Be prepared, be quick and, perhaps, be ready to pay a little bit more than you expected.

Those are some of the pieces of advice Lawrence real estate agents had for newcomers to the city’s housing market.

Lawrence real estate agents said the price of housing in the city wasn’t necessarily high when compared to national averages, but did have the potential to create some sticker shock for people moving to the city from other parts of the state.

“Lawrence prices are exactly on par with the national average, but for many parts of Kansas, that is more than they are accustomed to,” Gary Nuzum, managing broker with Coldwell Banker McGrew Real Estate, said. “We are certainly in the top 10 percent of most expensive communities in the state. We’re probably on par with Johnson County, or maybe a little more.

“People coming from another town in Kansas are probably going to be disappointed with the prices, but people coming from St. Louis or Chicago are probably going to love it.”

The average sale price of a home in the Lawrence area thus far in 2003 is $157,778, up about 6 percent from 2002, according to the Douglas County Appraiser’s Office. For comparison purposes, the average price for a home in Topeka is about $120,000, according to the Shawnee County Appraiser’s Office.

Paul Forio, a real estate agent with Lawrence Realty Associates and the president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors, said there was a good reason for high home prices in the city.

“Lawrence is a very popular community,” Forio said. “It is a great place to live. Plus we have people who live in Lawrence and work in Lawrence, but we also have people who live in Lawrence and commute to Kansas City or Topeka because it is such a nice place to live. That affects the prices.”

It also affects how fast potential buyers need to be prepared to move. Real estate agents said they almost always suggested that a buyer get pre-approved for financing before they begin looking at houses.

“It is necessary because in certain areas and price ranges of our market, it is quite possible to have multiple offers on a house,” Forio said. “The more affordable the house, the quicker the process moves.”

Nuzum said in some price ranges it would be difficult for buyers to have an offer accepted on a house if they weren’t preapproved.

“It is very important because it shows the seller that you are a ready, willing and able buyer,” Nuzum said. “Listing agents who have property in the $100,000 to $150,000 range probably will demand a clean pre-approval letter before they let the seller sign a contract.”

Both agents said finding homes for first-time homebuyers continued to be the most challenging area of the Lawrence market.

A recent analysis by the Journal-World showed the Lawrence market particularly light on homes that are below the $100,000 price range. According to sales data from July, a total of three homes were sold in Lawrence that were below $70,000 in price. That equated to less than 2 percent of all the homes sold in the city limits during the month.

For comparison, 77 homes less than $70,000 sold in the city of Topeka during July. That equated to 22 percent of all the homes sold in Topeka during the month.

Nuzum said that he told most clients to expect a starter home that is newly built to cost around $130,000 in the Lawrence market. He reminds people though to look at homes that are on the resell market, or other words homes that are older and have previously been lived in.

“They still provide a tremendous value,” Nuzum said. “Many times a young family can get more home for the money by buying a house that’s on the resell market. Lawrence still has many wonderful 30- or 40-year-old neighborhoods.

“But they also need to remember that they can buy more house for the money but they’re going to spend more on maintenance. That just comes with buying an older home.”