Q&A: Buying a home in the KC metro? Here’s what a realtor says you need to know
Whether you’re an experienced homebuyer or entering the market for the first time, buying a home can be a daunting and stressful task. When you don’t know where to start or how to prepare, even just looking at homes in the Kansas City area can prove to be more difficult than it should.
Brie Simmons, a real estate agent with boutique brokerage Kansas City Realty, has worked in real estate since 2020 and sold homes across the Kansas City metro.
The Star talked with Simmons about the housing market in Johnson County and her tips for both first-time and experienced homebuyers.
What does the housing market look like in your selling area?
“Everybody knows that rates have been higher than what they’ve been in the past, but it’s still a trending market out here where there’s plenty of inventory, plenty of people who are wanting to buy.
I would say as far as the average price of a home in the area that I sell in, so that’s Overland Park, Leawood area, is around $450,000. But as far as how the market is, I mean, it’s steady. The cool thing about these areas that I typically sell in is that there’s not ever really, like, a bad time or a bad market or a good market. It’s just pretty steady.”
Can you tell me about what you typically see available in those markets?
“These are just really well-made homes, I would say. A lot of the houses that I typically work with in that area were built in the 60s to 80s. That was just a really, really good time frame for home builders ... As far as these homes over here, they’re solid. They’ve got pretty open layouts.
What I love about the Overland Park and Leawood and even just, you know, the Merriam area, Shawnee, is that you still get that character, that suburban area, that you would maybe in Missouri. A lot of my clients love the character in Missouri but want to buy in Kansas, but there’s a way to get that functionally sound home and still get that character that you’re looking for too.”
In regard to pricing, what would you say the range would typically be?
“The range that is highly sought after, I guess, would be anywhere from $400,000 to $550,000. I think that’s a pretty solid range where you’re going to find people that are really interested in those types of homes.
But, if you’re talking about the average sale price of a home now, I think in the metro it’s $350,000 to $400,000, so it’s definitely jumped up.”
What are some of the trends you’re seeing in this market?
“I got started in real estate five years ago, and so that was a time where interest rates were 2 percent; and now, obviously, they’re more in the 6 to 7 [percent range], and so it’s a completely different market than what I was working with when I first started out in real estate. So, the trends that I’ve started to see recently is that there’s still inventory, so people are still selling, even though the rates are high.
But what’s been kind of a cool transition is that when I started in real estate, buyers really didn’t have a ton of power. The ball was really in the seller’s court, and buyers had to sacrifice a lot of their own needs and wants in order to get the house. And whether that would be financially or what have you, buyers had to sacrifice a lot. What I’m seeing in this market is buyers have a little bit more power, which has been really great to kind of even that out a bit.
One of the biggest trends that I’ve seen is that sellers are not able to overprice their homes and still get the interest that they would have a few years ago. So that’s been good, I feel like, for everybody as a whole, because now we’ve actually got homes on the market that are adequately priced, and that way buyers can get to a house where you’re comfortable. And whether that be functionally or financially, I just feel like it’s evened out a bit where it’s not a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. I think that it’s kind of started to mesh and both parties are working better together.”
What are some homebuying tips you have for people looking to move into the metro area, especially first time homebuyers?
“Specifically for first time homebuyers ... buyers are now responsible for their realtor fees, whereas before then sellers were responsible for both the buyers and the sellers fee. So, I think the biggest thing is just really sitting down, taking a look at your budget, seeing what you’re spending monthly, what you’re spending yearly, seeing what you’ve got saved up, and getting with a local lender to really discuss what your means are, what your capability is, and then coming up with a good plan where you’re not, you know, going to overdo it and be house broke, but actually get into a house where you can be comfortable and live your life.
I think the biggest thing is going through your budget, seeing what you can do and then obviously getting with a local lender. And then I would obviously recommend a local realtor as well, that way you can develop that relationship with them and make sure you’re represented accordingly.”
What about for people who aren’t first time homebuyers?
“I think that the biggest tip is to know what your rights are. Know what you have as far as like, kind of ‘ammo’, I guess, if you will, on your end, to really just go in and learn about what the area is looking like. I think it’s really important that your realtor knows the comparables in the area that you’re looking in and really focusing on the data. That way you can submit a good offer knowing that you’re within your means, but also something that’s going to be appropriate for the location.”
Any other tips?
“I just think it’s really important to come up with, you know, your list of wants, like your loves, your things that you don’t really want, but also keep in mind, I always tell my clients, there’s an 80/20 percentage that you should follow. You’re gonna love probably, ideally, 80 percent of the house and then 20 percent is something that you can, you know, make your own.”
