Have you ever wondered what your home in greater Cincinnati would be worth in Chicago or Sarasota?

Good news,  Coldwell Banker has a neat Housing Price Calculator Index  (HPCI) to help you find out.  The HPCI is based upon a single‐family dwelling with approximately 2,200 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths.

According to the index a single family home worth $250,000 in Cincinnati is worth:

• $1,019,231 in Chicago
• $350,962 in Sarasota
• $754,808 in Seattle

One of the victims of the recent financial meltdown is new construction of single family homes in the greater Cincinnati market.   The time when builders, large and small, built homes on spec and then waited for buyer to come along has passed.  If you new to the area and want to purchase new construction your realtor is probably scrambling to find properties to show.

As the market gains momentum, some builders are feeling a little more confident and have begun to build homes on spec.  A spec home is one built without a buyer contract.  Spec homes typically cater to the general market (more buyers) and often defer carpet, cabinet and counter selections to the buyer when a contract is signed.

The chart below is data on single family homes from the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati:

It looks like Butler County has the most affordable new construction available- but don’t get discouraged. If you have your heart set on building- figure out where you want to live- then look for a builder. 

Having trouble deciding and need more information- call or email.

The Cincinnati Bearcats won on Saturday. 

The Cincinnati Bengals won on Sunday. 

The sun is out on Monday and it’s time for homeowners to start thinking about battening down the hatches for winter.  Ugh!

Today’s brightness is a glaring reminder of honey-do projects that we may have ignored over the summer.  You know- spotty windows, dusty screens, slightly overgrown landscaping, small particles of “heaven knows what” stuck on the front door paint. Caulking, touch up paint, loose handrails on the deck.

You have now made a mental list of what you might need to “fix” in your home or you’re a statistical anomaly with a perfect home.  Take some time now, before the seasonal change takes control of outdoor work, and take a close look at your piece of real estate and get going on the little projects.  Not sure what needs to done?  Have some fun and play “Homeowner’s Revenge” to test your maintenance IQ.

I know you are not planning on putting your house up for sale for another 5 years-but you’d be surprised how expensive all the little undone projects can cost in the future.  Every property requires annual investments in order to remain “sellable”- don’t wait until 30 days before you list to start taking care of your real estate.

Which brings me back to real estate and windex (or any cleaner of choice).  Cleaning off dirty glasses or windows and taking a close look at your home is a great sunny day activity- take advantage of the sun to make a to-do list.

Related Articles:  Maintenance Must Do’s

A few days ago I took a look at the number of real estate sales by school district (See Article).  Many of you emailed requesting sales price data and while the chart below compares the first 2 weeks of September 2008 to the same time frame in 2009- I want to caution readers not to read too much into the numbers.

A better comparison would be year to date 2008 vs 2009 and I will prove the numbers comparing January- September 2008 vs 2009 by mid October.

Questions -call or email.

 We often hear about “buyer’s remorse”.  You know that gut feeling you get when you make a large purchase and then a few hours or days hours later you begin questioning your sanity.  Today there are 13,634 homes and condos for sale in the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati and some listings exhibit symptoms of “seller’s remorse”.It is easy to spot them….

• Very hard to get an appointment.  Properties for sale which require buyers (and their agents) to jump through hoops, turn in perfect circles while touching their noses and execute 3 precise click of the heels of their ruby red shoes before being allowed to view the inside of a property.  What makes this even more interesting is that some of the most “difficult-to-show” properties are short sales or lender owned.
• Never reduce the price.
• Add numerous exclusions to any purchase contract.  Sellers should list exclusions when they list their property- grandma’s chandelier, antique mirror in bathroom.  Some sellers wait until they receive a purchase contract and them begin to exclude items from the deal.  Best way to exclude heirlooms or expensive fixtures is to replace them prior to listing the property- out of sight and out of mind.

As you can see “sellers remorse” can impede the sale of the property.  If you’re a seller reading this blog and shaking your head because you don’t think these are good examples of problems…..perhaps you have a full blown case of “seller’s remorse”.