Spring has arrived! Someone might want to tell the Lawrence real estate market, because the numbers through February paint a bleak picture. The weather has been all over the place. 80 degrees and sunny one day, barely over freezing the next. That hot-and-cold cycle seems to be reflected in the market.
Home sales increased slightly MoM from January, but not nearly enough to make up for the deficit we're seeing in 2026. Sales YoY were down 23% in February and we're down almost 26% YTD in Lawrence. Ouch. Average price is decreased MoM, YoY, and YTD. So far for 2026, average price is down 1.4%. Median price, however, is seeing a little bit of an increase, both YoY and YTD, rising over 6% from last year.
So, overall it's a bit of a mixed bag. It seems that lower-priced listings are moving quickly. That's probably what accounts for the median price rising while the average price is falling. Everything over $400K seems to be rather quiet. Average time-on-market is increased in February. The number of new homes listed in February was roughly flat YoY. And total dollar market volume is down for the year a whopping 26%!
All of the stats that follow are sourced from the Lawrence MLS. What follows is a look at some market numbers specifically within the city limits of Lawrence:
Month-over-Month
- February home sales increased 27% from the previous month with 47 sold homes
- Average Price decreased 7.5% in February vs. the previous month, down to $344.7K
- Median Price decreased 6.5%, down to $304,000
- Average Days-on-Market was up 56.3% at 50 Days-on-Market
- 78 homes were listed in February, an increase from 52 listed in January
- List-Price-to-Sales-Price Ratio for February was 97.9%
- Average Per-Square-Foot in February was 195/sq.ft.
Year-over-Year
- Home sales were down 23% in February '26 vs February '25, a decrease of 14 homes sold
- Average Price was down YOY 2.2%
- Median Price was up 7.4%
- The 78 homes listed last month was a 2.6% increase YoY
YTD
- Homes Sales are down 25.7% YTD through February; a decrease of 29 homes sold this year
- Average Price is down 1.4%
- Average DOM is down 4.5% at 42 days
- 130 Homes have been listed so far this year; a decrease of 6.4% from last year
- Dollar Volume is down 26.7% YTD for a total of $30M
- Average Per-Square-Foot for the year is at $197/sq.ft., up from $183/sq.ft. in 2025
Active Properties
- There are 100 "Active" properties in Lawrence, a decrease of 20% since my last update
- There are 89 properties currently listed as "Under Contract" which is an increase of 27.1% since my last update
- The average list price of homes currently Under Contract is $377,585
- The average list price of homes currently Active is $516,477
- Months-of-Supply: There is currently 1.2 months-of-supply in Lawrence
One number that stands out to me from above is the average price of homes currently listed. At $516,477, that seems to suggest that homes priced higher overall are sitting on the market compared to those priced lower. That seems to jive with the figures for Median price vs. Average Price. It seems that for many home sellers in Lawrence, the market is a little frustrating.
The same can be said for buyers looking in the lower price ranges. Overall inventory is still very low at 1.2 months-of-supply. There seems to be somewhat of a disconnect between what buyers are looking for and what's been available on the market lately. The numbers back up what I've been seeing in the field. I have both buyers who can't find a home that fits their criteria in their price range and I have listings that are sitting on the market.
This is going to be an interesting year to say the least. Right now there seems to be a delay in the spring market. We'll have to see how the numbers shake out as we get into the busiest months in the year from now until Memorial Day.
Stay tuned to R+K Real Estate for great new content, updates, advice, opinions and more in 2026. We plan to continue our advance of transparency, consumer advocacy, and empowering our clients with alternate business models designed to provide high levels or real estate service with drastically reduced commissions!
-Ryan Desch, Broker/Owner R+K Real Estate Solutions
