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Is the Housing Market Leveling Out?

Beginnings KC Real Estate Experts offer insight

 

Buyers are getting smarter. Inventory is shrinking. Navigating the wild market takes professionals like Mary Drake and Tina Roe of Beginnings KC Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Heritage.

Both Mary and Tina have 10 years of experience in the market, are licensed in Kansas and Missouri, and have a knack for looking past the “HGTV factor” to how sellers and buyers are finding one another in a housing market that continues to flash red hot.

Lack of inventory and construction costs have driven prices up, but the duo says everyone involved is getting wiser to the game.

“They are understanding their investments more. If they’re going to pay more, the home is going to be in better condition,” Mary noted, adding there are fewer “as-is” buys in the market. “We’re not seeing that extravagant gap between the appraisal price and what people are paying for it.”

Aesthetics of the home are a big selling point, they say, including the trendy “HGTV look,” which is a term they don’t exactly endorse.

“HGTV is to real estate as ‘Real Housewives’ of any city you’re in are to what actual housewives are,” Mary said.

When looking at re-sales, the duo says to be sure to de-clutter, keep up with maintenance and remember the kitchens and master suite are the top two areas to ensure are in peak condition.

“We have sellers that maybe haven’t done the things they need to do to their homes over the years. Some of them are getting more money than they should be getting because the inventory is so low,” Tina explains.

Median home prices in the Kansas City Metro market now top $308,000 and only 4,300 homes are currently in inventory, with only one month of inventory in stock, Mary and Tina report.

Being temporarily displaced can be a negative to any home-buying experience, but the Beginnings KC team says 95 percent of their clients can move straight from their existing home to their new home.

“The timing of selling your existing home so you make one move, that’s so important,” Mary said.

And as far as the housing “bubble,” they would just as soon retire that term.

“I think the ‘bubble burst’ is a term that is antiquated,” Mary said, adding that in 2008 it was related to fraudulent loans and harkens back to a time of buyers getting a loan for 110 percent of the value, both of which are over. “I do see a leveling out, with buyers and sellers both getting smarter."

If you have questions about your estimated home value or would like information on how to prepare your home to sell, contact the Beginnings KC Team to get a great start. 

Beginnings KC Real Estate RE/MAX Heritage

Mary Drake and Tina Roe

816-783-5805

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