Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Affordable housing remains a challenge in Columbia and Boone County, and the latest housing numbers show some of the same pressures identified in a 2024 countywide housing study.
Close to 14% fewer homes were sold in Boone County last month than the year before, according to the Mid-Missouri Board of Realtors.
August real estate statistics released on Monday show a 13.5% drop in single-family home sales compared to August 2025. Median sale prices remained relatively flat, at $350,000 in Boone County and about $356,000 within Columbia city limits.
Sales were down 20% from July, while the average number of days a home stayed on the market increased 9% to 42 days. Pending listings were also down 12%, with pending sales in Columbia falling 9%.
However, building permits increased 97% and 170% within the Columbia city limits. The board attributes the local lag to national factors, such as the rise in mortgage interest rates to 7.5%.
Sales also declined statewide, with the Missouri Realtors reporting a 5.2% drop in pending sales compared to August 2025 and a 5.4% drop in closed sales. The median sale price was up about 7%.
The lowest median sale price in Mid-Missouri was in Moniteau County, at $160,000. Boone County had the highest price.
Mid-Missouri real estate market reportDownload
The numbers come as the city continues working through the recommendations of a 2024 housing study that outlined 24 steps aimed at addressing housing affordability and availability in Boone County.
The study identified shortages in both homes for purchase and rental housing, with some of the largest gaps involving homes priced between $150,000-$300,000.
Its recommendations went beyond simply building more homes. The study called for expanding the types of housing being built, including townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, while also preserving existing affordable housing.
It also recommended changes to zoning and the development process, including making permitting more predictable, encouraging infill development and creating a local housing trust fund.
Other recommendations focused on helping residents access and maintain housing, including homeowner education, financial-literacy programs, skilled-labor training and improvements to public transportation.
William Rataj has been Columbia’s director of Housing and Neighborhood Services for one year. He said one of the first things he did after taking the job was review the study, and the city now meets quarterly to track its implementation.
“I would say that affordable housing is still a problem not only in Colombia, but in Boone County and throughout the country. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that aren’t under our control, like interest rates, for example, that are over 7% now,” Rataj told ABC 17 News. “That can add a couple of hundred dollars to mortgage payments than it would be otherwise.”
Mortgage rates have climbed to about 7.5%, according to the Mid-Missouri Board of Realtors, a factor Rataj said is contributing to people delaying home purchases.
“It’s something we monitor,” Rataj said. “Interest rates again are a big part of the problem. I think people are deferring buying houses right now because the rates are so high. I don’t know if anybody really knows when they’re going to come down again.”
The 2024 housing study also recommended specific construction targets for different types of housing over a five-year period.
Rataj said Columbia has already surpassed that goal just one year into the process. He said the city not only met the target last year, but “blew it out of the water.”
The city has also used leftover federal ARPA funds and other federal funding to help finance affordable housing projects, including construction involving the Columbia Housing Authority.
“Specifically, we’ve funded a lot of projects with some of the leftover ARPA funds and some of the federal funds that we have. You may have seen construction that’s taking place through the Columbia Housing Authority,” Rataj said. “A lot of those units have funds from the city and the county as well. Those are all affordable units.”
The city has also made permitting and zoning changes that allow for more accessory dwelling units, another recommendation from the housing study intended to expand the types of housing available.
Those efforts are aimed at addressing one of the study’s broader findings: Adding housing overall does not necessarily mean there is enough housing at the price points residents need.
The latest real estate data shows that distinction.
While Boone County had more than three months of housing supply overall, homes priced below $650,000 had fewer than than 2 1/2 months of inventory.
Construction costs are another challenge facing the local housing market.
Rataj said labor and materials remain more expensive than they were before the pandemic, while tariffs have added to the cost of some building materials.
“Another problem is the cost of construction materials. Those have skyrocketed really since the pandemic and they haven’t gone down. They’re not going up at the rate they were during the pandemic, but they haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels,” Rataj said. “That’s really adding to the cost of construction. Even tariffs played a role as well, because sometimes it’s important to have certain building materials that cost a lot more now as well. Those things unfortunately are out of the city’s control.”
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