Monthly Archives: July 2010

2010 Central Ohio Housing Sales Still Showing Strength

Posted on 07/07/2010 | Leave a comment

The first half of the year is now behind us. The Gov’t Tax Credit stimulus is kaput. We survived February’s wrath of 24″+ inches of snow. Low interest rates were maintained. Central Ohio real estate agents were busy selling houses. So how does the first half of the year look? Pretty good … pretty good!

Jan-Jun central Ohio housing prices 2010 v 2009

Click to enlarge graph

This graph shows a comparison of the average price of single-family homes sold during Jan-Jun 2010 vs 2009. I use data by school district since that is the easiest way to track sales here in central Ohio. Notice that most areas realized increased prices over last year.

  • The largest year-over-year increases were seen in Buckeye Valley (up 16%), Gahanna (up 14%) and Big Walnut (up 13%).
  • Healthy increases were achieved by Worthington (up 8%), the Powell portion of Olentangy (up 5%) and Westerville (up 5%).
  • Districts that were essentially flat were Marysville (up 3%), the Lewis Center portion of Olentangy (up 2%), Delaware (up 2%), Upper Arlington (up 0.6%), Dublin (up 0.2%)
  • Only two districts experienced a decrease: New Albany (down 2%) and Hilliard (down 3%).

SOURCE: Columbus Board of Realtors, MLS System. Jan-Jun average prices for single family homes that were entered into the MLS system.

Copyright © 2010. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Delaware County, Delaware Ohio, Dublin Ohio, Franklin County, Galena Ohio, Hilliard Ohio, Home prices, Homes, Housing stats, Lewis Center Ohio, Powell Ohio, Worthington Ohio

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The Murph goes to Alum Creek Dog Park Beach

Posted on 07/04/2010 | Leave a comment

This 4th of July, it was a hot afternoon and seemed to be a good day to take The Murph to Alum Creek Dog Park Beach. It was very busy with dogs enjoying time in the two fenced areas as well as the enclosed beach area. Murph doesn’t play nice with others, so we stayed outside the off-leash fenced areas. The beach area is better for the big guys because of depth of strong waves.

I took a video of the big guys having a great time in the water. I suspect lots of naps were taken on the ride home … after the towel-off before getting in the car. Nothing quite like the smell of a wet dog! Ew-w-w-w.

Murph went in up to his knees, which means he didn’t go very far. The waves were just a bit much for him. When your legs are only 3″ long, it’s a problem.

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Posted in Delaware County, Dog Tails, Lewis Center Ohio, Water fun

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Red, White & BOOM! in downtown Columbus

Posted on 07/03/2010 | 4 Comments

Some members of my family and I went down to see Red, White & Boom! in person last night. The event was celebrating its 30th year. I hadn’t been down there since year 2 & 3. Since then, I’ve watched it on TV. I must say there is nothing like seeing AND hearing it in person.  The reverberations that impact your body are simply awesome.

Some people stake out their “ideal” space early in the day. We didn’t leave to go there until 6:30 pm which at that time of night, we expected to be stuck in traffic. However, my daughter decided to take High St all the way down from southern Delaware County and surprisingly it proved to be a good way to go. My granddaughters, who live in a small rural town, were treated to some of the more “colorful” parts of Columbus between OSU and downtown. At one stop light, a unique odor infiltrated the car. (I was glad to learn they didn’t know what it was.) Needless to say the people’s actions and manner of dress were different than found in their town.

My daughter had purchased space in one of the parking lots, which can be done online. We were just north of the arena district, so it was very handy. As we walked closer to the final event, we were treated to LOTS of good smelling food vendors and various bands. I tried taking videos of the bands on my Blackberry, but the sound volume proved too much for the little microphone.

It took awhile but we finally found a place to sit. I took some video with my Nikon CoolPix, but you have to overlook the street lamp and the vendor tent. :-) The prettiest display is about 4 minutes into the display. It seemed to be the crowd favorite, even moreso than the finale.

As an aside, I was disappointed at the number of people who didn’t stand for the National Anthem. Shame on those people. Need to beef-up the patriotism.

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Posted in Columbus Ohio, Franklin County

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Things to do over the July 4th holiday

Posted on 07/01/2010 | Leave a comment

copyrighted fireworksSouthern Delaware County has a number of things you can do over the holiday weekend if you’re looking for quick, inexpensive sojourns. There are numerous places you can have an impromptu picnic or a relaxing view of one of the waterways. I’ve previously written about and taken photos of many of the sites. Maybe this list will give you some ideas. Follow the links I’ve provided to get more information.

FIREWORKS

Naturally, the focus is on fireworks and the big Red, White & Boom downtown Columbus party. Most of the other cities and suburbs have their own displays. My family either goes to Hilliard or to Marysville.

COLUMBUS ZOO

The Columbus Zoo is always a popular place year round. With warm weather forecast, you’ll also enjoy Zoombezi Bay, the waterpark that is part of the zoo. Photos of my trip to the zoo.

HIGHBANKS PARK

Always a popular park for picnics or walks along the many trails. There are lots of open spaces for throwing the Frisbee® or playing on gym equipment. There is only one trail, the Coyote Trail, that allows dogs, although dogs are allowed in the picnic area (leashes required).

WATER FUN

If you want to enjoy viewing or being on the water, you can visit Hoover Reservoir, Alum Creek Reservoir, Scioto River or the Olentangy River. There are picnic areas in many places around the water.

DOG PARK

Your 4-legged family member might enjoy spending some time at Alum Creek Dog Park. There are two fenced areas for big dog or little dogs, plus, they have their own fenced beach area.

HAYDEN RUN FALLS

Although located in Franklin County, Hayden Run Falls is an interesting place to visit if you want something to do for only an hour or two. View a slideshow or watch a video with music.

GERMAN VILLAGE

German Village is also located in Franklin County, south of downtown Columbus. If you’re not going to grill your own brats, you can treat yourself to Schmidt’s. Of course, don’t pass up those huge cream puffs that Schmidt’s is known for. They don’t have any calories when it’s a holiday. :-)

Have Fun and Don’t Drink & Drive … or Boat!

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Posted in Central Ohio, Delaware County, Dublin Ohio, Franklin County, Galena Ohio, Lewis Center Ohio, Powell Ohio, Water fun

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