photo by: Lawrence Home Builders Association

A rendering of a $649,000 home at Bramble Bend Court that will be on the upcoming Lawrence Spring Parade of Homes is shown.

The Lawrence Home Builders Association’s Spring Parade of Homes is set to begin its first of two weekends. If you aren’t in the market to buy a home but want to go anyway, feel free to think of it as a live performance of HGTV.

Turn off the TV and take in the Broadway version, so to speak. (I’ve long argued the whirr of a Skill saw would improve almost any musical.)

“It is fun to go out and look at what the trends are and what’s new in the neighborhood,” Bobbie Flory, executive director of the LHBA, said.

Well, it may not exactly be your neighborhood. Lawrence residents should feel free to think of this year’s Parade of Homes as a chance for a roadtrip. While the Lawrence Home Builders Association is the host of the show, more than half of all the homes on this year’s parade are outside the city limits of Lawrence.

That oddity is indicative of the fact that Lawrence just isn’t building many new homes currently. In 2024, Lawrence set a new record low for the number of single family housing starts, with just 57 for the year. That was 40% below the previous low-water mark of 79 single-family building permits, set in 2022.

Thus far in 2025, Lawrence is set to build even fewer single family homes. Through March, Lawrence has issued permits for just 10 single family homes, according to the searchable database maintained by the city. During the same period a year ago, the city had issued 15 single family building permits.

While tariffs certainly are on the minds of builders — much lumber comes from Canada, and much of the gypsum used to make drywall comes from Mexico — Flory said the trade upheaval hasn’t played much of a role in the 2025 Lawrence totals.

Instead, the sparsity of single family building permits mainly is tied to the fact few new neighborhoods have been developed in Lawrence. That means there aren’t many vacant lots that builders believe are feasible for new construction, Flory said.

If you want new neighborhoods, a drive south might be in order. Of the 13 entries in this year’s Parade of Homes, six of them are in Baldwin City in southern Douglas County. (A seventh is in rural Douglas County, meaning Lawrence listings are in the minority.) The parade features three, new Baldwin City neighborhoods that, between them, have more than 90 lots ready for single family construction.

“We are seeing some opportunities for housing in Baldwin City that just don’t exist in Lawrence right now,” Flory said. “Keeping an eye on what is happening in Baldwin City is something I have on my list to do this year.”

As for what parade-goers can expect to see this weekend and next, look for a mix of townhomes and a few higher-end homes. The parade has a trio of townhome properties — also known as duplexes — with prices just below $300,000. The highest-priced property on the tour is a $649,000 home in the Fall Creek Farm neighborhood in northwest Lawrence. That property boasts a finished basement with wet bar, a three-car garage, five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a design made for “luxurious living.”

Many of the Baldwin City homes are in the upper $400,000 price range, and several have been built with a new green energy feature — electric vehicle charging stations inside the garage.

Homes on the parade are open for touring from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and then again the following weekend, May 3 and May 4. There is no admission fee to attend the parade. You can see the full list of homes and their addresses at lhba.net.

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In other news and notes, Wal-Mart really can’t be considered your second home, even if your weekly bill is equal to a second mortgage. But, if you spend a lot of time at the Sixth Street Wal-Mart in northwest Lawrence, get ready for some improvements at the store.

Wal-Mart on Wednesday announced it will soon begin upgrades at 18 stores in Kansas. The northwest Lawrence Wal-Mart, located at 550 Congressional Drive, is among those scheduled for an upgrade.

The giant retailer didn’t provide a lot of details, other than to suggest the project will be more of a remodel rather than an expansion. The west Lawrence store is smaller than the south Iowa Street store. It doesn’t look like this project will change that fact.

Instead, the remodel is expected to include new signage, expanded departments, new areas devoted to fulfilling online orders, and entirely revamped pharmacy area that will include a private screening room and a checkout area that offers more privacy.

An exact timeline for the project wasn’t announced, other than it is part of the retailer’s 2025 plans.

Other communities slated to get a remodeled Wal-Mart are: Colby, Iola, Goddard, Junction City, Salina, Dodge City, Arkansas City, Westwood, Paola, Bonner Springs, Independence, Marysville, Augusta, Wellington, Winfield, and two stores in Wichita.