Johnson County Commissioners voted 5-1 in favor of an approximate 8.5 mile land annexation by Overland Park.  Overland Park was originally wanting the southern annexation to extend to around 203rd street but received approval for an annexation that extends to around 191st and as far south as around 199th st in parts.  The Kansas City Star reports that the annexation granted works out to be about 60% of what Overland Park had originally anticipated.  02/25/2008

List Overland Park Real Estate for 4.9%The Dowell Taggart Team announced earlier this year about their new aggressive commission program. Homeowners in Johnson County including Overland Park, KS. can list their homes for 4.9% total commission. Unlike many Overland Park real estate agents who discount their commission rate, The Dowell Taggart Team increases their services. Where else in Overland Park can you get your home marketed on over 1,000 Kansas City real estate websites?For more information, go to: 4.9% Listing Special The listing special is good in Greater Kansas City including Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, Leawood, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Johnson County, Kansas.Sell Your Home For 4.9%, contact Chris for more details at cd@DowellTaggart.com or (913) 712-9313.Information pro... 02/24/2008

New Page 2 <!-- p.MsoNoSpacing {mso-style-parent:""; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-top:0in} --> Trolley’s Downtown Bar and Grille     I’d driven by Trolley’s on 135th Street many times, so we finally decided to stop in and try it! We went on a Friday evening around 7:00 and the wait was only about 15 minutes. While waiting for a table we went to the massive bar area to grab a drink. There were multiple flat screen TV’s and a large projection TV playing sports. All the chairs at the bar were full, but there wasn’t a crowd of people standing around, so it wasn’t difficult to get a drink. The restaurant itself has a lot of exposed brick and even has an old movie marquee that said Happy Birthday to ... 02/18/2008

Here are the past 12 months of market statistics for the Bel Air Heights subdivision in Overland Park Kansas (as of 02/09/2008). Bel Air Heights is right about on the border of Overland Park and Prairie Village at about 95th and Nall. It is located within the Shawnee Mission School District. The schools for this subdivision are Shawnee Mission South High School, Indian Woods Middle School, and Trailwood Elementary School. If you are thinking about buying or selling in Cherry Hills, give me a call or visit me at my website below. Michael Pierce Real Estate Total Listed:24 Sold Units:13 Min Sold Price:$150,000 Average Sold Price:$204,384 Median Sold Price:$219,000 Max Sold Price:$259,000 All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed 02/11/2008

Here are the past 12 months of market statistics for the Pinehurst Estates subdivision in Overland Park Kansas as of 02/09/2008. If you are thinking about buying or selling in Pinehurst Estates, give me a call or visit me at my website below. Michael Pierce Real Estate Total Listed:14 Sold Units:9 Min Sold Price:$199,000 Average Sold Price:$358,638 Median Sold Price:$375,000 Max Sold Price:$560,000 All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed 02/09/2008

Here are the past 12 months of market statistics for the Cherry Hills subdivision in Overland Park Kansas (as of 02/09/2008). If you are thinking about buying or selling in Cherry Hills, give me a call or visit me at my website below. Michael Pierce Real Estate Total Listed:12 Sold Units:9 Min Sold Price:$170,000 Average Sold Price:$237,655 Median Sold Price:$244,000 Max Sold Price:$357,000 All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed 02/09/2008

Here are the past 12 months of market statistics for the Empire Estates subdivision in Overland Park Kansas as of 02/09/2008. If you are thinking about buying or selling in Empire Estates, give me a call or visit me at my website below. Michael Pierce Real Estate Total Listed:16 Sold Units:11 Min Sold Price:$153,500 Average Sold Price:$234,563 Median Sold Price:$250,000 Max Sold Price:$279,000 All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed 02/09/2008

Newly Listed foreclosure available in highly sought after Lionsgate subdivision. Very rarely will you see a foreclosure in Lionsgate. Don't miss the opportunity to save a lot of money. This property will not stay on the matket long. Here are some of the details: Price- $439,900 Style- Traditional 1.5 story Bedroom- 4 Bathrooms - 4 full 1 half Sqare ft- 3403 per MLS listing Basement- finished walkout Schools Elementary-Lakewood Middle-Lakewood High- Blue Valley West For more great details about this property contact Michael Russell at 913-266-5828   To see more houses in Lionsgate click Here To find out how much your home is worth instantly click here 2008- The Russell Home Team- Overland Park Kansas Homes www.ophomes.com 02/05/2008

South Overland Park & Leawood Residents; are you tired of going to 119th and Nall or 124th and Metcalf when you need to go to the hospital?  Well dont worry, it sounds like a south (or even further south I guess you could say) Overland Park Hospital is on the horizon:  Shawnee Mission Medecial Center Plans southern Overland Park hospital, medical office.   02/04/2008

VA Foreclosure available in North Overland Park Kansas. 3 Bedroom 1 full + 1 half bath. Listed for $120,000. These properties always go fast, so please contact me immediatly if you would like to see this darling ranch home. Contact Michael Russell @ 913-681-1383  email me at michael@RussellHomeTeam.comRealty Executives of Kansas City- The Russell Home Team www.SearchjocoHomes.com To see all properties in the KC Metro MLS Click HereTo Schedule a showing on this VA Property Click HereCopyright 2008 The Russell Home Team 913-681-1383    01/31/2008

Here are the past 12 months of market statistics for the Lancaster Weybury subdivision as of 01/31/2008. If you would like more information or are thinking about buying or selling in Lancaster Weybury, give me a call. Michael Pierce Real Estate Total Listed:17 Off Market Units:1 Sold Units:14 Remaining Units:2* Min Sold Price:$210,000 Average Sold Price:$249,775 Median Sold Price:$256,000 Max Sold Price:$265,000 * Remaining Units = (Total Listed) - (Off Market Units + Sold Units) Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. 01/31/2008

I know this an old story but I have not been able to find it on Activerain and thought this is some great information for Overland Park and should be posted.  For those who don't already know, Money Magazine named Overland Park, Kansas number 6 on their list of 100 best places to live.  This article has a lot of great information on Overland Park and I hope you find it helpful.  More information about Overland Park Real Estate can be found on www.MichaelPierceRealEsate.com. Here is a link to the article: 01/28/2008

While many areas of the country have seen declining home prices Overland Park KS has held it's ground. While not every area of the city saw a price gain many subdivisions did show a gain. Shadow Brook in Southern Overland Park is one of those subdivisions. Home sales in Shadow Brook were brisk in 2007 with price appreciation and low days on the market.Shadow Brook benefits from it's fantastic location just off Metcalf BLVD & 143rd. It borders other fantastic subdivision like Fieldstone and Birchwood Place. Below is a compilation of the 2007 sales Homes Sold                         10Average Sales Price           $341,690Average day's to sell         41High sale                              $389,000Low Sale                              $301,000 To see how much your Shadow Brook Home is w... 01/28/2008

For many people 2007 was a year of up's and down's. That would be a really great way to describe the housing market. Some neighborhoods were up and some were down. Well Willow Bend in South Overland Park was one of those neighborhoods that was up. 2007 saw a solid year of home sales and price appreciation. One of the reasons that home sales coninue to grow in Willow Bend is that it is one of the most affordable subdivisions in Southern Johnson County plus it feeds into the Blue Valley School system. Willow Bend is still poised for more growth, if you are looking for an affordable home with good schools for your children Willow Bend is a great choice.Let's take a look at the 2007 Home Sales Report Homes sold                          17Average Sales Price         $203,022Average days to s... 01/28/2008

Here is the past 12 month market statistics for the the Overland Park Kansas zip code 66210 as of 01/27/2008. If you would like more information or are thinking about buying or selling in 66210, give me a call. Michael Pierce Real Estate Total Listed:326 Off Market Units:65 Sold Units:229 Remaining Units:32* Min Sold Price:$75,000 Average Sold Price:$196,166 Median Sold Price:$206,000 Max Sold Price:$350,000 * Remaining Units = (Total Listed) - (Off Market Units + Sold Units) ** Inventory Accumulation (in months) = (Remaining Units)/(Sold Units/Months) Information Deemed Reliable but Not Guaranteed 01/27/2008

Here is the past 12 month sold market statistics for the Nall Hills Subdivision in Overland Park Kansas as of 01/27/2008. If you would like more information or are thinking about buying or selling in Nall Hills, give me a call. Michael Pierce Real Estate Total Listed:63 Off Market Units:11 Sold Units:53 Min Sold Price:$92,000 Average Sold Price:$181,264 Median Sold Price:$182,500 Max Sold Price:$225,000 * Remaining Units = (Total Listed) - (Off Market Units + Sold Units) ** Inventory Accumulation (in months) = (Remaining Units)/(Sold Units/Months) Information Deemed Reliable but Not Guaranteed 01/27/2008

On a daily basis I get asked the question of who is the top online real estate agent in Overland Park . There are 1,500 real estate agents in Overland Park and most say they are the top online real estate agent in Overland Park . Last night I had a client who worked at Google who was amazed at my online marketing. During our discussion about my online marketing he gave his view that there was no other Overland Park Real Estate Agent who had a online marketing program that would create the exposure that my marketing would provide him.That maybe true and that is one person's opinion, so I wanted to see for myself the website stats. I searched the top real estate keyword for Overland Park and came up with the following Overland Park real estate agent websites.Top 9 Overland Park Real Estat... 01/27/2008

 I have a lot of clients asking me about how the Federal Reserve lowering rates will affect the rates they receive for their mortgage.  I thought I would post my response on my blog to hopefully provide some clarity for anyone else who may have questions about what they hear on the news about interest rates getting slashed.  The Federal Reserve raises and lowers the Federal Funds Rate (basically the interest rate 2 lending institutions lend balances to each other, usually overnight). This has a direct affect on the Prime interest rate among other things. Your long term interest rates (15 year, 30 year fixed mortgages) are not directly affected by this movement, this movement affects the adjustable rate mortgages tied to prime and alot of home equity lines and 2nd mortgages. The long ter... 01/24/2008

You have all read the media or reports or at least seen the TV reports. The Housing market, the sub prime mess, foreclosures on the rise. So what is one to believe? I personally believe in Hard DATA. That is where the truth lies. While some areas of the East & West coast have seen double digit losses, the Kansas City metro area has held tough. Some areas have even seen price gains. Johnson County is one of those places and Blackthorne Estates is one of those subdivisions that have held their own through tough times.Blackthorne Estates 2007 Home Sales reportHomes Sold                  18Average Sales Price       $397,004Average Days to Sell      70Highest Sales Price        $501,406Lowest Sales Price         $325,000 This report compliments of the Russell Home Team, your Johnson County K... 01/24/2008

2007 brough a lot of ups and downs for the Home Market, while some areas of the country saw double digit losses The Kansas City metro market saw only a very small loss. While the Metro are saw a loss as a whole many areas saw increases. Green Meadows is one of those subdivisions that faired very well.Grren Meadows in Overland Park is a family friendly subdivision of Single Falily residential homes border by 151st & Nall Avenue. The subdivision is surrounded by many businesses including restaurants, supermarkets and recreation centers. Green Meadows is located in the highly regaded Blue Valley School sysyem.Let's take a look at how the Home Sales faired in Green Meadows in 2007 Homes Sold                                17Average Sales Price                $233,373Average days to sell    ... 01/24/2008