Wichita housing market belongs to sellers

It’s a seller’s market in Wichita, according to the most recent home sales figures from the South Central Kansas Multiple Listing Service.

Home sales jumped by nearly 9 percent last month, according to the monthly sales numbers provided by the service, when compared to March 2015. Sales last month totaled 835 units, up from 767 in March 2015.

Among existing homes, 789 sold last month, an uptick of 9.1 percent from March 2015. A total of 1,038 contracts for sale – which indicate deals that are set to close soon – were written in March, up more than 10 percent from the same month last year, the report said.

The average sale price of an existing home was also up last month, coming in at $141,455, about a 6 percent rise from March 2015.

New construction was up slightly – 46 sales in March from 44 during the same month last year – while the average sale price of a new home decreased 9 percent to $267,397, according to the report.

At the current rate of sales, the south-central Kansas region has about a three-month supply of homes (2,503) on the market. A figure representing less than five months of supply generally indicates a seller’s market.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Wichita housing market belongs to sellers."