- Missouri is a nondisclosure state. Only four jurisdictions, Jackson, St. Louis and St. Charles counties and St. Louis City, require a Certificate of Value, and where reporting is voluntary assessors get only 15–25% of sale prices. Clay County says its sale prices aren't public record.
- Kansas collects prices on a sales validation questionnaire but releases it only to listed parties, including licensed appraisers, lenders that need an appraisal and real estate licensees. Closed comps on both sides come from the MLS, through an agent or appraiser.
- Keep comps inside the buyer's market. In September 2026, Zillow's typical value was $295,888 in Kansas City's 64114 and $769,928 in Leawood's 66206 on the Kansas side of State Line Road.
- Lenders cap the loan on their own valuation. On a $245,000 project, a comp set padded with two cross-line sales implied a $342,400 ARV; at the appraiser's $302,000, a 70–75% cap leaves an $18,500 to $33,600 cash gap.
After-repair value, or ARV, is what a renovated house will sell for, and in many states an investor can rough it out from public deed records before calling anyone. Kansas City and St. Louis don't work that way. Missouri doesn't require a price on recorded deeds, and Kansas keeps the price it collects confidential. The comps that decide your loan live in the MLS, so the work is getting the right ones and keeping them inside the market your buyer will actually shop.
Who can see a sale price on each side of the state line
Missouri is a nondisclosure state for sale prices, according to a February 2025 science note from MOST Policy Initiative, which briefs Missouri legislators. In most of the state, reporting a price is voluntary, and assessors receive only 15–25% of them. Four jurisdictions require a Certificate of Value with each sale: St. Charles County, St. Louis County, Jackson County and St. Louis City. Those forms go to the assessor. Clay County's own FAQ is blunt: "The sales price is not of public record in Clay County."
Kansas collects the price on a real estate sales validation questionnaire, but K.S.A. 79-1437f makes its contents available only to listed parties: county appraisers and officials, owners appealing a valuation, licensed or certified appraisers preparing appraisals, financial institutions for appraisals their regulators require, tax appeal bodies, and real estate licensees serving clients. MOST classes Kansas as a partial nondisclosure state, where assessors see prices and the public doesn't.
| Source | Missouri side | Kansas side | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| County deed records | Usually no price on the deed | No price; the questionnaire is confidential | Owners, transfer dates, liens |
| Assessor | Certificate of Value required in Jackson, St. Louis and St. Charles counties and St. Louis City; voluntary elsewhere | Receives questionnaire prices | Assessed value, which isn't ARV |
| MLS, through an agent or appraiser | Closed prices, photos, condition, days on market | The same | Your comp set |
| Online estimates and ZIP indexes | Modeled values | Modeled values | Trends and range checks only |
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Pull comps the way the appraiser will
The lender's appraiser or valuation team builds its own set, so start from the same rules. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide requires at least three closed comparable sales, says comps should have closed within the last 12 months, and treats current listings and contract offerings only as supporting data. It also allows comps from competing market areas, which is the clause investors stretch furthest.
- Closed and renovated. A sale in original condition tells you the as-is value, not the ARV.
- Recent. In markets where the median listing went pending in 11 days in September 2026, in both metros, a sale from last spring may already be stale.
- Same buyer pool. Same school district, same city or municipality, same side of State Line Road or the City–County line.
- Same kind of house. Style, age, size, bedrooms, bathrooms, basement finish and garage.
- Know how it sold. Ask for days on market and concessions. In August 2026, 39.9% of Kansas City sales and 43.1% of St. Louis sales closed above list, and a bidding-war price doesn't repeat on command.
The lines that split values
"Competing" means buyers treat two areas as substitutes. In both metros, several lines change the school district, the tax bill, the inspection rules and the buyer pool at once, and Zillow's ZIP-level values show how far apart the two sides can sit:
| Boundary | Missouri or City side | Kansas or County side |
|---|---|---|
| State Line Road, south Kansas City | 64114, Kansas City, MO: $295,888 (+2.1%) | 66206, Leawood, KS: $769,928 (+8.8%) |
| State Line Road, Country Club area | 64113, Kansas City, MO: $585,073 (+6.5%) | 66208, Prairie Village, KS: $493,966 (+6.7%) |
| Wyandotte–Johnson county line | 66103, Kansas City, KS: $200,194 (+1.7%) | 66205, Roeland Park, KS: $394,852 (+6.1%) |
| St. Louis City–County line, south | 63139, St. Louis City: $222,821 (−0.1%) | 63143, Maplewood: $253,585 (+2.3%) |
| St. Louis City–County line, southwest | 63109, St. Louis City: $266,491 (+0.4%) | 63119, Webster Groves: $379,466 (+2.4%) |
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The gaps don't all run the same way. Kansas City's 64113 sits well above its Prairie Village neighbor, while 64114 sits far below Leawood. That's the lesson: each side is its own market, and one comp from the wrong side can move your number by tens of thousands of dollars.
Trends split along the same lines. Over the year to September 2026, Zillow's typical value rose 4.7% in Johnson County and 2.7% in Jackson County, and it slipped 0.4% in St. Louis City while St. Louis County gained 2.8%. A six-month-old comp on the stronger side needs a different time adjustment from one on the weaker side.
A ZIP index is not an ARV
Zillow publishes typical values by price tier. In Kansas City's 64130, the middle tier was $100,248 in September 2026 and the bottom tier $75,844; in 63116 in south St. Louis City, they were $179,762 and $128,468. A renovated house is a specific product inside that spread, and its comps have to be renovated houses, not an index that blends every condition. Use the index to check direction and range, then price the house from closed sales.
Low values also run into lender floors. RCN Capital requires an ARV of $100,000 or more on a single-family flip, and Kiavi's minimum loan is $75,000. In parts of both cities the first question is whether a lender will take the deal at all.
Worked example: a comp set that crossed State Line Road
A 1,400 sq ft, three-bedroom house in Kansas City's 64114 is bought for $185,000 with a $60,000 renovation, $245,000 all in. The investor's agent pulls five closed, renovated sales from the past six months. Three are within half a mile on the Missouri side; two are in Leawood, about a mile away across State Line Road.
| Comp | Location and date | Adjusted price | Keep it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 64114, 0.3 mi, closed 2 months ago | $296,000 | Yes |
| B | 64114, 0.4 mi, closed 3 months ago | $302,000 | Yes |
| C | 64114, 0.5 mi, closed 5 months ago | $309,000 | Yes |
| D | 66206 Leawood, 1.0 mi, closed 1 month ago | $395,000 | No: different state, school district and tax bill |
| E | 66206 Leawood, 1.1 mi, closed 4 months ago | $410,000 | No, for the same reasons |
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Averaged together, the five give $342,400. The three Missouri sales reconcile to about $302,000, and that's close to where a careful appraiser lands, because buyers don't treat Leawood as a substitute for this house. Here's what each figure does to the loan at the local caps of 70% and 75% of ARV:
| ARV used | 75% cap | Cash gap at 75% | 70% cap | Cash gap at 70% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $342,400, all five comps | $256,800, so the loan is limited to cost: $245,000 | $0 | $239,680 | $5,320 |
| $302,000, Missouri comps only | $226,500 | $18,500 | $211,400 | $33,600 |
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The padded set promised a fully financed deal. The appraisal turns it into $18,500 to $33,600 of cash the investor didn't plan on, and the expected resale price falls by $40,400 before selling costs. Better to learn that before the offer than at the closing table. Leverage rules by lender are compared in hard money loans in Kansas City.
How local lenders value the house
| Lender | Market | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Crossroads Investment Lending | Kansas City | Appraisal always required, $525; borrowers are told not to order their own |
| KC Investor Funding | Kansas City | Appraisal at the lender's discretion on the KC 100 program |
| Longhorn Investments | Kansas City and St. Louis | Third-party appraisal ordered by the lender, about $600 |
| FasterFunds Lending | St. Louis | No appraisal; a no-cost property walk-through |
| One West Hard Money | St. Louis | No appraisal fee |
| Kiavi | National | In-house valuation, no third-party appraisal |
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A walk-through or an in-house model still rests on comps; the lender just keeps them in-house. Send yours anyway, with closed prices, dates, distances and photos of the finishes. Where a full appraisal is required, ask the lender whether your comp package can reach the appraiser, and what happens to the loan if the value comes in low.
A comp package built for a nondisclosure market
- Three to six closed, renovated sales from the last 12 months, newest first, with MLS numbers, sale dates, prices and any concessions.
- The finished house in one line: square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, basement finish, garage and finish level, tied to your scope of work.
- A note on boundaries: same school district, same municipality, same side of State Line Road or the City–County line.
- The sales you left out and why, especially cross-line and unrenovated ones.
- Days on market and list-to-sale history for each comp, so the valuer can see which ones sold in a bidding war.