2–4 Unit Weekly Scan

Market movement

St. Louis

• Active inventory ~6,274 listings, up ~10.3% year over year; roughly 3.6 months of supply. Median days on market ~44.
• Median residential sale price $350,000, up 4.5% — metro-wide, not the 2–4 unit segment.
• Class B/C rents up 2.5% YoY; effective rents $1,398 as of Q1 2026. 2026 is one of the lightest delivery years of the past decade, so vacancy should keep drifting down.

Memphis

• Median sale price ~$215K, flat YoY. About 4.07 months of supply, inventory up 5–10%. Homes sit 59 days and close at 96.3% of list — sellers are still conceding.
• Rents essentially flat: $1,144 → $1,146 over the year (+0.15%).
• Shelby County's revised FY26 budget proposes cutting the county rate from $3.39 to $2.69 per $100 assessed — the lowest in county history. That's a direct reduction to the T in PITI.

VA rate + rule changes

• 30-year VA purchase quoted at 5.875% this week, unchanged week over week (Veterans United). Optimal Blue shows 6.35% — methodology spread, not a market split. Assume high 5s to low 6s.
• Funding fee unchanged: 2.15% first use, zero down. Statutory, needs Congress to move.
• MPRs under Pamphlet 26-7 unchanged. Two narrowings this year: radon-resistant certification dropped for new-construction appraisals ordered after May 1, 2026, and detached structures — sheds, garages — are now exempt from MPRs. A rotting detached garage no longer kills a VA deal. The house itself still has to pass.
• Self-sufficiency test on 3–4 units unchanged. No change to entitlement or occupancy rules.

What it means for August 2027

Both markets are loosening rather than tightening — inventory up, days on market long, Memphis sellers conceding nearly 4% off list. You are not racing anyone. The gap that matters this week: St. Louis rents are growing 2.5% while Memphis rents are dead flat, which erodes Memphis's rent-premium argument even with the Shelby tax cut helping the payment side.

Action for the week