Cost of living in Wichita, KS

Living on the east and West Coast and want to transfer to Wichita, KS for less expensive housing and good jobs? Check these cost of living #'s below:

A person living in Orange County, CA making $107,300 would only need to make $65,000 in Wichita, KS and have the same standard of living. A person living in Prince William County, VA Making $87,600 could get by on $65,000 too. In Orange county, Housing is over 200% more than Wichita's prices and in VA, Housing is over 100% more.

Take in consideration the thousands of job openings in the oil and aircraft industry and we should see many new residents in the next couple of years.

Wichita, KS Realtor Production 1st quarter, 2008

Why does the public have a poor attitude toward real estate agents? Look at these stats from the 1st 3 months of 2008 for the South Kansas MLS.

There are around 2100 members of the MLS. Only around 52% of the members logged a side sold in the 1st Quarter of 2008. In other words, over 1,000 agents or 48% did not close a transaction. Of the 1083 who had a closing, 303 had only ONE side sold. 527 or more than half of the agents who actually closed something only closed 2 sides.
Only 11% of all the members had at least 2 sales a month or 6 closings in the 1st quarter.

How did RE/MAX agents do.... All RE/MAX agents were #1 in Listings sold and Total sides sold. They were #2 in buyer sides sold. Our Company was #5 in total units sold for the 1st quarter. Still only 14% had over 6 closings in the 1st three months.

Is it time for the State real estate commissions to start requiring a certain performance level to keep a license active? You decide.........

1st Quarter, 2008 Wichita, KS real estate update.

Sales were down in the Wichita MLS based on national news impact, inability of buyers to sell their existing homes in other cities and tightening of credit standards along with the elimination of sub-prime loans.

Listing were also down at an slightly higher rate which caused the market in our area to be balanced and in some cases having us experience multiple offers.

The market for homes under $150,000 is very strong if the home is in good repair and priced in the correct value range.

Total listings on the market and new home inventories are unchanged from a year ago. This is in stark contrast to other markets. In fact existing homes value for the 1st quarter of 2008 was up 5.56% over the same period in 2007.



1st Quarter update for 2008
Wichita MLS

2,179 closing of new and existing homes, 11.5% decrease from same period, 2007

3,625 new residential listings, 12% decrease from last year. Opposite national trends.

Total numbers of existing and new homes on the market are virtually the same as last year.

Average sales price for existing homes in 1st Three months: $113,976 with 70 days on the market and % of list was 96.81.

Average sales price of new homes for the 1st three months is $223,992, 2/3rds of which sold co-op.

Number of Sales and absorption rate in various price ranges for existing homes.

549 sales in March below $139,999, 4 months of inventory available

174 sales below $199,999 to $139,999, 5 months of inventory available

84 sales between $200,000 and $299,999, 6.5 months of inventory

27 sales between $300,000 and $399,999, 9 month of inventory

5 sales between $400,000 and $499,999, 22 months of Inventory

Why own real estate in Wichita, KS

Why own real estate in Wichita, KS

Wichita was named the #1 place in the country to live the good life cheaply, Forbes

Wichita ranks in the top 32 cities nationally for quality of life. Forbes

Wichita was ranked last year the 2nd best real estate market in the Midwest. Money

Wichita’s real estate prices are 12% below what they should be. National City

Wichita is ranked #1 in manufacturing among cities below 1,000,000 populations.

December, 2007 unemployment rate was 3.6%. State of Kansas

City wide apartment vacancy rate was 6.3% and the industrial building
Vacancy rate dropped below 4%. CCIM Council, 2008

Wichita was ranked the 9th best city in the nation in future job growth. Forbes, 2007

Wichita was ranked the 2nd best city under 1,000,000 residents to relocate your family too. ERC, 2007

Wichita home appreciation was 5.7% November, 2006 to November, 2007. NAR

Wichita was ranked second by Forbes, 2008 in their list of the “Best Cities for Jobs”
This same list ranked Wichita the fifth best city in income growth and the seventh best
for cost of living and job growth.

Wichita is a key global competitor with nearly 50% of its products being shipped overseas. Kansas State, 2008

Wichita was ranked the strongest real estate market in the United States for 12-1-07 to 12-01-08. The ranking was done 1-14-08 by Vero FORECAST. Vero real estate solutions is a leader in risk management and valuation services in Santa Ana, CA

April, 2008 unemployment rate for Wichita, KS was 3.8%

April, 2008. Kansas approves $33,000,000 for Cessna to build new Aircraft plant for the Citation Columbus model. The plant will employ 1,000 aircraft workers generating around $77,000,000 a year in new wages for the city. An additional 2,000 to 3,000 jobs will be created in the metropolitan area because of this work.

West Wichita, KS sales data

West Wichita sales data for 2007

Reflection Ridge and Fossil Rim:
The average SOLD price was $312,358 with 43 sales and 89 avg. DOM (day on the market)
The high sales price was $890,000 (Fossil Rim) and $479,900 in Reflection Ridge

Tyler’s Landing:
The average SOLD price was $180,447 with 44 sales and 98 avg. DOM.
The high sales price was $251,534 and low price was $128,000

Oakridge:
The average SOLD price was $201,280 with 10 sales and 50 avg. DOM
The high sales price was $256,000 and the low price was $157.000

Forest Lakes:
The average SOLD price was $208,641 with 20 sales and 49 avg. DOM
The high sales price was $279,900 and the low price was $159,900

All real estate is local.....

All Real Estate is Local!

Thank goodness I sell real estate in the Wichita, KS metro area.

While real estate values are down 5% -10%-15% in other markets, the
Stable Wichita market showed a 5.7% gain from Nov., 2006 to Nov., 2007.
Wichita’s real estate market after 7 years of increased units sold finally slowed down a little bit in 2007 (-3.2%). 2007 was still the 3rd best real estate market we have ever had.

Wichita, unlike other cities, had a decrease in new residential listings in 2007 (6.2%). This kept our prices from falling. Total homes left on the market at the end of 2007 was basically the same as 2006 and lower than 2004 and 2005. Available new home inventories were up slightly last year but only by 7 homes.

The average sales price for an existing home in 2007 was $117,766. Average days on the market were 62 and the average list to sales price was 97.13%. The average price of a new home was $211,628 and 1820 were closed in 2007.

The real estate market has grown quite a bit since 2000. That year 1,426 new homes sold along with 7,358 existing homes. This year 1,820 new homes sold along with 10,098 existing homes.

What does all of this mean for you? 2008 will be a good year for real estate in the Wichita, KS metro area.

Why? Unemployment rates are low. Interest rates are low. Hiring needs are high. Rental vacancies are low and rental costs are high. Average sales prices are low.

Thinking about buying a new home this year? Give Wayne or Kirk Short a call at 316-554-2831. We can help.

January, 2008 Wichita Kansas Update

Wichita, KS economic update
January, 2008

News for the Wichita, KS area is still very good compared to the rest of the country. While the national unemployment rate rose to 5%, the number for December in Wichita, KS was 3.6%.

Interest rates for housing were 5.750% for a 30 year, fixed rate loan and 5.250% for a 15 year term. These rates are great but probably will get better. Expect the FED to drop the discount rate another .5% at their Jan. 30th meeting. There is even a chance they may do this before the meeting.

The new Sedgwick County Arena being built in down town Wichita has sold the naming right to the arena to Intrust Bank with additional naming rights to the interior and concourses to Cessna and Spirit Aerospace for $14.5 million.

Beech Hawker aircraft company has announced plans for an additional 1,100 hires for 2008. Cessna Aircraft will add a minimum of 1,500 jobs in 2008. Bombardier Corporation, Builder of Learjet’s, has announced a new line of aircraft that will be built in Wichita. There will be additional hiring but no numbers have been released. Boeing Military will find out later this month if the new USAF refueling tanker will be built and modified by them. This project will bring up to 1,000 new jobs to the area for Boeing, Spirit Aerospace and other local suppliers.

The ERC, Employment Relocation Council has ranked the best cites in the United States to relocate your family too. Wichita, KS ranked #2 in medium size cites fewer than 1,000,000 residents. Wichita was also ranked #9 in the nation by Forbes magazine in Job growth.

Money Magazine just reported figures for November housing appreciation compared to November 2006. The report was submitted by NAR. Wichita, KS showed a 5.7% increase in value-one of the highest in the nation.

Wichita, KS: One of America's best RE markets

Why buy in the Wichita, KS MSA
Why buy in 2007
Why use RE/MAX and RE/MAX Realty Professionals

· CNN reported this Summer that Wichita, KS was the eighth most under valued market in the U.S. at 16.3% below national norms.
· Forbes reported the Fall of 2007 that Wichita had the 9th best job market in the united states
· The National Association of Realtors reported that Wichita ranked #16 of the top 100 U.S. markets in projected increase in property values from April, 2007 to April, 2008.
· Wichita is projected to have a 3.1% increase in appreciation of home prices over the next year. The 1st quarter of 2007 the value increase was 4.3% and the value was flat for the 2nd quarter.
· The National Association of realtors has ranked Wichita #56 of 219 markets in affordability of housing and homes were priced at 108% of the median U.S. value.
· Wichita was rated the 9th “Best Big City” to live in as reported by Money Magazine, 2007.
· Derby , KS was voted one of the “Ten Best Towns for Families” by Family Circle Magazine in July, 2007
· Wichita has the 2nd highest concentration of high to low paying jobs in the U.S. Only NY, NY was rated higher.
· Forbes Magazine, in 2006, named Wichita the Number 1 place to live the good life cheaply. Wichita also ranked among the top 32 cities for quality of life.
· Kansas ranks among the 10 sunniest states in the U.S.
· Boeing Military, Spirit Aerospace, Beech, Cessna and Learjet all our hiring engineers and workers with close to 1,500 job openings.
· Road construction, a new Airport terminal, the down town Arena, the down town Water Walk, Old Town expansion and commercial expansion are in process or projected for the area.
· Wichita has become the major medical center for Central and Western Kansas, Northern Oklahoma and Eastern Colorado.
· The unemployment rate has decreased from 2006 to the mid 4% range.
· Wichita ranked # 87 out of the top 100 real estate markets in Foreclosures. Only 13% of the markets had fewer Foreclosures.
· 7,054 homes have been closed in the 1st 7 months of 2007.
· A person making $65,000 in Orange County, CA would only have to make $37,768 in Wichita to maintain the same life style.
· Wichita was the 79th ranked MSA in growth over the last 10 years out of 287 MSA’s
· Wichita has high rental prices and high occupancy rates compared to comparable sized cities in the region. High rents/occupancy means future home sales.
· A married couple making over $61,300 can deduct the interest paid from their income and save on taxes at a 25% rate. Canada has stopped giving a mortgage interest deduction.
· Thru 2006 The Wichita metro housing market experienced 6 years of record breaking growth. The 1st 7 months of 2007 has the market down 2% in units closed but still 5% better than 2005, the 2nd best year ever for Wichita.
· Existing homes for sale are actually down 5% from last years level and new home inventory is up 2% from last years level.
· The absorption rate for homes in the $0 to $300,000 range is 3.75 months.

RE/MAX Realty Professionals had the #1 individual office (West maple) in listings sold, the #3 company in listing sold and the #1 franchise (RE/MAX) in listings sold. They did this with substantially less agents than the other companies. In fact, RE/MAX Realty professionals had 22 sides sold per agent in the 1st 7 months of 2007. The next closest company of the top 7 sellers in the Wichita area only did 44% as good.

27% of the Wichita MLS agents did not have a sale and 50% had 2 or less sales in the 1st 7 months compared to the 20+ sales of RE/MAX Realty Professionals agents.