Know how St. Louis works before you pick a house.

Check the government

Is the house in St. Louis, or just near it?

“The listing says St. Louis. Isn’t that one city?”

No. St. Louis City and St. Louis County split in 1876 and are separate governments. The County is split again into 88 cities, towns and villages, plus unincorporated areas the County runs itself. Which one a house sits in decides your earnings tax, your tax bill and the inspection the house needs before a sale.

A mailing address won’t tell you. A Florissant or Fenton address can sit in unincorporated St. Louis County, and “Fenton” alone can mean three different governments. Check the municipality on the County’s map or property record before you offer.

• St. Louis City: its own city, 1% earnings tax
• A County municipality: its own occupancy and permit rules
• Unincorporated County: the County’s rules

• St. Louis City vs. County: what changes when you buyStart here if you’re new. It explains the 1% City earnings tax, how tax bills work, what “unincorporated” means, and the two-minute check that tells you which government a house is really under.
• Why “Fenton” can mean three different placesHouses with the same Fenton mailing address can sit in the City of Fenton, unincorporated St. Louis County or Jefferson County, and each one has different inspection rules and tax bills. It’s the clearest example of why the address on the envelope isn’t enough.
• A house with a Florissant address that wasn’t in FlorissantOn a 2024 sale I handled, the mailing address said Florissant, but the house sat in unincorporated St. Louis County, so the County’s occupancy rules applied instead of the city’s. Here’s how that sale played out.

Check the area

Which part of St. Louis fits you?

“We have a budget and a job address. Where do we even start?”

Start with what you’re optimizing for: commute, budget, house age or walkability. Each part of the region trades those differently, and the same price buys a different house a few miles apart. In 2026, a move-in-ready house ran about $259,000 in Affton (63123) and about $360,000 in Oakville and Mehlville (63129), where $300,000 bought an as-is house.

Across St. Louis County, the median sale price peaked at $348,900 on June 2026 closings. Jefferson County community medians ran from $222,000 in De Soto to $469,900 in Eureka. School district lines don’t follow city lines, so look up the district by address too.

• South City
• North County
• South County
• West County
• Central
• Jefferson County
• St. Charles County

• Where to live in St. LouisEach part of the region trades price, house age, commute and walkability differently. This guide walks through them one by one so you can narrow the map before you look at a single listing.
• What $300K, $450K and $600K buy, by ZIPThe same budget buys a move-in-ready house in one ZIP and a project in the next. This shows both prices for each area, from 2025–2026 sales, so you know what your number gets you.
• South CountyBrick ranches and split-levels, and much of it unincorporated. Prices, tax bills, school districts and what each community is like, from 2026 sales.
• North CountySome of the lowest price points in St. Louis County, across 15 communities and 32 small towns. 2026 prices, tax bills and the school district for each.
• South CityBrick homes, walkable neighborhoods and the City earnings tax. Nineteen neighborhoods compared by budget.
• West CountyChesterfield, Ballwin, Wildwood and the larger, newer suburbs, where prices run higher and competition is stronger.
• Mid-CountyMaplewood, Webster Groves, Kirkwood, University City, Clayton and Ladue: older houses close to Clayton, WashU and the hospitals. Medians run from $295,000 to $1.4 million, and each city sets its own rules.
• Jefferson CountyMore house and more land for the money, south of St. Louis County. 2026 prices across 16 communities, and which towns inspect at a sale.
• School district mapDistrict lines don’t follow city lines, so a single town can sit in two districts. Look up the district for the exact address.

Check the rules

What will the city require when you buy?

“We’re under contract. What does the city have to sign off on?”

It depends on the city. Unincorporated St. Louis County, Sunset Hills, Green Park, Webster Groves and Maryland Heights require an occupancy inspection or permit when a house changes hands; Crestwood, Chesterfield and the City of Fenton don’t for an existing owner-occupied home. Usually the seller orders it, and the wait can run weeks.

The city’s list isn’t your home inspection. On a 2025 Northwoods purchase, the city’s occupancy failures and my buyer’s inspection report didn’t cover the same problems, so I put them side by side before we agreed to repairs.

• Occupancy permits by cityA city-by-city table of which places require an inspection when a house sells, what it costs, who orders it and how long it takes, so it doesn’t delay your closing.
• The city’s list isn’t your inspectionOn a 2025 purchase, the city’s occupancy list and my buyer’s inspection report found different problems. Here’s how I lined them up so nothing fell through the cracks.
• Maryland Heights inspects every saleThe city inspects at every change of ownership and can run behind. I had one on both of my 2026 sales there, and I tell sellers to order it the day they decide to sell.

Check the cost

What will it cost to own a house here?

“The price looks low compared with home. What am I missing?”

The tax bill and, in the City, an earnings tax. On 2026 sales, the median yearly property tax bill was $3,624 across 22 St. Louis County-area school districts and $2,084 across 12 Jefferson County districts. St. Louis City adds a 1% earnings tax for anyone who lives there, and for anyone who works there on what they earn in the City.

Missouri also taxes cars as personal property every year, in the City and the County alike. Compare the full bill for the exact address and the job, not “the City” or “the County” in general.

Price + tax bill + earnings tax (City) + car tax = the real number.

• Who pays the City earnings taxWhether you owe the 1% depends on where you live and where you work. One table shows all four combinations, so you can see what it means for your move.
• 2026 tax bills by school districtProperty tax bills follow the school district more than the city. These are the median bills on homes that actually sold in 2026, district by district.
• Buyer closing costs in St. LouisWhat you bring to closing on top of the down payment, line by line, so the cash you need doesn’t surprise you.

Check the house

What’s different about St. Louis houses?

“Where we’re from, the houses were built in the last 20 years.”

Age. In 2,872 St. Louis County sales in 2026, the median house was built in 1963; 43% were built before 1960 and three of every four before 1980. It varies a lot by area: the median was 1930 in the Maplewood-Richmond Heights district, 1950 in Lemay, 1979 around Oakville High, 1982 in Chesterfield and 1993 across Jefferson County. Older houses mean older electrical, plumbing and foundations, and a sewer lateral, the line from the house to the street, that belongs to the owner. I recommend a sewer scope on every St. Louis home, at $150 to $300; replacing a lateral typically runs $4,000 to $12,000 and can exceed $15,000.

Don’t count on the appraisal to catch it. On a 2025 VA purchase, the appraiser missed moisture and mold under a sink that our inspector found, and a sewer line the seller said was replaced the year before was blocked.

• Sewer lateral
• Foundation and water
• Electrical panel
• Furnace and roof age

• What to look for in an older St. Louis houseThe walk-through checklist I use: sewer laterals, water in the basement, foundation cracks, old electrical panels, roofs and peeling paint, and what each one can cost you.
• How old are the houses where you’re looking?The median year built for 2026 sales in every St. Louis County school district, oldest first, and why age is the biggest reason buyers here end up with repairs they didn’t plan for.
• 2026 St. Louis repair costsWhat sewer laterals, foundations, roofs and furnaces typically cost to fix here, so you can budget for an older house before you write the offer.
• Home inspection in St. LouisWhat an inspector checks, what they don’t, and how to turn the report into repairs or a lower price.
• A high appraisal can still miss what’s wrongA 2025 purchase where the house appraised $15,100 over the price, yet the appraiser missed mold under a sink and a sewer line the seller said was new turned out to be blocked.

Check the process

Can you buy a house here before you move here?

“We can’t fly in every weekend. Can we still buy?”

Yes, with a lender lined up first and an agent who becomes your eyes on the house. Get preapproved before you look, have your agent walk the house on live video and record it so you can revisit it, use the inspection to see what video can’t, do the final walk-through on video, and close remotely through the title company.

My buyer was living in Denver, moving back home to St. Louis, and saw the house once, at an open house. I walked it on video, saved 360 photos to a shared folder, did the final walk-through on video, and the buyer closed remotely; a family member picked up the keys. Going forward I’m using private 3D tours.

1. Lender first
2. Live video walk-through
3. 360 photos or a 3D tour to revisit
4. Inspection and repair agreement
5. Video final walk-through and remote closing

• Buying a St. Louis house from out of stateThe full playbook: what to ask for on a video tour, how to write the offer when you can’t see the house again, handling the inspection from a distance, sending money safely and closing without flying in.
• The remote buyer who got $30,000 offThe full story of the Denver buyer: how I spotted that the listing was overpriced, why the seller came down $30,000 before inspections, and how we closed without the buyer ever touring it with me.
• Mortgage pre-approval in St. LouisYour first call, from wherever you live now. A pre-approval is what makes an out-of-state offer believable to a seller.
• How I work with buyersWhat I check before you see a house, what I look for at the showing, and how I handle the offer, the walk-through and closing, in person or on video.

Check the timing

When should you move, and should you rent first?

“Do we buy now, or rent for a year and learn the area?”

Rent first if you don’t know where you’ll work or how long you’ll stay; buying costs money to get in and money to get out. If you’re buying, spring has the most houses and the most competition: in 2026, homes sold in a median 7 days from April through July and the median price peaked on June closings. Fall and winter have fewer houses and fewer buyers.

If your move date is fixed, line up a lender and an agent two to three months ahead, so you’re ready to write when the right house comes up.

• Best time to buy, sell or moveFive years of St. Louis sales by month: when there are the most houses, when prices peak and when you’ll compete with the fewest buyers.
• Renting vs. buying in St. LouisHow long you need to stay for buying to beat renting here, and the situations where renting first is the smarter move.
• Moving for a hospital job?Where people live near BJC, SLU, Mercy, Missouri Baptist and St. Luke’s, what those areas cost in 2026, and how physician loans change the math.
• Working at BJC?BJC runs hospitals in the Central West End, Creve Coeur, Town and Country, North County and St. Charles County, and each sits in a different price range. This starts with your hospital and shows what the homes around it sold for in 2026.

Relocation guides tell you about the city. Real transactions show you what buying here is like.

I’m George Kindler, a Marine Corps veteran and licensed Missouri real estate agent since 2013, with 250+ transactions. I grew up in South St. Louis, lived in Dogtown for six years and now live in South County.

Every page on this site is built on St. Louis sales data and deals I’ve closed, so you can see how the address, the rules and the house play out before you’re the one buying.

• Lessons From a SaleReal St. Louis deals I’ve closed, each one built around a problem most buyers and sellers don’t see coming until it’s too late.
• A high VA appraisal can still miss what’s wrongA Northwoods purchase where the appraisal came in high but the city’s list, the inspection and a blocked sewer line still had to be worked out before closing.
• When your house doesn’t sell, the house may not be the problemA house that expired with another agent, then sold for $20,000 more when I relisted it, with no new work done to it.
• Transaction history by addressEvery sale I’ve been part of, searchable by year, city, role and price.