October 8, 2026
By Lee Brumitt
President Neil Barnett welcomed all to the meeting to the Crowne Plaza Hotel. After saying the Pledge of Allegiance, Madaline Walter delivered the invocation reflecting on what is essential in life. One guest of our speaker was introduced. Sally Bibb, reminding us that we “change lives” at the Youth Camp, took the podium on behalf of the KC Rotary Foundation to encourage contributions to support the Camp. This month, a single $800 contribution or a pledge to make ongoing, periodic contributions will be matched up to $200. President Neil announced a Rotary friendship exchange to Argentina from February 23, 2027, to March 8, 2027. An e-mail from Kandi contains all the details. Additionally, President Neil encouraged participation in the Club 13 Bowling Fundraiser for the fight to eradicate polio which will take place on October 14 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Ward Parkway Lanes, 1523 W. 89th Street, Kansas City, MO. Obtain sponsors and/or sponsor yourself! Tom Davis reminded us that the annual Foundation dinner is set for November 6 at the Carriage Club. There is room for two more people at our Club’s tables. Tony Andresen began ringing bells before even being called upon but did come to the podium to kick off the Salvation Army Bell-Ringing season in November and December. Marc Horner then encouraged signing up for the Project C.U.R.E. service project on October 15 from 5:00-7:00. Volunteers must register through Project C.U.R.E.’s website.
Kristy Bayer then introduced Dustin Delaney, a real estate broker with Reece Nichols. Mr. Delaney introduced Shannon Belzer, the V.P. and Managing Broker for Reece Nichols’ Plaza office. Mr. Delaney discussed various statistics and key factors which influence the residential real estate market. The primary issue at the present time is the rising 30-year interest rate hovering around 7.25%, its highest point since 1981. The rate has defied predictions and substantially accelerated over the last two months. The high interest rate is impacting home sales locally and across the country. The forecast for appreciation of residential real estate value nationally is 1.7 to 3% annually through 2030. However, new home buyers now comprise only 19% of market, down from around 38% in 2015. There is clearly an affordability problem which is compounded by inflation in, among other things, insurance premiums and higher real estate taxes. This will likely cause the fair market value of homes to shrink if the buyer pool continues to shrink accordingly. Baby boomers make up a substantial percentage of home ownership and currently own $19.5 trillion in residential real estate nationally. As compared to post-Covid years, the market is currently more buyer friendly. For instance, the practice of waiving inspections or bidding higher than the asking price is less frequent, and buyers have more control over the terms of the sale. The historic sales market in 2021 has evaporated. Despite the changing times, nationally, those who own a home have 43 times the wealth of a renter signaling that home ownership does play a part in development of wealth. In KS and MO, the average equity in a home is $193k and $172k, respectively. Despite some of the negative trends, foreclosures are much lower now than the Great Recession in 2007-2009. Locally, Mr. Delaney and Ms. Belzer have their eyes on the number of days homes are on the market. Currently, homes are on the market for 35 days in Johnson County and 41 days in Kansas City. Platte County has the highest number of days at 48.
