Ruskin Hills

On the evening of 20 May 1957 an F5 tornado tracked 71 miles across the metro and destroyed much of neighboring Ruskin Heights and Hickman Mills. Forty-four people were killed and 531 injured; it remains the deadliest tornado recorded in the Kansas City area and was the deadliest in the world that year. source

Over 900 homes, businesses and schools were destroyed, the worst of it in the tract housing of Ruskin Heights and at the shopping center that served it. source

The median home sold here was built in 1960. Most of what sells was built between 1957 and 1969. 40% of sales included finished basement space beyond the above-grade footprint - which matters here, because square footage quoted above grade can understate a house considerably.

By property type: Single Family (45).

Addresses here fall in ZIP 64134.

Both columns are medians over the same twelve months, so they are directly comparable.

Our own MLS aggregate puts the median year built here at 1960, which places this housing stock squarely in the rebuilding years that followed the storm rather than before it - the opposite side of 1957 from Ruskin Heights next door. That is worth knowing for two reasons: construction went up quickly across this area in those years, and the era brings its own checklist regardless. Establish the actual year built for a specific address rather than assuming it from the neighborhood.

With a median year built of 1960, most homes here are mid-century stock. None of the following says anything about a specific house - they are the questions worth asking of any home of this age.

• Aluminum branch wiring appeared in homes built roughly 1965-1973 and is a specific thing to ask an inspector to look for.
• Original HVAC from this era is long past its service life, so the question is usually when it was last replaced rather than whether.
• The pre-1978 lead-paint disclosure applies to the earlier part of this range (40 CFR 745.110).

Deeds written in this era sometimes carry restrictive covenant language relating to race, religion or national origin. Where it appears, it is void and unenforceable in both states, and has been for decades: Missouri directs that such a recital be “ignored, as if the same never existed” source, and Kansas, where such covenants were already unlawful, added a release procedure effective 1 July 2024 source. An owner in either state may record a certificate of release, which does not alter the original document but restates that the covenant cannot be enforced. It is a paperwork question rather than a live restriction - but it is worth recognizing if it surfaces in your title work. What this language is, and how to release it.

Of the 45 homes sold, 4 were 2-bed, 37 were 3-bed, 4 were 4-bed.

Above-grade size ranged from about 864 to 1,344 sq ft across the middle 80% of sales, so the median alone understates how much variation there is.

Closings cluster in December, April and October, with 56% of the year's sales closing between April and September. Because closing typically follows the contract by a month or more, listing activity runs earlier than that.

• Armour Hills 73 sales
• Ruskin Heights 69 sales
• Marlborough Heights 65 sales
• Woodhaven 53 sales
• Cadence Villas 46 sales
• Somerbrook 45 sales
• Staley Farms 43 sales
• Red Bridge 39 sales
• Gracemor 36 sales
• New Mark 35 sales
• Crestview 35 sales
• Broadland 35 sales
• Fountain Hills 34 sales
• Sherwood Estates 33 sales
• Brooke Hills 33 sales
• Robandee 33 sales
• Platte Ridge 33 sales
• Ward Park 31 sales
• Rockhill Gardens 29 sales
• Romanelli Gardens 29 sales
• North Creek Village 29 sales
• Wildwood West 29 sales
• North Hampton 28 sales
• Randolph Corners North 28 sales