I was talking to a real estate agent yesterday and we discussed the inventory of homes in the greater Cincinnati area. I was very surprised to hear them terribly concerned about their perception that there are 11 months worth of homes on the market right now. I questioned his concern and did some research on my own at Housing Tracker.

The short story is that there are 64 more homes on the market today than there were one year ago, 1/2% more inventory than in 2006 and 1.8% more inventory than 2005. Now it is true that prices have gone down slightly; for the median home the drop since 2005 is 3.35% and for higher priced homes 4.45% over the same time period. Lower priced homes have dropped 5% since 2005 but also did not experience the price spike and hard correction that the median home and luxury home experienced.

What this translates to is that if you are in a median priced home it is the best time to move to a bigger space if you need to. I know it is against everything that we have been hearing on the news but the reality is that the price of the home you want is closer to selling price of the home you have right now. Math does not lie - the difference between a median and high priced home this week is $90,000. One year ago that difference was $97,000 and in 2005 the difference was $94,302. In real dollars upgrading is ALWAYS a good move in a down market. If your Cincinnati real estate agent is not telling you this they are just plain wrong.

Week Inventory 25th Percentile Median 75th Percentile
11/28/07 11,415 $99,900 $149,900 $239,900
11/28/06 11,351 $104,900 $158,000 $255,000
11/28/05 9,418 $104,900 $154,900 $249,202

Fall in Cincinnati is like no other place. There are so many amazing things to do here before we get into the full throws of chilly winter. Outdoor activities abound including Ice Skating and broom ball at Fountain Square Park, fall sports leagues, and unique cultural events like Ethiopian Hip Hop concerts, A Lion In Winter, and Seusical Jr.. Coming up in the next few weeks there are even a few organized runs being put together by Fleet Feet in Blue Ash including an evening run at 6:30 pm December 8th followed by a happy hour, and an early Christmas Eve run at 8:00 AM December 24th.

Although we moved a bit out of Downtown, we did look at a few of the new buildings that are being converted into residences. It is a great trend to see large building space turned into living space. Aside from helping commute traffic volumes it is reducing the amount of gasoline we use. The new residences such as the One River Plaza complex and the redevelopment of the old McAlpin Department store are great examples of new and renovated buildings.We are all very excited to see what things materialize as The Banks multi use project gets underway. Any way we look at it it is an exceptional time to be in Cincinnati and enjoying the crisp weather and great sights and events.

We all know that we can go use the Multiple Listing Service to find prices of homes for sale, but what about rent? There is a great system newly our called Rentometer that allows you to type in a geographic code, like a city or a zip code, enter your price point, and find both available rentals as well as what other rentals are charging. You can search single unit homes for rent, or apartment building with up to 50 units in them.

The systems works equally as well for downtown and suburban areas. Knowing rents is critical for a few reasons. A we stated here before rental prices are critical long term indicators of property values. Moreover, rent can be a critical tool in the home buying process.

The facts support that if you are a seller and price your home properly it will sell. Great homes are selling in weeks and it if you find that you are selling a great home and looking for another knowing the rents in the area is important. You may find yourself in a position where you have a buyer and nowhere to go. As inconvenient as it may seem, renting a large townhouse or a full size house while you look for your dream home can take the worry off your mind of where you go after closing.

One of the great things about living in Cincinnati is the multitude of fantastic outdoor events. This city is filled with interesting and exciting things to do most of the year. One tradition is the Cincinnati Thanksgiving Day Race, which begins and ends at Paul Brown Stadium. The 10 Kilometer course takes runners up main street, over the river, through Kentucky, and back over the river to the stadium. It is a community tradition that goes off regardless of the weather so if you are a runner this is a perfect opportunity to get a chip time in and enjoy great perspective of the city.

FORTUNE magazine dedicated a extensive 7 page spread in its November issue to an article that helps explain future home values using Rent as a leading indicator. The premise, held up by Moody’s Economy.com, is that people will not spend excessively much more on rent than they will on home ownership UNLESS they are expecting a very large profit when they go to sell.

The article explains that housing prices and home ownership costs will fall back in line with rental rates. To look at it the other way around, home prices need to drop substantially in some areas where the boom to housing costs sky high and now have a 40% (Los Angeles) 36% (Ft. Lauderdale) 39% (Washington DC) correction. But not so in Cincinnati, we are looking at a mere 7% correction in rental to housing rate costs.

But even more interesting is that FORTUNE says that Cincinnati is one of only 4 cities (Detroit, Indy, Cleveland, Cincy) to see a home value INCREASE over the next 5 years. They believe that the sale price of an upscale home will rise from $284,000 to $301,000 by 2012. So we may have missed the bubble but we are one of lucky few graced with slow and steady home appreciation. Now that you know this it is probably time to get a hold of a licensed Cincinnati Real Estate Agent and start looking for the right house for you.

I know this is not really local Cincinnati Real Estate news or information but it is a sign of the times. Propertysnake.co.uk is a website that aggregates information on home prices and then tracks the price reduction, giving viewers a look into how much off the original list price the property is now listed at. If a property is originally listed at 150% of fair market value I would hope to see a 33% price drop! Regardless of what the percentage price drop is it is critical to see if the new price is inline with the surrounding comparableness, and your price range!

As we enter this correction in the US market it will be even more important to locate a dependable and honest licensed Real Estate agent. What goes for houses goes for shoes, pants, and hand bags … just because it is on sale does not mean I have to buy it.

Below our readers are going to find a very interesting chart of the history of home value prices in the United States. It is a great look back, almost 12 decades of home prices adjusted for inflation. We have seen price booms in the past, in the 70’s and 80’s but the run up that has occurred since the late 1990’s is unprecedented! Our interpretation is that there has never been a better time to sell your home and if you area buyer be sure that you are thinking about the longer term. No one is in a position to forecast a massive price correction, or stability so we are not going to suggest that people wait to buy. We are going to suggest that you are looking for, and finding what you want for the longer term. We say hedge against a price drop and find a place with one more bedroom and bathroom than you need right now just in case. If we do see a market correction wouldn’t it be nice to know you don’t HAVE to move unless you want to? We have Yale economist Robert Shiller to thank for this graph.

As investments go homes in the Cincinnati area are certainly the tortoise in the race - slow and steady. Unlike some other areas of the the country Ohio, Hamilton County, and Cincinnati have seen slow and steady growth. To you and me that means that we are not seeing explosive profits in our home sales, but we are also not seeing overly inflated housing prices either. The news is good all around as we are reasonable insulated from the double digit value drops that other parts of the countries are seeing. Ohio home values have fallen by 1.25% compared with Florida home values falling over 10%.

Translation; if you are a home seller you need to make sure you price your home appropriately. We are seeing many homes priced above market value, and they sit on the market for MONTHS! Properly priced properties are moving fast so if you are serious about selling your home call Alison Moss for a listing appointment. And As a buyer we know you want a great house at a great price. Use the tools in the side bar to determine what you want in a home and give us call to help you find the right home for you.

There is and exciting new system out that allows users to research home values using SMS and TXT messaging. The system is called Housefront and it is relatively new. It uses property tax information, similar to Zillow, to identify home values.

The housefront site allows prospective buyers and sellers to research tax values in neighborhoods so they can judge approximate price ranges. However if you are thinking about buying or selling real estate always talk with a licensed Cincinnati Real Estate Agent first so they can create an Competitive Market Analysis. CMAs are based on recent comparable home sales and are alway more accurate in terms of what a home’s real salable value is.

Welcome to the first post on the Cincinnati Real Estate blog, a blog listed with the National Directory of Real Estate Blogs. Here you will find local information from local writers on the trends and advents in the Cincinnati Real Estate market. We will do our best to bring you neighborhood reviews, photos, interviews, informational resources as well as our view of how fantastic it is to own a home here and be part of the community. We ourselves were home hunters just a few months ago and want to share our personal first hand knowledge with you! Our desire is to attract as many new residents to Cincinnati by showcasing the high quality of life and provide you, the reader, with resources you will need to find the right home in the right neighborhood at the right price. Enjoy the content and tell your friends about us.