Home sales in south-central Kansas higher for June, year

Right now is the best time to sell a home in south-central Kansas in close to a decade, according to one longtime area broker.

Area home sales rose by more than 5 percent last month when compared with June 2014, according to a report Tuesday from the South Central Kansas Multiple Listing Service. The report, said Greg Fox of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Alliance, points to the fact that the area is in the midst of a robust seller’s market.

“This is the best time to sell a house in about seven or eight years,” Fox said. “We’re looking at just a couple months’ supply of homes on the market, which is a big change from where we were just a couple years ago.

“You put a home on the market now, we could have two offers in two or three days.”

Combined sales of new and existing homes in June totaled 988 units, which was up from 940 in June 2014, according to the report. Existing homes led the way, with 926 units sold in June, up from 877 for the same month last year; new home sales stayed mostly the same, dropping from 63 last June to 62 for the same month this year.

The median sale price for a home was $131,725 for June, up from $130,750 from the same month last year.

The monthly report numbers also showed that the inventory of active listings in south-central Kansas stood at 2,926 at the end of last month, down from 3,123 for June 2014. Year-to-date home sales numbers are up nearly 4 percent, to 4,517 units, when compared with the first six months of 2014.

“The really astounding number from the report is median number of days on the market for a home, which is 28,” Fox said. “That’s remarkable.

“It’s certainly a seller’s market now and that means that buyers have to be more careful. I encourage people looking to buy to get pre-approved, which is different than being pre-qualified for a purchase.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Home sales in south-central Kansas higher for June, year."