(By Brendan Farrington, AP)
By Mike Rush
St. Louis (KSDK) - The worst may be behind us. That's what local real estate agents are saying after a significant uptick in home sales over the last couple of months.
Karen Kesler is hoping her home will sell soon.
"One of my favorite things when you're having a guest and everything is my pantry," said Kesler.
Even down to the food storage space, Kesler loves her Dardenne Prairie home, but she's downsizing and that means a "for sale" sign sits in her yard.
"It's kind of hard when the house was worth so much at one time and it's not worth as much now because of the economy," said Kesler.
But Kesler's encouraged by news from her real estate agent, Kelly Hager.
Hager says showings on her properties are up 40 percent from this time a year ago. And because of that,
"We're on the hunt, so if you're looking for a job we'd love to talk with you," said the Keller Williams Agent.
Hager is hiring 20 agents.
"So many people are calling to help them find a house and to help sell their house that we feel that we need that many folks," she said.
The upswing seems to be a shared experience.
"It may be premature to describe it as a housing recovery," said Glenn Vatterott, President of the St. Louis Association of Realtors. But, he says the last couple of months seem to suggest the worst is behind us.
"In most of the market, 25 to 30 percent increase in terms of sales units," said Vatterott.
That's a statistic Kesler sure wouldn't mind being a part of.
"We're very hopeful that we can sell within even the next month or so," said Kesler.
She's had six showings on her house since mid-December, which is pretty good for this time of year.
So what's behind the surge? Vatterott says it could be a combination of a number of things, including extremely low interest rates, more affordable prices, consumer confidence and even the mild winter.
KSDK