National Coverage of Our Local Market

Thanks to Bill Wilson at the Eagle for pointing this out in his blog. On Tuesday, February 24th, the USA Today had an article on the Wichita real estate market. It appears to be a true picture of where we are right now. Sales have slowed considerably but inventories remain low and prices are firm. Sales have slowed as buyers and sellers digest the current housing market. The credit crisis last fall created the first big concern. More recently layoffs in the local job market and uncertainty about the new administration stimulus plan has impacted consumer confidence. People are taking a wait and see attitude. As the article points out, since we have not had the big real estate bubble other communities have seen, sellers are not being forced to sell. Consequently, would be sellers are standing on the side lines with would be buyers.

When consumer confidence returns so will the real estate activity. In the mean time, be thankful we live in a relatively stable market.

Visit me at www.ToddFox.net to learn more.

Real Activity Driving Stimulus May Be on the Way

An AP story in this mornings Wichita Eagle indicates that finally some one may be addressing the one of the root causes of our current economic pickle - the housing market. Many experts believe we need to stop the declining home prices and clear out the excess home inventory before any true recovering can take place. But people are afraid to act because of all the uncertainty. The solution to the housing problem up to this point has largely been let's wait until prices fall far enough and then investors and opportunistic consumers will step in and start buying. Meanwhile the government has come up with all kind of other ideas to throw money at the problem in hope of creating stimulus.

No truly meaningful stimulus is going to take place until individuals begin to make self-serving decisions that lead to economic activity in hopes of putting their family in a better situation. The article above talks about a new proposal in the stimulus package that will grant a one time $15,000 tax CREDIT for any one that wants to buy a home. I'm ready to go home, round up my tools and finish up some of those home improvement project so I can put my house on the market and move into something different. Folks, that is stimulus.

I know, your saying "but your a self serving Realtor". I say that's a home owner and a family decision. Don't take my work for it. See how Jim Kramer from CNBC's Mad Money thinks we should fix the problem.

Great first time home buyer opportunity in Wichita

This HUD home is a great opportunity for a first time home buyer in a quiet South Wichita neighborhood. For this and other opportunities email me at todd.fox@coldwellbanker.com

Look at that cool piece of Wichita Real Estate

Realtors spend a great deal of time traveling through residential areas where they live and work.  Far too many homes become just deals, potential deals, lost deals or a good comparable for a current deal.  But sometimes a home catches your eye and it makes you stop and look with a different eye.  Recently I meet my wife for lunch and then we went to visit the Wichita Symphony Showhouse - an amazing charity event for the Wichita Symphony.  After leaving the show house I traveled north on Roosevelt and noticed a cool piece of Wichita real estate - an original Frank Lloyd Wright home.  

I knew Wichita was home to a couple of Frank Lloyd Wright houses but this was the first time I had found one.  This one was built in 1915 by Frank Lloyd Wright for Henry and Elsie Allen.  The home is currently an appointment only museum and managed by the Allen-Lambe House Foundation.  I may have to set up an appointment to tour this great piece of Wichita history. 

Doom and Gloom Need Not Apply

If you read the head lines and listen to the TV you must believe that the proverbial real estate sky is falling and home foreclosures are spreading faster than a California wild fire. Well, I’m hear to tell you the sky above my world is not falling and we have no out of control wild fires. The doom and gloom headlines just don’t apply to the Wichita real estate market. Let’s take a look at home foreclosures.

Recent data on 3rd quarter foreclosures reported by RealtyTrac indicates that home foreclosures have doubled for 3rd quarter 2007 vs. 3rd quarter 2006. Fortunately, real estate is local and the good people of Wichita and south-central Kansas are not dealing with the problems that come with high foreclosure rates. Thru July, 2007 year to date foreclosures are down 12.2% in Sedgwick County compared to July, 2006 YTD according to data collected by First American Title from the register of deeds office. The chart above shows monthly foreclosures since 2001.

So why are things different in Wichita? The obvious reason is a healthy labor market thanks to strong aircraft industry in the Wichita area. But it is more than just a strong labor market. It also speaks to the steady nature of the real estate market in Wichita. We don’t experience the wild swings in home prices that other markets experience. In the ten years I have lived in the Wichita area we have seen major employers such as Pizza Hut and Rent-a-Center leave town and the aircraft industry was particularly hard hit by September 11 but thru it all price appreciation in Wichita remains steady. The current national doom and gloom doesn’t apply in Wichita.

In the coming months I intend to use this space to highlight important market information for both buyers and sellers in the Wichita market.

Todd Fox

ToddFoxSellsWichita.com

Got any Zip Skinny

Ever wanted to know the income demographics or the eduation levels of an area in your community. This information is much easier to find today than even a few years ago, but, navigating the U.S. census data web site can take a little time to learn. Last week I discovered a great web site for all things census and demographics related – www.zipskinny.com Pick a zip code and you get a nice summary of the U.S. census data for that zip code including graphs that compare your zip code to state and national statistics. The site also compares the zip code you entered to nieghboring zip codes in ranked order. And if you really want to get your hands dirty compare up to 20 different zip codes next to one another in columns. Next time you need demographic information check out Zip Skinny.

Todd Fox
ToddFoxSellsWichita.com

A new Real Estate Blog Begins

I’m ready to dive into the new world of internet blogging. I say new because it’s new to me and apparently it’s new to MSWord since spell check flags Blog as a miss spelling.

I’m a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Stucky and Associates in Wichita, Kansas. I’m starting this blog as a great way to provide current information about the real estate market to the community of Wichita. This blog might have taken life sooner but I felt like it should start with something profound to say. What follows may not seem that profound but it is humorous and I find it profound since it involves my son.

Most days my wife takes our son Jack to Kindergarten and I pick him up at the end of the day. This particular day I had floor duty at the office from 1:00-5:30. On the way to school Jack’s mother explained that Dad would be a little bit late that afternoon to pick him up because Dad has floor duty. As only a 5 year old can do, Jack thought about what his mother had just told him for a moment and responded “Mom, since when did Dad start doing janitor work?” His mother laughed and explained that Dad wasn’t cleaning the floor but was on call to take phone calls from people interest in buying or selling a house. Jack pondered that bit of information for a moment and responded with “Well, it sounds to me like they should call it “on call duty”.

Hopefully I simplify the world of real estate for my clients as well as my son does.

Todd Fox
www.ToddFoxSellsWichita.com