KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.
—
The Parade of Homes is back this spring, featuring more than 300 homes across the Kansas City area with a growing focus on attainable housing options. Builders are trying to fill housing needs in the "missing middle."
One example of an attainable home is a new build in Edgerton by Lennar Homes; it’s priced at $313,270. Jessica Bowers is a sales manager for Lennar.
"There's an important part of housing missing here in Kansas City," Jessica Bowers said.
In Johnson County, home prices are currently up 3% from last year. The number of homes valued between $150,000-$300,000 dropped more than 24% over the last year, while homes over $500,000 continue to rise.
"We are providing opportunities for folks that can't afford those $600,000 plus average prices for new construction," Bowers said.
Will Ruder from the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City said a huge factor in high home prices is lot costs.
"In Johnson County, if your average lot cost, which today is around $125,000 you start to ask, well, where's the $300,000 houses? Well, they're not on $125,000 lots," Will Ruder said.
Attainable homes being built in Johnson County are often located in outlying suburbs or rural areas like Edgerton. I asked Ruder if it is possible to bring an affordable home closer to the metro, and he said that is difficult. Lots in landlocked cities are especially expensive and can come with unforeseen difficulties while building due to older infrastructure, which both add to the price.
Across the Kansas City metro, the area is behind by 64,000 affordable units.
"Missing middle are actually homes that went unbuilt years ago. Now we can't go back in time, so all we can do is work forward to basically backfill what has been missing out of the market," Ruder said.
Builders say the Parade of Homes shows that the dream of homeownership is still being built in Johnson County.
"It is important to show that element of the home buying population that it is possible. Here's what it looks like, and it looks pretty good," Ruder said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
