The company that reports on real estate trends, RealtyTrac, reports Missouri is 18th on the list of states with the most foreclosed properties, but one expert said residents shouldn’t really be concerned.
Kansas City and St. Louis are 45 and 46 respectively on RealtyTrac’s top 100 cities with foreclosed properties.
The report found in Kansas City one out of every 187 homes is in foreclosure, in St. Louis it falls to one out of every 192 homes and statewide one out of 271 homes is in foreclosure. That’s below the national average of one out every 171 homes. Those numbers might sound bad, but Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors said Missouri is still a good market.
"In most of Missouri you have very affordable housing prices; people have not had to use these risky mortgages," he said.
Missouri is more stable than other states because housing prices haven’t shot up and there’s room for growth, Molony said.
"In the Midwest things have occurred at a sensible pace and when there are swings these areas can accommodate growth much more rapidly," he said. "It’s easier to grow in the Midwest than it is on the west coast or the northeast."
It’s important to think about living in an area for at least a decade when deciding between renting and buying, Molony said.
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