Category Archives: Prairie Village Real Estate

Prairie Village KS Real Estate, Prairie Village Homes For Sale, Prairie Village Kansas Realtors

Real Estate Market In Kansas Continue Trends That Favor Home Sellers

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market


The latest Kansas Association of Realtors state-wide real estate stats (covering the month of February) indicate further improvement in both average sales prices and in the volume of homes sold (closed). Home sales increased another 3.4% in February compared to February 2011 market stats, following up last months big 11.6% jump.

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Although the state is still in a buyer’s market overall with 7.4 months of inventory on the market, the months of inventory continues to push towards a balanced real estate market – there was 7.7 months in inventory at last months check. 5 to 7 months of inventory is generally considered a balanced real estate market. The rise in home sale prices was even more impressive, with the average sales price rising an incredible 9.7% compared to February of last year. This follows up last month’s identical 9.7% increase.

Locally here in Johnson County Kansas, the real estate market remains solid for home sellers. Over the past month we saw 695 homes sold and comparing this sales rate against the current volume of homes for sale, it calculates to 3.1 months of inventory on the market. This is an improvement over last month’s  3.8 months of inventory. All of this represents a strengthening of the seller’s real estate market that has been present in Johnson County Kansas the past year. 


Posted by Jason Brown

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Is A Career As A Kansas City Real Estate Agent For You?

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Real estate has really changed since I got into the business 20 years ago. Back in the 1990’s, many home sellers chose a BROKER to sell their home and a REAL ESTATE AGENT just came along for the ride. Today, the majority of sellers are choosing a REAL ESTATE AGENT, and a BROKER comes along for the ride. That’s closer to the truth than many people realize. Indeed, it’s the real estate agents who drive today’s real estate business.

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Because more and more real estate agents want to “run a business” and not be told how things are done at every turn, different types of brokerages have sprouted up over the years. The Keller Williams model is one where the company isn’t afraid to make their AGENTS the focus. When I sit down with home sellers at a listing appointment, I explain to each of them that they need to be sure they hire an agent who they feel they’ll work well with because in the end it’s the REAL ESTATE AGENT who’s going to sell the home more so than the broker behind the scenes.

This isn’t to say the brokerages are irrelevant. Behind the scenes the smart brokerages are focused on helping the real estate agents succeed. When that happens, the home sellers and home buyers being represented by the agents succeed. Keller Williams Realty understands this and it’s the reason I’ve been with Keller Williams for a decade now. It’s also the reason that Keller Williams Realty has become the largest real estate company in the U.S by agent count.

Keller Williams reputation is built on providing agents with useful technology, the training they need, the profit-sharing other brokerages shun, the caring nature that has agents helping each other in the office and, not to be overlooked by a numbers guy like me, a commission structure that is AGENT friendly.  So if you’re considering starting a real estate career,  feel free to contact me with questions you may have.

Posted by Jason Brown

Seller’s Market Allows More Johnson County Kansas Home Sellers To Stand Firm On Price

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

With the supply of homes down in Johnson County Kansas, now is a great time to be selling a home. We have heard from sellers planning to wait a month or longer to put their home on the market and we’ve explained it would be a good idea to go ahead now and get the home on the market while inventory is low. The volume of inventory hasn’t been this low in years and in the real estate market, low supply means higher prices… and that’s putting many home sellers in the driver’s seat.

Photo 1591 Still thinking of waiting? Who knows how the market will be in a month or two? There could be an influx of listings by that time and more supply means more options for home buyers. More options for home buyers generally means lower home prices. And who knows what mortgage interest rates are going to do? They’re already trending higher and higher interest rates mean buyers who can afford your home today may not be able to next month. At this time, most home sellers are a big fish in a small pond and waiting to put a home on the market could definitely prove costly.

Much of the inventory of homes on the market now are distressed properties that need work. So if your home is in pristine condition and priced appropriately, it could sell within a week’s time. Average listings are selling within 30 days. Some of the best homes are even seeing multiple offer situations and selling above list price. Wouldn’t it be nice to get an offer where the buyer isn’t asking you to pay for their closing costs? Where the buyer isn’t asking for a home warranty and your refrigerator, washer and dryer? Most of all, wouldn’t it be nice to tell a buyer you are standing firm on your price because there’s considerable demand for your home? That’s the market many home sellers are finding themselves in today and now is an excellent time to get your home on the market.


Posted by Jason Brown

Volume Of Home Sales Up 11% In Kansas, Sales Prices Up 10%

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market


The latest released KAR state-wide stats (January’s stats) show the state of Kansas had further improvements in both volume of homes sold (closed) and in average home sales prices. Home sales volume jumped 11.6% in January compared to January 2011 market stats. This is another in a long line of monthly jumps and follows up a 15.9% increase in last month’s update.

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Average home sale prices rose 9.7% compared to January of last year and follows up last month’s 6.5% increase. There was an influx of new inventory during the month and January’s sales rate compared to the volume of homes for sale, resulting in 7.7 months of inventory on the market. There was 5.4 months of inventory in last month’s stats and the current volume of inventory represents a slight buyer’s market. This ends a run of 10 months of a balanced real estate market, but is likely more of a sign of the stats crossing the holiday season than a long-term trend. I expect by next month’s check the stats will have moved back into a balanced real estate market.

Locally here in Johnson County Kansas, the real estate market remains solid for home sellers. In the past 30 days there were 544 homes sold and comparing this sales rate against the current volume of homes for sale, there’s 3.8 months of inventory on the market. This is an improvement over last month’s 5.0 months of inventory and represents a seller’s market in Johnson County Kansas.


Posted by Jason Brown

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If You’ve Been Holding Off On Selling Your Johnson County KS Home, NOW Is The Time

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

What kind of Kansas City real estate market are we heading into this spring? The demand for homes is high, the supply of homes is low and new home construction is returning to be a player in our local market. Homes are selling in Kansas City, Johnson County Kansas, Overland Park and the surrounding areas at prices not seen since 2007 and nationally homes sales are up more than 9% for the year.

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The supply of homes is low, so low in fact that we’re having trouble locating homes for many buyers. This is the reality of it, though I expect the typical influx of spring listings will go a long way towards satisfying home buyer demand. If you are thinking about selling, or if you’ve held off selling attempting to wait out the real estate downturn, now is the time to sit down with us, go over your situation, and let us get to work getting your home sold. Appropriately priced homes are selling within 30 days.

Nationally, the supply of homes is down more than 20% from this time last year and at a level not seen in EIGHT years.  I’ve seen new home starts sprouting up across the metro and we’re seeing brisk sales in new home communities that had struggled mightily the past several years. Something to consider for resale sellers, the more builders that get back in the market, the more competition it is when selling… And all things being equal, buyers will choose a new home over a resale home. With interest rates so low, now is truly a better time than any in recent memory to be selling a home and making a move.

Posted by Jason Brown

Keller Williams Realty Is Now The Largest Real Estate Franchise In The U.S.

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Keller Williams Realty was the #5 largest real estate franchise in the nation when I joined about 8 years ago. As of this week, KW became the largest real estate franchise in the U.S. With an agent count of nearly 80,000 real estate agents, Keller Williams has now surpassed all others, including Re/Max, Century 21 and Coldwell Banker.

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Keller Williams agents on average increased their closed volume productivity more than 30% in 2012. In a real estate market that’s been turbulent to say the least, Keller Williams has continued to grow and 91% of Keller Williams offices were profitable in 2012. This news follows up Keller Williams 2012 J.D. Powers and Associates ranking as the Highest in Customer Satisfaction in BOTH the home buyers AND home sellers poll, as well as being the only real estate company named on America’s Top 150 Workplaces, coming in at #9 overall in the U.S.


Posted by Jason Brown

Low Housing Inventory In Johnson County KS Leaves Home Buyers Competing For Homes

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Buyers of every type have been coming out of the woodwork for much of the past year and it’s resulted in the Johnson County Kansas area having a low volume of inventory not seen in many years. This means most home sellers are sitting in a much better position than they were just a couple of years ago. Although not everyone has made back all the equity they lost in the market downturn, the real estate market has clearly stabilized in most areas of Johnson County Kansas. Most areas are actually in a seller’s market with regards to volume of inventory and were seeing many situations of multiple offers on properties — which pushes sales prices higher.

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One of the big changes from recent years is that buyers are active in virtually every segment of our local residential real estate market. More and more investors are out in force looking for flips or for properties to hold and rent out. First time home buyers are buying homes at affordable prices and move-up buyers that have been sitting the fence are finally making the move to accommodate their growing families. Some buyers who lost their homes previously have improved their credit scores enough to purchase a home. We’re also seeing more relocation calls than we’ve seen in many years.

All of this has created a seller’s market in regards to volume of inventory and, in many cases, a stabilized market in regards to home prices. If the volume of inventory remains down and demand remains strong, rising home values is the next logical step. I’m expecting that more homes listings will hit the market as more seller’s realize the opportunity in the current market and we’ll see how that, along with the typical rush of spring listings, affects the market in the next few months.


Posted by Jason Brown

10 Straight Months Of A Balanced Real Estate Market In Kansas And Inching Towards A Seller’s Market

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market


The most recently released state-wide real estate housing stats (December’s stats) show the state of Kansas had continued improvements in both average sales prices and volume of homes sold (closed). Home sales increased 15.9% in December compared to December 2011. This is another huge jump in sales and follows up last month’s 23.2% increase.

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Average home sale price rose 6.5% compared to December of last year. This jump in homes sold follows up last month’s 5.0% increase. December’s sales rate compared to the volume of homes for sale calculates to 5.3 months of inventory on the market. This is a slight improvement on last month’s 5.4 months of inventory. Both calculations represent a balanced real estate market and show a further trend towards a seller’s market. This is the tenth straight month that Kansas has been in a balanced real estate market.

Locally here in Johnson County Kansas, the real estate market remains solid and in the past 30 days there were 408 homes were sold. Comparing this sales rate against the current volume of homes for sale, there’s 5.0 months of inventory on the market. This is higher than last months 3.7 months of inventory yet not surprising given the homes sale stats include the holiday season. The current amount of inventory in Johnson County represents a balanced market and very nearly a seller’s market. 


Posted by Jason Brown

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Despite Tripling Of Gas And Bread Prices, Low Interest Rates Keep Kansas City Mortgage Payments Same As 20 Years Ago

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

The stats below have been sitting on my desk for some time now and I just got around to looking them over. It was eye-opening and something I wanted to share it here. The stats compare recent prices to prices from about 20 years ago. Take a look and you’ll see how much bread, gasoline, vehicles and home prices have gone up. Then take in that mortgage interest rates have been cut in HALF — that critical detail has kept the average monthly mortgage payment virtually the SAME as two decades ago.

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Gas prices have nearly tripled… Car prices have doubled… Average home sale prices have nearly doubled… Despite all this, because mortgage rates are at historical lows, the average monthly mortgage payment is virtually UNCHANGED! The Johnson County Kansas real estate market has been stable for well more than a year. Add in that mortgage interest rates have nowhere to go but up and that makes this one of the best opportunities ever to buy a first home or make the move up that you’ve been delaying.


Posted by Jason Brown

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Have A Plan In Place Before Trying To Buy A Kansas City Foreclosure Listing

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Probably 1/10 of buyers who contact us to start a home search want to first explore bank-owned foreclosure listings. This can be a great idea for home buyers who are willing to make repairs and work to create quick equity in their real estate investments. The extent of repairs needed varies greatly from one bank-owned property to the next. Some need just minor cosmetic updating, while others need major structural repairs to get the home up to speed after closing.

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Unfortunately some foreclosure listings won’t pass the appraisal process and thus can’t be purchased through traditional financing methods. If a home has major issues, such as the roof is shot or it has major foundation cracks, those items are sure to be noted on the appraisal. And that would likely cause the buyer’s lender to shoot down making the loan. Most banks won’t make any repairs (even minor items) nor will they allow a buyer to go into a home and make the repairs (even at their own expense) prior to closing, so be cautious. If a home looks like it needs major repairs and you’re only approved for typical conventional or FHA financing, you’ll probably want to steer clear of that particular home.

There are many foreclosure listings out there that will need a buyer who can either pay cash or who has creative financing lined up, possibly a FHA 203K loan (that allows for repairs to be financed into the buyer’s loan) or maybe a line of credit established. These types of financing aren’t mainstream options but are methods that could help a buyer move forward with purchasing a home that needs significant repairs. Also consider that many lenders won’t accept any type of FHA financing. In those cases the buyer must be prepared to pay cash or have conventional financing (minimum 5% down payment) in place.

So before starting the search for a foreclosure listing, just be sure you consider the many different possibilities you might encounter on a bank-owned property, such as… You might need to purchase the property with cash… You might need to have conventional financing in place… You might need to have a FHA 203K loan place… You might have to view many homes to find one that fits both your needs and threshold for repairs… History shows you are likely to shelve the idea of buying a foreclosure and end up purchasing a traditional resale that doesn’t come with the hassles and hurdles that many foreclosure listings require. 


Posted by Jason Brown

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