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Growth Everywhere |
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Wichita and the surrounding communities have for years enjoyed a vibrant real estate market. Coupled with the fact that existing single-family homes can be purchased in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties for about 37% below the national median sale price, Wichita is viewed as a desirable place to both own and invest in a home! |
In addition to explosive growth on the outskirts
of Wichita’s core area, a growing and dynamic new player is entering the
market — downtown! In the last few years, numerous condominiums have transformed
rundown warehouses into highly desirable residential units. And in 2001,
Wichita celebrated the renovation of the Eaton Hotel block into apartments,
condominiums and retail space that continues to add new life in the community’s
revitalized core area.
Wichita’s core renewal follows national trends
of redeveloping older areas that had become vacant in the 70s and 80s. Combined
with low crime rates, appealing land values and growing public and private
investments, developers and businesses alike are once again looking to the
heart of the city for new and inspiring living options.
The three county Wichita Metropolitan Statistical
Area (MSA) experienced double-digit growth during the 1990s. The Wichita
MSA includes Butler County, which is one of the fastest growing counties
in the state. Wichita’s home county of Sedgwick is also the state’s most
populous county. Whether you’re interested in metropolitan living or a spacious
rural atmosphere, you’ll find it here.
In some established residential areas, fill-in
building is taking place. Patio homes, for instance, provide upscale amenities
and landscaped yards with sprinkler systems in a comfortable ambience.
On the west side of town, where new housing
construction starts are more numerous than the rest of the city combined,
you can find at least 40 distinct residential subdivisions, each with a
blend of home size and price. Special taxes sometimes figure into the price
of homes in these newer neighborhoods, where the age of paving, sewer and
water lines is often calculated in months rather than years.
At the same time, there are lots available
in some subdivisions in lower price brackets with no special taxes due.
Homes here fall into price ranges between $80,000 and $300,000, although
showplaces with homes costing $400,000 or more dot the landscape. Few homes
fall below $65,000 in these newer areas.
Growth in communities west of Wichita mirror
this accelerated pace of growth. Towns such as Maize, Goddard, Cheney and
Haysville are seeing the addition of subdivisions built to fit the lifestyles
and incomes of people who are newcomers to the area, as well as those who
are finding the allure of small-town living quite appealing.
Wichita’s residential market is following
many of the trends evident in progressive, growing communities throughout
the Midwest. Many new subdivisions are marketed exclusively through just
one or two sales agents. Naturally, these new-home agents become experts
in the neighborhoods they represent, and therefore are good sources of information
for prospective buyers.
Many Wichita real estate brokers are turning to the Internet as a
logical means of placing local properties before a national home-buying
audience. To find area brokers on the Web,
click here.
In terms of the properties themselves, lot
size has begun a reversal. In the past 10 years in Wichita, homeowners have
wanted something more than lots which put their neighbors’ windows less
than 15 feet away from their own. Many lots in newer subdivisions are larger
than those in neighborhoods that were developed as recently as five or ten
years ago. Today, a typical lot might measure 90 feet wide by 150 feet deep.
As lot sizes have grown, most developers have
retained the walking paths, playgrounds, pools and other amenities in generous-sized
public areas.
Wichita has avoided much of the urban blight
that afflicts many other cities. That is not to say that there is no neighborhood
decay. However, those areas are minimal and, in the case of the Midtown
neighborhood, are undergoing restoration.
Low and moderate income homebuyers are sharing
in national programs that make home ownership a realistic goal. Community
Housing Services Wichita/Sedgwick County, with money provided by county
government, is building partnerships with business and government to promote
home ownership and the rebirth of stagnant neighborhoods. The program incorporates
education and financial assistance, and follow-up to make certain that home
buying experiences are successful and the buyers are enjoying their new
homes.
The Kansas Rural Home Loan Partnership is
available in communities of less than 20,000. This program also addresses
the needs of those of moderate means. It provides assistance in determining
credit-worthiness and in the selection of real estate agents. It also helps
homebuyers through the lending and closing process. A mortgage revenue bond
program is also available for first-time home buyers.
Wichita’s home resale market is sizzling, particularly for those homes in the mid-range market. Homes prices around $100,000 sell quickly. Nationally, median prices have inched upward by about 6 percent in recent years; Wichita homes have generally followed that trend. However, the price of comparable homes in Wichita is about 37% less than national figures. |
