July brought the sale of 165 homes in the county; June 139; May 133; Apr 87, Mar 81; Feb 41; Jan 48 homes

NW Lawrence (54) avg. price $207,007

NE Lawrence (26) avg. price $150,678

SW Lawrence (32) avg. price $229,217

SE Lawrence (29) avg. price $154,858

Rural Lawrence (7) avg. price $294,643

$1,025,000 was the highest price and $25,000 was the lowest price in the county.

July had 73 Average DOM (days on market) for the county with June 98.7, May 92.5, Apr 92.5, Mar 130, Feb 117, Jan 143, Dec 119, Nov 150, Oct 117 with homes receiving 97.9% of avg. ask price vs June 98.7%, May 98.2%, Apr 97.8%, Mar 98.12%, Feb 98%, Jan 96.94% , Dec 95.96%, Nov 94 % showing seller's position is very strong. Only 593 homes on the market now vs 1600 in June ‘07.

$192,031 was July's average price for the county, June $195,043, May $204,047, April $186,809, Mar $185,139, Feb $210,814, Jan $209,730, Dec $194,078

11 had 5 or more bedrooms

43 had 4 bedrooms

91 had 3 bedrooms

17 had 2 bedrooms

3 had 1 bedroom

5 had 5 or more bathrooms

14 had 4 bathrooms

50 had 3 bathrooms

79 had 2 bathrooms

17 had 1 bathroom

For a FREE CMA, (no obligation comparison of your home's value) email: HomeValue@LetRobDoIt.com or 785-393-2274.

Thanks and "Don't keep me a secret--I'm never too busy for your referrals!"
Rob (FREE Home Warranty with every home you buy or sell through me!!)
Rob Lang, CRS, ABR, ePro, GRI, CFPS Realtor®
Sellers www.MLSPlease.com (Marketing homes to 4 MLS's, to over 100 websites, "Showcase" Realtor.com listing, and virtual tours)
Property Searches www.LetRobDoIt.com
Places for Rent or Lease www.KSLease.com
Blog www.ActiveRain.com/blogs/langrob
Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate (three convenient locations)
(Serving Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin, Topeka, Olathe, Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas City, McLouth, Wellsville, Ottawa, Berryton, Tecumseh, more)
300 Rockfence Place, Lawrence, KS 66049
1037 Vermont, Lawrence, KS 66044
3300 Clinton Parkway Ct., Lawrence, KS 66047
785-393-2274 (cell) 206-339-3199 (fax)
Rob@YouWantHouses.com

814 E. 13th St, Lawrence Kansas real estate came on the market February 25th, 2008 for $187,900 as a foreclosure.  The price was adjusted to $179,900, then $174,900, then $149,900, then $129,900, then $124,900, then $106,900, then $100,900 which was when I brought an offer in for $91,750. 

The foreclosure bank countered with $97,000 and my buyer countered with $95,000 which was accepted.

Now one might guess this house was falling apart or had some major issues.  Well it wasn't and it didn't!  Inspections conducted showed a report of a very solid house with no major issues.  

It is a two story, early 1900's, 2400 sq ft, 5 bedroom home with wood floors and lots of woodwork.  Sure it needs some clean up, some decent paint colors instead of pea soup green, etc. but this was an awful lot of house for the money. 

So, how does one go about buying a house for under $40 per square foot when the rest of Lawrence Kansas real estate sells for above $100 per sq ft and buying it for half the original asking price? 

It takes a lot of research, patience, and time.   I provide this research information on homes only to my clients so they can benefit from my hard work.  A couple of days ago, I had a phone call from an AtchisonKansas Realtor who wanted to know what below appraisal homes I had.  I explained that this info was for my clients only and she followed up with "You mean you won't give it to me?"  I couldn't believe that she was basically asking me to do her work for her and then let her buyer benefit rather than my buyers' benefit!  

Anyway, this isn't just a one time occurrence.   776 N. 1485 Rd. was originally on the market for $269,900 in August 2003.  The price was adjusted down to $254,000 and then the listing expired in November 2003.  The seller lost the house to foreclosure and it came back on the market at $234,300 on June 11, 2008.  My buyers put in an offer of $215,000, the foreclosure bank countered at $230,000, my buyers countered at $218,000 and the offer was accepted.

Last weekend I found a foreclosed house for $155,000 that was a good deal for it but then all of a sudden the price dropped to $126,000.  I called and emailed my investors and one of them put in an offer that was countered and accepted 48 minutes after the foreclosure bank opened on Monday.  There were some very disappointed Realtors that I beat out and one that got very angry with the listing agent.

So if you are looking for the best bargains in Lawrence Kansas Real Estate you will need to have someone working full time for you.  Check me out on www.BelowAppraised.com or give me a call at 785-393-2274.

Thanks and "Don't keep me a secret--I'm never too busy for your referrals!"
Rob (FREE Home Warranty with every home you buy or sell through me!!)
Rob Lang, CRS, ABR, ePro, GRI, CFPS Realtor®
Sellers www.MLSPlease.com (Marketing homes to 3 MLS's, to over 100 websites, "Showcase" Realtor.com listing, and virtual tours)
Property Searches www.LetRobDoIt.com
Places for Rent or Lease www.KSLease.com
Blog www.ActiveRain.com/blogs/langrob
Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate (three convenient locations)
(Serving Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin, Topeka, Olathe, Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas City, McLouth, Wellsville, Ottawa, Berryton, Tecumseh, more)
300 Rockfence Place, Lawrence, KS 66049
1037 Vermont, Lawrence, KS 66044
3300 Clinton Parkway Ct., Lawrence, KS 66047
785-393-2274 (cell) 206-339-3199 (fax)
Rob@YouWantHouses.com

Google Maps has revamped their driving directions and has added walking directions (Beta).  The following screen shots will show how this valuable tool is used by me to map out the houses I will be showing my clients.

For instance, this map is of the houses I am showing this evening.  You will note the total driving time is shown of 2 hours and 58 minutes and 128 miles travelled.  Google Maps used to show how many minutes and miles between houses; something I hope they will be bringing back.

The walking time and directions is under Beta but it is interesting that the walking time given is 1 day and 17 hours.  I am guessing this means that if I walked the 128 miles it would take me 41 total hours or 3.12195 miles per hour.  This will not be of much use to me since I drive to the mailbox in front of my house so I am definitely not going to be walking to the different stops.

I have sometimes, as in this instance, incurred more more miles on the walking directions than on the driving directions which I would have thought would always be less than driving.

Anyway, if you haven't used this great tool, try making use of it to plan out the best route to take to save fuel.  You do have to add several extra destinations and cut and paste the destinations in the order you want and then delete the blank lines.  You used to be able to just grab and drop the destination to the new order desired but that appears to have been at least temporarily removed.  This too I would like to see added back in.

Thanks and "Don't keep me a secret--I'm never too busy for your referrals!"
Rob (FREE Home Warranty with every home you buy or sell through me!!)
Rob Lang, CRS, ABR, ePro, GRI, CFPS Realtor®
Sellers www.MLSPlease.com (Marketing homes to 3 MLS's, to over 100 websites, "Showcase" Realtor.com listing, and virtual tours)
Property Searches www.LetRobDoIt.com
Places for Rent or Lease www.KSLease.com
Blog www.ActiveRain.com/blogs/langrob
Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate (three convenient locations)
(Serving Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin, Topeka, Olathe, Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas City, McLouth, Wellsville, Ottawa, Berryton, Tecumseh, more)
300 Rockfence Place, Lawrence, KS 66049
1037 Vermont, Lawrence, KS 66044
3300 Clinton Parkway Ct., Lawrence, KS 66047
785-393-2274 (cell) 206-339-3199 (fax)
Rob@YouWantHouses.com

Dilemma: What do you do when your Real Estate in Lawrence, KS has a plethora of selling points?

This 1982 built farm home really has all the details and is just south of Lawrence, Kansas. On more than 20 acres, there are 2 acres of woods, 18 of pasture, a pond, a creek, two barns, and multiple fruit trees. The house has three bedrooms, but extra bedrooms could easily be added to the full, partially finished basement. The kitchen countertops are quartz, from Spain! There is an extra large workshop that is heated and cooled, and the garage is plumbed for compressed air. Outside the house is a wraparound deck, beautiful landscaping and sidewalk, and also a calming sitting area next to the waterfall feature that trickles down into a fish pond.

What a nice dilemma to have.

-- Thanks for reading and "Don't keep me a secret--I'm never too busy for your referrals!" Rob (FREE 2-10 Home Warranty with every home you buy or sell through me!!) Rob Lang, CRS, ABR, ePro, GRI Realtor® Property Searches www.LetRobDoIt.com Places for Rent or Lease www.KSLease.com Rob's Blog at www.ActiveRain.com/blogs/langrob Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate (three convenient locations) (Serving Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin, Topeka, Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas City, McLouth, Wellsville, Ottawa, Berryton, Tecumseh, more) 300 Rockfence Place, Lawrence, KS 66049 1037 Vermont, Lawrence, KS 66044 3300 Clinton Parkway Ct., Lawrence, KS 66044 785-393-2274 (cell) 206-339-3199 (fax) Voice Messages may be left Toll Free at 866-800-5353 Rob@YouWantHouses.com http://DouglasCountyOpenHouses.com http://IHaveAddresses.com

My grandkids, their moms, a daughter-in-law carrying our 7^th grand baby, my wife, and a friend of the grand kids went to the Madame Hatter's Tea Room in Eudora Kansas this past week for lunch and tea.

The Tea Room is in the old Kaw Valley Bank building on the southeast corner of 7^th & Main in Downtown Eudora.  In the old vault are hats, scarves, jewelry, and outfits that everyone can dress up in as they eat and have tea.

I got to take these photos of the fun they were having in their dress up and tea.

I had to leave after taking the photos to put a SOLD sign in my Eudora Kansas Real Estate 1118 Peach St listing's yard so I didn't get to stay and eat.

Afterwards, they all returned to Quilting Bits & Pieces, the "Eudora Quilt Shop" as it is known, where my wife is one of the owners.  The grandkids are used to going to grandma's quilt shop and looking at all the neat new bolts of fabric and playing in the toy room in the back.  Below is one of my wife's quilts "Churches of Douglas County".

Thanks and "Don't keep me a secret--I'm never too busy for your referrals!"
Rob (FREE Home Warranty with every home you buy or sell through me!!)
Rob Lang, CRS, ABR, ePro, GRI, CFPS Realtor®
Sellers www.MLSPlease.com (Marketing homes to 3 MLS's, to over 100 websites, "Showcase" Realtor.com listing, and virtual tours)
Property Searches www.LetRobDoIt.com
Places for Rent or Lease www.KSLease.com
Blog www.ActiveRain.com/blogs/langrob
Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate (three convenient locations)
(Serving Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin, Topeka, Olathe, Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas City, McLouth, Wellsville, Ottawa, Berryton, Tecumseh, more)
300 Rockfence Place, Lawrence, KS 66049
1037 Vermont, Lawrence, KS 66044
3300 Clinton Parkway Ct., Lawrence, KS 66047
785-393-2274 (cell) 206-339-3199 (fax)
Voice Messages may be left Toll Free at 866-800-5353
Rob@YouWantHouses.com

Looking for an interestingly unique mud room design?  While many upscale homes have a mud room that looks classy, very few of them have the practicality or the size of this design.

A Lawrence couple built a working 20 acre farm with a Federal Farm number.  They needed a practical mud room and ended up building the largest "mud room" I have ever seen!  The 28' x 40' mud room was built with a double 2 x 4 stud configuration to allow for double thickness of insulation. 

It is rustic in its appearance and yet has the washer, dryer, plumbed for air compressor, heating unit, hidden air conditioner unit, ceiling fan, painted floor, various shop equipment, tools, and workbenches. 

The photos help to show how the multi-purpose mud room serves as a weight room/exercise room/mini-museum/shop/utility room.  The huge double doors in the last photo lead into the oversize garage. 

The mud room is in a home that was designed by the sellers in a very "common sense" manner and includes the farmhouse, two stables/barns, a pond, a waterfall/rock garden with fish, and much more.

Well the couple is retiring and this working farm, and its interestingly unique mud room, is a new Lawrence Kansas real estate listing of mine that just came on the market yesterday.  Let's wish them well as they prepare to downsize and move away from their dream home and farm.  If you want to want to see the real estate show please visit http://www.realestateshows.com/317708, on YouTube please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zZttByUnFQ.

Thanks and "Don't keep me a secret--I'm never too busy for your referrals!"
Rob (FREE Home Warranty with every home you buy or sell through me!!)
Rob Lang, CRS, ABR, ePro, GRI, CFPS Realtor®
Sellers www.MLSPlease.com (Marketing homes to 3 MLS's, to over 100 websites, "Showcase" Realtor.com listing, and virtual tours)
Property Searches www.LetRobDoIt.com
Places for Rent or Lease www.KSLease.com
Blog www.ActiveRain.com/blogs/langrob
Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate (three convenient locations)
(Serving Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin, Topeka, Olathe, Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, Kansas City, McLouth, Wellsville, Ottawa, Berryton, Tecumseh, more)
300 Rockfence Place, Lawrence, KS 66049
1037 Vermont, Lawrence, KS 66044
3300 Clinton Parkway Ct., Lawrence, KS 66047
785-393-2274 (cell) 206-339-3199 (fax)
Voice Messages may be left Toll Free at 866-800-5353
Rob@YouWantHouses.com