Communal seating in the main lobby of the One Cardinal Way apartment building in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. The apartment building officially opened for move-in on August 1, 2020 and executives say there was a rush to get moved in and catch some of the game day action and views overlooking Busch Stadium. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Each floor has different artwork or pictures from the Cardinals’ Archive as you exit the elevators in the One Cardinal Way apartment building in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. The apartment building officially opened for move-in on August 1, 2020 and executives say there was a rush to get moved in and catch some of the game day action and views overlooking Busch Stadium. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
The exercise room on the amenities floor of the One Cardinal Way apartment building in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. The apartment building officially opened for move-in on August 1, 2020 and executives say there was a rush to get moved in and catch some of the game day action and views overlooking Busch Stadium. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Drywall workers install drywall in an apartment in the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Carpenter Danny Kling pounds in the top section of a glass door to a balcony at the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Workers work on the amenities floor of the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Alex Moresco with Birkel Electric installs a spreader bar for lights in the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Carpenter Danny Kling walks down a hallway checking for incomplete doors in the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Shaun Gunnell with Birkel Electric works on a fire suppression system in the ceiling of the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
A drywall worker walks past a window filled with fall colors while working on an apartment in the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
A pair of workers drywall an apartment in the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Jacob Zahn installs tile in a bathroom shower in the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Juan Ramirez carries a piece of drywall through an apartment in the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
Doug Behnon, with Aladdin Insulation, blows insulation into the ceiling of the Wild Horse Apartments in Chesterfield on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Brinkman Construction has been managing the project for a little over a year. They are currently dealing with a delay of needed supplies due to the Coronavirus pandemic slowing international shipping. Photo by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
ST. LOUIS — Rents in St. Louis rose by more than they did nationwide since the pandemic arrived, thanks in large part to $8,000-a-month penthouses overlooking Busch Stadium and hundreds of other high-end apartments in hot neighborhoods such as the Central West End.
Tenants’ monthly payments rose $15 in metro St. Louis between February and August, according to Zillow estimates, compared with a $10 increase nationwide. The pandemic seems to be upending the bloated rental markets of New York City and San Francisco, where rents have declined, while creating demand in places such as St. Louis and Memphis, Tennessee. Add in dozens of top-shelf apartments — like one-bedroom units for $3,100 a month and two-bedroom units for $4,900 a month — and the St. Louis area’s rental market is surprisingly strong during COVID-19.
Rents were already climbing here, according to the data. In the past year, rents increased $32 in St. Louis and $27 nationally. That’s a reversal from the previous three years, when rent increases in St. Louis never matched or exceeded the national amount. Between 2016 and 2019, annual rent increases averaged $51 nationally and $26 in metro St. Louis.
A mass of new, rather immodest spaces coming online created competition, said Michael Hamburg, owner and founder of Pier Property Group.
“Luxury markets have been ignored here,” Hamburg said. “And it’s not getting ignored now.”