Whether you prefer to live in a single family home, townhouse, or condominium you can find them all in Mt. Lookout conveniently located just east of downtown Cincinnati. This neighborhood is primarily residential with the convenience of commercial business in one central area. Many of the residences in this area are currently part of the tax abatement zone where property taxes are waived for 10 years.

One thing that most people probably do not know that Mt. Lookout also has the privilege of being home to the nation’s oldest fully operational observatory founded in 1842. Mt. Lookout’s website reports that it has one of the highest owner occupancy rates in Cincinnati nearly 80% of the 1,400 units available in the neighborhood and is the home to approximately 3,400 residents.

Mt. Lookout is conveniently located near the 94 acre Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park and the 224 acre Ault Park which is the fourth largest park in Cincinnati. Mt. Lookout has sidewalks running through most of the major streets and neighborhoods and even has a running club where the routes are mapped out, is part of the Cincinnati Public School District, and is nearby the Oakley Community Center.

Mt. Lookout Square is the home of unique shops, coffee shops, a theater, restaurants, and bars. In the warm spring and summer months to come this is the perfect place to walk around and grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants with open air seating. Mt. Lookout is the host of Junefest so look out for a posting as that events nears.

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.