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KC Northland Helpful Website and Organization

Northland Neighborhoods has been around for a number of years and they just keep getting better and better.  On their website, you can get all kinds of good information on what's happening localling, as well as sign up for an e-newsletter.  Here is the link to their site:  CLICK HERE

New High School Website

Check out the new Staley High School Website - Click Here

Wow!  This is an incredible facility and an incredible opportunity to own real estate NOW before thet rest of the city figures out what's happening!

Adjustments in Housing in Kansas City Northland

The Kansas City Star, August 30th edition, reports on page B1 several good pieces of information in the Northland housing industry even thought the headline leads you to think otherwise.  New housing starts in Clay County are off 23% from the same period last year, and 58% off in Platte County.  This is GOOD news!  Especially for the resale market because it means that new construction has FINALLY adjusted its inventory.

For the past 2 years, residential resale homes (all homes that are not new construction) have been in direct competition with new construction.  This is not historically the case - usually, builders NEVER give concessions, i.e., throw in a free  mail box, or a garage door opener, or come down on price.  But the past 2 years builders have been throwing in all kinds of incentives to get their over-built inventory down.

Other good news is that the number of active listings in the Heartland MLS fell 3 % in June, to 4,983 homes on the  market - this is the first time inventory in the Kansas City Metro area has dropped below 5,000 since December 2004.

Economic Development Councils Reports - The bottom is a good thing!

We attended a presentation yesterday that featured the Clay and Platte Counties Economic Development Councils.  Good news from both.  Housing permits are up in Clay County, as well as the average sale price of homes.  Platte County remains steady on housing.

Both counties are going gang-busters with commercial development - over a million square feet of shopping is going in on the northwest corner of I-29 and Mo-152, and Zona Rosa is going to double in size.  Clay County is developing a shopping district twice the size of current Zona Roasa at MO-152 and I-435 and there is $58,000,000 of planned commercial in Smithville and along the MO-169 corridor extending southward toward Kansas City.

What does this mean to you, a home owner, home shopper, home seller?  That the economy is alive and well in the Kansas City Northland.

We talked with a trusted lender today regarding mortgage rates and it looks like the market has hit bottom, topping interest rates at about 7%.  The bottom is a good thing!  In all honesty, over history, interest rates have historically fallen between 6% and 7.5%, so we are really right on track, we've just gotten spoiled by ridiculously low rates over the past couple of years.  The only way forward now is up!!

Northland Market Trends

I just ran a report to compare the number of active listings in parts of the Northland in the last 30 days and also for the same 30 days of 2006.  I wanted to see where the Northland sits as far as inventory and showings on that inventory.  The media would have us believe that the housing market is seriously in the, well, toilet, for lack of a more appropriate word.  Here in the Heartland, we are fortunate to have a history of normalcy, and that trend continues even in the housing market.

Here's what I found:  The average number of showings on homes on the market in the Gladstone area last year from 4/11/2006 - 5/11/2006 were 6.7, same period this year - 6.1 with about 5% more homes on the market.  Same time frame north of Barry Road, south of Smithville:  average 4 showings per homes on the market and about 9% more homes on the market.  Note:  this area has several new homes subdivisions, hence the increased number of homes on the market.  Southern Platte County:  average showings are 5.1 last  year, 4.8 per month this year, and there are actually fewer homes on the market now than last year to the tune of 5%.

So, what does this mean, well, we have a normal market with a slightly higher inventory and the same number of people out there shopping for homes.  We had been blessed to have experienced a seller's market for almost 10 years.  Now we are back to normal.  That's a good thing.

If you'd like a personal assessment of your specific neighborhood, let me know - anita@yourhomeconsultingteam.com. And comments are always welcome.

Anita