Hello neighbors…I haven’t posted a blog in a few weeks, as I’m adjusting to working within the pandemic perimeters. However, the home sales stats from April are here, so I’ll post those over the next few days and also have a couple of new Brookside/Waldo businesses to blog about-YEAH! Below are the numbers, using the main Brookside zip code of 64113:
April 2020 April 2019
Median list price: $424,000 $425,000
Median sales price: $408,500 $420,000
No. of homes sold: 22 31
Days on market: 9 9
The lowest sales price last month was $265,000 and the highest was $760,000. A year ago, there were three $1,000,000+ sales in the month of April. It was mid March when businesses started shutting down due to COVID 19, and most contracts take 30-45 days to close. So we see that fewer homes closed last month, and the median price was lower than a year ago. May’s numbers will tell us more about any real market slow down due to the pandemic. Let’s look at year-to-date figures:
Jan-April 2020 Jan-April 2019
Median list price: $369,000 $395,000
Median sales price: $370,000 $390,614
No. of homes sold: 59 83
Days on market: 15 38
There’s a 5% decrease in prices YTD, and fewer homes sold. However, sellers are still getting practically list price for their homes. Note that it’s the more moderately priced homes in Brookside that are selling the fastest, as reflected in the median sales price.
Currently there are 36 active listings in Brookside, with an average list price of $575,000 and 36 days on market. Thirty two of the 36 homes are listed over $400K, five homes priced over $1,000,000.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
First, a little background on the house: Richard Wornall purchased the 500 acres of farmland in 1843, stretching from State Line to Main St and 59th to 67th Streets, taking out a loan of $2500. (These days that amount isn’t even a down payment on a Brookside home!) He and his family first lived in a cabin on the homestead until the house was built. They farmed the land, selling grain and animals in Westport. Eventually, Richard and Judith’s sons, John and Thomas, inherited the property. Soldiers took over the house during the Civil War and used it as a field hospital as the Battle of Westport was taking place nearby (in present day Loose Park). Pieces of land were sold off through the years, and finally, John Wornall’s third wife, Roma, sold the remaining 150 acres to JC Nichols. In 1963, the property was purchased by the Jackson County Historical Society and is now a free standing, non profit entity in conjunction with the Alexander Majors House at 8201 State Line Road.
places you can order ahead so you don’t have to talk to a human. But I do enjoy Starbucks coffee, generally the servers are friendly (excluding airport Starbucks in my experience!) and it can be less expensive than Roasterie. For example, a 16 oz bag of beans at Starbucks runs $14-$15; at Roasterie the 12 oz bag of beans start at $14. Lattes, straight gray coffee, expresso and teas are competitive in pricing. 
