WSU study says house prices to go up

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW0 – The Kansas housing market is seeing a shift. A new forecast from Wichita State University says prices will go up 6% across the state, but low inventory of houses continues to be an issue. KSN spoke with researchers and a local developer.

House prices in Kansas are going up. Dr. Stan Longhofer with the Center for Real Estate at WSU says we’re still dealing with the effects of the housing crisis from 2008.

“Those homes that we didn’t build in 2010, 11 and 12, those would be the move-up homes that would be out in the market right now that buyers who had bought first-time homes, now they’re moving up to their next home,” said Longhofer.

Paul Gray, founder of Paul Gray Homes , says they see the same concern.

“Over the last 15 years, we haven’t built at the rate to keep up with population growth,” said Gray.

The WSU study found that the housing market right now is healthy.

“In some ways the market is more balanced because buyers are not being panicked about the lack of inventory, but it’s still pretty strong appreciation because of the shortage of supply,” said Longhofer.

Developers say the more important thing to consider might be mortgage rates, which have slightly declined.

“The upside is when you buy it today, even though you’re making your mortgage payment for five years, ten years up to 30 years, you’re paying the mortgage based on the price that you bought the house for,” said Longhofer.

The study also found that new home construction is expected to be virtually unchanged from this year. Researchers expect nearly 1,300 new homes to be built in Wichita next year.
The City of Wichita estimates our area needs up to 50,000 new housing units to meet the community’s needs.

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