Tag Archives: Overland Park Home Sellers

Several Real Estate Tax Breaks Could Be Ending For Kansas City Homeowners

Posted on by

Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

The majority of homeowners who made a down payment of less than 20% when buying a home are paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). This is a necessary and expensive costs associated with many monthly mortgage payments. When paying PMI, Kansas City homeowners have at least been able to get relief by writing the PMI off when completing their annual income taxes (i.e. paying the PMI with BEFORE tax dollars). But this break is scheduled to come to an end this year unless homeowners itemize their tax deductions. This would cost these homeowners several hundred dollars a year by having to pay the PMI with AFTER tax dollar, so homeowners will want to weigh the costs of starting to itemize deductions versus the cost of losing this tax break.

Photo 1316
An additional tax provision related to Kansas City real estate that is scheduled to come to an end is the Energy Efficient Upgrade tax break. This has allowed homeowners since 2006 to deduct 10% of the costs of making their home more energy efficient, up to a total lifetime tax break of $500. A separate $500 energy tax credit is also scheduled to come to an end for homeowners who install energy efficient appliances. So if you’ve been considering installing new windows, a new air conditioner or a new range, now could be a good time.

The Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act is another tax break scheduled to come to an end in 2013. This tax break has given underwater homeowners relief when completing a short sale, foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. When a lender “forgives” a homeowner from paying back all of what’s owed on a home, the “forgiven” debt amount may be viewed as taxable income. If so, and if this tax break ends, underwater homeowners could be faced with additional hurdles to overcome.

Time will tell if any or all of these tax breaks get extended. If they don’t get extended soon, it’s possible they could get retro extended at some point in 2014. This article is not tax advise and be sure you contact a CPA or tax adviser to discuss how past, current and future tax situations and changes relate to your personal real estate and tax situation.


Posted by Jason Brown

For The Majority Of Overland Park Home Buyers, It’s All About The Price

Posted on by

Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Choosing an appropriate list price will always be a critical step in the home selling process. But it’s more important than ever in today’s buyer’s market because, for the majority of home buyers in Overland Park, Johnson County Kansas and the surrounding Kansas City area, it’s all about the money they’re paying for a home. If the price isn’t right, buyers are moving on and leaving sellers in the dust. This fact makes it hard for many home sellers who, while trying to arrive at an appropriate list, have heavy burdens on them like trying to break even, considering a short sale if they’re upside down or just trying to net as much as possible on the sale and move on.


Though the market has improved in the past year, we remain in a buyer’s market and until that changes buyers are going to demand a great deal. It’s the law of supply and demand and buyers today certainly recognize they have the bull by the horns. They feel that they must get a good deal while the time is right and to also avoid losing money should property values fall in the near future. Still, for every home there’s a price that will sell the home and finding that price early in the process and avoiding a lengthy stay on the market is almost always in a seller’s best interest.

Seller’s need to be smarter than their neighbor when selling and understand that the over-priced listing down the street is not a reason to also be over-priced — it’s a reason to price the home BELOW them. There’s more supply (sellers) than demand (buyers) in today’s market and it’s possible some of the neighborhood homes will never sell. Or some will take a lot longer than others to sell. If a seller doesn’t want to be THAT home, then pricing ahead of the competition is advised and essentially the neighbors over-priced listing will push buyers their way.


Posted by Jason Brown

Add to DeliciousAdd to DiggAdd to FaceBookAdd to Google BookmarkAdd to RedditAdd to StumbleUponAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Twitter

Overland Park KS Real Estate Market Update – November 2011

Posted on by

Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Real Estate Statistics On Overland Park Kansas
15 Day Glance At The Overland Park KS Real Estate Market

After calculating the absorption rate over the past 15 days in Overland Park Kansas and comparing it the current volume of homes for sale, we find the city has 8.0 months of inventory on the market. This amount of inventory is considered a buyer’s market. When we checked the Overland Park real estate stats almost a month a go, there was 6 months of inventory on the market. Since there’s actually fewer homes on the market now, the higher months of inventory on the market is due to a slowing sales rate — 82 homes were sold during the 15 day period earlier this month, compared to 58 sales during this most recent 15 day period.

Type # Average $ Avg DOM
Listings Past 15 Days 80 $283,187 –
Total Active Listings 928 – –
Newest Contracts Written 85 $238,154 133
Newest Sold (Closed) 58 $231,889 132

* The Average $ of Newest Contracts Written considers the list price when the homes went under contract. Data pulled from Heartland MLS and deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Low samplings in a category can skew results. Stats cover approximately 15 days from post date. DOM = Days On Market.

The average new listing the past 15 days in Overland Park came on the market at more than $283,000. The average sales price over the same period was just under $232,000. If you are making plans to buy or sell a home in Overland Park KS, my group can provide you the market information you need to make an informed decision and we’ll guide you through the real estate process. Here’s info on how we can assist you with selling your Overland Park home or with buying an Overland Park home. Please contact us with any questions you may have!

Overland Park Kansas Relocation Information

Search Overland Park Kansas Homes For Sale

View Additional Real Estate Stats On Overland Park

Our Overland Park Kansas Buyer’s Agent Services

Our Overland Park Kansas Listing Agent Services


Posted by Jason Brown

Add to DeliciousAdd to DiggAdd to FaceBookAdd to Google BookmarkAdd to RedditAdd to StumbleUponAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Twitter

Kansas City Home Buyers Are Missing Out On The Perfect Storm

Posted on by
Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

I continue to see home buyers sitting on the fence, feeling there’s no need to hurry and/or waiting for the market to head back up before buying a home. But buying once the market is in a clear upward trend means paying a higher price for a home. It’s futile to try to time a market and signs right now indicate home prices are stabilizing in most areas. Many smart home sellers are realizing that they may lose money on their home sale but they’ll make it up on their home purchase. If they’re a move-up buyer, they’re in an even better position to see increased gains simply by buying more real estate in a down market. The more expensive homes are also the better deals in today’s market.


This is the perfect storm for Kansas City home buyers and we’re unlikely to ever again see the great deals present in today’s Kansas City real estate market. From Overland Park to the Northland and from Lenexa to Lee’s Summit, the volume of foreclosure and short sale listings present buyers with amazing choices. Even for those who don’t want to mess with a home in the condition of a distressed sale, the low prices of those homes is pushing down the price of move-in condition homes as most sellers realize they’ve got to be aggressive with their pricing to get attention.

In today’s buyer’s real estate market, buyer’s are getting away with being firm at the negotiating table… including close date and price in many instances. If you’re going to make a lateral move like selling a $200,000 home in Overland Park and buying a $200,000 in Olathe, now is a great time to make a move. If you have a good agent assisting you, you’ll minimize the losses on the your home sale and maximize the gains on the home purchase. If you’re a move-up buyer, even better. If you’re currently renting, you simply need to schedule a meeting with me and I’ll show you why buying a home makes more sense than ever.

Posted by Jason A. Brown

Add to DeliciousAdd to DiggAdd to FaceBookAdd to Google BookmarkAdd to RedditAdd to StumbleUponAdd to TechnoratiAdd to Twitter