How is the Greater Cincinnati Housing Market?
June 24th, 2009 categories: Cincinnati, Ohio, Real Estate Sales, West Chester, Ohio
Let’s take out the crystal ball and predict housing future for greater Cincinnati, West Chester, Mason and surrounding communities.
Currently the real estate markets in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren Counties is below in both sales volume and number of units sold. The good news is the number of pending sales continues to creep up -ever so slightly.
If you are looking for at resales (single family or condos) there is plenty of inventory to chose from….but if you are moving into town and want to by a newly built single family home- there aren’t many available. Builders are not building a huge number of homes and waiting for buyers to come along. The condo market, especially in the city, has a good supply of new construction available.
So while we are not breaking any sales records, the signs are pointing in an upward direction. Mortgage rates are still low (not as low as last month), the supply of housing stock remains steady. Most important of all is the stability of the area’s economy- some businesses are struggling but we have not seen massive corporate layoffs.
The question every buyer has is “what will my home be worth in 2 or 3 years?” and with the new world of real estate the better question might be- do I want to make this purchase if I break even or lose 2-3% if I sell in 2-3 years?
Recently Business Week published an article “Where Will Housing be in 2012?” which highlights several markets (unfortunately our market is not included) and the Cincinnati Enquirer covered an USA Today article about housing starts. Lots of people are digging into the numbers trying to predict the future of real estate. From my perspective it is fairly simple- low mortgage rates equal good time to buy and sell. As rates increase fewer buyer qualify for mortgages…..so fewer properties are sold.
If you are thinking about jumping into the market and need some help-call or email.
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
What’s Happening in Real Estate for the Lakota School District?
June 10th, 2009 categories: Beckett Ridge, Liberty Township, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio
School is out and real estate in West Chester, Liberty Township and Beckett Ridge is in!
According to the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati real estate activity is shown below:
|
West Chester |
Single Family |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
Condos |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
| Actives |
312 |
$325,671 |
104 |
92 |
$123,446 |
120 |
| Pendings |
95 |
$249,025 |
85 |
20 |
$ 88,145 |
100 |
| Closed (01/01/09-05/31/09) |
178 |
$214,554 |
79 |
39 |
$82,898 |
71 |
Data from Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service
|
Beckett Ridge |
Single Family |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
Condos |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
| Actives |
16 |
$287,773 |
109 |
11 |
$114,355 |
56 |
| Pendings |
6 |
$234,900 |
23 |
3 |
$85,592 |
96 |
| Closed (01/01/09-05/31/09) |
10 |
$236,850 |
47 |
3 |
$102,583 |
83 |
Data from Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service
|
Liberty Township |
Single Family |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
Condos |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
| Actives |
320 |
$322,603 |
135 |
6 |
$238,533 |
209 |
| Pendings |
77 |
$262,296 |
79 |
3 |
$229,600 |
101 |
| Closed (01/01/09-05/31/09) |
141 |
$241,515 |
72 |
2 |
$302,250 |
181 |
Data from Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service
Days on market for closed properties in Liberty Township and Beckett Ridge decreased while West Chester increased. The number of active listings hasn’t varied very much-but mortgage interest rates have crept up. This combination of large supply of inventory and higher mortgage interest rates will continue to apply pressure on pricing.
Sellers need to have a marketing and pricing strategy geared for today’s real estate market.
Questions about the current market? Call or email for details.
Related Article: April Stats
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Numbers and More Numbers on West Chester, Liberty Twp & Beckett Ridge Real Estate
May 14th, 2009 categories: Beckett Ridge, Liberty Township, Ohio, Real Estate News, West Chester, Ohio
Dr. W. Edward Deming, the quality guru, said “In God we trust-everybody else bring data”
So according to the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati real estate activity is shown below:
|
West Chester |
Single Family |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
Condos |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
| Actives |
290 |
$326,942 |
105 |
91 |
$126,587 |
126 |
| Pendings |
108 |
$252,444 |
79 |
21 |
$ 89,105 |
88 |
| Closed (01/01/09-04/30/09) |
131 |
$206,950 |
81 |
26 |
$85,885 |
59 |
Data from Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service
|
Beckett Ridge |
Single Family |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
Condos |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
| Actives |
16 |
$278,315 |
95 |
12 |
$111,738 |
83 |
| Pendings |
9 |
$225,189 |
26 |
3 |
$85,592 |
96 |
| Closed (01/01/09-04/30/09) |
8 |
$232,938 |
47 |
2 |
$110,250 |
95 |
Data from Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service
|
Liberty Township |
Single Family |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
Condos |
Average Price |
Days on Market |
| Actives |
341 |
$321,042 |
126 |
5 |
$275,660 |
217 |
| Pendings |
63 |
$247,935 |
78 |
4 |
$249,700 |
101 |
| Closed (01/01/09-04/30/09) |
104 |
$244,893 |
74 |
1 |
307,000 |
284 |
Data from Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service
High volume of inventory-647 single family homes and 108 condos- give buyers the upper hand in the market place.
Sellers need to have a marketing and pricing strategy geared for today’s real estate market. Confused or concerned about the current market? Call or email for details.
Related Article: March Stats
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Real Estate Double Dip?
May 7th, 2009 categories: Cincinnati, Ohio, Real Estate News, West Chester, Ohio
Home-buyers in West Chester, Liberty Township, Fairfield and greater Cincinnati can belly up to the real estate bar and enjoy two scoops of good news.
In addition to the $8,000 first time home buyer’s tax credit, The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) is offering a new Home-buyer Tax Credit Advantage Program. The program allows qualified first time buyers to obtain help with down payment and closing costs.
If you want to use the Homebuyer Tax Credit Advantage Program, you must use the OHFA’s First Time Homebuyer Programs and need to complete a homebuyer education program before the loan is closed.
Contrary to what you hear and read- money is available for mortgages and there is an abundant supply of real estate -in all price ranges on the market.
If you are waiting for a better deal, you may be disappointed that you didn’t “double dip” yesterday!
Not sure whether you qualify for either program- call or email.
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Will New Real Estate Law Affect You?
May 4th, 2009 categories: Cincinnati, Ohio, Real Estate News, West Chester, Ohio
If your home just sold and the buyer’s loan will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac- new appraisal rules went into effect May 1st.
Lenders have to adhere to “HVCC”-the home valuation code of conduct to guarantee that every loan sold to Freddie or Fannie complies with the code completely.
The largest impact is the new code prohibits mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals and will push a lot of the business to “3rd party” appraisal management companies.
The “3rd party” will select an appraiser from their network to do the work. On the surface, this type of distance between the lender and appraiser should eliminate the past problems when unethical lenders and appraisers were working hand-in-hand.
Problems could arise when the chosen appraiser is not familiar with local market conditions.
Good news, FHA financing is not impacted by HVCC since FHA has its own appraisal rules.
Confused about the impact on your purchase or sale- call or email.
Related Articles: National Association of Realtors
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