Let’s call it the “Great Selloff.” Plus the Best Kept Secret for Rocking Out Your Curb Appeal with a Small Budget.
Deborah has lived in the same classic American-style house from the Arts and Crafts movement with a front porch featuring support columns and exposed rafters, a low profile, and intricate woodwork since she fell in love with a local boy and got married.
A busy nurse who worked odd hours lived with her three children, two dogs, a bunny, a cat, a husband that made her laugh, and a white picket fence for 30 years; she never entertained thoughts of moving or trading up.
In this house, she raised her children, now eighteen, nineteen, and twenty-two years of age, in Midtown Kansas City, Missouri, near the Plaza, Crossroads, and Downtown. Every morning she would start her day with a pot of meticulously brewed french press coffee in her covered porch overlooking the garden with meditation music gently streaming over her wireless Sonos speakers.
She would rise at 5 am to give herself a solid two hours before the rest of the family swept into her day like a giant breaking wave. It was during one of these quiet moments that she spent in solitude when she realized real estate prices had been rising so fast for so long that the market is ripe to start dropping by next year.
Her family was getting older, her daughter was racing off to college the following year, her youngest was going to an art school in Europe, and the married couple was only five years from retirement. They are paying for too much house. At this point in their lives, two bedrooms in a more upscale maintenance-free community would be a better fit.
She knew it was time to sell. Her husband had been advocating for it for over a year. She had been hesitating until a few well-placed improvements made a difference. The house sold in two days with three offers above the asking price.
Home prices in Kansas and Missouri are at an all-time high. Home prices in 2021 rose 16.9 percent, the highest on record per CNN Business. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home sales price was $346,900 in 2021, up 16.9 percent from 2020.
According to the National Association of Realtors, these prices were the highest on record in 1999. Home sales had the strongest year since 2006, with over 6 million homes sold, up 8.5 percent from the year before.
“That is a meaningful gain for homeowners across the country,” said Martin Taggart, Leader Team Real Estate brokered by publicly-traded eXp. “The housing market has seen a phenomenal performance this last year with sales (in units) rising and prices rising. But inventory is still at an all-time low.”
Homes with the highest growth in equity are the best maintained with the enhancements needed to prepare them for sale. The homeowners who get ahead of the trend will be ready to sell closer to the top than those who scramble to catch up when the market inevitably turns.
Taggart anticipates total annual home sales to “remain steady” in 2022 as mortgage rates tick up. But he added that employment gains, stricter underwriting standards, and continued demand are strong indications that the market is unlikely to crash in 2022.
The resistance to downward pressure is intense. “We’ll hit a glass ceiling when the average priced home in a market becomes out of reach for buyers as inflation reduces purchase power,” said Taggart.
At the same time, money is getting more expensive. “This year, consumers should prepare for some increases in mortgage rates,” cautioned Derek Fricke, branch manager at Flat Branch Home Loans. He expects home prices to grow at least 10 to 12 percent in 2022, but the jury is out on 2023 as there are too many variables to predict how it will shake out.
Meanwhile, homeowners are scrambling to spruce up their houses for sale before the air comes out of the bubble. They’re looking for high-impact moves to make their home more attractive to potential buyers.
“As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression. One of the most important factors in selling your home is taking steps to maximize curb appeal,” said Meshelle Bishop, co-owner of Cornerstone Home Improvements, a leading installer of exterior windows and entry doors.
Maybe you hired a team of professional designers and landscapers to do dramatic lighting and maintain impeccably manicured trees and shrubbery. Or you’re a green thumb with a designer’s eye and did it yourself.
Whether you’ve made a significant investment of time, money, or both, you need to bring it all together and make your house pop when potential buyers drive by your house. One of the least intrusive and affordable improvements you can make to boost curb appeal and stoke demand is installing a stunning new entry door.
Entry doors are focal points that can make your house stand out in the curb appeal department. Your home has its style, and every component works in harmony to create that style.
When you combine your preferred door style, door glass, custom paint or stain finish, plus hardware and accessories, the result is a customized entryway that can take years off your home’s age with a more contemporary look.
Cornerstone Home Improvements
5056 Blue Ridge Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64133
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