As far as St. Louis desirability goes, Clayton has always been somewhere near the top of most Buyer's wish list within the Central Corridor. Thanks to a perfectly central location, walking neighborhoods, a tight knit community, an array of uber popular community events, the traditional architecture that St. Louisans covet, Suburban amenities with a more urban flavor thanks to the hip and bustling epicenter, and nationally recognized top rated public schools...Clayton has 
distinguished itself as one of the most popular St. Louis municipalities.Clayton has managed to achieve and maintain the delicate balance between city and county, thus appeasing those in search of excellent public schools without diving into the depths of more western Suburbia. As a result of all of these factors (in addition to the ability to get ANYWHERE in the city from Clayton's center within 15 minutes), 63105 retains its property value like no other zip code in the city.
That being said, the goodies come at a price.
Since receiving my license in 2001, I cannot COUNT the amount of Buyers I have worked with who initially desired the Clayton area (part of Richmond Heights is in Clayton Schools, as well), only to discover that it wasn't financially realistic for them. The reality is that over the past 10 years, it has been e
xtremely difficult to find ANYTHING in the Clayton school district for under 400K. Period. Particularly between 2003 and 2007, even a 2 bed, 1 bath, fixer upper SLAB in a FLOOD PLAIN in Clayton was over 400K?! Simply, most Buyers aren't willing to sacrifice the space and amenities per square footage that Clayton lacks for the zip code.Times are changing though.
The one real pro of the feeble real estate market? A drive-down in property value in some of the city's most popular regions for area Buyers. Buyers are finding deals that they haven't seen in DECADES, and some of the most exciting are in the areas most
popular like Clayton.If you considered Clayton a few years ago, only to discover that you couldn't afford to buy there... I encourage you to look again! The prices have and ARE dropping dramatically. Hence, AMAZING investment opportunities currently exist in Clayton. For example, HERE are the current active listings in Clayton schools under 500K as of this AM. A handful of years ago, you would have been LUCKY to find ONE?! Now, SEVERAL listings under 300K?! Amazing.
If you have questions about any of the linked properties or are curious as to what else is out there... email Carrie at cdnandthecity@charter.net or call me at 314-452-7675 .
