At a time when affordable housing is scarce, the city of Wichita hopes that the sale of homes once used for public housing will provide more options for prospective homeowners.
Over the past week, the city offered open houses for the first 13 homes it is selling after receiving permission from the federal government. The city announced in 2022 that it would split up its 352 single-family public housing units into several groups andsell them.
The units come at a time when buyers face a tight market. A report by the Wichita State Center for Real Estate found that sales of houses are down, but prices will continue to rise. The report found that a lack of available housing is the main factor behind the trends.
The city hopes that the sale of the units will “add back to the housing stock for homeowners,” Megan Lovely, the communications manager for the city, said in an email.
Lovely said that ideally, houses would go to homeowners, but the city had placed no restrictions on who could buy them.
Proposed use will be evaluated along with price, purchasing ability and closing date, Lovely said.
The housing price had been determined by an appraisal of each house. Lovely said the appraisal price is the lowest the city can consider.
The Wichita Journalism Collaborative spoke with several people attending open houses on the afternoon of Sept. 28. Of the people the Collaborative interviewed, five were prospective homebuyers for themselves or family members, and four were looking for an investment property.
City officials at the open houses said they saw an even mix of prospective homebuyers and people seeking rental properties.
Allysa Hupko was looking for a location to open a healing house. She works as a therapist and was interested in the space to teach life skills and provide temporary housing.
Daniel Garcia was a real estate agent at the open houses. He said he was looking both as an investor for himself, and on behalf of clients. Garcia said his clients were a mix of investors and homeowners.
“I want to get word out to the Hispanic community because I don’t think many of them know about it,” Garcia said.
Earl Williams looked at one house on his lunch break. He was looking to buy the unit for himself. All of the open house times were between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when most people are at work.
Several people who stopped in noted that the houses would need a lot of work.
Greg Patton was an investor looking for units to flip and resell. He also owns eight rental properties.
Patton said he felt the prices were too high for prospective investors, and he wouldn’t get a good return on his investment by the time he put the necessary funds into repairs. Patton said the pricing for the units was directed more toward people looking to buy a house for themselves.
Miguel Segura was looking as a prospective homeowner. He acknowledged the significant repairs that would be required for the houses, but he said he would be willing to take on the project.
As of the end of last week, the city had not received any offers, so it's unclear who will end up with the houses. The city will begin reviewing offers on Oct. 16.
It also announced additional open house times.
From 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8
- 1837 N. Litchfield
- 2620 E. Stadium
- 306 S. Vassar
- 5902 E. Zimmerly
- 2002 S. Poplar
- 1213 E. Selma
- 1348 S. Gordon
- 1722 S. Gordon
- 3132 W. Dora
- 3402 S. Leonine
- 3330 S. Euclid
- 3314 S. Palisade
- 4616 S. Vine
11 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 10
- 1837 N. Litchfield
- 2620 E. Stadium
- 306 S. Vassar
- 5902 E. Zimmerly
- 2002 S. Poplar
- 1213 E. Selma
4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10
- 1348 S. Gordon
- 1722 S. Gordon
- 3132 W. Dora
- 3402 S. Leonine
- 3330 S. Euclid
- 3314 S. Palisade
- 4616 S. Vine
