2023 Housing Market Overview for Real Estate Investors
Kansas City Real Estate Market 2023
Learn trends and real estate statistics about the Kansas City real estate market to determine if it’s a strong place for your next single family or multi family home investment.
Kansas City Real Estate Market Trends and Statistics for Real Estate Investors 2023
Data Sources:
- www.census.gov
- www.deptofnumbers.com
- www.zillow.com
- RealWealth Property Team Data
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Kansas City Housing Market Trends
In this section, we’ll discuss the median home value and rents in 2023 and over the last seven years. These trends are important for real estate investors to understand affordability and equity growth opportunities in Kansas City.
Home prices in Kansas City are below the national average.
Median Home Value
The data in this chart is based on the average single family home in Kansas City and the United States as of December 2022.
Kansas City’s median home price is $283,384, which is 17.5% less than the national average. RealWealth has access to properties in a variety of neighborhoods that offer high returns on investment. We focus on single-family homes but also do a fair amount of duplexes and quad-plexes. We buy in quality A and B areas with good returns. Our members typically purchase properties for between $155,000 and $185,000. Kansas City as a whole has only about 1.4 months of supply of available homes. This is a seller’s market and investors need to act fast.
Kansas City rents are also affordable compared to many areas around the nation
Median Monthly Rent
The data in this chart is based on the average single family home in Kansas City and the United States as of December 2022.
Kansas City’s median monthly rent is $1,316. According to Rent.com, Kansas City was one of the metro areas to have experienced the greatest increase in rent prices year over year, with an 8.27% increase from February 2022 to February 2023. For the Kansas metro area as a whole, renting is more affordable than buying (price to rent ratio = 18). However, in neighborhoods where RealWealth invests, buying is more affordable than renting (price to rent ratio = 10.3). The average rent-to-value ratio in these neighborhoods is 0.81%, compared to an average RTV ratio of 0.46% for the Kansas metro as a whole. In Kansas City, 46 percent of households rent rather than own their home.
Kansas City has been appreciating quite quickly
Median Home Value (2014-2022)
+89%
6%
The Kansas City housing market has seen steady appreciation in the last eight years. The average home price in the metro area has increased by 88.97%, at an annual rate of 9.52%. This appreciation rate is 5.88% higher than the national average home appreciation rate of 84%. The area has seen a 95.50% cumulative appreciation rate over the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout’s data. The average price of Kansas City real estate grew by 13.7% between 2021 and 2022, from $249,243 to $283,384.73.
Kansas City rents have also been rising quickly
Median Monthly Rent (2014-2022)
+45%
11%
The Kansas City market remains extremely tight after a decade of soaring demand. In the last 12 months, Kansas City rents appreciated by 8%. The average rent has increased 45.38% in the past eight years, growing at an annual rate of 5.49%. Rent prices have grown 11% faster than the national average rent between 2014 and 2022. This makes it one of the places where rent prices have appreciated the most.
Kansas City Population Trends
One of the most promising signs of a strong real estate market is population growth. In this section, we’ll discuss what’s happening in the Kansas City metro in that area.
Kansas City's population has been growing quickly
Population Growth
9%
27%
Kansas City has a population of 2.2 million people, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri and 29th in the US. From 2010 to 2021, the city’s population grew by 9.24%—27% faster than the US average. According to the latest census estimates, between July 2020 and July 2021, the Kansas City metro area added 5,912 new residents. Johnson County is one of the fastest growing areas in the Kansas City metro area.
Kansas City Employment Trends
Another sign of a good place to invest in real estate is a strong economy. In this section, we’ll discuss what’s happening in with jobs in Kansas City.
Kansas City has been experiencing strong job growth
Job Growth
39,100
3.6%
Kansas City is a major transportation center and hub for high-growth tech sectors like finance and information technology. It also boasts a strong manufacturing base, making it an ideal location for companies in many industries. In fact, the Kansas City metro area ranks among the top 15 large metro areas with the most technology hubs per capita. It is home to nearly 4,000 technology companies. Kansas City added 39,100 new jobs between January 2022 and January 2023, a job growth rate of 3.56 percent.
The Kansas City area is also at the center of a region known as the Animal Health Corridor. This region accounts for 56 percent of total worldwide animal health, diagnostics, and pet food sales.
The largest private employers in Kansas City include Cerner Corp. with more than 12,000 employees, HCA Midwest Health (10,000), Saint Luke’s Health System (9,000), Children’s Mercy (7,400), Ford Motor Company (7,300), TMobile US Inc. (6,000) and Hallmark Cards Inc. (5,400). The Kansas City metro area is also home to the manufacturing and assembly facilities of Ford and General Motors, as well as a large drug manufacturing plant owned by Sanofi-Aventis.
Major employers in Kansas City
Why Invest in the Kansas City Housing Market Today
In this section, we’ll recap what we’ve covered above in terms of Kansas City’s housing market trends, population trends and employment trends to help you understand what makes Kansas City a strong place to invest in 2023.
Strong population growth
The Kansas City metro area has seen its population grow by 26.8% more than the United States as a whole, and it’s expected to keep growing. According to estimates, the Kansas City metro area will reach 2,281,512 by 2026. That’s twice as much growth as St. Louis, its nearest neighbor! A growing population is usually a sign of a healthy market.
Strong and steady job growth
Kansas City is a great place for investors to find high quality renters. The median household income is $73,900 and the city has a low unemployment rate of 2.9%. The Kansas City metropolitan area added 39,100 new jobs between January 2022 and January 2023, a 3.56% increase over the previous year. Over the last five years, the Kansas City region has attracted 10,650 jobs from eCommerce and distribution companies that have pledged to invest $2 billion and occupy 17.8 million square feet of space.
The tristate area encompasses 18 counties and 50 communities, which offer prospective companies tax incentives and urban and suburban location options. Several companies already call the Kansas City region home, including Amazon, Chewy, Malaleuca, Niagra Bottling, and Walgreens. Kansas City has also seen an influx of tech startups over the past few years, with PayIt, DisruptOPS, iOR Partners, and TripleBlind leading the way.
Affordable real estate prices
Kansas City is an affordable, healthy market for investors looking for cash flow. While prices continue to increase in coastal cities, Kansas City remains an affordable, healthy market for investors looking for cash flow. In November 2022, Kansas City was ranked fourth on the list of the most undervalued housing markets for renters. Kansas City has a median home value of $283,384, which is 17.5% less than the national average of $343,292.
Rising rent prices
High quality of life
Kansas City is home to top universities, arts, sports and entertainment and offers a rich cultural experience. It’s also a thriving metropolitan area with a variety of entertainment options and some of the best barbecue in the country. In fact, Kansas City was ranked 41 out of 245 cities worldwide for quality of life in 2023 by online cost-of-living database Numbeo.
Newsworthy Building and Developments in Kansas City
Planned developments can help you as an investor to estimate how the value of your investment property might change in the future. Here are some notable projects in the works in Kansas City right now:
City Harvest
The $95.6 million City Harvest project will be built on a city-owned parking lot northwest of Fifth and Main streets in the River Market. The mixed-use development will include 300 market rate units and 45 affordable housing units. 160 parking spaces will be designated for public use, and area businesses to make up for the lost parking lot.
Barney Allis Plaza Revitalization
After more than 60 years, the parking garage at 12th and Central streets in Kansas City is getting a major overhaul. Kansas City officials are planning a $112.4 million renovation of Barney Allis Plaza at 12th and Central streets. This would include a new public park and a 600-space rebuild of its underground parking garage. The plan also calls for developers to build The Allis, a $64.9 million, 10-story apartment complex on the plaza’s western edge that could help pay for the garage’s reconstruction. Located in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Barney Allis Plaza is a one-block urban park on top of a three-story underground garage.
The Offices at Overlook
A nonprofit community development corporation is planning to build a three-story office building on the East Side. This is part of an $84.5 million project that will transform a long-neglected corridor in the Brush Creek area. The new building will bring hundreds of new workers and residents, as well as mixed-use offices, affordable luxury apartments and a public plaza. The mixed-use master plan includes a playground and fitness area, as well as event and market spaces. Also on site is a mile-long wellness trail that links office buildings during the day and illuminates at night when activity has died down.
West Bottoms
The West Bottoms area of Kansas City has long struggled to attract big-time investment. But the neighborhood, which was home to the industrial Kansas City of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, has recently seen several apartment developments. New York-based SomeraRoad Inc. aims to build 1,250 apartments–along with hospitality and mixed-use space–by 2035. SomeraRoad has developed a reputation in Kansas City for its redevelopment of the downtown Lightwell building, home to major startups like PayIt and BacklotCars. West Bottoms redevelopment will focus on renovating historic structures and constructing new buildings in five phases through 2035, according to SomeraRoad’s website. The first phase in SomeraRoad’s plan to transform the West Bottoms area into a “micro-village” will begin this year if the developer lines up private financing and obtains tax incentives from the city.
BluHawk
The BluHawk development in Kansas City, Kansas is set to get a multi-sport complex that will include basketball, volleyball and pickle ball courts. The indoor facility will cover 20,000 square feet and seat 3,500 spectators. It’s designed to offer fitness classes and family activities as well. The BluHawk development will contain 536,000 square feet of new retail, restaurant and entertainment space; 100,000 square feet of apartments; 80,000 square feet of Class A offices; 206,000 square feet of hotel uses; and the new multisport complex.
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