A small Midwestern town is charming homebuyers with its affordable homes and beautiful surroundings — and the fact that it hasn’t charged property taxes in nearly four decades.
Ballwin, Missouri, which is located half an hour from St. Louis, is home to about 31,000 people.
But the area is among the most popular ZIP codes in the U.S. because of its unique tax benefit, according to Real estate agent.com.
Ballwin has not levied a municipal property tax since 1987, which significantly benefits both current residents and potential buyers by reducing the overall cost of homeownership.
Instead, city services are funded through sales taxes, utility gross receipts taxes, and recreational revenues.
Ballwin, Missouri is one of the most active real estate markets in the U.S. due to its unique tax benefits.
Property taxes are paid by the property owner to county or local taxing authorities and are used for infrastructure improvements, public services, and local education.
Taxes vary by state and county, and the amount is based on a property’s assessed value.
New Jersey, for example, has the highest property taxes of any state, with an effective tax rate of 2.23 percent, according to the Tax Foundation.
Realtor.com found that Ballwin’s lack of property taxes could prove especially attractive to retirees on fixed incomes.
For other buyers, the lack of additional taxes may mean they can consider purchasing a larger property within their budget.
Homes in Ballwin are a bit more expensive than surrounding areas, but still tend to be lower than the national average.
Realtor.com found that the median list price in the suburb is $409,000, which is about $35,000 less than $439,500, the national average for July.
As a result, townhouses are selling like hotcakes.
On average, properties only stayed on the market for 16 days before being purchased by a buyer in the first half of this year.
This is more than a month (about 42 days) less than the average for the United States as a whole.
Most buyers trying to enter the Ballwin market are from the surrounding area, but 41 percent are from farther away, including a significant portion of Chicago.
In addition to its small-town charm, beautiful surroundings, low crime rate, and affordability, Ballwin is also within commutable distance from St. Louis.
Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones noted that unemployment rates in the St. Louis metro area are lower than the national average, “offering prospective buyers a strong economy nearby.”
Ballwin attracts “buyers who are willing to pay for the right combination of size and amenities within commuting distance of the office,” he added.
‘The shift towards more office-based working has continued, meaning many buyers are looking to find a desirable combination of convenience and lifestyle benefits.’
In addition to its small-town charm, beautiful surroundings, low crime rate and affordability, Ballwin is also within commutable distance from St Louis.
Realtor.com found that Ballwin’s lack of property taxes could prove particularly attractive to retirees on fixed incomes.
The median list price in Ballwin is $409,000, which is about $35,000 less than $439,500, the national average for July.
Ballwin is located half an hour from St. Louis and is home to about 31,000 people.
Ballwin ranked second on Realtor.com’s ranking of the most popular U.S. ZIP codes for 2024, behind only one other Midwestern city.
Gahanna, a leafy suburb of Columbus, Ohio, took the top spot for the second year in a row.
Gahanna, a small town of just 35,000 residents, is attracting homebuyers who are making offers at a dizzying rate.
The area features affordable housing, with a median list price of $345,000, with good access to the amenities of the greater city of Columbus, where several multi-billion dollar companies, such as Intel and Google, are expanding.
“The Midwest has enjoyed sustained popularity as high home buying costs concentrated demand in more affordable locations,” Jones said.