency and clear disclosure of fees, this bill adds unnecessary restrictions that could reduce housing availability and create inequities in how different types of tenants are treated.

The bill would prohibit landlords from charging move-in fees on top of security deposits and would require that any non-optional fees be listed on the first page of the lease. It also limits background check fees to the **actual cost or Continue Reading →

The $150K Lesson: What One Out of State Investor Learned the Hard Way in St. Louis 💸

By Karen Moeller, on September 19th, 2025

Why out of state investors get burned in St Louis

If you’ve ever sat through a weekend “get rich with real estate” seminar, you’ve probably heard this pitch: St. Louis is the affordable Midwest market with strong cash flow, stable renters, and easy entry points.

And for many investors, that sounds like the perfect recipe for a better retirement, a nest egg for the family, or a shot at financial freedom.

But here’s the truth: without the right guidance, St. Louis can turn from opportunity into nightmare—fast.

This is the real story of one out-of-state investor who trusted the hype, bought “off market” without local representation, and walked straight into Continue Reading →

St. Louis Ranks #2 in U.S. for Rent Growth as Investors Eye Stability

By Dennis Norman, on June 20th, 2025

St. Louis stood out as one of the top-performing rental markets in the nation in early 2025, with single-family rents rising 6.1% year-over-year through March. That’s the second-highest increase among the 50 largest U.S. metros and well above the national average of 4.1%, according to the Q2 2025 Arbor Single-Family Rental Investment Trends Report:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.

This growth comes despite national trends showing a slowdown in rent escalation and a slight dip in occupancy. Occupancy rates for single-family rentals nationwide averaged 93.7% in Q1 2025, marking the fourth straight quarterly decline. Retention rates, however, are on the rebound after dropping from a Continue Reading →

Missouri Slips in On-Time Rent Payments as Western States Dominate: What St Louis Landlords Need to Know

By Dennis Norman, on June 20th, 2025

According to the just-released Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report – June 2025 from Chandan Economics, Missouri finds itself far from the top in terms of on-time rental payments. The national on-time payment rate dropped to 84.3%, down 85 basis points from the month before, while the forecast full-payment rate slid to a post-pandemic low of 94.0%. While western states like Montana (93.5%) and Utah (92.3%) led the nation, Missouri did not crack the top 10 — or even top 20 — states for on-time rent performance. This matters for St. Louis landlords and property managers who rely on timely rent Continue Reading →

Rental Collections Improve Nationally—But Missouri and Illinois Fall Behind

By Dennis Norman, on April 27th, 2025

The latest Independent Landlord Rental Performance Report from Chandan Economics, covering April 2025, shows on-time rental payments nationally hitting 86.3% — an improvement of 45 basis points from the prior month, and notably the first year-over-year increase in on-time payments since July 2023. While this is encouraging news overall for small to medium landlords, the story for Missouri and Illinois isn’t quite as rosy when you dig into the state-level data.

Missouri posted an on-time payment rate of just 83%, putting us at 42nd out of the 47 states and districts that met reporting Continue Reading →