With all of the national doom and gloom reports about the real estate market, it's important that local Kansas City homeowners and home buyers be sure the news they are using to form their opinions is coming with a local perspective. The majority of reports we see in the news are national stories and do not take into account our local economy statistics and market conditions. They don't take into account (1) the resiliency of our local Kansas City market, (2) that Kansas City has some of the most affordable housing in the country, (3) that Kansas City has some of the most diversified types of housing in the country and (4) that Kansas City doesn't see the high peeks and valleys that other areas of the country see.
Over a five year period, the Kansas City area generally saw about a 25% increase in home values. On the other hand, some areas of California saw home prices increase 25% EACH year. Think about that for a moment. We clearly are not California and I find myself much more concerned with Sprint's new CEO and his plan to right a company that means so much to our local economy than I am with whether California homes have lost 30% of the 60% they had increased in value. I am more concerned locally with whether the local lenders I do business with are viable than I am with whether the big lenders - many of which made a ridiculous number of high risk sub-prime loans in California - can survive.
While we have certainly been impacted by the changing national economy, we are not in the same boat as so many other areas of the country - and, more importantly, our boat has a paddle. I'm betting that two years from now, Kansas City won't have seen 1/5 the downturn overall that many areas of the country will experience. The last time home values dropped was the early 1990's. Immediately thereafter I saw homeowner's buying homes cheaply and then selling them a few years later at a huge profit. Today there are many great deals on the market and rates are still below 6%. Consider that and be sure that the real estate information you are using to form your opinions is coming with a local perspective. Doing so will help you make the best decisions when buying, selling and managing your Kansas City real estate investments.