What to Know About the Housing Market in Kansas City

Comparing Nationwide Stats To Our Local Market

As we move into the middle of spring here in Kansas City, we thought it would be a good time to evaluate some of the important factors and statistics to consider when looking at our local housing market. We’ll be talking about some local statistics, and comparing how our market is performing compared to the nation as a whole. It’s always important when looking at the housing market to understand that national statistics are not representative of your local housing market. Our team at Ask Cathy stays up to date on the current trends and statistics for our Kansas City housing market to make sure that our buyers and sellers are as prepared as possible when buying or selling a home.

Spring 2023 National Housing Market Statistics

Looking at the national statistics, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales saw a 2.4% decrease in March, along with a pending home sales decrease of 5.2%. What is interesting, however, is that around 34% more homes were sold nationwide in March than in February, which is larger than the pre-pandemic historical growth average from February to March, which was 33%. This shows that while the housing market still has room to grow in 2023, we are seeing some positive signs going forward.

One of the biggest factors that will impact the housing market going forward are mortgage rates, which have fluctuated in recent months, and impact the number of buyers in the market, which then impacts the price of homes on the market. NAR has predicted that home prices will increase by 1.2% this year, because of their additional prediction that mortgage rates will solidify around the 6.4% mark. In Q1 of the current year, the median sales price of a home in the US was $436,800. Below we’ll take a look at the Kansas City stats. Another important statistic to consider when looking at the national housing market is the average number of days on the market. In March, the national median for DOM was 54. As you can see from the graph below, courtesy of the St. Louis Fed, this is in line with the seasonal trend of higher DOM in the winter months, and increased activity during the spring and summer months.

Now that we’ve talked about the national statistics, it’s time to compare those numbers with our local market to find out what is most important for you to know as a Kansas City homebuyer or seller.

Local Kansas City Market Statistics

Here in Kansas City, our existing home sales climbed by 25.7% month over month, with a pending home sales increase of 35.2%. This tells us that we are right in the middle of the spring real estate market period of increased activity, and that our market is in line with the national averages, which shows an increase in activity in this period. It is important, however, to look at year-over-year statistics to show how different our current market is from a year before. Looking at those same statistics, we see a 17.8% decrease year over year in existing home sales, and a 12.6% decrease in pending home sales. This information on our local market is provided by the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors.

Continuing with the data provided by KCRAR, we can see that the median sales price in Kansas City increased by 3.4% month over month to $279,000, with a decrease of 0.4% year over year. This is in line with what we typically see during the spring months, as more homes enter the market and an increased buyer pool allows sellers to seek out a higher price point for their homes. Additionally, Kansas City home appreciation is up 6.3%, which is higher than the historical average of around 4%. When looking at Days on Market, we see that the change from February to March was a decrease by 3 days, which again, is common as the housing market moves into spring. The change year over year, however, is much more dramatic, with an increase of 16 days, which equates to a 59.3% increase.

National New Construction Statistics

When the housing market shifted last year, new construction across the country took a big hit, with cancellation rates soaring through the roof, leaving many homebuilders in a bind. Today, however, homebuilders are seeing significantly lowered cancellation rates according to John Burns Research and Consulting, with an aggregate cancellation rate of 9% for surveyed builders. Compared to the peak of 24.6% that builders nationwide experienced in October of the previous year, that is a significant decrease, and a more than welcome one for both homebuyers and homebuilders. The cause of this increased demand for new construction could be attributed to mortgage buydowns and cutting prices as the market shifted that builders offered in order to attract homebuyers.

Contact the Ask Cathy Marketing Group for the Latest Information on the KC Housing Market

If you are interested in buying or selling a home, make sure to contact us by using the form below, or by giving us a call anytime at (816)-268-4033! Our Realtors Ⓡ have years of experience in buying and selling homes, and can inform you on everything you need to know in order to buy or sell your home for the best price, and as quickly as possible.