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!

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.

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.

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.

Aiming to invigorate a stagnating housing market, Dutch ING Bank is helping potential buyers bid on houses that aren’t yet for sale.

The bank’s WoonWaarUWilt (”LiveWhereYouWant”) initiative, which launched yesterday, lets clients make an
offer on the house they’d love to own. ING is partnering with online real estate firm iBlue. After potential buyers fill in a form on www.woonwaaruwilt.nl, including their dream home’s address and the initial offer they’re willing to make, iBlue contacts them to discuss whether the offer is reasonable, and adjusts it if necessary. A mortgage consultant also determines whether the buyers would be able to finance the purchase.

iBlue then sends a preliminary offer to the property’s current owners, explaining the situation and inquiring whether they’d consider selling. As with other ‘Intention Economy’ real estate ventures we’ve covered before (in Finland and elsewhere), the reasoning is that many homeowners aren’t actively interested in selling, but
can be persuaded to do so if the right offer comes along. By declaring their intention and backing it up with a lender’s financial approval, buyers can help eliminate the uncertainty associated with putting a house on the market.
Meanwhile, the concept is a smart way for ING to get a head start on other banks
when it comes to financing the transaction.

Making an offer is free for clients, but if the owners are interested in
pursuing the offer, iBlue acts as the buyer’s agent and charges a commission
once the deal is done. The Intention Economy was first described by Doc Searls as follows: “The
Intention Economy grows around buyers, not sellers. It leverages the simple fact
that buyers are the first source of money, and that they come ready-made. You
don’t need advertising to make them.” Which offers exciting opportunities for
businesses who are willing to shift from marketing to buyers, to facilitating
their intentions.

One of the hard realities of the current housing market is that some people took up loans that they can not afford to keep once their Adjustable Rate Mortgage began to adjust. In a some cases homeowners are having to sell their homes in pre-foreclosure sales, or in some cases the lenders are foreclosing and taking possession of the property. RealtyTrac has an online tool that allows home buyer to look at some of these properties. After a quick look today I saw a variety of properties ranging from an $432,000 foreclosure in Amberly to a $9,500 bank owned 4 bed 2 bath home in Norwood. The website does require a registration and membership fee but it does provide some very good free preliminary information and it is worth reviewing.

A recent product launch proves to be a possible boon for the Real Estate marketing industry. GotZapp is a mobile social network that allows users to send photos, data, sounds, and more to mobile phones as a single download. Some of the developers have pointed to the fact that it could be an exceptional medium for quickly sending home information to potential home buyers. The great thing about the company is here in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Part of what impacts home prices are the outside forces such as interest rates, supply, demand, schools, and other business and neighborhood factors. Personal perception is a major factor in the market value of a home or neighborhood, and it is valuable information for any buy looking to get a fair deal, and any seller looking to market their property at a reasonable price.

So here is Home Predict, website that is allowing people from all over predict the value of homes and neighborhoods. What is important is that market value is a function of the Wisdom of Crowds. If 90 of 100 people think that a neighborhood’s average home is worth $200,000 it is good bet that as a buyer you should be looking to pay about that much, and as a seller it would be wise to list it as such.

In the market boom what we saw collectively was a skewing of the perception of value. We all thought homes were worth more, and therefore the price tags went up. Now as the market cools, and the economy slows we collectively are correcting our perception. Potential buyer’s value perception are the most important information to have, but a community wide poll would probably return similar results. I’d like to see a group of us getting on and helping to set the value of our homes and real estate here in Cincinnati.

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.

I have been looking over the some of the blogs that talk about Cincinnati. I found a few that were really interesting reads and filled with insightful thoughts. Here are a few of the better blogs I found and a description of them.
Cincinnati Blog - A general blog that talks about local politics and activities
Bearcats Blog - A sports blog about the UC Bearcats
Building Cincinnati - an AMAZING blog about Queen City Architecture with Photos
The ‘Nati Life - A well written blog about life in Cincinnati covering in-town happenings
Cincinnati Urban Life - a fantastic collection of dozens of useful links to just about any topic
UrbanCincy - An urban planner writing about his vision for the city, very inspiring

As soon as I can get our sidebar working these links are going up right away