Kansas City was home to one of real estate's most forward thinking developers, JC (Jesse Clyde) Nichols. He developed commercial and residential properties in the Kansas City area, on both the Missouri and Kansas side of the state line. His most well known achievement, the Country Club Plaza, was the nation's first shopping district built outside of a downtown area. He called his method of development 'planning for permanence' -- and even in this depressed home market, many Nichols' subdivisions still hold up their value.
A 40 year comparison of average home prices in subdivisions that Nichols built show some interesting statistics. For example, the average price of a home in Fairway, KS in 1970 was $25,600. In 2008 it was $332,698. Part of the genius of Nichols was he would build small, medium and larger homes in the same subdivision--just a block or so away from each other. This enabled different types of buyers with different incomes to live in the same subdivision--but all were restricted by covenants and the expectation that all homes would be well maintained. Generally, his developments were conveniently located close to shopping areas, some within easy walking distance. After all these years in real estate, I'm finally tackling a book about Mr Nichols to learn more about the man, his influences and his life.
The real point of this blog is to show a comparison of a few of Nichols' developments and how the prices have changed over the years. Note the 2008 average sales price and the percentage change from the previous year.
1980 2000 2007 2008
Armour Hills 67,900 159,892 237,255 223,304 -6%
Corinth Hills 116,000 214,796 276,530 269,677 -2%
Fairway 80,100 222,248 331,276 322,698 -3%
Prairie Village 54,400 134,901 195,512 199,125 +2%
Verona Gardens 130,500 217,667 267,606 269,775 +1%
Remember, all real estate is local. Some subdivisions and cities hold their value better than others. For an analysis of values in your neighborhood, email me with your address and subdivision name.
|
