The Most Expensive Sale of the Week - $700,000

Surprise, surprise!! For the third consecutive week, the most expensive home sale of the week is new construction in Kirkwood. 807 Lockett Rd. started at $799,900 back in March and ended up at $700,000 this past week.

Our office represented the buyer, who paid $165/sq. ft. compared to the average new construction avg. price of $193/sq. ft. This looks like a great deal on a very nice 4,200+ square foot home.

The Most Expensive Sale of the Week - $850,000 in Des Peres

For the second week in a row, a newly built home tops the list of most expensive home sales in Webster, Kirkwood and Glendale. 11838 Claychester in Des Peres is a 4,000 sq. ft. story-and-a-half on a stunning half acre lot.

This property's journey ended in what I would call a "Win-Win" for both the buyer and home builder. Ginger Fawcett of my RE/MAX Suburban office, who specializes in working with builders and new homes, brokered the deal in a relatively short time frame (144 days), given the current market conditions.

I really think the price of $850,000 ($212/sq. ft.) was a fair one for all the amenities. The original list price was $999,000.

I'm never surprised when our company's listings sell, despite a constant supply of new listings around them. Full time agents have a real advantage when it comes to keeping up with market conditions, pricing, etc.

The Most Expensive Sale of the Week - $1,675,000

Well, after last week, where the most expensive home sale in WKG was a pedestrian $343,000, I was prepared for anything this week. I'm happy to report that this week saw 4 sales higher than last weeks best, with the high dollar climbing well over the $1 million mark.

520 N. Taylor Ave. in Kirkwood closed yesterday with a purchase price of $1,675,000. It took well over a year (and over 3 since the builder purchased the home site) to complete and re-sell the 5,811 sq. ft. Georgian colonial.

This sale is great news for WKG high end sellers, who were starting to wonder if there were any million + buyers out there at all. Several recent attempts at sales over that price have fallen well short.

The "Best Quality" New Construction, $500,000-1 Million

So I've been reviewing what's out there in WKG for buyers wanting a new house in an old neighborhood. For the sake of this discussion, a few points to mention.

1. I'm looking at the house itself, not so much lot, location or overall value of the property. Those things are worth talking about, but I get a lot of questions about what new construction is well-built and what isn't.



2. Builders tend to "Design, Sell, Build, Repeat". They generally use the same sub-contractors over and over, so quality, as it relates to builders, is what it is...consistent.



3. I'm considering "New Construction" to be less than 2 years old. Around WKG, that's "new enough" for most buyers.

Here's my short list of good stuff:

136 Reavis Place in Webster Groves. Classic interior finishes and everything (except the basement) is finished. True craftsmanship and I LOVE screened in porches! My wife would kill for this 3rd floor.

107 Morningside in Kirkwood. I know, I know, it's 2 doors from Lindbergh Blvd., but this is about the house, remember? Hayden Homes built this one in 2007 and it's a very stylish home. Lots of cool features, unless you're morally opposed to the exterior color!

802 Oakway Place in Glendale. Our office has this one listed and this builder, Scharf Custom Homes, has completed many infill projects around town. It's the "not-so little" stuff that sets this one apart from the boxey, sea of "siding-carpet-drywall" homes that our buyers consistently reject.

This photo shows at least 5 high quality features: wood treads on the steps, wainscoating up the staircase, arched openings fully trimmed, crown in the foyer, etc.