Central Ohio Real Estate Market News

Entries categorized as ‘Columbus Ohio’

Hey, Columbus! Ohio’s housing market tops the list!

01/06/2010 · Leave a Comment

Check out this list of Best Housing Markets for 2010 from Housing Predictor. The Top 4 growth cities for 2010 are in Ohio. Cleveland leads the list at 10.4%. Columbus is second at 9.4%.

Not surprising since I’ve been hearing many agents talk about how busy they are, both with buyers and sellers wanting to take advantage of the two Tax Credits. With that increased demand, we “should” see prices begin to rise.

Buyers, if you were waiting for the market to bottom out, you may just have missed it. Call me to help you get your home on the market and buy a new one.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Franklin County · Home prices · Homes · Surveys
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Chihuly glass exhibit at Hawk Galleries

11/15/2009 · 1 Comment

This afternoon my daughter, granddaughter, their husbands and myself visited the Hawk Galleries at 153 E Main St in downtown Columbus. My granddaughter is an award-winning sculptress and her husband is a graphics designer, so they were interested in seeing the Chihuly glass exhibit that is on display. There were two other designers displayed as well. What these artists have done with glass is absolutely fascinating.

The gallery encourages taking photos so I took my fair share. They lose some clarity with the Internet upload process, but I think they still look pretty good.

BTW, the brownish art piece that we’re standing in front of, had a price tag of $150,000. We couldn’t find a price tag on the colorful chandelier that the four of them are standing underneath. No doubt it’s beyond the “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” category.

We thought the photo of the four of them would make a great Christmas card.

For the best view, click the “Full” screen icon on the lower bar.

Copyright © 2009. 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.

Categories: Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Franklin County
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Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday … I plan to

05/23/2009 · Leave a Comment

Have you made your holiday weekend plans? Or are you staying flexible so you can enjoy last minute fun?

I’m hoping to work in my yard. Haven’t had the chance to do that this year. Every time I’ve thought I’d take a few hours off to do it, I get a phone call that changed my plans. I’ve bought the weed killer and the lawn fertilizer. I have a few annuals to put in, complete with the special soil mix to hold the water.

I may have to dig up some ornamental grasses that didn’t make it through this past harsh winter. Others really need to be divided, but I tried that last year and wasn’t strong enough to get the shovel through the base. Thankfully, I don’t have to mow lawn anymore. That’s my one splurge … I hire it done. It takes them a matter of minutes to do what it took me a good hour and half to do.

Many people may be planning to save money by staying close to home. If you’re looking for some suggestions perhaps some of these previous posts will give you some ideas.

Columbus Zoo and Zoombezi Bay (Powell OH). It’s not free but it’s local and fun for the whole family. My family went there for Mother’s Day and had a great time.

Highbanks Metro Park (Lewis Center OH) is a great place to hike the trails or gather for a family picnic. Stroll through the woods or meander along the Olentangy River. There’s one trail that dogs can walk on, but they can be at the picnic places. Keep them on a leash and of course, pick up the doo-doo.

Alum Creek Reservoir (Lewis Center OH) has something for everyone. There’s a beach, picnic areas, boat launches, camping areas and a dog park with its own beach. 

If you just want to relax along water, southern Delaware County has four such waterways: Hoover Reservoir, Alum Creek Reservoir, the Olentangy River, and the Scioto River.

If golfing is more your thing, there are LOTS of opportunities.

If you’re short on time or have only an hour or two, you can visit Hayden Run Falls where you can walk through a wooded area to see the falls, or get a unique view of the Scioto River. You’ll forget that you’re in the heart of a busy city.

If you need a reminder of why we have this 3-day weekend, be sure to read Missy Caulk’s blog post. She has included many great quotes from past politicians when patriotism was perhaps a little more prevalent than it is now. Plus, she honors her son who is now serving in the Navy.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you take some time to recharge your batteries, get re-acquainted with your family, enjoy a little nature, and just RELAX. Oh, and I’ll be the one with the sore muscles come Tuesday.

Copyright © 2009. 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.

Categories: Ballantrae · Brookside Village · Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Delaware County · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Golf Village, Kinsale · Golf course communities · Lewis Center Ohio · Muirfield · Powell Ohio · Scioto Reserve · Water fun · Wedgewood · Worthington Hills · Worthington Ohio
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Mother’s Day at the Columbus Zoo in Powell

05/10/2009 · Leave a Comment

I spent Mother’s Day with half my family at the Columbus Zoo which is located in Powell (map). I hadn’t been to the zoo in eons, so I really enjoyed it since it has undergone so many improvements over the years.

We were hoping to see the new baby elephant but that line was over an hour long. Instead we had a Pizza for the Pachyderms lunch. During the lunch, they showed a video of Phoebe (the new mom) illustrating what a good mom she is by showing how she trains her babies to be elephants. After the lunch, there were door prizes. I happened to win 4 general admission tickets, so I think I’ll give them away at an open house.

If you plan to go to the zoo or Zoombezi Bay, you can go to their web site and get some discounted tickets.

Copyright © 2009. 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.

Categories: Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Delaware County · Franklin County · Powell Ohio
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An ear to the ground for central Ohio real estate

02/25/2009 · Leave a Comment

talkingI’m the chair for the CBR’s Tech User Committee. At the start of yesterday’s meeting, I ask the 40-some agents in attendance if their business was thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or were they working with “fence-sitters”. Probably a good half of them indicated a “THUMBS-UP”. They’re busy! A few others said they were working with the fence-sitters. Almost all agents felt that March was going to be a busy month … when the weather is less nasty.

Last night I received an email from the CBR President, giving January statistics for the entire MLS system.

  • 266 fewer homes were sold Jan 2009 vs Jan 2008. The Pres attributed it to the weather and the economy. (remember how bad/cold the weather was in December!)
  • More than 1,000 homes went into contract during Jan 2009, an indication that sales may be increasing due to the the 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.
  • In January, there were 17.4% fewer homes for sale than in Jan 2008. That means a major reduction to inventory which is needed to create balance to supply-demand.
  • The average price of homes sold in Jan was $137,446. This could be due to sales of homes in trouble financially.

Busy Realtors® … low inventory … low interest rates … appealing 1st Time Homebuyer program … flat prices … ALL POSITIVE SIGNS!

I’ve written before how the media tends to put negative spins on stories because people are more apt to read those stories. When they do this, they are really doing a disservice to the industry or people they’re covering. Here’s how a local NBC reporter wrote up the above information. There are so many other headlines she could have chosen that would have better helped the local market of which she represents. And, this is from a station that is currently running a promo of “Where Accuracy Matters”.

We need the media to step up to the plate to help the nation OUT of some of the problems, not continue to propel us downward! OK, I’ll step off my soapbox now.

Copyright © 2009. 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.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Franklin County · Home buying process · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Media · Realtors® · Sellers · Television
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Our country is going to the dogs!

02/22/2009 · 2 Comments

Fooled you … this is NOT a political rant! This is just a light-hearted fun post. I decided we could use that on a Sunday morning.

A recent Forbes article discusses America’s love affair with pets, specifically dogs. According to the American Kennel Club, the Top 10 breeds are: Yorkie, German Shepherd, Golden, Beagle, Boxer, DACHSHUND, Bulldog, Poodle, and Shih Tzu.

The Murph is pleased to have made the list.

The Forbes article also includes a photo tour of the Top 10 breeds by city. For Columbus, OH the Top 10 are: Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Yorkie, Boxer, Golden, Poodle, Bulldog, Miniature Schnauzer, DACHSHUND, and Doberman.

As a Dobie lover … I’ve had 3 … I’m glad to see they made the list as well. They made it to the Top 10 in only a few cities, but Doxies made it to the list for most cities.

“The list reflects the times,” says Sarah Wilson, expert for PBS’s Why We Love Cats and Dogs. “These dogs are friendly and happy and love to lie on their owner’s lap. People want a dog that is a companion and that they can cuddle with.”

Anyone who is owned by a dog, knows that special feeling of being greeted at the door by an energetic tail-wagger when we come home from a hard day. They reduce our blood pressure and make us feel really special. Their exuberance is reflected in their whole body … then they go take a nap.

The article went on to say that even in the current economy, spending on pet supplies and OTC medicines is projected to have increased 5.1% last year to $10.3 billion.

Maybe I should tell my daughter – who works for a stock brokerage firm – to move my IRA to the pet industry. Perhaps, I could get back some of the money I’ve lost.

Copyright © 2009. 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.

Categories: Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Dog Tails · Franklin County · Media · Surveys
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Did we have fun today???

01/14/2009 · Leave a Comment

I was to attend an MLS Committee meeting at the Columbus Board this afternoon. I said “was” because it took me 50 minutes to drive from my home south of Delaware to Worthington – 12 miles and normally a 20 minute trip. My Real Living office is located in Worthington, so I make this trip often. There are lots of stop lights along the way, and everytime they add another light, it adds another 5 minutes to the trek.

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This truck nearly wiped me out. He ventured too far to the right and the trailer wheels started to slide in the snow pile between the lanes. It’s a little disconcerting to look to the side and see this behemoth wriggling toward you.

Most drivers were being very careful and allowing ample time for braking. The problem – in Delaware County at least – was the layer of ice under the snow. When the snow plows scrape off the snow, the ice is left and according to the TV, the temps are too cold for the road salt to work at melting the ice.

Since the WEENR-mobile has 4WD, I’d prefer they would leave the snow as I can trudge through that stuff just fine. I don’t do ice … had a bad, bad accident on ice many years ago, so I don’t like driving on it.

jan-14-snow-c

By the time I finally made it to 270 – which was at a crawl – I said fuggeddaboutit!. I didn’t feel like driving another 15 miles to get to the Board, which is located near Port Columbus. So I turned around to return home.

I think there’s around 4-5″ at my home so far. It’s supposed to stop tonight, then the winds will pick up causing drifting with near zero temps. More snow is forecast for Sat and Sun.

Yesterday, I shoveled snow at a vacant listing and spread IceMelt. Sounds like I’ll need to repeat that this weekend. That’s one of the “glamorous” things we do as Realtors®.

Can I just hibernate for the rest of the winter?

nice neighbors in Stratford Woods, Delaware Ohio

EDITED: I live in a great neighborhood. It’s one of those close knit communities where people watch out for others even though there are nearly 400 homes. Late this afternoon I heard a commotion outside and saw this father and daughter cleaning my sidewalk and drive. They did other homes as well. For those of us “a little older” or without snowblowers, this is appreciated so much!!!!

Copyright © 2009. 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.

Categories: Columbus Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Franklin County · Real Living HER · Realtors® · Transportation · Worthington Ohio

It’s good to be home!

01/09/2009 · Leave a Comment

After a day and a half away, I feel as though I’ve rejoined civilization. I was attending the Columbus Board of Realtors® Leadership Retreat which was held near Newark at the Cherry Valley Lodge. While the facilities were nice there was NO – or very limited – Verizon service there. I could only get up to one bar on my phone and my laptop’s aircard wouldn’t work at all. I was able with the one bar on the phone to check email, but couldn’t do Internet.

Can you hear me now? Uh-h-h, NO!

The meeting consisted of the Officers of the Board plus the Chairs of the 30 committees – about 70 people in total. Each of the Chairs reported on the goals of their committee for 2009. The committees are varied and address the many areas of the real estate business … residential agents, commercial agents, programs with builders, programs that assist and/or benefit the public. 

I’m the Chair of the Tech Users Committee which is a forum committee for agents to explore and discuss new technology that benefits us in our daily lives. Much of our discussion is about the Internet, web sites, blogs, and other forms of social media to use in marketing homes. But we also share new findings on cameras, smart phones and laptops which are critical to our daily lives. Over the years that I’ve been a member of this committee, the membership has grown substantially because this is such an important aspect of our jobs today. Our highest attended meeting is when Joe Testa, Franklin County Auditor, brings us up-to-date on recent changes to his web site as well as changes made to property assessments.

In today’s session at the Retreat, we had an outside speaker, Ann T. Gallagher, who spoke on the demographic trends of the various age groups known as Veterans, Boomers, Gen X’ers and Gen Y’ers. It was very interesting, giving us even more info for communicating with each group.

The Board serves around 6900 members, of which some are affiliates (builders, lenders, inspectors, appraisers, etc) but of course, most are Realtors®.

Copyright © 2009. 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
href=”http://www.reesespiecesofrealestate.com/”>www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Franklin County · Realtors® · Technology
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Are You Friggin’ Kidding Me!!!!!

01/01/2009 · 4 Comments

Sorry for my language but this is ridiculous! Thanks to a client’s tweet (on Twitter), he alerted me to this Reuter’s article posted yesterday. I can’t believe it!

A lawmaker, Frank Nicastro, in Connecticut wants their state government to rescue a couple local papers who are scheduled to be shutdown because their publisher, Journal Register, is being crushed by millions of dollars of debt.

Those newspapers aren’t the only ones in trouble but the demise of newspapers has been coming for years. It’s not just a 2008 issue. The Internet has put newspapers on the “endangered species” list … that and their exorbitant advertising costs.

Saying they need to be “saved” with a bailout is the same as saying that Smith-Corona typewriters should have been saved because they were replaced by computers.

The real estate industry has been moving away from newspapers for years! That’s not where buyers search for homes. Buyers use the Internet because it’s easier, there’s far more info on the home, and the photography … well the crappy off-register photos in the paper are just no match for the Internet. It’s just not the way to get a home sold anymore and having the real estate industry pull their advertising dollars out has had a significant impact on newspapers.

Real Living HER stopped running their large open house list in The Dispatch early in the decade. That open house list is now available on the RL web site. It’s so much easier for buyers to search for a given suburb or a specific price range on this web site. I frequently have open house guests carrying a print-out of the homes they plan to visit during the afternoon – printed from the RL list.

I went to Sat-Sun delivery of The Dispatch several years ago. This past year, I even dropped the weekend delivery. I didn’t like wasting trees. Way back in the early 80’s, The Dispatch was an afternoon paper. The news was pretty current with whatever happened earlier in the day, plus, I enjoyed reading after dinner when I had the time. Then they bought out the failed Citizen-Journal, which was a morning paper. Soon after the purchase, The Dispatch changed to a morning paper which I questioned because after all the CJ morning paper had already failed. So not only was the news old by the time it was delivered, but I didn’t have time in the morning to read it before leaving for work. By the evening when I did have time, it was really old news.

Then came the Internet and life hasn’t been the same since.

“Former Miami Herald Editor Tom Fiedler said that a democracy has an obligation to help preserve a free press.”

We DO have a “free press”. It’s called the Internet and all Americans are free to publish … just as I’m doing here. It’s a far more democratic and open system than restricting the news to what few biased editors decide we SHOULD read.

Copyright © 2008. 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.

Categories: Advertising · Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Commentary · Franklin County · Homes · Homes for sale · Internet · Media · Newspaper · Real Living HER · Realtors® · Technology
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Nine Years of Home Prices by School District

12/16/2008 · Leave a Comment

A couple days ago, I mentioned that our local prices have “sort of” bottomed out. I prepared a couple graphs for my last newsletter showing the average prices by school district since the start of the decade. These graphs show that while prices in the last couple years have declined somewhat, we haven’t experienced the severe declines that speculative markets (FL, AZ, CA) have experienced.

Keep in mind, that these prices reflect the averages of what buyers are SPENDING in a given school district. That doesn’t necessarily translate into a specific price change for a given home. That’s an important distinction. These figures also don’t include the prices of new builds unless the home was a spec and entered into the MLS system. So, for some districts with a lot of new housing developments (such as Olentangy), the prices may be understated.

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This first chart shows the school districts closer to the actual Columbus metro market. (click on the thumbnails to see larger versions).

copyrighted-9yrsavgsalesschooldistrict-outerThis second chart shows the school districts in more outlying districts. I’ve separated the large Olentangy district into east/west segments, with Rt 23 being the dividing line. So the west segment is largely the Powell and Liberty Township area. The east segment consists of the Lewis Center and Galena areas.

The Columbus metro market has traditionally weathered previous market downturns because of the diversity of the economy. While sales have slowed the past two years we’re still not seeing the really negative numbers that other markets may be experiencing. That’s not to say that sellers who purchased in 2003-2005 AND who did 100% financing won’t be in trouble if they try to sell.

As most local Realtors® will say, you buy a home to live in and enjoy a certain quality of life. You shouldn’t use it as an ATM machine or for speculation as you might do in the stock market.

Therefore, if you qualify to buy a home and have the down payment to do so, it can be a good time to buy now that the interest rates have dropped this month. It can be an extra special holiday present for you and your family.

Read another post on this subject

Copyright © 2008. 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.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Hilliard Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Sellers · Worthington Ohio
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