Real Estate Outside of West Chester, Fairfield and Cincinnati Ohio
June 10th, 2008 categories: Area Employers, Real Estate News, Relocation
No big surprise- most of the housing markets east of the Mississippi River are experiencing slight price declines.
I just returned from a great meeting with real estate/relocation people representing major cities from Florida to New York. The information was fairly uniform, slightly declining housing prices, problems with constant media attention on the worst markets, foreclosures and how employers are dealing with transferees who are upside down with mortgages.
The good news, sellers are beginning to adjust their prices, subsequently there is a slight uptick in pending sales in most markets.
No mad rush on real estate, but a picture of the market finally adjusting pricing to meet demand. (sort of like the stock market)
Consensus of the group is that foreclosures will continue to impact all markets. There is no easy fix and for many borrowers-”a bail out” will only delay their problems. The markets with big home owner associations (HOA), such as Florida are feeling the pain of foreclosure. Foreclosed property owners do not pay the association fees-leaving the remaining home owners (or condo owners) scrambling to cover expenses.
Relocating employees -many without a “buyout package” (buyout is when the employer will guarantee the purchase of the property after so many days on the market) leaves many transferees struggling with selling a property in one market while having to rent housing in their new location.
States with the most diverse economies are doing better than the states relying on one or two major industries. With new progressive governors, Alabama and Louisiana have done a lot to attract “very large” employers into their states. The State of Ohio’s focus appears to be on small employers and this does impact the real estate markets around the state.
New trends are always of interest……
In the greater Cincinnati, West Chester, Mason and Fairfield real estate markets the term “turnkey” describes a property in “move in condition”. The buyer won’t have to paint, carpet or do anything to the property. On the west coast of Florida, turnkey has a taken a whole new meaning. Turnkey means the seller is supplying new bathroom towels, kitchen utensils, linens, china, glassware and silverware for the buyers.
Wow- I think I like the idea.
It’s important to stay up with what is going on inside and outside our local real estate market. If you have questions or comments- call 513-300-4090, send an email or use the comment section below.
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What is the Winning Formula for a Great City?
May 16th, 2008 categories: Area Employers, Cincinnati, Ohio, Real Estate News, Relocation
Stable Economy + Affordable Housing = Greater Cincinnati Ohio.
The other night I had the opportunity to spend the evening with a number of graduate students from a variety of universities. Their number one question- “what is Cincinnati really like?”. I was ready to launch into a verbal tour of the area - but that was not what they were really asking. The real question is…. if they uprooted themselves from their university cocoon and moved here- would they be happy?
As we stood out on the steps of the Cincinnati Museum Center and looked at downtown, I pointed to headquarters of just some of the 7 companies in the top of the Fortune 500. (P & G, Kroger, Macy, Fifth Third Bancorp, A K Steel Holding, Western Southern Financial and Chiquita Brands International) Plus there are another 5 companies in the Fortune 1000 (American Financial Group, Cincinnati Financial, Cintas, Convergys and E. W. Scripps).
These companies and a myriad of other businesses provide economic stability for our region. They were all amazed that many Fortune 500 companies call Cincinnati home.
Unlike other areas, like southeast Michigan, our economy is not tied to a single industry.
Most of these students will be entering the workforce with decent salaries and the affordability of housing throughout the area is a huge draw. Go online and compare housing for Chicago, Atlanta and then look at Cincy. Apartments, condominiums and single family homes are reasonably priced throughout the region. And even the most remotely located community is ever far from the freeways and access to work.
Beyond the basics, we have 2 major league sports teams (don’t get picky- we have professional teams), great biking trails winding from north of Dayton to Lunken airport, with more trails in Fairfield and Miami Whitewater. Nightlife on both sides of the river. In short, the activities they are currently participating in are available here.
We get so busy with everyday things that I sometimes think we miss the things around us…the zoo, Music Hall (Opera, Ballet and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), Aronoff, all the Art and Historical Museums, Freedom Center, Kings Island, Eden Park, Findlay Market, …..you get the idea.
Finally, the discussion about living here always comes down to… how long have we lived here and why? The answer is simple….while we miss some things from our home state -Cincinnati has been a wonderful place to call home and we never regretted moving here.
Still need convincing or more information about the area-send an email and I will be glad to pass along more detailed information. The easiest way to keep up with all the information is to subscribe…now.
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Home Resales Rose 2.9%
March 24th, 2008 categories: Area Employers, Real Estate News, Real Estate Selling
NAR (National Association Of Realtors) just released existing home sale numbers and for the first time in 7 months the number climbed 2.9% Sales for the year were down 24% from February 2007.
Nationally the median home price was $195,000 in February down 8.2% from 213,500 in February 2007. Read the entire report here.
You have to remember our local market, while in a slight slump, never experienced the wild appreciation of and now the huge losses of many housing markets. In order to figure out the loss (or gain) for your particular area and/neighborhood you need to run a complete Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) for resales and new construction and then make an informed decision about your property. For more details on local market click here.
Stay tuned- new home sales figures will be released on Wednesday, March 26th.
If you have some thoughts about the local housing market in general- please share it by leaving a comment below.
Need help gathering the data for a CMA call 513-300-4090 or send an email.
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