Tidbits from the Ville

Today I talk briefly about an Interview with Dara Khosrowashahi by Allysia Finley from the Wall Street Journal.

I also wanted to make a Public Service Announcement "PSA" about the upcoming November 3rd, 2020 election.  Have a great weekend.

Every day in the U.S., roughly 10,000 people turn 65. Prior to the health crisis that swept the nation in 2020, most people had to wait until they retired to make a move to the beach, the golf course, or the senior living community they were looking to settle into for their later years in life. This year, however, the game changed.  32% of those surveyed cited the top reason they're making a move is that they want to be closer to family and friends.  73% of retirees currently living in single-family homes.  With the overall number of homes for sale today hitting a historic low.  Today's market has the perfect combination of driving forces to make selling optimal, especially while buyers are looking to take advantage of low-interest rates.

Your Update from Smithville: I am trying to confirm this news officially with Price Chopper Management.  As expected they will be shutting their store down on Monday, October 12th, and October 13th, 2020 to begin the transition to their new store opening in the Smithville Marketplace on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020.

Owning a home is a great way to build family wealth.  For many families, homeownership serves as a form of "forced savings"  Every time you pay your mortgage, you're contributing to your net worth by increasing the equity.  The Average Net Worth of a homeowner today is $120,000 and combined with Other Assets of $135,000 the National Average is $255,000 versus The Average Net Worth of a Renter is $6,300.  According to this year's survey, 35% of Americans chose real estate over stocks, savings accounts, gold, and bonds. 

I also discuss James Dornbrook article in yesterday's Kansas City Business Journal on how Ford contributes $2 billion to KC Gross Domestic Product.  The facility employs 7,250 people and creates another 49,000 indirect jobs throughout Missouri, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group.

Today I share about the benefits of buying a one-story home.  According to NAHB "Nationwide, the share of new homes with two or more stories fell from 53% in 2018 to 52% in 2019, while the share of new homes with one story grew from 47% to 48%.  Some distinct advantages of single-story homes are:

1. Energy Efficient

2. Easier to Maintain

3. Accessible for Everyone

4. Good Resell Potential

Finally, in my local update, I discuss briefly the Agenda for this evening's Board of Alderman meeting via Videoconference / Zoom.  The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m.

In Monday's episode, I talk about the Share of Mortgages in forbearance drops to lowest levels since April 2020; consumerfinancegov.com defines "Forbearance is when your mortgage servicer or lender allows you to temporarily pay your mortgage at a lower payment or pause paying your mortgage. You will have to pay the payment reduction or the paused payments back later."  The total share of mortgage loans in forbearance decreased from 6.93 % of servicers' portfolio volume to 6.87 % during the week ending Sept 20th, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest forbearance can call volume survey.

Missouri Update: The national unemployment rate in September decreased by 7.9% as payrolls grew by 661,000 jobs.  For the week ended Sept 26, about 7,300 people in Missouri filed initial unemployment claims, lower than any week since the initial surge of pandemic-related job losses in March.

Smithville Update:  Nothing sexy about waste.  The City of Smithville operates 29 wastewater pump stations.  Each pump station requires frequent inspection and maintenance by City staff to ensure they are operating as intended.  The capacity of these pump stations and common force mains are frequently the limiting factor in allowing development to occur within the City of Smithville.

Today I talk about Equity gain Year Over Year in the average home around the country and right here in Missouri.  According to Corelogic Q2 Data Across the country, Average Equity gained by Homeowners is around $9,800 which translates into $620 billion Total YOY equity gain by US Homeowners.  6.6% YOY percentage increase in total home equity.  In Missouri, we are over $10,000 average per homeowner.

Missouri Realtors Association reported its August 2020 numbers.  There were 8,803 Residential properties sold a 5.6 + increase vs. August 2019.  $197,500 is the Residential Median Sales Price a 12.2% increase vs. August 2019, $238,646 was the Residential Average Sales price a +14% increase vs. August 2019 and finally, there were over 2.1 billion in dollar volumes transacted a 20.3% increase vs. 2019 volume.

The final segment I am excited to share about my friend Jennifer Justice and her co-host Eric launched a podcast on October 1st, 2020 called Get Real KC.  It is an interview-style podcast that interviews all sorts of experts.  It is focused on consumer-facing Real Estate.  Both of them did an excellent job interviewing Bobbi Howe Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors president.  You can search for the podcast on Apple Podcast or Spotify "Get Real KC"

Today In Tidbits from the Ville I talk about an article in the Wall Street Journal from Julie Jargon entitled Roadschooling is More Fun.  A family of five travels over 11,000 miles while attending school virtually.

I also talk about Pure Fishing located near the KCI airport will be relocating to a 542,640 square foot facility which will include the transfer of 160 Kansas City area employees into the new facility in the first quarter of 2021.

Finally, I continue to talk about FutureIQ and their assistance in helping the City update their Comprehensive Plan.  They have defined five character areas which include 169 Industrial Character Area, 169 South Character Area, Downtown Community Oasis, Hospital Bluff Character Area, and North Residential Character Area.

Today for both my National and State Update I discuss Steve Vockrodt article from the Kansas City Star on September 28th, 2020.  Missouri's low-income housing tax credit zeroed-out by Eric Greitens in 2017 is back.  I believe this will be a great thing for developers creating low-income housing for over 100,000 people across the State who are on a waiting list.

For the Smithville update, I discuss FutureIQs projections for our upcoming City over the next ten years.  Currently, it is estimated Smithville has a population of 9,632 residents with around 2,335 employees.  They expect our population to grow between 3500-4500 new residents with an additional 420-930 new employees added during the next ten years.  The projected 2030 base population will be around 13,100 to 14,200 residents with an employment base of 2,755 to 3,265 total employees.  Employment Growth = Local Jobs + Increased City Tax Revenue to support the infrastructure.

One of the questions we get asked all the time on our team is where are Home Prices headed in the next 12 months?  Although none of us are predictors of the future, I do lean towards the more optimistic projections of NAR stating 4.3% with an average between Zelman, Zillow, Fannie Mae, NAR, HPES, MBA, and Corelogic being at 3.87%

The Kansas City update talks about the new Aldi be built in the Kansas City Legends shopping center.

Finally, your Smithville update; I am pleased to announce that my clients are submitting their package today to the Smithville P&Z Department in preparations for the upcoming hearing on November 10th, 2020.  Tune in to learn more about the school.

Today I talk about the article in the Wall Street Journal written by Gwynn Guilford and Charity L. Scott "Is It Insane to Start a Business During Coronavirus?  Millions of Americans Don't Think So."

Americans are starting new businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade, according to government data, seizing on pent-up demand and new opportunities after the pandemic shut down and reshaped the economy.....

In the State Update I share more from the article "The pandemic is actually inducing a surge in employer business startups that takes us back to the days before the decline in the Great Recession," said John Haltiwanger, an economist at the University of Maryland who studies the data.

Finally, in the local update, I talk about forming a Real Estate Team during the shut-down and how I put together a team that has now grown to a total of five agents including myself and we just hired an Administrative Assistant who starts on October 1st.