Shawnee, KS Homes For Sale Market Report – January 2013

SHAWNEE, KS Homes for Sale have seen steady price improvement month to month as well as year to year as inventory levels remain at all-time lows.

The Numbers Month to Month and Year to Year

The median sales price for SHAWNEE, KS Homes for Sale was $233,450 in January 2013 compared to $187,250 during December 2012 and $154,950 January 2012.

The number of SHAWNEE, KS Homes for Sale that sold was 46 in January 2013 vs. 64 in December 2012 and 33 that sold January 2012.

There were 82 SHAWNEE, KS Homes for Sale that are in contract which represents 27.5% of the overall available inventory of 298 homes.

A few highlights of the current SHAWNEE, KS Homes for Sale are shown below and represent a nice cross section of properties available, in contract and that have sold.

This Month’s Most Expensive

The most expensive of all SHAWNEE, KS Homes for sale that sold this month was listed at $484,932 and includes 4 bedrooms, 4 bath and has 3250 sqft. This home is a new construction home located in the Grey Oaks Subdivision, east of K7 between Johnson Dr and Shawnee Mission Pkwy. (see more homes in Grey Oaks).

This Month’s Least Expensive

The least expensive of all SHAWNEE, KS homes for sale came in at $79,000 and would be a great home for a first time homebuyer or an investor looking for a rental property with positive cash flow. It has 3 bedrooms and 1 bath with hardwood floors and the kitchen could use a little updating (schedule a showing).

This Month’s Must See

There were some great SHAWNEE, KS Homes for Sale to consider for this month’s ‘Must See’ home tour.

A home on Theden St listed at $289,000 is this month’s winner as it shows how great interior design can give a space a much bigger feeling. Looking at the stats of this home online may not impress you with the idea that it has a lot of room, but the layout of the home and the interior design give it the feel of a home with much more sqft than it actually has (schedule a showing).

For a more in depth look at all the information regarding the Shawnee, KS Homes for Sale just follow this link: http://ow.ly/hndrF

 
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Paul Holland
Reece & Nichols
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paulholland@reeceandnichols.com

Cost vs Price in Real Estate

Cost versus Price
Price is really only important to a seller, and that’s short‐term price. What are prices going to be the next six months; that’s what a seller needs to know. What a buyer needs to know are: "What are my long‐term costs of that house?"
And there’s a big difference between short‐term price and long‐term cost. Now, I know price goes into the cost equation, of course it does, but so does interest rate.  As a buyer, you really need to understand the difference in costs of the house based on price and interest rate.
Now, when we talk about interest rates, we can see that they’re still falling. They’ve been falling for two years now. That’s what has made housing so affordable for so many, but things might be changing, ladies and gentlemen. As a matter of fact, at the last mortgage bankers’ conference held last month, and this is a report that came out of that: "After reaching record lows in 2012, mortgage rates are expected to creep up slowly in the year ahead," the Mortgage Bankers Association had predicted. Rates on the 30‐year fixed rate mortgage are expected to average 3.8 by the end of this year, rising to 3.9 by the first quarter of next year and to 4.4 by the fourth quarter of 2013.
So what we’re seeing, not gigantic jumps up in the interest rate, but a slow build in the interest rate. You need to understand what that means to your pocketbook.  Because if the interest rates all of a sudden spiked up, everyone would be panic‐stricken and jumping off the fence and say "I’ve got to buy." But if they’re creeping up, they could just get higher and higher without people necessarily noticing.
So I put together this table for you, and I started with a $400,000 house. If you have a $200,000 house, cut those numbers in half. But I wanted to show you, even in a depreciating market you should not be just interested in short‐term price, you should be worried about long‐term cost.
So in this table what you can see is even if prices decline and interest rates go up, the monthly mortgage payment, the long‐term cost of that house, continues to rise. This is a table every single homebuyer should pay attention to. I don’t care if it’s you’re a first time homebuyer, or a move‐up or move‐down homebuyer. You should see this, because it really shows you the impact of an increasing interest rate. And what are we basing the increase on? What the Mortgage Bankers Association just predicted; that’s important. Now, this again is showing in a depreciating market.
But ladies and gentlemen, there are three reports out right now. The Home Price Expectation Survey, says that this year coming up, in the next year, 2013, prices will go up 2.44 percent. The National Association of Business Economists said that prices in 2013 are going to rise 2.8 percent. And the Wall Street Journal Economic Survey, the economists they surveyed, say that prices in 2013 are going to rise 3.25 percent.
So if any of you are waiting for the bottom of the market, it’s here. It might have already passed. If any of you are in rentals right now but would enjoy the benefits of homeownership you might want to get in before these prices continue to creep up. That’s what I’m suggesting to you.
But let’s take the smallest increase, 2.44 percent, and let’s put that to a table. Let’s assume a house today is valued at $200,000. By the end of next year, if we’d look at exactly what I said, the smallest increase of 2.44, that house would be $204,880. It will have gone up almost $5,000. But let’s take a look at the interest rates. If what the Mortgage Bankers Association ‐ the people who deal with interest rates every single day ‐ if their projections are accurate and we do hit 4.4 percent by the end of 2013, well, now we’ve had an increase in price and an increase in interest rate.
Let’s take a look at how that affects the long‐term cost of that home. You’ll be paying for the same exact house. You’ll be paying an extra $127.87 a month. Multiply that out, ladies and gentlemen; that’s more than $1500 a year. Over a 30‐year mortgage, that’s $45,000. On a $200,000 house you can buy today, if you wait one year, that house can cost you an extra $45,000.
Don’t wait for prices and interest rates to go back up. If you’re even thinking about buying a home, give me a call and let’s see if buying is right for you. And as always, Call Paul & Start Packing!
 
Search All Homes For Sale
Save $53,272 On Your Next Home!
What is your home worth?
Getting Married?
Homes Close to Where You Work
First Time Buyer Information
My Marketing Plan To Sell YOUR Home
Paul Holland
Reece & Nichols
913-307-4051
paulholland@reeceandnichols.com