This is a picture of my first home, I purchased it in Denver Colorado in 1993 and I paid a whopping $67,000 for this 2 bedroom 1 bath brick bungalow west of downtown Denver. I was 23 years old and didn't have a clue of why I wanted to buy a home, it just seemed like a good idea. It turns out that good idea completely changed my entire financial future. I kept the home until 1998 and SOLD it for $149,000, an $82,000 increase in value.  Over the next 7 years I owned multiple homes in Denver and kept gaining equity through home ownership.Click Here to See My First Homes Zillow Zestimate, You will be ShockedIn 2005 my wife and I chose to relocate to Overland Park and the equity gained from our homes in Denver allowed us to build our dream home, a home that we have lived in for 15 years and ... 08/23/2021

We have been seeing a declining number of available homes for sale for several years now but in January of this year those numbers sunk to the lowest levels in history. Comparing the number of available homes this year vs last year at this time there is an over 50% decrease.This is very troublesome as we head full on into the traditional Spring and Summer selling seasons. This severe lack of inventory has created a panic like frenzy amongst would be buyers to secure new listing as they hit the market.More: Find your Dream Home NowThis frenzy has created multiple offer bidding wars on most new listings as they hit the market. This has also led buyers to extreme measures when placing their bids. "They say that desperate times require desperate measures", well those measures now include of... 03/29/2021

In December something changed in the real estate market, it is something that had been present for a while but in December it entered the extreme territory. If you have been searching for a home, you already know what it is. It is an unprecedented lack of available homes. When our local MLS released the end of December statistics we realized that the number of available homes had decreased by 54% over the previous year. This severe lack of inventory has left buyers frustrated and on edge trying to find a suitable home. This has also led to bidding wars that are pushing offers way over the asking price.This lack of inventory is creating a ripple effect that may actually be the biggest part of the problem. There is a large pool of potential sellers who are not engaging in the market due t... 02/18/2021

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood here at Southpointe, a Summit Homes Community in Overland Park. While I sit at the model home and have discussions with visitors, here are a few of the benefits we've discussed about owning a new Summit home. You don't need to sell your current home before you build. You will not have to make a mortgage payment until your new home is complete. You do not need a 20% down payment to build. You can build with a fixed price and no surprise costs You can choose from a variety of lots You select the floorplan that best suits you and design selections to fit your budget and taste. You do not have to worry about supply and demand that results in a bidding war and drives up the price of your new home. You will have a 1, 2 and 10 year builder warranty for ... 11/02/2020

Traditionally, housing developers in Overland Park and the Kansas City Metro have made it a point to adorn the various neighborhood entrances with statues or ornate monumental signage to differentiate.This is a community was also planned with a grid system in mind, so every few blocks on one of the main streets you will see a different landmark where a new neighborhood starts. In my travels, I saw this guy welcoming me into the neighborhood at 78th and Nall, a friendly reminder to wear you mask!  08/21/2020

What a great service that is being made available to Overland Park residents! For FREE! Homeowners who live west of Antioch and have unwanted items like appliances and furniture, can use this opportunity to get rid of them. The pickup is scheduled over four Saturdays.September 19: North of 99th Street/Terrace September 26: 99th Street/Terrace to 119th Street/Terrace October 10: 119th Street/Terrace to 135th Street October 17: South of 135th StreetFor more information on Bulky Item Pickup, visit https://bit.ly/2meSyG8.To double-check your pickup date, just enter your address in the search feature! Want to know what items you can leave out? Browse the full list of accepted items!In other communities where I have lived in the country, this is not a free service, or you have to haul your st... 08/19/2020

Do you keep losing bidding wars on your new home purchase? Well, there may be a good reason why the seller chose someone elses offer over yours. In the world of hyper competive offers, sellers are looking at the cleanest offers first and disregarding offers that have way too many clauses or contingencies.More: Find Your Next Home HereIf you have been offering on homes with no success you may want to eliminate these 3 things from your offer.Closing costs-  Are you asking the seller to make a contribution towards your closing costs?  Buyers who can't pay their own closing costs are seen as a risk in the sellers eyes. While you can make your offer higher to account for the closing cost request, the raising of the price can create appraisal issues down the road. Unless closing costs paid by... 07/15/2020

It's the middle of summer and the real estate bidding wars are in full swing. The combination of historically low interest rates and a lack of available homes for sale is fueling an unpresidented buyer frenzy. In comparison to one year ago, interest rates are down by over 1% and the inventory of homes for sale is down a whopping 40%. This is leading to desperation amongst buyers to secure hot new listings.  A recent survey showed that almost 60% of available home listings are receiving multiple offers. If you want to win a bidding war and don't have infinite cash you will need to be creative, here are my 5 top ways to win that bidding war.Find Your Dream Home NowGet Fully Pre-Approved- When you first meet a mortgage lender they will have you fill out an application, whether it is online... 07/14/2020

With the fear of Covid-19 gripping the United States there has been a lot of information shared not only about CoronaVirus but Essential Business, Non Essential business and what is means for the economy, inevitably this leads back to questions about the real estate market. Real Estate has been considered an "Essential Business". While being considered essential does not mean business as usual. Like many businesses we have had to adapt our business to changes in the market and to make sure that we keep our home sellers and buyers safe during this time. I wanted to take this time to tell you about how Mike Russell & Associates is changing to protect you and your largest investment during this time of need. While now may not be the perfect time to sell a home for many, for some sellers th... 04/10/2020

February 2020 Overland Park Home Sales for Zip Code 66212The housing market for 66212 remained strong through February.  So, how did February 66212 Overland Park home market end up in terms of home sale prices?  Here is a quick market snap shop of sales price for 66212 that shows the Median Sales Price for February 2020 was $240,000 as compared to $215,000 for January.This Median  Sales Price for February 2020 home sales prices for zip code 66212 of Overland Park reflected a change over the previous month of +11.63% and an increase of +3% over the last 12 months.  As I previously posted in January, while we saw a lower median home sales price for January for 2020 homes sales prices for zip code 66212, I did expect that we would experience greater sales prices for the end of February whi... 03/25/2020

January 2020 Overland Park Home Sales for Zip Code 66212The housing market for 66212 has started off strong for 2020.  So, how did January 66212 Overland Park home market end up in terms of home sale prices?  Here is a quick market snap shop of sales price for 66212 that shows the Median Sales Price for January 2020 was $215,000.This Median  Sales Price for January 2020 home sales prices for zip code 66212 of Overland Park reflected a change over the previous month of -1.83% and -4.61 over the last 12 months.  While we saw a lower median home sales price for January for 2020 homes sales prices for zip code 66212, we should experience greater sales prices for the end of February and for the upcoming months.  Why is this my opinion?  Our Inventory levels for supply of homes for sale in Ov... 03/05/2020

How did the Housing Market for Zip Code 66212 in Overland Park end up for January 2020?  And, how did it compare to January  2019?  By comparing last year to this year housing statistics, I get a better understanding of how our Overland Park 66212 housing market is trending. January 2019 we saw single family homes sales of 13.  That is closed sales.  In January of 2019, there were 26 single family home sales.  Obviously, the number of homes sales in January of this year were were lower than last year.  In my opinion, this is largely due to lack of inventory of homes for sale in 66212 of Overland Park. JUST SOLD in 66212 of Overland Park   If you are planning on selling your house in today’s market, let’s get together to discuss what your home's value is today "whether you are ready to s... 02/13/2020

Spotlight Home Sold in Overland Park KS  I love letting my Overland Park KS neighbors know when a great home has Sold.  Today I want to share with you that I have Sold our Overland Park neighbor's home in less than a week. What a great Seller to have worked with.  Seller had their home in show ready condition and we worked together to put a price and marketing plan together that allowed us to have multiple showings within the first 24 hours. This Overland Park home is located in 66212 in the Fairway Manor Subdivision.  Located in a very popular area of North Overland Park, 8735 Riley Street, was naturally a location that many Buyers would want to tour. The Seller  and I put a great plan together to not only market the home and correctlyprice it  but to negotiate the terms of the Offer t... 02/06/2020

Overland Park Home Sales for December 2019.  The numbers for home sales in Overland Park Kansas for December 2019 are out from the Heartland  Multiple Listing Service.  Don't take a second look....it is accurate...the number of Closed home sales in Overland Park for December was equal to November.  I expect that we will certainly see an increase in the number of home sales for Overland Park as we start the New Year.  And, certainly in the upcomoing months.  However, it will be important to keep in mind that the number of home sales  may show significant increase if the inventory for Overland Park homes does not increase. Currently, we have and continue to experience a shortage of available inventory of Overland Park homes for sell. Especially in the first time and mid level buyer price ... 01/14/2020

Overland Park, KS ranked one of the best cities to find a job in 2020.  Overland Park, KS ranked in the top for 2020 by Nationally recognized Publication “WalletHub”.  2020 started off great for the City of Overland Park KS for one more reason...it is listed as one of the best cities in Nation to find a job. Not only does Overland Park at the very top for most livable cities, but now gets to add another accolade to its incredible amount of awards.   Overland Park ranked #11 out of over 180 cities that Wallethub compared in terms of job market strength.  Its research key factors included monthly average starting salary, job opportunities, job satisfaction and employment growth.  Also taken into consideration was Overland Park Kansas real estate and housing affordability.  Overland Park i... 01/13/2020

Just Listed13708 Lucille StreetOverland Park, KS 66221$379,000St Andrews Place Subdivision Amazing new listing See more photos and more atwww.13708Lucille.Info Call Mike Russell at 913-523-6427 to schedule a private showing. 08/22/2019

Buying a home is an amazing accomplishment, one that can set your family up for future wealth, provide security and give you the satisfaction that comes with owning your own home. But before you can become a home owner you need to get approved for a loan.For many would be home buyers this has become a challenge, many have the income but lack the credit score to qualify. If you are in this predicament here are 3 easy steps to get on the right track. I want to give a little disclaimer, credit scores don't magically improve overnight and be very leery of anyone that promises you just that.  # 1 Credit Report - Many people don't know this but you are allowed a free copy of your credit report every year. Getting a copy of your free credit report can help you fix one of the biggest issues, wh... 07/08/2019

How did the Housing Market for Zip Code 66212 in Overland Park end up for May 2019?  And, how did it compare to May 2018?  By comparing last year to this year housing statistics, I get a better understanding of how our Overland Park 66212 housing market is trending.May 2019 we saw single family homes sales of 52.  That is closed sales.  In May of 2018, there were 35 single family home sales.  Obvioulsy, the number of homes sales in May of this year were higher than last year.Average Single Family Sales Price for May 2019 was $257,767 vs $236,744 last May.  A significant difference between May of this year and last year.  The $257,7676 was the second highest average sales price for the prior 12 months.  Great News for Price for 66212 Overland Park homeowners.The Average Days on Market fr... 06/17/2019

Just Listed10740 W 115th StreetOverland Park, KS 662210$195,000Best Overland Park property under $200,000. Just steps away from the new City Place. Amazing kitchen remodel, new furnace & A/C, newer carpet and paint.Visit 10740w115th.info for more information Like what you see? call 913-523-6427 to schedule a showing today! 01/22/2019

Every year in January I write my annual recap of Hampton Place Home Sales for the prior year, 2018 will go down as the year of "Sale Pending" no sooner than a home listed did it seem like it was under contract. For those of you who are considering selling in 2019, here is a look back and my forecast for 2019. A look back at 2018The overall number of homes SOLD was relatively unchanged from 2017 and hasn't changed much over the past 5 years, we have been generally seeing about 20 to 30 homes sell per year. In a neighborhood the size of Hampton Place we would expect a turn over rate of 10% but have seen only about a 5% turn over rate for the last 5 years.While the number of homes SOLD has been flat, the average sales price for Hampton Place homes has been steadily increasing. The average ... 01/07/2019