photo by: AdobeStock

An AdobeStock image shows models of homes.

Turnovers are creating all types of heartburn in Lawrence — some on the basketball court and some in the real estate market.

There’s probably no need for a reminder about the problems turnovers caused on the basketball court. (It is unclear whether the T.V. still works at my house, nor whether it needs to.) On the court, too many turnovers were the problem for an entire season.

In the Lawrence home market, too few turnovers is a troubling trend thus far in 2025.

Early statistics from the first two months of 2025 show that Lawrence home sales are largely holding steady from a year ago, but the number of homeowners willing to leave their existing home and turn to another one is on the decline. That’s sparking worry that home sales will begin to fall in Lawrence, selling prices will spike, or, perhaps, both.

The recently-released February report from the Lawrence Board of Realtors shows that the number of new listing that have been added to the Lawrence market is down about 9% for the year, and the pace has been quickening as listings fell by about 16% in February, compared to a year ago.

That made for a fast-moving February for home buyers. The median number of days a home stayed on the market before selling in February was nine. That’s down from 24 days in February 2024. It should be noted, however, that February is far from the busiest month for home sales. Same for January, so these early numbers could change a lot as we get into prime home buying and selling season.

Nonetheless, real estate leaders are taking note of the slowdown in new listings.

“The low inventory level has been a concern in the local housing market for several years,” Bailey Stuart, president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors, said in the organization’s monthly report. “We saw some gains in inventory this past year, but in early 2025 we took a step back and now have just 1.3 months’ housing supply available.”

Realtors often monitor the amount of housing supply — how many homes exist compared to the rate at which homes are selling — to determine whether a market favors buyers or sellers. Traditionally a market with four to five months of home supply has been considered fairly balanced between buyers and sellers. A market with less than two months supply is heavily tilted to sellers.

The fast-moving nature of the Lawrence market has caused the local Board of Realtors to role out a new feature. You may notice more real estate signs in Lawrence with a “Coming Soon” tag. That is a new designation that Lawrence Realtors are now allowed to use. It allows real estate agents to begin advertising a house for sale, but it doesn’t any showings of the house to occur.

The designation could benefit some buyers, Stuart said, because it will give them a few days notice to prepare to look at a home. For example, potential buyers might need to re-arrange their schedules to be sure to attend an open house or arrange for a showing on the first day a home is available. Buyers who miss the first open house for a property sometimes don’t get a chance to arrange a showing before the home has already sold.

“Many houses are getting multiple offers again,” Stuart told the Journal-World of activity she has seen thus far in March. “Buyers are back to the days of really competing again.”

The new designation might help sellers too. If the designation helps ensure that everybody who wants to see a home gets to do so, that generally will lead to more and better offers, Stuart said. Sellers, however, don’t have to agree to use the “coming soon” designation. Its up to each homeowner whether they want to list their home in that manner, and Stuart said it may not make sense for each seller.

Here’s a look at some other statistics from the latest Board of Realtors report:

• 106 homes have been sold in Lawrence through February. That’s up from 100 homes during the first two months of 2024.

• The median selling price of homes sold thus far in Lawrence is $309,900, which is up 8.4% from a year ago. However, the numbers on median home prices are still highly variable due to the small number of sales that have occurred thus far. For example, when looking just at February sales, the median selling price was up just 1.7%.

• The February report showed signs that sales would be strong in March. Contract written were up 12% from a year ago, while contracts pending were up 13%. Both are categories that show homes that are scheduled to be sold in the coming weeks.

•••

The other big event that has happened this month in the real estate world is that home owners have received their new tax valuations for their properties. As we reported, most homeowners in the county should expect to see increases in their tax value by 2% to 8%.

However, some readers have asked for a little specific information about how home values have changed in various parts of the county. The appraiser’s office has that information. Here’s a look at the median value increases for several geographic areas:

• Eudora: up 5.0%

• Baldwin City: up 4.7%

• East Lawrence: up 4.7%

• West Lawrence: up 3.8%

Here’s a look at value increases for a few different types of residential properties:

• Condos: up 7.2%

• Farmsteads: up 3.9%

• Rural-non-farm properties: up 3.6%

• Lawrence townhomes/duplexes: 3.5%

The countywide median for all residential properties was 4.1%. If you are the type that paid attention in math class, I’ve got the percentile numbers for you too. Property owners who were in the 10th percentile (the 10% of property owners who saw the least increases to their property values) had an average increase of 1%. Property owners in the 90th percentile (that’s the 10% of property owners with the largest increase) had an average increase of 7.8%. The 25th percentile average a 2.5% increase, while the 75th percentile averaged a 6.1% increase.

The appraiser’s office also provided some average increases for different types of commercial properties. Here’s a look at the median value changes for several types of commercial properties:

• Office space: up 15.5%

• Fast food: up 10.0%

• Industrial: up 8.9%

• Downtown: up 7.5%

• Medical office: up 6.6%

• Apartments: up 6.4%

• Restaurants: up 5.7%

• Banks: up 5.6%

• Mini-storage: up 5.6%

• Strip centers: up 3.4%

• Retail: up 3.3%

• C-stores: up 3.0%

• Large retail: up 2.9%

• Vacant land: up 2.3%

• Hotels: up 0.5%

The tax values for both homes and businesses are generally closely watched because they play a big role in how much property owners ultimately pay in property taxes. If a home has its tax value increase by 5%, for example, the property owner will pay 5% more in taxes, if the local governments hold their tax rates steady. If governments increase their tax rates — a process that happens in the summer — the owner would see an increase greater than 5%. If tax rates are decreased, the owner would see a increase less than 5%, or perhaps could see an overall decrease in taxes, if rates were dropped by a large enough amount.

March is when property owners receive their new values. It also is the month that they can still appeal those values. Those who wish to appeal must return the form to the appraiser’s office, located in the basement of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St., or email appeals@dgcoks.gov by 5 p.m. Monday, March 31.

The appraiser’s office will also hold two information sessions for people who have questions about the property valuation process. One of them, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 24, will be a formal presentation with an opportunity to ask questions; the other, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 31, will be walk-in sessions where residents can speak with appraiser’s office staff. Both sessions will be at the County Courthouse, in the commission meeting room on the second floor.