Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

If you’re making the move to Johnson County KS, Overland Park or a surrounding Kansas City area, you’ll surely be weighing many factors. A better job, being closer to family or maybe it’s the reasonable costs of living in the Midwest. These are certainly some of the common factors I hear with clients relocating to the area. But in addition to the housing and employment considerations when relocating, you’ll also want to consider the cost of living difference of one city to another.

There are many great tools out there and one is the city comparison tool at About.com. I compared Kansas City to Palos Verdes Estates in California and found that it’s 285% more expensive to live in Palos Verdes! Which is why I’m no doubt seeing more people relocating to Kansas City from the coasts. Another great tool is Bankrate.com’s cost of living comparison tool, which factors in real estate costs, utilities, transportation, health care and even grocery prices. You can also find a cost of living calculator tool that factors in income differential from one place to another at Salary.com.

Of course many people are moving irregardless of cost of living factors because they have the need for large city amenities that comes with a suburban feel, or other factors that are driving their decisions.  Still, the dollars and cents of making the move will matter in the long run, so it’s recommended that factors like gasoline prices, groceries and commute costs are considered. If you think about it, gasoline costs and/or length of commute to work could be valid reasons for making a relocation. If you’ve ever traveled to another state and said to yourself “gas is expensive here” or “dining is expensive here”, then you know what I mean. Now imagine living there and dealing with those prices day in and day out.

Posted by Jason A. Brown