Every home buyer I work with has different criteria that defines what is ideal for them. I often hear phrases like ‘good school district’, ‘low taxes’, and ‘nice neighbors’.As a Cincinnati real estate agent licensed in Ohio, there are certain rules that govern how we present information to clients.
The challenge is defining what ‘good’ is. Families may define good in terms of test scores, athletics, number of extra curricular activities, or even college acceptance rate. As a Realtor the best service I can provide my clients is to point them to district information and let them decide what works best for them. I encourage my clients to consider the cost of private school and property taxes when they are considering areas to live. In some cases the comparative costs make a difference of where my clients choose to live.
I have compiled a relatively complete list of links to the various grade schools throughout Cincinnati. The list includes Public, Private, and Religious institutions. I have them listed on my Cincinnati Area School Information page in the Real Estate Resources section of this website.
When so many people have access to the home keys over the course of the numerous transaction it is important for the new home owner’s security. Moreover, some institutions have been known to key all of their properties the same to simplify their property manager’s job. One key – many homes.
So if you are planning on buying a bank owned or foreclosed house use some of the money you save buy new locks. We have done business in Cincinnati with Larry’s Lock and Acme Lock.
A recent article in the St. Pete Times discusses the apparent fraudulent appraisals that very well may have contributed to a number of mortgage fraud cases in the Tampa Bay area. Appraisers are a critical part of the home buying process because they help the lender determine the value of the purchase property. Appraisers evaluate the home value compared to comparable homes in the immediate area so that a lender does not lend more money than the home’s collateral is worth.
Most often the lender is the The article details how some homes were appraised fraudulently way above their actual value. When you work with a Real Estate Agent they should be able to show you a number of resources including comparable area sales so that you know that the price you are paying is inline with what the neighborhood commands.
In the real estate transaction process it is commonplace to see a home buyer inspecting a home. It makes sense to see the issues that will need repair up front for piece of mind and bargaining. However it is not uncommon for agents to be recommending, or even paying for pre-listing inspections. If you are working with a top Cincinnati Real Estate Agent they should be encouraging you to have a pre-listing inspection to give the seller the opportunity to fix problems before a seller finds them and asks to discount the selling price.
The American Society of Home Inspectors has a good national website with important information on it. In fact ASHI has a virtual home inspection on its website that you can do with your perspective clients for education purposes. We will have links to local Cincinnati Home Inspectors in our links section that is coming soon so please check back soon.
As we look back at what was the last half of 2007, from a real estate perspective, on a national level things were not all that good. The sale of new construction and existing homes was down, due in large part to the sup-prime mortgage mess. Part of the current real estate cycle is a return to balance and 2008 is the year for exactly that. This Washington Post article (registration required) gives a nice retrospective on what was 2007 and provides a positive outlook for 2008. The latest quarterly home-price data from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight found that while significant declines have occurred in dozens of speculative markets in the past year, prices were flat or up in 204 of the 287 metropolitan markets surveyed.
Real estate in Cincinnati is one of those markets listed where appreciation has held very slow and steady for years. The beginning of 2008 is going to be a great time for new homeowners to come in and purchase first homes while interest rates are still reasonable. There is a tightening of credit, but those who qualify will enter a buyers market and become homeowners for nearly the price of rent. Purchasing a a larger house in a buyers market is always a good idea. You may not get top price for your current home but you will not pay top price for your future home either. The key is to have a real estate agent who understands the economics of the market and can help you make wise long term investments.
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.
In the last few months we all have heard a lot of information about interest rates, and that they are moving up and down. The rates have been in flux and Dan Green, a local Cincinnati Mortgage Broker who writes The Mortgage Report blog, gives a great interview explaining why mortgage rates change and what it all means beyond our own house payments. This is great background information for anyone looking to buy a home.
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.
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