Missouri Real Estate

Kansas City Housing Supply

admin — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:29:02 +0000

The Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors data regarding the supply of residential real estate on the market was reported by the Kansas City Star this past week. There was a 6.5 month supply of homes for resale in the Kansas City area in July 2008, substantially lower than the nationwide average of an 11.1 month supply of existing homes in June 2008.

The supply of new homes in greater Kansas City was 11.8 months in July, up from both June 2008 and July 2007. The good news is that housing starts fell to a seventeen year low nationwide, which could help the housing market work through the oversupply of new homes for sale.

Carthage Property Values Down Only 1.6 Percent

admin — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:17:09 +0000

Despite the nationwide decline in the housing market, the Carthage Press reported that local officials in Carthage, MO, noted that property values remained relatively flat - real estate valuation dropped only 1.6 percent. The decline in real estate values for property tax purposes would be made up for by a slight increase in property taxes to recoup the lost revenue.

KC Paper Pursues School Property Sales

admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:58:20 +0000

Apparently, the Kansas City Missouri School District isn’t moving fast enough to unload some of its closed schools and unused office buildings for some Kansas City residents because The Pitch has taken it upon itself to analyze the local real estate market and price the properties for sale without the assistance of the school board. Investors, businesses, flippers, and property developers looking for condo conversions, senior housing, and a new world headquarters take note!

Missouri Task Force on Housing

admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:43:08 +0000

The Missouri House announced the creation of the Interim Task Force on the Missouri Housing Market to study the current Missouri housing situation and recommend legislative measures which can be taken to stabilize the real estate market. Read more at Kansas City infoZine.

Downtown Kansas City Hot

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:00:33 +0000

Real estate development nationally may be slowing, but downtown Kansas City apparently didn’t get that message. Instead, they’ve joined the parade of other cities revitalizing their downtown area and seeing increased interest in living downtown.

A recent Associated Press article noted the transformation of Kansas City, Missouri following the relocation of H&R Block’s headquarters and a $850 million entertainment district called the Kansas City Power & Light District. It’s anchored by the Sprint Center, a 24,000 seat arena, and the still under construction Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Restaurants and retail space are following, causing one real estate broker to proclaim, “Downtown is hot.”

It’s so hot, in fact, that apartment hunters are having to look elsewhere because apartment units in the vicinity of the new entertainment district are more than 95% occupied, according to the Kansas City Business Journal.

While on the subject of Kansas City, it’s only fair to note that North Kansas City has been getting some press coverage for its reuse of old industrial buildings and is seeing interest for condos and office space.

Missouri Best for Manufacturing

admin — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:00:06 +0000

Missouri is the best state in the country for the manufacturing and logistics industries, according to new research out of Ball State University. The report noted that Missouri had low health care costs and lower corporate and property taxes than many other states. Unfortunately, despite its high marks, Missouri has lost ~45,000 manufacturing jobs since 2001.

Learn more at Marketwatch and the Kansas City Star.

Joplin MO Caters to Million Dollar Real Estate Buyers

admin — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:43:30 +0000

The average sales price in the area may be right around $100,000, but there’s some luxury real estate around Joplin, Mo. in the southwest part of the state that attracts buyers with million dollar taste. If you are interested in learning more about the custom homes in the area that may have taken 5 years and $15 million to build, then read the Joplin Globe article.

While we’re in the area, we thought we’d also mention that Neosho MO is daring to DREAM big and hoping to duplicate the successful revitalization of downtown areas in larger cities in its own community. It’s seeking to take advantage of the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri (DREAM) Initiative and reinvigorate its community with a new streetscape proposal. Learn more about their efforts here.

Missouri Farm Land Gaining in Value

admin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:15:08 +0000

The rapid rise in the commodity market for crops and demand for corn both for food and for use as ethanol is causing farm land values to buck the national real estate trend of declining home prices. According to Corn & Soybean Digest, the average price of farm real estate in the Corn Belt states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri rose 14.8% over the past year to $4,260 per acre of cropland.

St. Louis Home Sales Down 16 Percent This Year

admin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:35:32 +0000

Year to date home sales in St. Louis are down 16 percent, according to the Federal Reserve district based in St. Louis latest Beige Book report. The good news is that economic activity in the Federal Reserve’s Eighth District (covering most of Missouri and some surrounding states) was stable with increased manufacturing activity (excluding the automobile industry).

Learn more in the Springfield Business Journal.

Missouri Foreclosure Statistics

admin — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:05:59 +0000

According to Realty Trac, one out of every 271 homes in Missouri have been the subject of a foreclosure filing. That’s significantly less than the national average of one out of every 171 homes, but still puts Missouri 18th on the list of the states with the most foreclosures.

Kansas City and St. Louis rank 45th and 46th on the list of the top 100 cities for foreclosures. Part of the problem in south St. Louis, an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch points out, was that amateur flippers purchased properties based on the low prices and rising tide and then weren’t able to sell the properties.

Learn more about Missouri foreclosures at the Fulton Sun and Missourinet.