No, I don't have a crystal ball and no I have no guarantee on the following predictions but I believe the Kansas real estate market is heading for a great year.
I believe that due to lower interest rates that I believe are coming in 2007 the Kansas real estate market will see one of its best five years ever in sales. I do not believe it will be a record year but will probably come in at #4 because of the high inventory of homes on the market at the end of 2006.
30 year fixed interest rates for Douglas County for example range from 5.5% to 6.625% at 10 local lenders as of 12-18-06. The average rate is 5.938%. Throwing out the highest and lowest and averaging the other 8 came out to 5.906%. The most frequent rate quoted was 5.875%. I believe the rates may drop down to at least 5.5%-5.6% as being the most frequent rate quoted during some week in 2007.
The best time to buy Kansas real estate is right now and in particular Douglas County real estate which includes Lawrence Kansas homes for sale, Eudora homes for sale, and Baldwin homes for sale (in that order due to county appreciation rates for these cities).
Why now instead of when the interest rates drop a little more? Right now there is a surplus inventory of homes on the market that will take about a year to sell off at this past year's sales' rates (here in Douglas County). With this buyer's market, homes are selling for $5,000-$25,000 below the asking prices. As the interest rates start to drop, more people will buy and decrease that inventory which will drive the sales prices up closer to the asking prices. Therefore, buying a home right now will mean instant $5,000-$25,000 equity when the prices rise.
Again, this is just an educated guess and no guarantees are given but I have just made a personal investment of $204,000 in a property that should receive an instant $40,000-$50,000 instant raise in equity in 2007; probably around August or September when the supply moves close to demand and the market balances.
While Douglas County is experiencing probably the best appreciation rates in the state, the rest of the state still should see a low positive increase in appreciation during 2007.
Keep an eye on this blog as I will post 2007 figures as they come in. Give me a call if you are interested in Lawrence Kansas real estate and for Kansas real estate, I will refer you to a qualified Realtor® who will take care of your needs.
Thanks!
Rob Lang, ABR, ePro, GRI Realtor®
Realty Executives, Hedges Real Estate
300 Rockfence Pl, Lawrence, KS 66049
785-393-2274 (cell) 785-542-1661 (fax)
rob@LetRobDoIt.com http://www.ihaveaddresses.com/
NOTE: This blog was written in the past about properties on the market at the time of the blog being written and should not be considered as active listings beyond the date of this blog.
