Selling in Johnson County

The number and diversity of builders working in Johnson County is unusually high compared to other communities. The competition among builders helps to moderate prices and ensure quality. The Asher C. Langworthy Companies have ranked among Johnson County’s leading real estate development and building firms since the mid-1930s.

Vice president Asher Langworthy opened Mission Realty in 1937 in an office building shared by Hodges Brothers on Nall and 61^st Streets. The company built and sold homes throughout northeast Johnson County, with most being built after World War II. Between 1948 and the mid-1970s, Langworthy developed such neighborhoods as Countryside East, Hickory Hills, Forest Park, Millburn Fields, Golden Meadows, and Nieman Park.

In 1958, the company became known as Langworthy Realty Inc. to represent their real estate brokerage and building activities. Simultaneously, the company relocated its offices to 63^rd and Roe in Prairie Village. A former model home served as their offices until the property was destroyed by fire in 1978. Once again, the company relocated — this time returning to the Martway complex in Mission. A.C. Langworthy Companies remains there today. Asher Langworthy’s son and namesake continues to build quality homes in Johnson County.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Langworthy homes received numerous industry awards for their quality construction and innovative floor plans A.C. Langworthy surveyed past customers about their homes and incorporated their ideas into new plans. Langworthy’s advertisements emphasized efficiency, convenience, plenty of amenities, and charm. He offered a variety of styles, including the ever-popular split level, as well as ranch style and two-story homes. Recognizing an emerging market, in 1973 the company ventured into the multi-family housing market at Nieman Park in Shawnee. These town home duplexes were “aimed at the buying market that includes the young professional and the single parent or individual.”

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