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All About Kansas Real Estate

By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
In a recent poll completed by the National Association of Realtors there were 4 main barriers that were stopping homebuyers from successfully becoming a homeowner. Increasing home prices, rising mortgage rates, lack of available homes and difficulty raising enough funds for a down payment were those 4 main reasons for over 75% of the respondents. With the Spring 2024 home buying season almost upon us, I wanted to give you some great ways to counteract each of these barriers and get on the road to homeownership.Increasing Home Prices - Home prices have been increasing for a while now but they really took off after the pandemic. The unique thing we are seeing is that prices are still going up even though the overall number of home sales are going down. When home sales go down, you usually...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
For several years now there has been a prediction of a Silver Tsunami, this wave has nothing to do with global warming but the prediction that homeowners that are 65 or older will start selling their current homes and moving towards smaller homes or other Senior living options.As we started to live longer and healthier lives there was a trend to stay in your current home longer than normal and home availability crisis that was exacerbated by Covid -19 has kept seniors in their current homes way longer than anyone anticipated.See All Homes For Sale NowThis so called Silver Tsunami has been predicted for many years but has not materialized but with 1 in 6 Americans now being 65 or older it seems inevitable that we will see many more sell. In recent  AARP 51% of Americans over 50 would lik...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
So this was actually the headline for another article (You can read it here) but I felt that most of their conclusions were totally wrong. They were not wrong that millennials are there own worst enemy when it comes to buying a house, they were just wrong about the reasons. I have 3 reasons why you are your own worst enemy and what you should do instead :Timing: Most millennials wait way too long or don't wait long enough. Real Estate has seasonality and you can expect the highest number of homes to sell between March 1st and the end of June, while October through December are annually when sales are at their lowest. When you purchase during the peak period you will not only face the highest level of competition but you will most likely pay the highest price, plus you will most likely h...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
So what is better than interest rates going down? I know, having someone else pay your down payment! Every year Housing and Urban Development (HUD) releases funds to assist first time buyers with their downpayment. The bad news is these funds don't last long. See Homes that are eligible for Down Payment AssistanceSo here is your official notice, do you want $7,500 towards your down payment? Then you will need to act fast and here is everything you need to know:Apply for Home Loan with First Bank - Kim SchultzFunds are Limited and are on a First Come, First Service BasisYou Must be Pre-Approved before Viewing and offering on homes to insure funds availabilityThere are income Limitations Based on Household SizeOther Requirements and/or Restrictions Borrowers can use FHA or Conventional Ho...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
When Mortgage interest rates started to rise in the fall of 2022 it caught many if not all home buyers off guard. As rates rose quickly from the 3's to the 7's it quickly changed what had been a runaway train real estate market to the Little Red Train trying to get over the hill. As rates stagnated above 7%  mortgage lenders had to come up with new and unique ways to bring affordability back to home buying.More: See All Homes For Sale in the KC Metro While rates have finally started to come back down, they are still high in comparison to the 3% days, unfortunately those day are gone and most likely not coming back anytime soon. So what is one to do? This is where those new and unique loan product come into play. While the 30 year and 15 year fixed rate loans are the most common, they al...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "BAD HOME INSPECTION". HOME INSPECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT FOR HOME BUYERS, HOME SELLERS, LISTING AGENTS AND BUYERS' AGENTS.   THE HOUSE WILL BE UNDER A MAGNIFYING GLASS.  A good home inspection means that the home inspector examines every "nook and cranny" in a house and tests all systems and components. A HOME INSPECTION IS USUALLY A CONTINGENCY ON THE CONTRACT.  If the home inspector discovers and documents serious structural, systems, etc. defects, the seller is usually given an opportunity to cure or the buyer can void the contract.  If the home inspection finds the home in good condition with no structural or system defects, the contingency will expire or the buyer will remove it. HOME BUYERS BENEFIT FROM A HOME INSPECTION by learning about the condition of ...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
Starting the early 2000's there was a major switch from 30 year fixed rate mortgages to adjustable rate mortgages or (ARM's) . As home prices continued to rise there was a huge push to find ways to make mortgage payments more affordable, this led to the creation of new and exotic adjustable rate mortgage loan options. Many of these options includes interest only loans and loan that led to mortgage balances growing each month, these loan options led to a lot of foreclosures and left most buyers terrified of adjustable rate mortgages.See Homes For SaleMove forward to today, with homes prices on the rise and mortgage rates at a 15 year high, buyers are once again looking for ways to bring their monthly mortgage payments down. This has led to the return of adjustable rate mortgages, however...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
At the end of 2019 it was looking like real estate was heading for a correction, there had been a solid 8+ years of rising prices and based on past markets real estate was due for a correction. What nobody saw coming was a pandemic, Covid 19 changed how people view and value their homes. Fueled by low interest rates and Covid Cash, homes sales in the summer of 2020 became a runaway train with homes selling way over list price with multiple offers immediately after listing. This continued all the way till the fall of 2022 when rising interest rates finally took the steam out of the engine.Since then home sales have been a roller coaster, we saw really weak sales in the fall of 2022, only to see a huge rebound in the late winter and spring of 2023. The market then flattened out in the sum...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
So you want to build a new home, that is great news because building a new dream home can be one of the most exciting times of your life. But before you can build that home you will most likely need to arrange for financing, depending on the price and stage of construction you will have 3 options for financing your new construction home.See Available New Construction HomesBuilder financing - When builder financing is used, the builders generally take out a line of credit with a bank or lending institution to construct the home. This is very common with spec homes, these are home that the builder starts without having a buyer yet. The builder will budget the cost of this financing into the final price of the home. As a buyer you will most likely just apply for a mortgage in the same mann...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
Are you considering a new construction home in 2024? Well, the local homebuilders believe that you are. Recent numbers show that homebuilders have increased their starts by 18% in November and 42% over the previous year.New Construction Homes in Overland Park KansasNew Construction Homes in Olathe KansasNew Construction Homes in Lenexa KansasNew Construction Homes in Leawood KansasWith the anemically low inventory of resale homes available, builders are stepping up to create much needed inventory, in fact new homes make up almost 40% of the current available inventory.Another great reason to consider a new home now is that interest rates are expected to improve next year, right about the time that many of these new homes will be ready for occupancy.If you are considering building new ho...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
I was surfing around the internet and while visiting multiple news and social media sites I saw nothing but negative news about the current real estate market.  There were probably 10 articles about a pending crash in real estate values and equally as many articles about lawsuits pertaining to real estate commissions. All of this negative news was really getting to me, especially since I have never been more optimistic about a coming year in my 23 years as a real estate agent.  I started looked for some positive real estate news and found nothing, so here is some.Let's start with interest rates, this fall interest rates shot up to 8% and it had an adverse effect on home sales but what has not been reported is that interest rates are now firmly is the 6's and many 5 year and 7 year fixed...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
Buying a home is a big part of the American Dream but building a New Construction Home is the ultimate dream come true. When it come to building your new dream home there are 3 major ways to get it constructed, start from scratch, pick one up under construction or buy a completed builder spec home. Dirt Start- When you choose a dirt start you get to pick everything, you get to pick the perfect lot, choose your builder and pick or design a custom floor plan. You will also get to choose everything from paint colors, fixtures and so much more. When you do a dirt start you also take on a lot of risk, cost overruns can unexpectedly increase your budget with things like excavation costs and material overages, a dirt start will also take the longest to complete. The builder will need to get pe...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
Spring Hill Kansas is a community in South Johnson County that has seen incredible growth in the past several years. While there has been enormous price appreciation across Johnson County, Spring Hill has remained affordable. They are several affordable new home communities in Spring Hill like Foxwood Ranch and Dayton Creek but Boulder Creek has moved to the top amongst affordable new home communities. View all Available Homes in Boulder SpringsBoulder Creek features 2 story, 1.5 story and reverse 1.5 story homes from great builders like Calyn Homes, Century Homes and Lamendola Custom Homes. Home prices start in the 300's and go to the 500's. Boulder Creel also features high end amenities with a Community Pool, walking trail, playground and fire pit.Want more information? Call or text 9...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
Every year it seems to get harder and harder to find affordable new construction homes in Johnson County Kansas. Since the pandemic started the cost to build a new home have gone through the roof, labor shortages and material costs have skyrocketed causing the average price to go up substantially but there is some good news.A new subdivision has popped up in Gardner Kansas, one of Johnson Counties fasted growing cities.  The new community is called Cypress Creek and is developed by well known Home builder Rausch-Coleman. The 3 and 4 bedroom ranch floor plans start a budget friendly $325,000.View All available Homes in Cypress Creek Now Located Southeast of Gardner Edgerton High School, Cypress Creek provides easy access to Downtown Gardner, the BNSF Intermodal and Interstate 35.For more...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
The decision to build a new home should be a really exciting time, this is an opportunity the design your dream home that meets all of your  and your families needs. We just want to make sure that the dream doesn't turn into a nightmare where you have to gut your upgrade budget to cover unexpected overages.See Available South Johnson County New Construction HomesIn general we see that most buyers will earmark 10% of the homes final cost for upgrades to items like flooring, lighting, appliances, tile,  kitchen cabinets and counters. However, most buyers forget to prepare for these 3 potential budget busters as these items can eat into your upgrade budget or force you to go over way over on your budgeted price.Subsurface conditions- this is most common budget buster and can be very costly...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
Check out this hot new subdivision in South Overland Park / Stilwell. The New Southern Meadows will be just South of 183rd St and Mission Road, when completed there will be over 1200 homes on 510 acres. It will feed into the Award Winning Blue Valley School District and home price will be from $500,000 to 1.5 Million + .Southern Meadows will feature luscious terrain with amenities that include a mountain bike trail, pickelball, tennis, clubhouse, competitive lap pool, basketball and frisbee golf. This will be some of the best amenities found in any subdivision in South Johnson CountySouthern Meadows will also feature some of the best home builders that Kansas City has to offer. You will find multiple reverse 1.5 story, 2 story and 1.5 story models available from Doyle Construction, Gabr...
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By Mike Russell, Overland Park Kansas Real Estate
(Mike Russell Real Estate Group)
Over the last several years the inventory of available homes has been extremely low and the competition to buy the homes that do come up for sale has been fierce.  This has led a lot of buyers to consider New Construction Homes. Building a new home can be exciting but it can also turn into an absolute nightmare if you don't have  plan from start to finish.One of the first steps is to meet with a lender who specializes in New Construction financing , this will help you get pre-approved and create a budget for your new home. This is where the 70/20/10 Rule will come into play.See New Construction Homes in Johnson CountyThe base price of the home or the cost to build the house should be 70% of your total budget. The price of the land or lot should be 20% of your budget and the final 10% sh...
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By Charles Ross - eXp Realty LLC, Love To Help People
(eXp Realty LLC Salina Group)
If you find yourself in the heartland of America, don't miss the chance to explore Salina, Kansas, a hidden gem tucked away in the sweeping plains of the Midwest. Despite what you might think, this quaint town, nestled in zip code 67401, is brimming with culture, history, and recreational activities perfect for solo adventurers, couples, and families. Here, we uncover the top five things you absolutely must do when in Salina, Kansas.Step Back in Time at the Smoky Hill Museum:Your visit to Salina should definitely include a trip to the Smoky Hill Museum, where the rich history of the region comes to life through engaging exhibits and rare artifacts. This museum is a treasure trove of local history, offering insights into the early pioneer days, the evolution of the area, and the cultural...
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By Charles Ross - eXp Realty LLC, Love To Help People
(eXp Realty LLC Salina Group)
You might be worried we’re heading for a housing crash, but there are many reasons why this housing market isn’t like the one we saw in 2008. One of which is how lending standards are different today. Here’s a look at the data to help prove it. Every month, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) releases the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). According to their website:“The MCAI provides the only standardized quantitative index that is solely focused on mortgage credit. The MCAI is . . . a summary measure which indicates the availability of mortgage credit at a point in time.”Basically, the index determines how easy it is to get a mortgage. Take a look at the graph below of the MCAI since they started keeping track of this data in 2004. It shows how lending standards have change...
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By Wayne Short
(The Wichita Home Team with KW Signature Partners)
I am now retiring.  Please contact my son, Kirk Short, Broker: 316-371-4668Kirk runs a team of 6 agents plus 3 staff and handles the Wichita, KS MSA for real estate sales and listings.  Kirk's team rates in the top 3% of sales in the South Kansas real estate market.
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Kansas Real Estate Agents and Real Estate Professionals