Housing market

I wish the media wouldn’t jump on the bandwagon and continually focus on the terrible housing market. It seems every time I open the paper or turn on the news, there is some kind of report that points out all the negative aspects of the housing market.

In reality, Kansas City isn’t doing nearly as bad as other parts of the country and it is actually irrelevant to talk about a national housing market.

The markets in cities around the country are so different that worrying about the national housing market is like worrying about a national temperature. If it is 20 degrees in Kansas City, I put on a winter coat. I don’t care if the national temperature is 70 degrees.

The media has had a negative effect on the Kansas City market because it is affecting the consumer’s confidence. The media should be trying to help the situation by saying that with the record low interest rates and high volume of houses on the market, it is a prime time to buy.

There will always be good and bad. I just wish the media could focus more on the good for a change.

Brad Papa
Olathe

I don’t believe Edith Lank answered the question about buying foreclosed homes very well (2/24, “House Calls”).

I don’t think she is in touch with the real estate market in the Kansas City area. She is answering the question as if the buyer is going to make a bid on a home being sold on the courthouse steps. This is hard to do, as the banks usually buy the homes back and then list them with a local real estate company to try to recoup their losses.

There is a huge foreclosure market right now in our area with about 1,700 homes listed with realtors.

She stated you had to make a cash deposit and be ready to pay the rest almost immediately and you can’t insist on viewing the inside of the property. This is wrong. Most bank foreclosures are listed with local real estate companies, and agents can set up a showing.

If the buyer is interested, they make an offer just like any other offer on a house for sale. They write up a contract and give an earnest deposit.

This is one of the best times ever to buy a home. The market is saturated and there are some really good buys.

Kathleen Liggett
Reece and Nichols Realtors
Independence

Comments

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

Anne - Have you considered that many of the homeowners KNEW their properties were overvalued and rather than playing it safe, they elected to take the bait? Also our market is by far better than Colorado, Cali, Florida, Arizona or Las Vegas.
The zip code we live in has not suffered a decrease but the opposite, a stable increase in value. The media is becoming a ridiculous circus. Granted some consumables are skyrocketing in price but if the economy is so bad, then how come the malls are packed, Wal-mart parking lots are full, BlockBuster movies titles are not available and people still spend over $100 on sneakers?

[Anne]

Mr. Papa,

My daughter's house in Johnson County just went on the market for 15% less than the house next door sold for 3 years ago.

That isn't as steep a drop as markets in other parts of the country but it is substantial. People can figure out that it's a good time to buy, but the housing news across the country is affecting many areas of the economy.

For instance people may like to know why they may lose their job. Economic news - good or bad - is important to everyone.