March 2025 Residential Market Update Highlights for the Kansas City Region

Median Sales Price Growth Remains Strong

March brought some interesting movement in the median sales price of existing residential properties. Year-over-year, we saw a solid 5.7% increase. That’s a healthy number—not the overheated double-digit growth we experienced a few years ago, but not soft or negative either. However, when we zoom out and look at the past 13 months, this is actually the third-lowest increase, possibly signaling a slight slowdown—or, like what we saw in May and August last year, simply a pause before another run-up in prices.

Looking at the month-over-month change, the median price remained flat from February to March 2025, holding steady at $280,000. Historically, this is notable. In the last 26 years of data, only twice—1999 and 2003—has March seen a 0% change in median price compared to February. Even more interesting: there has never been a negative month-over-month median price decline in March. Compared to January’s median price of $279,900, 2025 has seen minimal price movement so far.

New Listings Bounce Back

After a sharp decline in February, new listings rebounded in March 2025 with a 10.5% increase over the same month last year. That builds on a 12.5% year-over-year gain in 2024, showing a strong upward trend. With the average time for an existing home to go under contract at 40 days, and another 42 days from contract to close, most of these new listings are on track to close in June.

Contracts and Closings Head in Opposite Directions

Contracts written in March broke a three-month streak of stagnant or negative growth, posting a 6.3% increase year-over-year. This mirrors the trend in new listings and suggests that demand remains strong when inventory is available. The data supports a classic supply-and-demand relationship—more new listings typically result in more contracts.

Potential Challenges Ahead

Several national trends could impact our local market in the coming months:

• Tariffs & Construction Costs: Will increased tariffs drive up the cost of new construction and renovations? If so, it could add pressure to an already tight housing supply.

• Mortgage Rates: March mortgage rates felt like watching a tennis match—volatile and unpredictable. We saw rates dip near 6.5% for a few days before spiking above 7%, eventually settling closer to 7% by month’s end. As of April 19, the average 30-year fixed rate stood at 6.87%, according to MortgageNewsDaily.com.

—

Kyle NiemannEngel & Völkers Kansas City(913) 900-0001