Though some areas have seen substantial activity in the 90's, the past ten years have seen a marked decline in the total number of housing units authorized by building permits in St. Louis County. The decline in the total number of units was largely a reflection of a dramatic decrease in multi-family housing construction. Thus, while multi-family units represented 43 percent of the total in 1987, they only amounted to 4 percent of the total in 1994. A main factor slowing housing production in St. Louis County is the scarcity of readily developable land. After a half century of very active development, St. Louis County is approaching full development.
Land is no longer available for large subdivisions of several hundred homes.
Smaller subdivisions and infill development in some of the County's older central communities represent increasing shares of the total. Unincorporated St. Louis County was the site of 35 percent of the residential construction in 1998. Annexations by West County municipalities during the 1990's and the incorporation of the City of Wildwood in 1995 have resulted in annual decreases in the unincorporated share of county building permits from 73 percent in 1991 to 35 percent in 1998. While new development proposals in process suggest a continuing upsurge in multi-family development from recent lows, overall increases in housing production are not expected. Insufficient land remains in St. Louis County for large single-family subdivisions such as those developed a few years ago.