This Sunday, May 4th has been deemed Super Open House Day in Cincinnati and the surrounding areas. Cincinnati Real Estate Agents have worked together to schedule 2,000 open houses so that buyers can get an idea of the homes currently available for purchase. This event is something that can be attended by anyone who is interested in touring the available inventory, even if you are not actively looking for a home at this time.

As we wrote in the article Cincinnati: Rated One of the Top 6 Cities for Steady Home Prices for 2008, buying a home in Cincinnati makes good financial sense. According to Money Magazine, here are three major reasons why now is a good time to buy: 1) Good Inventory on the market; 2) Lower interest rates means more buying power; and 3) Homeownership is a good long-term investment.

Randy and I will be holding two open houses at the following properties this Sunday. From 12pm-2pm, we will be at 3869 Mt. Vernon Ave in Oakley. From 3pm-4:30pm, we will be at 420 Carrington Lane, Unit 103 in Loveland. We welcome you to come by one or both of these open houses. If you are interested in these or any other properties please contact me.

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.

Part of being a good real estate agent is understanding how to price a home to sell. The facts are that if your home is initially priced correctly it will sell and not languish on the market. Looking at the inventory within our office we saw a significant disparity between Days on Market between the sold / pending and what is active. SALABLE properties spent an average of just 88 days on the market while properties waiting to sell average 143 days on the
market - and they’re NOT SOLD YET! Look over the chart at our sample data from our office:

Information has not
been verified, is not guaranteed and subject to change.
Copyright ©2008 Rapattoni Corporation. All rights reserved.

As home sellers it is important to always remember that you home is worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it. In a slower market sellers must balance their desires for maximum price with an understanding that an overpriced listing could sit idle for well over a year, and will most likely sell only after numerous price reductions. If you are looking to move up in this market read our November post on the price and inventory of the Cincinnati housing market. You will learn how moving into a larger home makes financial sense in the long run if you do it is a slower market.

In reading a posting on Building Cincinnati.com, I learned about a home that is being built on the same site
as Homerama 2007. This home is being constructed to be LEED “silver certified” by The U.S. Green Building Council. It inspired me to think about how many people are now trying to be more environmentally friendly by driving hybrids, recycling, and using recycled products. The “green” revolution is a sign of the times that people are becoming more aware of how the conveniences of their everyday lives are affecting the environment and their health.

This demand is driving corporations to dedicate resources to producing “green products” for consumer use. While this new concept home in Montgomery is unique, many people are not looking to build a new home right now, but are curious about what measures they can take in their current home to make it more
eco-friendly or “green”.

The Green Guide has
many articles discussing home renovation and other ideas about what types of materials are being used mainstream.

Deciding whether it is financially feasible for you to incorporate some green measures into your home is something that you can research on your own or you can contact a professional to provide an evaluation of your home. This issue was raised by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and was reported by CNN as
well.

The Today Show had a very neat feature called Sell Your House In 30 Days with Barbara Corcoran. You should go and watch the video as it is informative and really give a few basic no nonsense tips on getting your home prepared to sell quickly. There are two main aspects to selling a home quickly; first make it desirable, and second price it properly.
1. Clean your house top to bottom and then remove a substantial amount of your ’stuff’. Think of making your home look like a model home - with closets that are mostly empty and minimal furniture that shows off the space you have to offer.
2. Research your competition and work with your real estate agent to price it appropriately to sell. Homes sit on the market for ages in part because they are not priced right. Market price and the price you want may not always be identical. Talk with your sales agent and make sure they have a good understanding of the realities of the market.

Here is an amazing pricing game. The game asks participants to price some various properties and depending on how much the house sells for the participants win points. It is an exceptionally brilliant way to gauge the public’s perception of property value and can be a great tool to help buyers and sellers understand the market value of certain property in particular areas. I have to say it is a wake up call to see how affordable homes are here in the Cincinnati area. Logging onto the site give you a real appreciation for our cost of living. Moreover it is a neat tool for Real Estate Agents to practice drafting Competitive Market Analysis and comparing their findings with other players.

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.