I read an article on cinplify.com, that linked to a Standard & Poor study that found that Cincinnati and Columbus to be the most stable housing markets in terms of price and posed the least risk of price decline in the U.S. This is because Texas and the midwest were less affected by the real estate boom.

The article on MSN reports that there’s a 34.6% chance on average that home prices will drop in the nation’s top 50 markets in the next couple of years, according to PMI Mortgage Insurance’s new U.S. Market Risk Index, which heavily factors in recent price volatility. Some of the markets that will be most affected by this drop are the areas that saw the most rapid appreciation, followed by the reduction of affordable housing, which then impacted the level of appreciation. Some of these states include Nevada, California, Florida, and Arizona.

CNN released an article listing the Top 100 Cities to Live and Launch and Blue Ash, Ohio was ranked #62. With a population of 11,942 people, Blue Ash is the second largest employer second only to the city of Cincinnati. Startups can benefit from programs such as Ohio’s Job Creation Tax Credit, which goes to companies that create 25 new full-time jobs paying at least 150% of the minimum wage. According to the article the population of Blue Ash more than quadruples during the workday because there are so many businesses there. Within Blue Ash 35% of the area is residential, 35% business, and the rest is for public or other use.

The city of Blue Ash boasts alot of businesses unique to Cincinnati, such as Marx Bagels, Benchmark, Cappels, and Servatiis Pastry Shop. Blue Ash has quiet residential neighborhoods with easy access to shopping, and highway access. The Blue Ash Towne Square hosts concerts and other events during the warmer months, and is beautifully decorated over the holiday season. The Blue Ash Recreation center located on Cooper Road has year round activities for people of all ages including swimming facilities and an indoor exercise center for a small fee for residents. There are plenty of nature trails, a private airport, and public golf facilities as well. The city of Blue Ash residents attend Sycamore Community Schools.

I just read a very important article from Reuters explaining to current renters why it is an opportune time to buy their first house. Owning your own home is one of the most important investments you can make.

The article address the fact that the tumult in the market can be a bit disconcerting to new buyer, but the fact is that first time home buyers have the pick of the litter with a healthy inventory, low rates, and motivated sellers. In Cincinnati all of these factors are creating a prime situation for qualified first time home buyers.

Take advantage of the internet based real estate search resources, find a qualified mortgage broker, and make sure you have a seasoned and knowledgeable Cincinnati agen. Consider a number of options and think a few years down the road to make your investment in your home a success.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight announced Wednesday that it has cut the government-sponsored mortgage investors’ surplus capital requirement to 20 percent from 30 percent for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The office estimates that this reduction, in combination with the release of portfolio caps announced last month, should provide up to $200 billion of immediate liquidity to the mortgage-backed securities market, and allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase or guarantee about $2 trillion in mortgages this year.

This could mean significant news to our local real estate market. Credit is harder to come by due to more stringent lending practices in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage melt down. With the changes to Fannie and Freddie they will have more liquid capital to purchase more mortgages hopefully resulting in more credit being offered to home buyers.

All of these changes are a directed effort by the leadership of Fannie and Freddie to add liquidity to the mortgage market while keeping up both investor and home buyer confidence in the system. Both agencies have seen significant changes in the last few months including the clearance to purchase larger loans (jumbo) up to $729,250 in some areas. These changes are designed to help stimulate home sales and keep the economy moving forward.

If you live in the city of Cincinnati and are considering renovating your home there is good news for you. The City of Cincinnati Department of Community Development has implemented both a residential and commercial tax abatement program to help attract new residents, businesses, and investors and encourage current residents, businesses, investors to improve their current properties. Any property owner may be eligible for this property tax abatement if they purchase a newly constructed home or are renovating their current home. Residential is defined as a single family home or any building with 1-3 units. With this tax abatement program, the commercial category is defined as residential multi-family property containing more than 4 units, office, retail, industrial, or mixed use.

Who Qualifies for the Residential Tax Abatement?

The way this program works is that certain types of improvements that actually add value to the home will qualify, while others will not. Part of the application process helps to determine if the improvements that you are making to the home are simply improving the condition of the home versus actually adding value. Painting your home, replacing your roof, new siding, new windows, new gutters, improved landscaping, a retaining wall, or resealing a driveway will all improve the condition and salability of your home but do not add dollar value. While adding a pool, deck, patio, or more usable square footage or living space to the home will add dollar value to your property and will qualify for the tax abatement. LEED- certified remodeled or newly constructed residential property is eligible for an additional tax exemption based on the certification level. Please click here for more information on LEED homes. The period for tax abatement begins with the date of documented completion of work.

Tax Abatement Limits

For example, if the owner of a $75,000 home makes $25,000 in improvements, the owner is only responsible for taxes based on the home’s original value for a period of ten years. So that would mean that the property owner’s taxes would remain at the assessed value of the $75,000 price but the house would actually be worth $100,000 if the owner were to have the home re-appraised. The portion of the tax by which the remodeling increased the value of the structure may be abated up to a maximum $275,000 market value.

Total Investment Eligible for Exemption (fair market value): $275,000
Assessed Value/Taxable Value is 35% of fair market value: $96,250
Assessed Value Multiplied by Tax Rate (.05694): $5,480.48
10% Rollback: $548.05
Estimated tax abated for one year: $4,932.43

For an application for the Residential CRA Tax Abatement Program, please click here.

For many Cincinnati residents, foreclosure is a reality. Due to many factors affecting the economy as well as deceptive lending practices by some banks, uninformed customers have applied for and were granted loans that they simply can’t afford. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has launched a program to try to assist people who are facing potential foreclosure. The program is called “Save the Dream“.

One of the things that many people do not realize is that when you are having financial problems the best thing to do is to inform your lender so that you can workout a resolution. Most people are inclined to hide the fact that they are struggling financially because they feel helpless and that they have no options and their fate is sealed; they will certainly lose their home. “Save the Dream” is an educational tool that provides information for homeowners. Some of the information provided is: Foreclosure Resources, Alternatives to Foreclosure, Steps in the Foreclosure Process, Foreclosure Terminology, Rescue Scams to watch out for, and Predatory Lending Practices to beware of, and how to rebuild your credit. Please also click here for more information on credit scores.

The Cincinnati Public Library Downtown Main Library location has recently undergone a major renovation. The library is continually trying to meet the advancing technological and research needs of the public in all age groups. Under the new plan, resources previously divided among five Main Library subject departments were drawn together into the Information and Reference Department. The Popular Library was created by merging the Fiction and Films and Recordings Departments and the Atrium Collection.

An area that was greatly enhanced was the Teen and Student Department. Parents will be happy to know that there is now a program called “Homework Central” which supports the educational needs of Hamilton County primary and secondary students by providing homework assistance in person, by telephone, and via the Internet. There is also an area called “TeenSpot” which features a high-interest collection of teen print and audiovisual material, the latest technology, and an inviting and comfortably furnished floor plan that supports a wide variety of group and independent activities.

The other two areas that were improved with this renovation are the research level resources and services in local history and culture, river history, African American history, and genealogy are provided by the Genealogy and Local History Department, as well as the TechCenter which offers access to a broad spectrum of technological applications.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that a vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. The report indicates that some of the pharmaceuticals that were found were only trace amounts; however, out of the cities that were tested, Cincinnati was ranked 10th in the most toxic water supply. The EPA requires any community water system that serves more than 100,000 people to make its CCR(consumer confidence report) available to customers on a publicly accessible web site. This report comes from your water supplier that tells where your water comes from and what’s in it. The University of Cincinnati conducted a drinking water study in 2005 and the results from the Hamilton County and Greater Cincinnati Area are available for public review, but all of the categories passed the EPA standards for quality drinking water.

There are many different types of water filtration systems available. Click here for one site that compares the many types. Consumer reports is also a good source of information on comparing water filters. If homeowners are concerned you may contact your local plumber for other options for water filtration. As more research is conducted, the studies should be more conclusive on what filters work best.

While at the Cincinnati Home Show we had the opportunity to see a lot of interesting vendors and contractors. One of them was a company called BidMyCrib.Com The company is an online marketplace for home owners to put their home repair and improvement projects out to bid to local contractors. BidMyCrib takes the time to research the Better Business Bureau references and the insurance and bonding on all of the contractors it allows to access the system and bid on jobs. The cost is minimal - $14.95 per job, or about $40.00 per year if you have multiple jobs. The company has a minimum of one contractor for every type of job listed in their system so you should not be left wondering if someone is going to get back with you. Bids usually come in within 48 hours and you get to choose who gets the job. We always recommend asking for references and past clients, as well as checking with the BBB before hiring any contractor.

We are running a VIP ticket contest here on our blog. We have a dozen VIP Tickets to give away for the Blackfinn grand opening Thursday March 13th. The first people to Comment and track back on the post will get up to 4 tickets for the event. We will mail them out to you. We had a sneak peak the other night and got to dine there during the Blackfinn soft opening. We enjoyed it and hope that you will ask us for the passes so you can to.