One of the reasons people love to live in Brookside and Waldo…all the neighborhood free activities! Kick off your weekend early !
Tonight is the Fall Sip & Shop in Brookside! Centered around the intersection of 63rd St and Brookside Blvd, take your time and stroll around the locally owned shops and restaurants on this mild Fall evening. Stop in retail stores for beverage samples and in store specials while supporting our neighborhood.
And Saturday is the Waldo Fall Festival from 10am-8pm, at Gregory and Wornall on the east side.
Please remember to be extra careful when driving in these areas and watch for pedestrians, kids, bicyclers and families with strollers. Get out this weekend and enjoy the neighborhood!
Home prices in Brookside jumped up compared to July 2023; overall, prices have slipped. The number of homes changing owners remains fairly steady. Let’s take a look at the details; these stats reflect single family home sales in the main Brookside zip code of 64113:
JULY 2024
JULY 2023
Median list price:
$650,000
$535,000
Median sales price:
$650,000
$570,000
Days on market:
2
2
No. of homes sold:
29
29
It’s unusual that the median list price is exactly the same number as the median sales price; and consistently, most of homes that do go on the market sell fast. Compared to July 2023, prices jumped 14%! There were six million dollar plus homes that closed last month; the highest was $1,890,000 and the lowest sales price was $400,000. Here are the year to date stats:
jan-july 2024
jan-JULY 2023
Median list price:
$549,000
$575,000
Median sales price:
$566,000
$577,000
Days on market:
3
3
No. of homes sold:
145
159
And here we have….many buyers paying over the list price, as reflected in the median sales price being 3% over the asking price. Yet, home prices are down just 2% from 2023.The drop in price is not drastic and because most moderately priced homes go under contract quickly–there is still a lot of demand for $500K and under homes. Currently there are 27 active listings in Brookside; the median asking price is $570,000 and 39 days on market. There are five homes priced over $1,000,000 and just 11 properties priced under $500K.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
Halfway through the year, fewer homes in Brookside are selling, and prices have cooled somewhat. Yet most buyers still paying list price or above. What does this mean? I have some comments at the end of the blog; first let’s take a look at the stats. I’m using the main Brookside zip code of 64113 for the report:
JUNE 2024
JUNE 2023
Median list price:
$550,000
$580,000
Median sales price:
$567,500
$593,250
Days on market:
2
2
No. of homes sold:
24
40
The lowest closed price last month was $395K and the highest was $1,235,000. Buyers paid about 3% over list price; yet home prices dropped 4.3% from a year ago–that’s practically a wash right there. Fewer homes changed owners as well.
Here are the year-to-date numbers:
JAN-JUNE 2024
JAN-JUNE 2023
Median list price:
$535,000
$575,000
Median sales price:
$553,500
$578,500
Days on market:
3
3
No. of homes sold:
115
130
The YTD stats reflect the monthly data for June: buyers paying around 3% over list price and home prices dropped 4%; homes are still selling within a few days of listing. In my opinion, the lower prices reflect the impact of higher interest rates–sellers more aware of pricing correctly and buyers more aware of their budgets. Fewer home sales indicate more owners prefer to stay put; those that do sell still have an eager pool of buyers wanting to purchase in the neighborhood.
Currently there are 24 single family homes for sale in Brookside, with a median list price of $691,000–a high number because the majority of homes are priced over $500K with 7 homes asking over $1,000,000. The lowest asking price is $350K and the highest is $8.5 million.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
What a great idea….Brookside does it again! The first PatioFest is tomorrow night and everyone is welcome. Come out and celebrate the Summer Solstice with your neighbors and friends! The shops will be open till 7 as well.
There will be live music at several places in the core area of Brookside-including near Jalepeno’s, the Brooksider, Brookside Toy and Science and Foo’s. Check the website for details on who is performing where and exact showtimes.
Homebuyers are pushing prices up in Brookside; yet year to date, the median sales priced dipped from last year. What’s going on?? Let’s take a closer look at the numbers. I’m using the main Brookside zip code of 64113, single family home sales, for these stats:
MAY 2024
MAY 2023
Median list price:
$695,000
$575,000
Median sales price:
$725,000
$582,000
Days on market:
3
2
No. of homes sold:
25
28
The closed sales price was way up– 24% compared to 2023; and most buyers still paying over list price by about 4%. There were 4 million dollar + sales last month; the lowest closed price was $380K and the highest was $3.350 million cash. Only five homes closed under $500K; because most Brookside homes that closed were well over $500K, the median sales price was pushed way up compared to last year. The number of homes changing owners remains consistent. Here are the YTD figures:
JAN-MAY 2024
JAN-MAY 2023
Median sales price:
$535,000
$567,000
Median list price:
$553,500
$576,000
Days on market:
3
4
No. of homes sold:
91
91
So far this year, prices are down around 4% compared to 2023; yet again, most buyers are paying over the list price. We’ve had ten $1million + homes close this year. And consistently, most houses are under contract within a few days no matter what the price.
Currently there are 18 listed single family homes in Brookside, with a median list price of $587,500 and 25 days on the market.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
Although when I check Armour Hills sales stats, it is a smaller group of homes than Brookside as a whole; about 900 homes in the subdivision. But it is a highly desirable area for many reasons, and sometimes buyers go way, way over list price to live here. And that affects all of Brookside. You’ll see in this report:
APRIL 2024
APRIL 2023
Median list price:
$445,000
$427,000
Median sales price:
$515,000
$430,000
Days on market:
2
4
No. of homes sold:
7
6
Compared to last April, prices rose almost 20%! And buyers were paying well over asking price, median was 15.7%. Just seven homes closed, but note: one home sold $50K over asking price; a second sale was $70K over asking price and the 3rd was $40K over asking price. When buyers drive up prices so drastically, it really skewers the comparable homes for pricing and in turn, drive prices much higher than normal. The lowest closed price was $660,000 and the lowest was $430.
Here are the year-to-date numbers:
JAN-APRIL 2024
JAN-APRIL 2023
Median list price:
$445,000
$385,000
Median sales price:
$475,000
$405,000
Days on market:
3
6
No. of homes sold:
19
17
Home values are running 17% higher than last year in Armour Hills; about the same number of homes are changing ownership and homes still sell in under a week. Currently there are three homes listed in Armour Hills, with a median price of $489,000 and 12 days on market.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
Smell the fresh cut grass, admire the colorful flowers, sleep with the windows open and a cool breeze at night…Spring is here in Brookside! For Sale signs are stuck in front yards, advertising homes on the market. Let’s take a look at the April sales stats for single family homes in Brookside:
APRIL 2024
APRIL 2023
Median list price:
$497.250
$519,000
Median sales price:
$523,000
$516,000
Days on market:
2
3
No. of homes sold:
22
17
Most buyers paid over the list price by about 5%; a few more contracts closed and prices were up a modest 1.3% compared to April 2023. The lowest closed price was $300K and the highest was $1,050,000. Here are the year-to-date numbers:
JAN-APRIL 2024
JAN-APRIL 2023
Median list price:
$499,950
$550,000
Median sales price:
$517,500
$537,250
Days on market:
3
7
No. of homes sold:
66
62
Here we see something unusual; prices were down 3.6% YTD over 2023; yet most buyers paying over list price. A few more homes changed owners this year. Currently there are 19 homes listings in Brookside with a median asking price of…..$920,000!! Most homes are priced over $500K, including 7 homes over a million. The lowest priced home is $450,000 and the highest is $8.5 million.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
Encouraging children to discover and explore their interest in arts and music is a priority for many parents. Here in Brookside, there is a new locally owned business that can help–HeartBeat Studio.
Christi Coffey
Founder Christi Coffey offers year round classes at her central Brookside space, including special summer camps. There’s a music room for guitar, piano and voice lessons; a large space for dance and theater classes and an art room for working with clay, fiber and print making. All of the summer camps are themed–including one on Taylor Swift, of course! Year round classes are offered for ages 1-18; the six week summer camps are geared toward ages 4-13. In addition, Christi hosts the “Kid’s ARTventure Night” on the first Friday of each month. For $35, you can drop off your youngster at 5:30pm and come back at 9:30 for pick up…and enjoy an evening to yourself! HeartBeat Studio hosts birthday parties too.
Christi has a BFA in musical theater from SE Missouri State and has been teaching in the arts for twelve years. She worked at the Coterie Theater, the Jewish Community Center and KCYA. During the pandemic, she purchased a Tippi Toes franchise which she still owns. “I love teaching” says Christi, ” and childhood is the most important time in life to explore the arts. I love to see a shy kid blossom and gain confidence through classes–art can help a child grow emotionally”. Brookside was her preferred location for the new business as she saw a real need. “There are so many families in the area, wanting this type of service”. I think this is especially true for summer camps as most families have two working parents. Christi doesn’t have much free time but when she can relax, she enjoys her backyard ducks and tending her large vegetable/fruit garden in Hyde Park.
Heartbeat Studio dance room
HeartBeat Studio is located at 6314 Brookside Plaza, next to Jalapeno’s.
Last month I attending a public meeting at Hale Cook Elementary, hosted by the Kansas City Public Schools. KCPS is proposing turning the former Bryant School into housing for teachers. Bryant was built 1915-1938 on just over four acres of land at 319 Westover, and has been vacant since 2009. Whatever happens to this property, it will affect home values and the immediate neighborhood. As a Realtor, I wanted to find out more about the plans….and share them with you!
Jesse Lang and Shannon Jaxx, who both work in “repurposing” closed schools for the district, moderated the event; Superintendent Dr Jennifer Collier kicked it off by talking about increased enrollment in the district schools and the recent hike in teacher salaries. When KCPS conducted a survey of first year teachers, one of the questions was about housing. The survey indicated teachers are having trouble finding affordable housing and would prefer rents of $800-$1000 per month close to the schools they work in. KCPS feels converting Bryant to teacher housing would help some of these staff people. Several school districts around the country have built apartments specifically for teachers; California is “leading the way”, also Chicago and Newark. Locally, the Guadeloupe Center recently broke ground on a 50 unit apartment complex near their elementary school.
Bryant Elementary School, 319 Westover
In addition to the proposed renovation of Bryant, Dr Collier talked in detail about the $650 million in deferred maintenance of the district’s current schools, which they hope to address via COP Bonds and a spring 2025 General Obligation (GO) Bond, which would require voter approval. These measures would not fund the Bryant project.
Approximately 50 persons were present at the meeting and overall, there didn’t seem to be any strong objections to the teacher housing proposal. I jotted down several notes and have summarized the information in quick bullet points below. You can also find slides from the presentation here.
*The land Bryant sits on is divided into four tracks, currently zoned for single family or school use. KCPS would need to have the neighborhood “restrictive covenants” changed to allow the apartments. KCPS will also apply to have Bryant on the National Register of Historic Places to qualify for tax credits.
*Approximately 27-40 units would be built, with the possibility of a few single family homes (at market sale rate) on the eastern track.
*No projected cost was mentioned for the project. Several for profit and nonprofit developers have expressed interest in submitting a proposal. Philanthropic support will be needed to keep rents below market value. KCPS needs to decide if the land would be a long term lease or sale to the developer.
*Other alternatives for this property are: demolish the building and KCPS keeps the site as a vacant lot; or sell it to a developer for new, market rate single family homes.
*It was also mentioned that KCPS is “evaluating” the current Southwest High School building for a third middle school location.It is not being considered for teacher housing.
The next steps are this: over the next several months, KCPS will solicit feedback from the community, make a recommendation to the school board and in the Fall, “proceed with critical actions”. KCPS promises to “participate in good faith negotiations with the property owners” and will “solicit community feedback prior to choosing a developer” if the teacher housing proposal goes through.
KCPS wants your feedback! You can complete a survey online by May 17. I’ll plan on attending other public meetings related to this topic and keep you updated via the blog—thanks for reading!!
As we head into the usually busy Spring home buying season, it’s interesting to note that overall, home prices are trending downward; however buyers are still paying over list price. That sentence…can seem confusing, especially if you are in the market as a buyer. Let’s take a look at the numbers; I’m tracking single family home sales in the main Brookside zip code of 64113:
March 2024
March 2023
Median list price:
$475,000
$657,000
Median sales price:
$520,000
$650,000
Days on market:
2
12
No. of homes sold:
17
16
Here we see that the number of homes sold remains steady, and buyers paid 9.5% over the asking price. Compared to March 2023 however, home prices are down 20%. Last month the lowest closed price was $260,000 and the highest was $1.3 million. Ten of the 17 homes sold were priced over $500K and two were over $1,000,000.
Here are the year-to-date trends:
JAN-March 2024
JAN-March 2023
Median sales price:
$510,000
$550,000
Median list price:
$517,500
$542,500
Days on market:
3
19
No. of homes sold:
44
45
These YTD numbers aren’t as drastic but still reflect the trend: about the same number of homes are changing owners; buyers pay over asking price (YTD about 1.5%) and values are down 4.6%.
Currently there are just 12 homes for sale in the 64113 zip code, with a median list price of $974,500. Only one home is priced under $500K and five have prices over $1,000,000. There is just not enough inventory at the under $500K price point and when there is–the home goes under contract within a day or two.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
Inside Brookside (And Waldo) 