A Kansas City Real Estate Blog by Realtor, Sarah Snodgrass

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Had the opportunity to cruise up to Parkville this week to check out a big home in Riss Lake. It was pretty predictable - large, newer, pretty, vaulted ceilings, finished basement with tons of room for kids and parties, big kitchen, big master, the works… As of today, there are 51 homes for sale in Riss Lake with prices ranging from $269,000-$1,290,000. Pretty big range there! It’s such a pretty subdivision - with rolling hills, lots of trees, and a lake (Riss Lake). If you haven’t made the drive to Parkville, it’s super close to downtown KC. Just over the river and to the northwest just a little bit. There’s a great little downtown commerce area with shops and restaurants, and even a brewery. The Missouri River runs along the downtown area, and there is a great park with walking trails and place for farmer’s market and festivals. Seems like a good community to buy into, plus values and development are increasing in the northland.

The Kansas City Explorers are our local professional tennis team, part of the World Tennis Team (WTT) league. Me, I’ve never been too much into tennis or seen a professional match before, but last weekend I had the opportunity to attend an Explorers match versus the Houston Wranglers. The venue is incredible. It’s smack in the middle of our downtown in Barney Allis Plaza with great views all around. I highly recommend the setting - it was so cool and it makes for a great local experience. Plus, they do a great job with announcing and music to get the crowd involved. There’s a MAX bus-stop across the street, or easily accessible paid parking.

This house in Prairie Village is one version of my dream house. It’s a great contemporary ranch layout, and the inside has been totally remodeled with great materials, colors and use of space. It’s on a very pretty lot in a lovely neighborhood. Someone please buy it for me!

The original cost to erect this building was $150,000; In 2007, you couldn’t even get close to buying a condo in this building for that amount. The current average sales price is around $500,000 per condo.
Today, the Hotel Monroe Condominiums is a sleek condo conversion in the heart of the crossroads. The hotel was built sometime around 1920, to serve the traveling salesmen coming and going from nearby Union Station. This is the perfect building for the urban dweller - it’s walking distance to entertainment, bars and restaurants and the MAX bus stop is just outside the front door. There doesn’t seem to be a bunch of extra amenities, but it does have a covered parking garage and most units, if not all, have balconies - both of which Kansas Citians place a high value.

If you want to learn more about the architecture of Kansas City, you’re in luck! Read on BlogKC today that the Kansas City, Missouri Public Library is giving a lecture series about Kansas City residential architecture and the socioeconomic factors that influenced it. There are four remaining lectures - all take place on Sunday afternoons, and you do need to reserve a seat on the library’s website.

The much-hyped addition on the Nelson opens this weekend with lots of events and free admission. BLOGKC.COM reports on it and has a list of events.

Should you reconsider that move to the burbs you’ve been planning? Perhaps you should give this article published in the Kansas City Star a read before you make the move. I can see some flaws in the argument, but I can also see how it could really apply to some people out there. Decide for yourself…

Many people in the midwest can’t give up their attached garage, especially in a city with as many roads as KC. That’s one reason why downtown dwellers will flock to Cherry Hill Row to buy the new townhomes. They are a great compromise for those that can’t decide between a condo and a home - it’s close to downtown near the Union Hill/Martini Corner area, no yard to maintain, but you have your own front door, your own garage with inside entrance, with all the style of condo/loft living. The models are just complete, so you can go and check them out on the weekends!

Last weekend, Studio 804 hosted an Open House for their latest project: Mod 4 - A handsome prefabricated modular home in the Rosedale area of Kansas City, Kansas - just west of KU Medical Center. Studio 804 is a graduate architecture studio class at the University of Kansas, which actually gets out of the classroom and builds a home, managing all aspects of the project from start to finish. After completion, the homes are offered for sale!
The picture at left shows the home from the front street view. The structure on the left is the home - with the front door being the white box on the right with an entrance ramp leading towards it. The smaller structure at right is the 2-car garage. The driveway was something I had never seen before that blended terrifically into the landscape. It was called StabiliGrid, which is made from 100% recycled post consumer polyethylene. The fact sheet described it this way: “offers permeable driveway and sidewalk surfaces allowing water to collect and penetrate through a gravel bed where it can be absorbed into the ground rather than becoming runoff.”
The students designed this house with a modern aesthetic, but designed the house to be energy efficient, and built with a focus on sustainability. It’s an incredible accomplishment for them, and a very impressive piece of architecture that I’m proud to have in my community.

Each and every evening, one of my favorite things to do is check in with noodletown to see what new and exciting Kansas City food story I can read. Some of her stories are anecdotal, some are more restaurant reviews, sometimes she offers up one of her favorite recipes, often she’ll tell me something like where to find the best diner burger in town or the best margarita or the best of something. Always interesting, always fun. If you are a food lover like me, and you live somewhere in or near Kansas City, you’re sure to enjoy this blog too!

You really have to be a person that loves that Mediterranean/California stucco look, because this house has it inside and out. The main floor of this house blew me away - it has a beautiful sun porch, living room, and kitchen - each of which open out onto a gorgeous new patio and pretty manicured lawn. It truly feels as though you are in a different place when you are in this house. The kitchen is updated and feels very open and bright - I guess the big french doors which open to the backyard help lend some light! The living room is cozy and cool. The bedrooms are very pretty, and are of a good size. I know there’s an open house this Sunday from 1-4 if you want to go and take a look. View Full listing here, or call me for more info!

A client of mine who just sold her house and moved to Portland, Oregon sent me this article titled Cracking the Code: What Real Estate Ads Really Mean from their weekly news magazine, The Willamette Weekly. It just cracked me up! Follow the link for the story, and scroll down a little bit for the chart - some of them are so true! I have to admit, I’m am actually guilty of a few of these myself. If you have ever shopped for a home, these will give you a good laugh. Enjoy!