Mary Hutchison, SRES, ABR Brookside, Waldo, Prairie Village

Hi neighbors! Here are Armour Hills home sales statistics for February 2012, followed by the stats from February 2011 for comparison.

In February 2012, one home sold. It sold for list price, $195,000. It was a total rehab project., and sold in about seven days.

In February 2011, two homes sold. One sold at $152,000 and the other at $250,000. Average days on market for these two homes was 335.

As of this writing, there are 19 homes for sale in Armour Hills, with an average list price of $237,995. That is quite a bit of inventory...however, we have seen some quick sales the past few weeks that have not closed yet. Overall, buyers are out and looking for properties to buy, I am encouraged by all the activity! In our office, our sales volume for February 2012 compared to February 2011. A good trend!

If you are thinking of listing your home this spring, email me if you would like more information on your particular area. I’m happy to send you comparable properties for reference!

(All statistics taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed)

Yesterday as I was driving around looking at Prairie Village homes for sale, I noticed there was an accident at the intersection of 71sth St and State Line Road. A stoplight had been knocked over; police were at the scene and a four way stop had been set up for traffic control . It was about 12:30pm when I drove by.

I drive through this intersection at least twice a day…usually three or four times. Although this is a fairly busy intersection, it is surrounded by residential housing and is a two lane road. It’s one of those odd places where on the west side of the road, you are in Kansas; on the right side you are in Missouri (hence the name State Line Road).

A few hours later, around 5pm, I was surprised to see the stoplight back in it’s place and working as usual! This was a very tall stoplight and it had been knocked over completely. But the Prairie Village public works department was on top of it, getting the repair done within a few hours.

This quick response is indicative of how well run Prairie Village runs its small city government. They took care of this problem fast, so traffic could get back to normal. Thanks to the public works department for a job well done!

During the busy spring buying season, I usually get a call like this a few times a month. It’s inevitable that someone will call and ask to see several houses...’tomorrow’. I don’t think many buyers realize that most agents juggle several clients at once, and try to have a personal life as well! So if you are a buyer during this busy spring buying season, keep these points in mind when you want to tour homes on the weekends:

1.Give your agent as much notice as you can. If you want to see homes on Saturday afternoon, call your agent on Monday or Tuesday with a list of what you would like to see. Reserve your tour time early in the week so your agent has time to prepare.
2. Do your homework. If you are not familiar with the area, drive by the homes you are interested in before you go out with the agent. If you don’t like the location of the house, the other homes nearby, the traffic noise--don’t ask to see it.
3. Showing several homes at one time requires quite a bit of pre-planning. Your agent will map out the best route to see the homes in an efficient. time effective manner.
4. How much time in each home? Your agent has to guess as to how much time you will want to spend in each house to keep you ‘on schedule’ with all of the set appointments.
5. Appointments are required. Your agent will call the centralized showing service and make confirmed appointments for each listing. Vacant homes are easy to show--occupied homes usually require a specific time window to visit the property.
6. Paperwork. For my buyers, I print out every home we will visit, staple them in order of the showings, and also make notes on any significant information I think the buyer should know regarding the seller’s disclosure (age of roof, HVAC, home improvements, etc).
7. Coordinating travel time. If the homes are within a few miles of each other, you can usually visit 5 or 6 homes in a couple of hours. If they are several miles apart--your agent also has to figure in travel time.
8. Don’t try to see too many homes at one time (unless you are an out of town buyer). They can all start to blur together after you’ve been in six or eight homes.
9. Give the sellers time to prepare for your visit. I try to set up all of my showings at least 24 hours in advance as a courtesy to the sellers. Especially if children are present in the home, it can take a couple of hours to get a home ‘show ready’. Like buyers, sellers have events planned on the weekends: sports games, dinner parties, visits from relatives, celebrations, yardwork, etc. It’s much easier to schedule a showing a day or two before the visit than the same day as the home tour.

Most agents will try to accommodate last minute requests to see a hot new listing that pops on the market, if they have a buyer ready to write up an offer. But if you are just starting your search, give your agent plenty of notice to set up showings on homes you are interested in. It makes for a much more organized and productive home tour!

Prairie Village…one of my favorite neighborhoods in the Kansas City area! This small suburb also continues to be a popular area for homebuyers. Below I have outlined the single family home sales statistics* for January 2012 for Prairie Village, KS:

In January 2012, 25 homes sold. The lowest sales price was $62,000 and the highest sales price was $989,000. Average list price was $232,612; average sales price was $228,320. Average days on market: 107.

In January 2011, 18 homes sold. The lowest sales price was $65,000 and the highest sales price was $525,000. Average sales price was $183,161, average list price was $191,119. Average days on market: 92.

Average sales price is way up for 2012—however, keep in mind the higher priced homes bring up the sales price when closed. Still, it’s good to see more homes are selling, at a higher average price even if it’s taken a few days longer to get a firm contract.

Homes in Prairie Village that are updated, well maintained and priced right will always sell. Buyers enjoy the great location and excellent public school district, plus the area parks and shopping centers. I’ll continue to report sales stats every month as we get into the busy spring buying and selling season.

If you would like information on how homes are selling in your area, email me!

*All statistics taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

On this Valentine’s Day...I thought it would be appropriate to blog about why I love Brookside! This is such a charming neighborhood, how can someone drive through and not love it??

I love the fact that all the homes are older, different, unique, well built. True character and craftsmanship are present in just about every house.

I love that Brookside is so walkable. Even in the bitter cold, you see people walking back from the grocery store!

Neighbors are friendly! Generally, everyone knows most of the residents on their block. We got so lucky with neighbors when we moved to Armour Hills..we get along so well, we took down part of the fence between our two backyards!

Many of the shops and restaurants are locally owned. This makes a difference. You see the owners taking care of customers, hiring local kids, chatting with passers-by who wander in. The money you spend stays in the local area.

You can buy a moderately priced home here...or a million dollar home.

The fabulous Loose Park is near by...or Suicide Hill for snow sledding..tennis courts...these are free amenities that improve your every day quality of life.

Brookside...it’s home! Happy Valentine’s Day 2012!!