KC condos

[Dan Rydell]

So nowadays you can't turn around in KC without tripping over a condo project.  Downtown, midtown, River Market, Crossroads, Westport, Plaza, Mission...all over the place.  Kinda makes me wonder who's going to live in all these units.  I expect that there will be young professionals who work towards downtown who will buy who otherwise would be renting on the Plaza or similar, but I'm a bit leery right now of dropping $200,000-$400,000 in a market that could be saturated before long.

That being said, I'd probably be very interested in a condo downtown or in the Crossroads if there was going to be a downtown ballpark.  I would probably go to 40+ games a year if the Royals and I were in close proximity.  Such a ballpark could have really put that whole area over the top.  I think it'll still be a success, but a downtown ballpark would have been sweet.

The ones I'm most leery of right now are the renovated office buildings just south of I-70 at the north end of downtown by the Federal Courthouse.  I know that they're supposed to redevelop the rest of the area around there, but it seems to be the area furthest away from completion.  At least in the Crossroads, you have a lot of the redevelopment already complete or underway, with the new arena just across the hiway, the P&L district, the Kauffman Performing Arts Center underway, and lots of businesses/bars/entertainment options that have gone in or will be going in.

The Mission project is also interesting to me. They're replacing the mall with one of the mixed-use developments (Zona Rosa type thing, I think), but the condos are going to be priced on the high end, starting in the high $300,000s, I believe.

Has anyone considered getting any of these, or have any thoughts about the condo market in KC?  I don't know that I'll ever seriously consider one, and it'll be at least a year before I'm looking, but I still find it an interesting development for KC.

[michigancat]

I seriously looked at condo's a year or two ago.  I looked at the View, the Metropolitan, the Atrium, 21 Ten, and a couple others I can't remember.  Keep in mind that you're really only 5 or 6 blocks from the new arena up at those three condo buildings at the north end of the loop.  I think the DT market is getting a little saturated, but that will balance out once the P&L gets up and running.

The Mission things seems stupid when you're just like 10 minutes away from the Plaza and cheaper condos.

I think if I were doing it now, I'd look around the plaza for a condo less than $150k.  It'll be older, and you won't be the first to live in it, but it's much more affordable and the neighborhood is as stable as it gets.

[Dan Rydell]

I seriously looked at condo's a year or two ago.  I looked at the View, the Metropolitan, the Atrium, 21 Ten, and a couple others I can't remember.  Keep in mind that you're really only 5 or 6 blocks from the new arena up at those three condo buildings at the north end of the loop.  I think the DT market is getting a little saturated, but that will balance out once the P&L gets up and running.

The Mission things seems stupid when you're just like 10 minutes away from the Plaza and cheaper condos.

I think if I were doing it now, I'd look around the plaza for a condo less than $150k.  It'll be older, and you won't be the first to live in it, but it's much more affordable and the neighborhood is as stable as it gets.

My gf took a look at the Metropolitan a few weeks ago.  River Market's basically just across the hiway, too.  I don't know why they struck me as "isolated." 

Yeah, that's why I'm interested in seeing what happens with those Mission condos.  I couldn't believe they were so expensive. 

A friend just bought a condo just west of the Plaza.  It's small, but very nicely renovated.  Those would probably be what I'd look at first. 

[michigancat]

The highway is a huge barrier to get to and from the River Market - it just isn't fun to cross - you have a narrow sidewalk and a ton of bums live underneath the overpasses. 

I forgot to add that you can usually find the best deals downtown if you get in on a pre-construction price.  There's a little more risk involved (I heard bad things about WallStreet), but it's worth looking into.

You'd get more, and better info here:

http://forum.kcrag.com

[Trim]

I've been messing around looking for a condo in Wichita the last year or so.  On a much smaller scale than KC, we've got some of the same things happening (new arena, renovating warehouses for residential spaces).  I found that the smaller units like the ones you're looking at aren't appreciating.  In fact, people who bought them while under construction can't even re-sell them for what they're in for and are having to re-rent them.  The bigger units which are probably beyond your initial price point are appreciating to get further beyond your price point.  I'm waiting until there's more options and I have a better idea how long I'd want to stay in one. 

I'd say that you'd have better luck in KC with more options & more competing developers, but the same trends are happening in bigger cities too.

[pissclams]

I seriously looked at condo's a year or two ago.  I looked at the View, the Metropolitan, the Atrium, 21 Ten, and a couple others I can't remember.  Keep in mind that you're really only 5 or 6 blocks from the new arena up at those three condo buildings at the north end of the loop.  I think the DT market is getting a little saturated, but that will balance out once the P&L gets up and running.

The Mission things seems stupid when you're just like 10 minutes away from the Plaza and cheaper condos.

I think if I were doing it now, I'd look around the plaza for a condo less than $150k.  It'll be older, and you won't be the first to live in it, but it's much more affordable and the neighborhood is as stable as it gets.

My gf took a look at the Metropolitan a few weeks ago.  River Market's basically just across the hiway, too.  I don't know why they struck me as "isolated." 

Yeah, that's why I'm interested in seeing what happens with those Mission condos.  I couldn't believe they were so expensive. 

A friend just bought a condo just west of the Plaza.  It's small, but very nicely renovated.  Those would probably be what I'd look at first. 

Thats where I live - West Plaza and really love my neighborhood.  That being said, the condos around the West Plaza area start around $160-$170, plus homeowners fees that can range up to $1k+ a month.  I have a friend who buys older apt buildings down here and guts them, flips them as condos, he said there is no slow in growth of the market and actually it's growing.

FWIW, the Mission project you mentioned is having problems already, they've scaled back their buildout and reduced the project as a whole.  I would never be able to justify a $280k condo in Mission when I could come to the West Plaza area for a lot less and have full access to all the ancillary things the area surrounding the plaza offer.

[greasd up deaf guy]

I've sold a few and listed a couple that didn't sell in the last couple of years. It's an interesting market.
KC metro'ers are so suburban minded that I'll be really intrigued to see what happens to the condo market in the upcoming years. In the meantime, you can get some sick deals on resale condos.