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NOT SO: Springfield’s real estate market is better than a recent study indicates, says Kay Van Kampen, who last year made 70 sales.
NOT SO: Springfield’s real estate market is better than a recent study indicates, says Kay Van Kampen, who last year made 70 sales.

Springfield ranks at bottom of top real estate cities

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Springfield recently ranked near the bottom of the 150 best cities to be a real estate agent in America.

In a study by personal finance website WalletHub.com, analysts compared the nation’s most populated cities across 14 key indicators of a healthy real estate environment. In that upper echelon, Springfield didn’t fare well.

The Queen City ranked 147th out of 150 – just behind New Orleans, but only Fayetteville, North Carolina; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Jackson, Mississippi, were worse on the list.

Springfield area agents are quick to dispute the findings.

“They don’t know what they’re talking about,” said Kay Van Kampen, a co-owner of Re/Max Solutions and Re/Max House of Brokers in Springfield. “The market is good and the number of agents is increasing right now.”

According to the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors, the 1,789 real estate agents on record is up slightly from 1,752 a year ago and 100 agents greater than March 2015.

It’s been a slow climb back for real estate agents that flocked to the work during the housing boom and took a beating in the subsequent crash during the mid-2000s. GSBOR interim Executive Miles Noennig estimates the local peak was 2,500 agents before people got out of the business.

“The last three-plus years we’ve seen growth,” Noennig said. “The economy in general has improved and local real estate has as well.”

Still, according to the study, Springfield’s real estate market score was 28.91 on a 100-point scale.

How it worked
To determine which cities were most ideal for real estate agents, analysts separated 14 metrics into two different dimensions: job opportunity and completion, and real estate market health, according to WalletHub.com.

Metrics for job opportunity and completion were sales per agent, median home price, annual median wage for real estate agents, real estate employment attractiveness, real estate employment growth, annual median wage growth for real estate jobs, unemployment rate and projected number of real estate jobs needed by 2020 per capita. Metrics for real estate market health were home turnover rate, housing-market health index, days on market, average ratio of home sale price to home list price, building-permit activity and percentage of home flips.

Among the 150 cities, Springfield placed:

• 25th in unemployment rate;

• 36th in real estate employment attractiveness, which measures real estate job density and competition;

• 116th in annual median wage growth;

• 123rd in the housing market health index;

• 128th in real estate employment growth;

• 137th in median home price; and

• 138th in annual median wage.

The study, which excluded samples in the surrounding metro areas, weighted a city’s final score across all metrics. In the job opportunity and completion category, Springfield ranked 148th. In the real estate market health category, Springfield earned a rank of 136th.

Springfield’s factors
A real estate expert who teaches at Missouri State University contends it might be a money matter in such a national study.

“Our prices are low,” said Walt Nelson, an associate real estate professor who holds a doctorate in real estate from Georgia State University. “If it takes you 60 hours of work to get one house sale in Springfield, Missouri, your share of it might be $1,800. Now, if you take that same 60 hours and you go to San Francisco, it’s going to be $18,000.”

However, Nelson acknowledged there are more hands dipping into the bigger pie.

“When you go to these big cities, everybody knows there’s more money. So it’s ultra, ultra competitive,” he said.

Another factor is the frequency of home listings and sales. Local agents have told Nelson recently they’re struggling to obtain property listings. “If they do, they’re gone in a day. The average time on the market is a month, maybe less,” Nelson said.

According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the average number of days Springfield homes sat on the market in February was 61.

“There’s definitely more sellers than buyers on the higher end around the country,” Nelson added. “There’s a mismatch in the market. It’s nationwide, and it looks like Springfield is the same way.”

Noennig agrees, but believes it’s not cause for concern.

“I think it has a habit of self-balancing. If there are too many agents and not enough business to satisfy them, they’ll go elsewhere,” Noennig said. “It’s kind of unfair to make a judgment call; in the long run it kind of takes care of itself.”

As far as agents by real estate firms, Murney Associates Realtors leads the pack with 402 licensed agents, followed by Keller Williams of Greater Springfield with 252, according to Springfield Business Journal’s 2017 Book of Lists.

Around 70 agents work with Van Kampen at her Re/Max offices. Last year, she made 70 sales.

“I’m found because of my past clients and referrals,” Van Kampen said.

Cities larger than Springfield ranked closer to the top. Kansas City, Missouri’s second-largest city, ranked 126th, beating out Chicago and Philadelphia. Overland Park in Kansas was ranked at 70th. Missouri’s biggest city, St. Louis, came in at 103rd, trumping Miami, Florida, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Nelson said Springfield appeals to many.

“If you look at Springfield as a destination and a place to raise a family, there’s real positives there,” he said.

According to WalletHub, a career in real estate offers many perks; however, the market you’re a part of can mean sink or swim.

“If you’ve got to go through the grief,” Nelson said, “you’d rather have a bigger number.”


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