The green home construction trend continues in Cincinnati. We just had an opportunity to see some fantastic new photos of a Silver LEED certified home in Hyde Park. Our friends at Building Cincinnati have posted photos showcasing some of the ecologically friendly components of the new construction residence.

Some of the features include geothermal heating, a water purification system with low-flow fixtures, Energy Star windows, appliances and fixtures, orientation toward natural light, and oak floors grown sustainably by an Appalachian collective - all with the added bonus of a 15-year tax abatement. If you are interested in seeing the property for your self call me at 518-1140 or send an e-mail and I’ll be happy to arrange a showing.

Loveland Bike Rentals has teamed up with Cultural Care Au Pairs to recognize Bike Safety Awareness Month and to promote the bike safety demonstration and group ride taking place Sunday May 4^th, 2008 at 10:30am. Cultural Care Au Pairs is a service offered in the greater Cincinnati area for families seeking in home child care.

The Loveland bike trail is part of the 70 mile trail that follows the Miami River and is paved over old railroad tracks. After the safety demonstration, those present will take a group ride and enjoy a picnic lunch. The event is open to the public and will provide participants the opportunity to meet and talk with some Cincinnati families hosting Au Pairs to learn more information about the agency and its programs.

Cincinnatians ‘get’ cell phones. They understand their value, and they use them for more than just talking and texting. Cincinnati actually ranked as the #7 market for mobile phone coupons by Cellfire as published in the Entertainment Marketing Letter. Such an appropriate time, considering all of the interesting cellphone based applications for real estate.

Back in December we reported on GotZapp for developers to send content to potential home buyers on their phones. In November we wrote about Hosefront which allows users to search tax records on a property with SMS or TXT messaging. In both cases the systems rely on savvy users, and according to recent reports Cincinnati has them in droves!

If you watch the news to often you hear the consistent drone that home prices are down! The real estate market is in the tank! Well that may be true in some areas but not all. The fact is that in select Cincinnati neighborhoods the average SOLD price is up 20% or more including parts of Amberley, Indian Hill, and Mariemont. The area around Symmes Township and Dry Run / Mt. Carmel have seen better than 9% increase in sold price.

On the other hand some zip codes drop in sold prices up to 25% in the same time period. There could be dozens of reasons for this including tax abatements, inflation, inventory, and normal cyclical changes in neighborhoods. Paramount is that when looking for a home or an investment property your agent has a sense of the overall market trends in that particular area. Nothing is ever a guarantee for valuation but this is the kind of information you should ask for and expect from a real estate professional.

The accuracy of information in this post is dependent on the MLS system for time periods. The analysis included 31 zip codes comparing the previous 6 months with the same six month period one year prior. The analysis is a useful tool for estimating value trends and is not guaranteed to be applicable to all properties in the areas aforementioned.

CNNMoney.com did a study to find the cities where home prices are likely to rise the most - or fall the least - over the next 12 months. The top six cities were: Atlanta, Boston, CINCINNATI, Cleveland, Detroit, and Houston.

The article states that the reason Cincinnati appears on this list is a result of the city’s manufacturing-heavy economy which should benefit from the falling dollar. Commercial building is up, and high-end developments are moving in. Some of these developments include The Banks Project, The Gateway Quarter, and other 3CDC downtown projects are contributing to the local economy. Other notable development in the suburbs include Kenwood Towne Place, Nordstrom that is being constructed at the Kenwood Towne Centre, and the recent addition of IKEA in West Chester.

Energy costs and ecological impact are a major concern to a lot of us, especially here in Cincinnati. We often talk about how we can reduce our dependence on oil and harness the power of wind, and solar energy in our homes. First Look is a web based system that analyzes the solar exposure and the wind speed and currents where you live.

For a fairly steep price they will provide you with a report detailing annual, monthly, and even hourly wind and solar power deviation and means allowing you to honestly assess the kind of impact solar collectors and wind mills would have.

At $1,000 - $2,500 these reports are less costly than installing a system only to find out later that it is not efficient. An average US home can use up to 9,000 KMh a year so using First Look as an assessment tool before you invest in the technology may save you money, and the earth. I researched what it would be in our neighborhood and found out that today we could be generating almost 4 KwH/m.

For years we have been moving to the suburban areas for lower prices, and in return we get longer commutes. With gas prices what they are what is the real cost of our suburban home? WorldChanging.org has a very interesting application on their site that shows you the real cost of your home, with the commute included. It is no doubt an interesting tool to use whenever moving to a new area, and especially a new city. The Center for Neighborhood Technology’s interactive map helps you see the real cost of an area. The CNT defines affordable as housing + transportation costs are less than (<) 45% of the median income of the area.

Those of us familiar with the Cincinnati real estate know that there are some areas covered here that tend to attract higher home prices, and people who can afford them. Using median income for the region may not be the best metric. If the number were based on zip code I would feel more comfortable with the map. However this certainly brings up a good point, that with gas at $3.35 a gallon location, location, location takes on a whole new meaning.

This Thursday the Bankers Club is playing host to the Jewish Federation Business Power Hour keynoted by David Ginsburg, President and CEO of Downtown Cincinnati Inc. David will be sharing some of his thoughts on how far Downtown has come and the strategies for continued growth.

The event begins at 6:00 PM and I will introduce David at 6:30 pm,
when he will share his comments with the group. Tickets are available
by contacting Lindsey Kreindler at 513-985-1522 for further details. The event costs $10/person in advance, $15/at the door.

Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) is a non-profit business organization
with a mission to build a dynamic metropolitan center valued as the
heart of the region. DCI provides leadership and advocacy for important
issues that ensure long-term downtown vitality. As the Cincinnati Real Estate market continues to expand downtown, DCI will certainly play an important role as a strong partner in improving the city.

A Senate bill in Washington aimed at helping Americans through the sub prime mortgage crisis may include funding of up to $4 billion dollars to support a temporary $7,000 tax credit for people buying new homes or properties in foreclosure.

Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Sen. George Voinovich each have their own questions and concerns about the bill and its impacts on both Ohio residents and lending institutions reports the Dayton Daily News.

If you could claim a $7,000 tax credit for buying aq foreclosed house would you? Is it enough to get you to look exclusively at foreclosed properties? Our thoughts are that after the credit crisis and the lending practices get resolved these proactive measures will bolster the real estate market by removing some of the excess inventory. The long term consequences of this act could benefit millions of Americans and many here in Cincinnati. This will have impacts on the large lending as well, helping them to liquidate these properties and get back to what they do best - working with money not managing empty houses.

In the Cleveland area is a new trend in real estate marketing, Cleveland foreclosure bus tour. A real estate
agent books a tour bus and charges $15 per person for home buyers to go to three different suburbs with homes that have been foreclosed.

In Phoenix, AZ, which has been hit hard by the mortgage crisis, has Phoenix foreclosure Bus Tours that brought together real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and rehab specialists with potential home buyers and investors to try to get the foreclosed homes purchased.

Are these bus tours a good idea? In some ways, the tours can be a good idea since it may help move foreclosed homes off of the market faster. The real question is, are these tours taking potential buyers
away from the rest of the inventory in the city? In relatively price-stable Cincinnati there are areas with more foreclosures, and the regularly listed inventory in those areas may be suffering more.