2019 Lawrence Market Outlook

It's Cold and Real Estate is Slow (Kind of)
 

Well it appears that winter is hanging on pretty tight in Kansas. Lawrence schools keep canceling, and I think we're all looking forward to some 60-degree days! Here's a list of some of my comments, predictions, hot-takes, and controversial opinions for 2019:

• The Lawrence housing market will continue to see historically low inventory. We're starting the year right where we left of in 2018 with less than 2 months-of-supply overall. 
• For homes priced under $350,000, we're actually at a month (or less) of supply. Expect prices to continue to increase at non-sustainable rates throughout the year. 
• Expect homes priced over $400,000 to stay stagnant, or maybe even decrease. 
• A correction is coming! But probably not this year. Market activity in other areas of the country are starting to cool. 
• Interest rates will rise (finally)! But wait, maybe they won't. . . We've been predicting rate increases for years now and they haven't yet materialized. Every time they tick up, they come back down. Currently they're still around 4.5% for a 30-year fixed rate. 
• Political turmoil will cause hesitation in some buyers and sellers. It's gonna get worse before it gets better.
• Now is the time to invest in real estate! The stock market sucks? You need to diversify? Real estate is one of the best investment vehicles around. 
• Things will get quiet in July, and stay quiet through the end of the year. 
• The Lawrence market will repeat 2018 and fail to produce as many real estate transactions as the prior year, but dollar transaction volume will exceed last year. 
• Lawrence will begin to change. There are more downtown development proposals than ever before. Expect Lawrence's skyline to change considerably, with ground-breakings starting later this year. 
• If you really want to get into the weeds, check this out: https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/realtors-confidence-index 
• And lastly, I'm gonna have a great time helping my clients buy and sell, just like I always do!