Author Archives: Mary Hutchison

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About Mary Hutchison

Every day I'm driving around my cherished neighborhood of Brookside (and Waldo)...observing what's going on, watching new businesses move in and out, and touring homes (I'm a Realtor with Weichert Realtors). Starting this blog about Brookside/Waldo is a way I thought I could promote the area and spark some discussion about what's happening here...and what's going to happen. Your comments are welcome.

Armour Hills Home Sales Report – March 2022

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Let’s start with another example of how far some buyers will pay over asking price….in March, an Armour Hills home sold for $52K over the list price!. With interest rates on the rise, will buyers pull back on the bidding wars? We will find out…my guess is there will still be multiple offers for the most desirable, updated homes, but instead of 15 offers, perhaps 5-8 offers. Here are the March stats for Armour Hills in Brookside:

March 2022March 2021
Median list price: $382,500 $299,500
Median sales price: $402,000 $307,000
No. homes sold: 4 2
Days on market: 2 3

The lowest closed price was $385,000 and the highest was $414,500. Values are up almost 31% over March 2021. Here are the year-to-date numbers:

Jan-March 2022Jan-March 2021
Median list price: $399,950 $337,500
Median sales price: $414,500 $356,888
No. homes sold: 11 10
Days on market: 4 2

Sold prices are up16% over the same period last year. The highest closed price so far this year in Armour HIlls was $535,000. As of this post, there are no homes in Armour Hills for sale; there are 12 under contract.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Waldo Spring Fling And Brookside Art Annual This Weekend!

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People, get ready for lots of arts, crafts and outdoor socializing this weekend!

The first ever Waldo Spring Fling is Saturday 4/30 from 10-5 at the NE corner of Wornall and Gregory. This event is in conjunction with The Strawberry Swing, an indie craft fair that has been an annual celebration since 2011 with pop ups around the city. The Strawberry Swing has an online marketplace as well as a traditional brick and mortar store at 3630 Main St. The Waldo Spring Fling will feature several craft vendors, food trucks, live music and … just wander over to find out what else there is to browse through!

And the summer festival season also kicks off this weekend (April 29-May 1) with the 36th Brookside Art Annual, at 63rd St and Brookside Blvd. There will be plenty of art, jewelry, pottery and other interesting handmade items for sale, along with food booths and childrens’ activities Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Hours are 5-9pm Friday, 10am-9pm Saturday and 11am-5pm on Sunday.

Be sure to watch for extra pedestrians around these events over the weekend and thank you for supporting local!!

Waldo Home Sales Report-March 2022

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This month’s report on Waldo home sales stats …up and down! The housing market is constantly changing! Let’s take a closer look at the numbers; I’m using the boundaries of State Line to Holmes and Gregory to 85th St as the Waldo boundaries.

March 2022March 2021
Median list price:$263,000$235,000
Median sales price:$285,000$250,000
No. of homes sold: 23 27
Days on market: 3 2

Buyers still paying over list price for homes; and values are up 14% compared to March of last year. The lowest closed price was $160,000 and the highest was $650,000.

Here are the year-to-date numbers:

Jan-March 2022Jan-March 2021
Median list price:$239,000$246,000
Median sales price:$250,000$260,000
No. of homes sold: 65 73
Days on market: 3 3

Overall, prices are 4% lower than same period in 2021; although consistently, buyers pay over the list price. Waldo has a wide range of home prices, it’s possible more of the lower priced houses have closed this year so far. Currently there are just four homes for sale in Waldo with an average list price of $284,500 and 4 days on the market.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Brookside Farmers’ Market Open for the 2022 Season

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It’s growing season!! The Brookside Farmers’ Market is officially open for the 2022 season, at HJ’s Community Center, 6425 Wornall.

Now open every Saturday from 8am-1pm, you’ll find something different each week, There’s usually always locally grown fresh meat, fresh baked goods, some produce, herbs and flowers. Bring the kids; don’t forget tote bags for your goodies and splurge on some tasty foods you just won’t find in the grocery store. Thank you for supporting local!

Brookside Home Sales Report-March 2022

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The number of available homes for sale in Brookside keeps shrinking. New listings priced under $500K are barely on the market for 48 hours. And with rising interest rates, some potential sellers may decide to stay put instead of buying something else with a much higher monthly payment due to rising rates. So, let’s take a look at the numbers:

March 2022March 2021
Median list price:$481,000$427,400
Median sales price:$512,500$430,000
No. homes sold: 20 26
Days on market: 2 2

The lowest closed price last month was $276,000 and the highest was $1,075,000–and that was $25K over the list price! Prices are up 19% compared to March 2021.

Here are the year-to-date stats:

Jan-March 2022Jan-March 2021
Median list price:$500,000$400,000
Median sales price:$535,000$410,000
No. homes sold: 49 55
Days on market: 4 2

There have been five $1,000,000+ sales this year so far; 30 homes sold over $500K. Buyers regularly pay over asking price and values are up 30% over 2021. Currently there are only seven listings in the main Brookside zip code of 64113, and four of those homes are priced over $1,000,000..so the average list price is $1,099,000!

(All numbers taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

New Restaurant Alert! Brady and Fox Now Open in Brookside East

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Graham Fox Farris and Shaun Paul Brady, Co Owners of Brady and Fox

If you’ve ever walked into an Irish pub, you know that  special, chummy  feeling of “ahh… time to relax, sip a drink or two, order some pub food and open up the conversation!”.  That’s the vibe co-owners Shaun Paul Brady and Graham Fox Farris have created at their new restaurant and bar in East Brookside, Brady and Fox.  Farris is from Olathe, and Brady is from Nenagh, in the county of Tipperary, Ireland. They met many years ago when Farris was in culinary school at Johnson County Community College; Brady has worked at several restaurants (you may remember his old place on Troost, Brady’s Public House). Graham and Shaun instantly became close friends and decided to pair up on this new venture.  They wanted to keep Brady in the name, and added Fox to honor Farris’ mother as it was her maiden name. 

Business has been strong and steady, owing to the owners’ friendliness (Brady makes a point of greeting every table), fresh, tasty food  and the relaxed atmosphere. Come in to enjoy a hearty pub style meal (the most popular items are the Traditional Fish ‘n Chips, Steak and Guinness Pie, the homemade sausage rolls and scotch egg).  Graham says “just about everything here is made from scratch…well, not the ketchup!” and there’s even an emphasis on homemade desserts:  Irish Coffee Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding and Irish Farms Liqueur  Crème Brulee.  Or, have a seat in the lounge area  with friends for a whiskey tasting:  Shaun stocks over 50 varieties at this time.  He supports local distilleries as well; you’ll find Boulevard on tap and Riegers, Mean Mule, and  Restless Spirits liquors.  There are two separate bars if you feel like stopping in for a quick one; or spend some time on the outdoor patio with a pint and sandwich.

 Shaun told me “One of my dreams is for this place to bring back the family meal” .  He and his wife have  two young children  and he  relishes when he and the family can go out together for dinner and conversation.  Watch for an expanded menu in the next week or so and a children’s menu.  “I am super thrilled to be back in this neighborhood, “ Shaun says, “So happy to see old friends here and meet new ones from the area”. Brady and Fox’s hours are 11am-11pm Tuesday through Saturday; after Easter they will open 10-4 on Sundays.

Race This Saturday Will Snarl Traffic in Brookside

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The Rock the Parkway Race is happening this Saturday morning, April 9, 2022. It starts at Burns and McDonnell near Bannister and Wornall and continues through Ward Parkway, around Loose Park and Brookside. There is a 5K and half marathon, starting at 7:30am..

I’m posting the route here; be aware and avoid these streets Saturday morning, vehicles will not be able to get through!

Armour Hills Home Sales Report-February 2022

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I’m posting this last blog about February home sales stats … just a few days in to April! Prices on the rise and higher than last year at this time…same story! These numbers reflect home sales in the Armour Hills subdivision in Brookside:

February 2022February 2021
Median list price:$407,000$335,000
Median sales price:$395,000$358,775
No. homes sold: 4 5
Days on market: 86 2

The median sales price increased 10% over last February. Note the longer days on market figure–that is because there is one house in Armour Hills that sat on the market 213 days before going under contract.

Here are the year-to-date numbers:

Jan-Feb 2022Jan-Feb 2021
Median list price: $415,000 $347,000
Median sales price: $420,000 $361,000
No. homes sold: 7 8
Days on market: 17 2

Compared to the same period last year, home values are up16% in 2022. And most buyers pay at or over the list price. The lowest closed price so far is $330K; the highest is $535K. As of this posting, there are no homes for sale in Armour Hills. The homes that were listed in the past week are all under contract.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Waldo Home Sales Report – February 2022

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I have some interesting numbers to report today regarding Waldo home sales stats–overall prices are lower compared to a year ago. That’s unusual, and as we are now in the strong spring home buying season, and I don’t think we can expect falling prices as a trend! I am checking single family homes in Waldo, using the boundaries of State Line to Holmes and Gregory to 85th St:

February 2022February 2021
Median list price:$245,000$289,475
Median sales price:$256,000$298,750
No. of homes sold: 25 24
Days on market: 3 18

The lowest closed price last month was $155K; the highest was $467K. Prices were 14% lower than February 2021. Here are the year-to-date stats:

Jan-Feb 2022Jan-Feb 2021
Median list price: $233,750 $265,000
Median sales price: $238,500 $265,000
No. of homes sold: 42 47
Days on market: 3 13

You can see a fewer number of homes sold, and final closed price was lower than last year. However, that final 2022l sales price is still higher than the list price. There continues to be a lack of inventory and homes are going under contract very fast; I don’t see that changing over the next few months. Right now there are just four single family homes for sale in Waldo, with a median price of $251,750.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)

Brookside Home Sales Report-February 2022

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Last month’s snow storms seem so far away, as Spring is here! I hear the birds chirping in the early morning hours–wake up everyone! Home prices aren’t falling like the snow did, interest rates creeping up like the tempertures–it’s going to be another hectic spring for homebuyers and sellers. Here are the stats for single family home sales in Brookside, using the main zip code of 64113:

FEbruary 2022February 2021
Median list price:$550,350$380,000
Median sales price:$538,575$392,350
No. homes sold: 16 16
Days on market: 54 2

Last month there were two $1,000,000+ sales; one of those homes had sat on the market for almost a year. There were several homes that closed over $500K+ last month, so that accounts for the big jump in median sales price and longer days on market. Here are the year to date numbers:

Jan-Feb 2022Jan-FEb 2021
Median list price:$570,800$395,000
Median sales price:$550,000$397,200
No. homes sold: 29 29
Days on market: 46 3

Just looking at the numbers, you could say home prices are up 38% over last year. But the several, higher closed sales prices in February pushed the median price up. The same number of homes sold; days on market longer as a few of the homes took a while to go under contract.

Currently there are just five homes for sale in Brookside’s zip code of 64113, at a median price of $1.1 million! Two of the homes are just over one million dollars; one is $4,000,000. Those new, moderately priced listings that go on the market every week are getting snapped up so fast in bidding wars. Hence, not enough inventory for buyers.

(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)