I'm a broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes. I see a need out there for some good, honest facts for customers and agents.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
The April 2013 stats are out from Heartland MLS. April wasn’t bad with the continued rise in sales prices, but we fell a little short on the pending contracts. (I’m guessing it was the weather) Not to worry, from the numbers I’ve been seeing, May will more than make up for it.
Clay/Ray Counties
Clay/Ray County sales were down for the month by 7.6% from 2012. Units were at 354 versus 383 last year. Year to date, unit sales are down 6.4%, with 1,320 units this year versus 1,411 last year. The average sales price for the month was up 7.9% from last year, with an average price of $151,754. Year to date, the average price is up 5.6%. The average price is $145,433, versus $137,670 last year. New listings were up 2 units to 604 or 0.3% from last year’s 602 units. Inventory is down 6.9% from last year and is running at 1,942 units. Inventory is up 70 units from last month.
Platte County
Platte County sales were up for the month by 0.6% from 2012. Units were at 157 versus 156 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 3.5%, with 591 units this year versus 571 last year. The average sales price for the month was down 1.0% from last year, with an average price of $192,928. Year to date, the average price is up 5.6% from last year. The average price is $188,780 versus $178,719 last year. New listings in Platte County were at 277, even with the 277 units from last year. Inventory decreased 13.5% from last year and is running at 839 units. Inventory is up 58 units from last month.
Heartland
Sales for the entire Heartland area were at 2,687, down for the month by 6.6%, or 191 units. The average price was up 5.3%, and averaging $169,560. Year to date, sales were down 0.1% or 10 units for a total of 10,198 for 2013. The average price for the year is running at $164,497, up 6.8% from 2012’s average of $154,025.
Blowing through Inventory in KC!
Today I checked out what has sold in the last 30 days in the Liberty, MO and Park Hill, MO school districts. (The two most popular districts in the area)
Out of 151 properties sold in the last 30 days, 21 homes were listed for 10 days or less before going under contract. Another 20 or so were new construction or build jobs. With a few skewed numbers from a couple of short sales, the average days on market came in at 103. And the last stat is the average sales price—-$202,717*.
This tells us again and again that if you have a home to sell in this area, now is the right time to call a REALTOR and put it on the market. The really good properties (priced right, good condition, well cared for) are selling like hotcakes and we could use more listings to give our buyers some options.
The new construction numbers look great as well. A few of our subdivisions are selling their model homes so quickly, the agents are begging the builders to build another one so they have somewhere to office. It’s nice to see builders building (and selling) their quality homes again.
If you’re looking to sell in the Northland, jump in!!!
*Stats compiled from a Heartland MLS search are deemed reliable, but may not be exact.
Showings are up. Business is crazy.
The purple line is for Clay and Ray Counties. For questions on specific areas of the KC Metro area, please contact me.
Numbers above are generated by Centralized Showing Service, graph created by Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes.
5 Steps to Get Over Blogger’s ‘Nobody Cares’ Mindset
Every blogger gets there. We’re writing post after post after post and getting some attention from it, but not as much as we’d like. After a while, the thought comes to us, ‘does anyone even care what I’m writing?’ or ‘Is it worth it?’ Here’s 5 steps to get you past that mindset:
1. Quit thinking of your blog as a task. Believe me, I know. The pressure is there to write something on a regular basis. Quit stressing yourself out. A blog is an outlet for your thoughts, not a daunting task. If you’re a blogger that has gotten to the point of several posts, you’ve already shown that you like to write, therefore, blogging is a hobby.
2. Analyze your personal internet habits. I don’t always read the same stuff from the same people, do you? Sometimes, I run across a post from someone I’ve never heard of that’s been writing for years. Your posts aren’t meant to hit the same people each time, they’re meant to cast a wide net and pick up a few readers along the way. You never know whose attention you’ll catch next.
3. Think outward, not inward. Do authors write their books to get followers? No, they write because they have a story or thought in their head they want to share. They’re thinking about the story and the readers, not just about the benefit to them. Worrying about who actually cares about or reads your posts is an inward thought. Get out of your head and have fun.
4. Keep a running tally of ideas. We don’t always have time to write an entire post when a thought occurs to us. When this happens to me, I either start and save a draft or I use my Evernote folder called ‘blog ideas’.
5. Share your blog with someone that hasn’t seen it—or somewhere new. Sometimes we need encouragement. One person telling me my blog is great, or that it helped them, can keep me writing for a long time.
It is worth it.
In the words of Fun, Carry On.
A new range hood in 3 hours or less.
Step 1: Complain a lot about the nasty grease on the range hood.
Step 2: Spend a few minutes trying to clean it with soap and water.
Step 3: Spray it with oven cleaner. Coat it completely
Step 4: Act totally surprised when you wipe the grease off with the paint.
Step 5: Use your judgement when telling your spouse. Humor or tears should work about the same.
Step 6: Offer to head to Home Depot for a new one.
Step 7: Pick up a nice selection of beer on the way home.
Step 8: Laugh with him while he jokes with friends about what you’ve done.
Step 9: Offer to hand him tools and beer as needed.
Step 10: Step back and admire your new range hood.
