St. Louis, Missouri is a ReInvestIQ-tracked rental investment market. The page reports median price, market rent, cap rate, walkability, and demographics, and links straight through to underwrite any St. Louis property in roughly 60 seconds.
St. Louis offers some of the lowest entry prices of any major metro on this list, with a housing stock dense enough (classic brick two- and four-family buildings) that multi-family house-hacking and small-scale portfolio building are both realistic starting strategies, not just single-family buy-and-hold.
Long-term rental on multi-family (2-4 unit) properties is the signature St. Louis strategy — the brick building stock supports it structurally, and per-door economics often beat single-family cash flow at a similar total price. BRRRR is viable but requires real rehab experience given the age of the housing stock.
Missouri overall is landlord-workable with no statewide rent control, though the City of St. Louis has its own municipal code layered on top of state law that's worth reading closely — occupancy permit requirements in particular catch out-of-state investors off guard more often here than in most metros on this list.
St. Louis carries two risks that catch out-of-state buyers repeatedly. First, the city's occupancy permit and inspection requirements add time and cost between closing and first rent that many pro formas ignore entirely. Second, the city and county are legally separate jurisdictions with different rules and rates, so 'St. Louis' on a listing does not tell you which regime applies. Add the metro's long-run flat population, and neighborhood-level demand verification becomes non-optional.
Population has been flat-to-declining in the city proper for decades, which keeps prices low (median around the current metro median in current data) — but it also means underwriting demand carefully by specific neighborhood matters more here than in growing metros.
It's the metro's structural strength — the classic 2-4 unit brick building stock in South City in particular supports better per-door economics than most single-family alternatives at similar total price. Current gross yield estimate: the current metro estimate.
The City of St. Louis requires occupancy permits and inspections that go beyond typical state landlord-tenant law — budget time and a local contact for this before assuming a purchase-to-rent-ready timeline.
Effective property tax in this data runs near the current metro estimate — reasonable by national standards, but confirm city vs. county specifics since St. Louis City and St. Louis County are separate jurisdictions.
Long enough that it belongs in your model. The City of St. Louis requires inspection and permitting before occupancy, which delays first rent — build that vacancy into the pro forma rather than assuming you can place a tenant immediately after closing.
They are separate jurisdictions with different tax rates and rental requirements. A property described as St. Louis could fall under either, so confirm which applies before underwriting carrying costs or compliance timelines.