Kansas City Real Estate Overland Park Homes

This year the Lions Club again put up all those wonderful flags for us to remind us of the patriotism & celebration of our Independence Day! I always enjoy seeing them everywhere in town!  Don't forget that there are a ton of activities in Kansas City this weekend! 

• Overland Park is having music, fireworks & more starting at 4 pm. Corporate Woods
• Shawnee & Lenexa teamed up to have fireworks in Shawnee Mission Park
  
• Leawood is having fireworks
• Kansas City MO is having fireworks
• River Fest is downtown Fri & Sat
• Stilwell is having a parade & fireworks starting at 6 pm.
  

Be safe & enoy all the activites here!

Having your Overland Park home on the market is not an easy thing to do.  Trying to keep the home in tip top shape is always a challenge.  But keep in mind that when competition is stiff, then you need to make it appealing & with easy access. Most of the time, a showing always comes at a non opportune time or at the last minute.  It's so easy to refuse that showing.  Heres a few tips on making it easier to for showing on your Overland Park home:

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When talking with my sellers in Kansas City, I get the question frequently asked about are there homes selling quickly?  The answer is yes.  During the month of May, over 37% of the homes sold in 30 days or less.  That isn't bad with all the negative press via the media. In fact, over the last 2 weeks, I had 2 homes that closed where the buyers had purchased them in move in condition.  Move in condition means better than average.  The buyer didn't have to do any updating. The first one was a atrium split in Olathe. It was sold at 188,000.and it was well kept, maintained nicely & good colors.   They could move in and just enjoy!  The second one was a raised ranch that sold for 172,500 in Overland Park.  It was a home about 40 years old in great condition with newer windows, neutral décor & was well cared for. You could tell the moment you walked in that the sellers had taken care of their home. Maintained it, kept it clean, clean, clean, and had great curb appeal.  Nicely landscaped, fresh mulch & nice planters of flowers.  When putting your home on the market in Kansas City, your home needs to be better than the average!  Homes that are just average tend to stay on the market longer and sell for less!

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Looking to Sell your home in Kansas City

Where to Start when selling your Kansas City home

No recommendation until tomorrow.  All eyes are on the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee today.  At 2:15PM (EDT), 11:15 (PDT), they will release their interest rate decision and statement.  The fixed income securities market believe there is a 43% chance that the Fed will RAISE rates, to stifle inflation, in August and that there is a 61% chance that the hike will come in November.

The eyes will be on the Fed's commentary, though:

"We expect the Fed to keep the funds rate at 2% today but to shift to a more hawkish statement by placing more emphasis on inflation over growth risks," strategists at Credit Suisse wrote in a research report. "The Fed will likely use this meeting as an opportunity to set the stage for a potential rate rise in August."

If the Fed signals that rates could rise as early as August, expect mortgage rates to jump .25% higher, from today's 6.375% 30 year fixed rate, over the next few weeks.  If the Fed signals rate hikes are "possible" as a way to fight inflation, expect rates to stay level through in July (6.25% to 6.5%).  Finally, if the Fed shifts back to its anti-recessinary talk, we could see rates drop down to 6%.

As you can see, there are a lot of "ifs".  This is why today's Fed commentary is all important.  The Fed's ambiguity has traders convinced that higher rates are a foregone conclusion.  Here's the silver lining hidden in this dark cloud; mortgage rates are equal to what they were in July, 2007.  The Fed Funds rate was at 5.25%, then.  Today, the Fed funds rate is at 2.25%.  What that means is that mortgage rates SHOULD be able to withstand some 5-6 rate hikes and stay under 7%.

Alas, markets are discounting mechanisms.  We still think there is a lot of risk to higher mortgage rates until the commodities bubble bursts.