Category Archives: Kansas City Real Estate

This is a short post about some stats concerning multi-family homes for sale in Johnson County, Kansas. In the last 181 days there have been 10 multi family homes that have sold and closed.  There are currently 47 multi-family housing units for sale in Johnson County.

Just sayin’.

“The Kansas City real estate market.  How is it doing?”

I get asked how the real estate market is all the time.  Here are my brief feelings as to where we are now.

We are just on the cusp of the second wave of foreclosures due to arrive this winter and roll through next spring.  Certain areas of Kansas City have fared pretty well.  Compared to the rest of the country and certain parts of KC, that is.  Johnson County, Kansas is doing pretty well.  Areas in Lee’s Summit, Brookside and pockets in North Kansas City are hanging on real well.  But it can be neighborhood to neighborhood as it doesn’t take very many foreclosures to drag a subdivision down into the muck.

My gut feeling?   We aren’t quite at bottom.  But we’re not too far from it.  I kinda predict our real estate market to be like a rock skipping across a lake.  That rock will take on water and hit hard then it will bounce back up, barely, only to travel a while and crash again.  Now, if you want to take the analogy farther you could always argue that the rock eventually sinks to the bottom.  Ouch.  I’m not prepared to go that far.  🙂

The point I’m trying to make is that it is my belief that in Kansas City you aren’t going to make much or lose much by trying to “time” this market.  Look for solid buys and then act on them.  But this isn’t a market to take chances in. You better be sure of your numbers.  If you’re sure, buy.  If not, wait.  You’ll find something, I promise.

Well, we are twelve days into the real estate market without the tax credit and there is absolutely no way to make any scientific determinations.  But I can tell you a few things that are true and that I have noticed.

• Looking at our showing service I can tell you that showings for the first week of May are down 48% from the last week in April.  -48%!
• Our sales board at work, where I just added a fairly anemic sale, is quite thin compared to the previous two months at this time.  That’s just an observation.  Not a fact.
• My phone?  Crickets.  Well, except for the many calls regarding more docs, loan stuff and FHA repairs for currently pending deals.

As suspected, the patient real estate buyer and/or investor may be able to start to pilfer some ever-growingly-uncomfortable sellers in a very short while.

I’ve been here.  I’ve been here.  🙂

I have received quite a few emails from readers of BBQ Capital:  Kansas City Real Estate & Investing asking what is going on.  And the answer is “nothing, really.”  I’m still working as a real estate agent here in the Kansas City area.  In fact, March saw four closings.  When you are a real estate agent, closings are good.  I have two more on the board for the next thirty days and I would expect another one coming very soon.

But as many of you know I also have other business interests besides my REALTOR responsibilities and my own investment property.  And that has kept me very busy.  Along with coaching my 5 year old’s soccer team…which I enjoy beyond belief.

Mostly, however, I just needed a break.  Writing and talking about real estate nearly every day just wore on me and I just couldn’t face the keyboard.  It wasn’t fun.  It was work.  Drudgery, really.  So without explanation I took a mental holiday away from it all.

A holiday away from the mismanagement of the financing changes.  A holiday away from the discussions of ever expanding contracts ( I turned in a 63 pager the other day!  63 freaking pages!), from CNN, Fox News and even the beloved Kansas City Star.

I think those of you in the technology business (a great portion of my investment real estate clients) call it a sabbatical.

Now here is the bottom line.  My batteries are recharged, my indignation level building and my continued need to teach refueled.  So stay tuned….   🙂    And in the mean time you can check out this article in today’s Kansas City Star about where all the real estate agents have gone.  Odd timing, huh?

Listen, I’m a fiscal conservative and people have the right to make whatever amount of money they can make.  But damnit, I’m tired of paying for it when the money ultimately comes  through my tax dollars and pointless consumer fees.