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.