Central Ohio Real Estate Market News

Entries categorized as ‘Powell Ohio’

Will an appraiser sabotage your mortgage?

October 27, 2008 · 4 Comments

I just received a phone call that really disturbed me. I often get calls from appraisers asking questions about the past homes I’ve sold. They make these calls to listing agents when they are doing comps for a lender who is in the process of approving (or not approving), a mortgage for a buyer. The buyer will be paying the lender for this appraisal and hopes that it is accurate.

This particular appraiser was asking about a luxury condo I recently sold in Golf Village (Powell). I began asking her questions, because I know these appraisals can be flawed. She mentioned that she was unfamiliar with the complex and builder of my sold listing. She said she was also unfamiliar with the builder and the community of the condo for which she was doing the appraisal.

So WHY is she doing the appraisal!

Here are the issues that are are going to impact the quality of her appraisal:

  • One error dealt with the two builders. Her appraisal was being done for a Bob Webb condo. The Webb family has one of the best local reputations for high quality building construction of their condos, patio homes and single-family homes. Realtors® often use “Webb built” in their MLS remarks section. While my listing was built very well, and was a luxury condo, the Webb name itself can add $$$$ to the price. (”Gee, I didn’t know that!”)
  • The condo she was appraising is located several miles away from my listing. It’s too many miles to use as a comp. Same school system, but different schools, different city mailing address and different zip code.
  • The condo being appraised is located in a township whereas mine was in a city with an extra PUD tax assessment and an income tax. So there is a difference to the property tax rate as well as whether an income tax is charged. This could make a big difference to a retiree with no earned income. That can affect the price the retiree is willing to pay. The appraiser had no knowledge of this difference. (”Gee, I didn’t know that!”)
  • My condo sits on a golf course whereas the condo being appraised is in a more family-oriented neighborhood near a large park. Totally different setting. (”Gee, I didn’t know that!”)

The more I spoke with this appraiser, the more troubled I became. To say she was “clueless” is an understatement. I told her that if she used my sold listing as a comp, that her BPO would be worthless and VERY unfair to the buyer. She said she didn’t know what to do because she couldn’t find other comps.

So why not just explain that to the lender rather doing an error ridden appraisal!

I’ve often wondered how appraisers are able to make an accurate judgement on the price/value of a home a buyer is wanting a mortgage for, because seldom have they been in the homes they are comparing. They have no knowledge how buyers perceive certain features/upgrades in the home because they don’t interact with buyers. This is also a concern for sellers who are refinancing because the same type of appraisal is done as part of that process.

If this appraiser doesn’t change her BPO, there’s a chance that the home being appraised won’t comp out because there could be up to a $100,000 + difference … not exactly chump change. If it doesn’t comp, then the builder or the real estate agent in the transaction will have to spend time disputing the appraiser’s ”findings” and trying to convince the lender to disregard that report or have another appraiser do a 2nd opinion.

Buyers, if your chosen home doesn’t comp out, don’t be afraid to challenge it!

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 · Condos, patio homes · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Golf Village, Kinsale · Golf course communities · Home buying process · Home prices · Homes · New home builders · Powell Ohio
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Joy riding through the Olentangy River Valley

October 11, 2008 · No Comments

Today was certainly a pretty fall day. The Murph and I were out and about late this afternoon, and with the fall foliage beginning to turn colors, I snapped some photos along the way. We were in the Powell, Dublin and Plain City areas, and although there are tons of homes in these suburbs, they are intersperced with natural areas.

The Murph got to see his first horses. For a change, he didn’t bark at them. Guess he thought “those dogs were just TOO BIG to mess with”. We went by a farm with a bunch of cows by the fence. Murph’s nose was in overdrive as he got a whiff of fresh manure.

Tomorrow is supposed to be an equally pretty day. I recommend taking advantage of it by getting out to enjoy the scenery. It’ll be gone too soon and it’s a long time till March!

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: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Powell Ohio
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Sellers … think buyers will think YOUR home is special?

September 27, 2008 · 2 Comments

With all the economical and financial news this past week, plus, some discussions of the have’s and have not’s, I was curious to see how higher priced homes were faring in sales this year. We know that the lower priced homes are facing more challenges to attracting buyers, but does the same hold true for the upper scale homes where “lack of money” may be less of an issue for potential buyers?

Normally the charts I prepare are for portions of Delaware County and Franklin County. I decided to use the ENTIRE MLS system for this review since some of the more expensive property may be located in outlying areas where ample land can ensure privacy. I also included condos … not just single-family homes … because there are some luxury condos being sold both in Powell as well as downtown Columbus high-rises. I wanted to know how buyers were spending their money regardless whether it was in a regular home or an easy-care condo or patio home.

This graph shows the NUMBER of homes SOLD by price range between Jan to today’s date.

Obviously, there are a lot fewer buyers buying this year than last, and remember this is for ALL the counties surrounding Franklin County where Columbus is located. Strangely the average price within each price range hardly changed from one year to the next. In other words, the average price in the $200-299K range was $241K for both years … there were just 62% fewer buyers.

Now back to the original premise of my purpose in doing this review. What’s happening in the luxury market?  I think the graph shows that upscale people are having the same thoughts as the “common folk”.

If your home is for sale, this should be a wake-up call to make sure your home is in absolute top-notch condition and priced right because your competition is fierce for the much smaller pool of buyers. I could also say that your choice of a Realtor® is very important as well to make sure your home receives the most exposure with the best photos … but then I hope you already know that! :-)

 

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 · Franklin County · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Powell Ohio · Sellers
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Category 1 Hurricane hits Central Ohio

September 17, 2008 · 4 Comments

DAY ONE - Sunday

Well, now central Ohio doesn’t usually get hit with hurricanes. Whenever hurricanes hit Texas, we often get the remnants as heavy rain and some strong winds. Sunday was different. In addition to Ike’s winds, there was a cold front overhead with 110 mph winds. When the two mixed together, we ended up with 75 mph winds that lasted from around 3:00 in the afternoon until around 8:30 in the evening. Nearly 6 hours of that wind force is bound to do quite a bit of damage.

Lots of downed or split trees as the wind often pulled different sides of the trees in opposite directions. My neighbor’s street tree split off a large limb and it is laying in both our yards. Lots of damaged roofs. Cars smashed when trees fell on them. And nearly 500,000 AEP users out of electricity here in central Ohio. Over two million without power in all of Ohio. The governor declared a state of emergency since 84 of the 88 counties were impacted by the storm.

My brand new roof with shingles guaranteed up to 80 mph made it through in good shape. Not so, for many of my neighbors. In addition to losing large sections of shingles, some lost siding and one home behind me had a 20 ft section of gutter banging against the side of the home.

Many were unprepared for the storm as only strong winds were forecast. The Murph and I spent Sunday evening sitting in candlelight while I worked on my laptop for the hour or so that the battery lasted. I plugged my cell into my car to charge it up, but didn’t have any such accessory for the laptop. After checking in with my kids to make sure they were all OK, Murphy and I went to bed since there wasn’t anything else to do.

DAY TWO - Monday

The first thing I needed to do was to check on my listings to make sure they were OK. A couple had trees down but no damage to the homes. None have electricity. Thank goodness it’s not raining so we don’t have to worry about the sump pumps not working and flooding finished basements.

I was most concerned with my Worthington listing since Worthington with all its big old trees was hit pretty hard. On the way to my Worthington listing, I happened to  pass my office manager’s home. A very large neighbor’s tree is now resting on the back of their home. It was awful. Thankfully, they’re OK. My listing was OK … just a lot of debris that will need to be cleaned up.

Getting gas was a challenge. Many stations didn’t have electricity so those that did had lines of cars at the pump. I got into line and was about 3rd from the pump when they ran out of gas. Batteries were in short supply and ice was not to be found. Since we really didn’t have a warning that the winds would be this bad, people simply weren’t prepared.

I purchased an adaptor to recharge my laptop using the power supply in my car. I bought the last battery powered AAA weather alert radio/TV at Radio Shack. Now at least I can listen to something in the dark evenings. I also bought more candles and had to buy another flashlight in order to get DD batteries. At the grocery, I bought food that doesn’t need cooking. Did you realize that a lot of unhealty, but really good food doesn’t need cooking. ;-) Oh, well, I’ll worry about that diet later!

My Worthington office doesn’t have phones or electricity, so I spent a few hours at the Powell office gathering email, and doing necessary computer work for the homes I have in-contract.

AEP has reportedly called back most of the crews they sent to Texas to help out, plus, they’ve requested help from nearby states.

During the early evening hours, instead of listening to the sounds of birds, I heard the humming of generators and the razzey sound of chain saws. Other neighbors were cooking food on the grill to use it up rather than having to throw it out. Still other neighbors were walking their dogs and checking to see how fellow neighbors were coping.

At night, The Murph and I sat by candlelight again, but at least this time I had a radio to listen to. When it came time to go to bed, I noticed that my waterbed was no longer toasty warm. Yes, it’s one of the original kind - don’t laugh - bought back in the mid 80’s. I love my warm, comfortable waterbed but it’s not too comfy when the heater doesn’t HEAT! 

DAY THREE - Tuesday

News reports are saying that my area won’t get electricity restored until Sunday night. We’re hoping that they’re just saying that to prepare us for the worst. The accessory cord I bought for the laptop works fine but still the battery only lasts for a little over an hour. I may end up sitting on a chair in my garage with a cord plugged into the car. Could be a new kind of office.

I don’t have wash ‘n’ wear hair, so yesterday I bought some foam curlers in all sort of pastel colors. When I checked out at the grocery, the cashier looked at the travel pack and asked me what “those things” were. She was young with long straight hair so she wouldn’t understand. ;-) So, today I have a hair-do that LOOKS LIKE it was curled with sponge rollers. Oh well, better than flat hair!

The Worthington office is still without phones or electricity, so I went into the Powell office to handle the work. One thing I noticed was that traffic moved better through the stoplights that DON’T work than through the stoplights that DO work. Some of the agents said they are now staying with relatives who’ve had their electricity restored. There was the usual discussions of how we’re handling inspections without electricty in the home and some were dealing with insurance repair estimates to be held in escrow until after closing.

No matter what our own homes are like, we still need to meet the due dates of contracts.

When I got home in the evening, I had a nice surprise … my neighborhood’s electricty was on. There are now 16,000 homes in Delaware County without power. On the way home, I saw a crew from another state working on a transformer at Home Rd and Liberty Rd. Thank you to whatever state they were from.

DAY FOUR - Wednesday

I’ve been on the phone a lot so far today. People are starting to regain electricity, but still others will have to wait for the weekend. I’ve spoken with a couple agents I’m co-oping with and they either can’t retrieve their email via their broker’s system or they don’t have an office with electricity to get faxes and no fax in their home. We’re trying to work through it though and to stay in communication via our cell phones. One agent I spoke with “forgot” she had a landline she could use when her cell battery died. I did the same thing. We get so accustomed to carrying on our business the “new” way that we forget how to use the “old” way!

Delaware County is now down to 11,000 without power. The treed areas of Worthington are still not projected to have all power restored until Sunday. I spoke with another person in my office who said that in addition to the tree on our manager’s home (which will require a crane), one of the agents has a tree on parts of her home as well.

So far, people are trying to be cooperative and maintain good spirits, but you can tell by their voices that the situation is wearing their nerves a little thin. We are all SO thankful that the weather is cooperating. The mild temps allow us to be comfortable without AC or heat.

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: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Fix-ups · Franklin County · Home selling process · Homes · Powell Ohio · Realtors® · Sellers · Worthington Ohio
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A day in the life of a Realtor®

September 4, 2008 · No Comments

I’m sure people sometimes wonder what a Realtor® does all day long. Many just think all we do is open doors for buyers and then make a whole bunch of money. Yeah, right!

Well, one of the nice things about the job is that everyday is different. There are NO typical days. We may plan a “to do” list in the evening for the next day, only to have the day completely changed due to an early morning email or phone call. Getting a contract in on a listing can change everything, since contracts take priority.

Carole Cohen, Cleveland, wrote about one of her days recently.

Paula Henry, Indianapolis, ask a question about how far Realtors® drive when working with buyers or taking listings. Based on the comments, it seems that agents who work in downtown urban areas seem to drive very little distance from their home. Agents who work in more rural areas must drive far more miles.

Yesterday happened to be the type of day that I refer to as “errand travel” days. Those are the days that I plan to complete several real estate tasks and of course, with the price of gas, I plan my route accordingly. I often refer to driving from one side of southern Delaware County to the other. Well, yesterday I did that PLUS I had to go down the east side of Franklin County as well.


View Larger Map

My day began with a visit to the Verizon store in Lewis Center because a piece broke on my bluetooth headset. Then over to a new development off Maxtown Rd (Westerville) to check the lot location of a spec home. Then to a listing in Galena to put an Open House sign strip on the yard sign. I took the scenic route south to Gahanna (through New Albany) where I had more investigations to do for a buyer client. Then further south to Blacklick to discuss the results of the investigations with the builder’s rep. I’m trying to get a price reduction on a new-build now that the builder has reduced prices on current inventory so I need FACTS.

Received a call that a security system was malfunctioning on a listing - so north to Worthington to look into that problem. The alarm was blaring while the poor showing agent was talking to me. I felt her pain as I did that ONCE. Problem solved, so next stop is to my office in Worthington to make copies of some paperwork for the office files.

Last on the ‘to-do’ list were some personal stops, the most important was to get The Murph more HeartGard medicine at his vet in Powell before they closed at 7:00. Gotta keep the little guy healthy!

Now wasn’t that day about as exciting as watching paint dry! :-) Oh, BTW, I put about 75 miles on the WEENR-mobile and didn’t make $1.

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 · Delaware County · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Home selling process · Lewis Center Ohio · New home builders · Powell Ohio · Real Living HER · Realtors® · Sellers · Transportation · Worthington Ohio
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Bambi and I didn’t connect … fortunately!

August 25, 2008 · No Comments

In the last two weeks, I’ve had the crapola scared out of me three times while driving in the evenings … and it’s not even October yet. Delaware County has a large deer population. It’s a particular problem for the southern portion of the county due to the population growth (lots of new homes) intruding upon their space and concentrating them to fewer and fewer wooded areas.

All three times, the deer ran across the road just ahead of the WEENR-mobile, missing a crash by just a few feet or yards. The first time I was on Big Walnut Rd and about 5 deer ran in front of me. The next time, I was on Home Rd, and was alerted a little in advance by a car going in the opposite direction who flashed their headlights. The last time was on Rt 23, where there are ALWAYS lots of deer laying by the side of the road. This time was the closest call and I missed hitting the deer by only a few feet. Fortunately, it was running fast!

Being an animal lover, I feel sorry for them because they are such gentle animals with those big brown eyes. Guess I watched Bambi too many times as a child. But I understand other people’s frustrations who own property that gets damaged by feedings because their populations have increased so much. And of course, encounters with vehicles causes large monetary losses, including some loss of human life. It’s a tough call as to how to handle the issue with strong opinions on both sides.

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: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Galena Ohio · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Transportation
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Water fun in southern Delaware County

August 19, 2008 · 4 Comments

Today I had to traverse from one side of southern Delaware County to the other … something I do frequently. Since I wasn’t under a specific time limit, I took some time to take photos (see below) around the three main areas for boaters. It was a rather warm day in the high 80’s, so being next to water seemed like a good thing to do.

I first had to be up near Hoover Reservoir which extends from the east side of Westerville northward to the west side of Galena and beyond. I stopped at the southern part where the dam spillway is to snap photos. There were LOTS of Canadian geese there resting close to a picnic shelter. Given the “mess” they make, actually having a picnic there certainly wouldn’t be very appealing. There were also quite a few seagulls and brown ducks as well.

Northward on Sunbury Rd where it crosses over the reservoir, I stopped at another boat launch site to take some photos of the backside of some homes across the water. A couple of the homes have installed the huge rocks along their water frontage to prevent erosion. Others haven’t, and the erosion is obvious. There are many waterfront homes along Hoover. Because of a specific agreement with the City of Columbus, the water level can’t be raised as high as originally planned because the city would be responsible for taking the owner’s land away. (That’s why there are no waterfront homes along Alum Creek - they learned a lesson!)

Then my errands took me westward on Big Walnut Rd, so I took a brief side trip up Africa Rd to a boat launch on Alum Creek Reservoir. Not many people there, in spite of the warm day. However, it is a weekday, so most would be working. Or perhaps, the gas costs have curtailed some of the time spent on the water.

Back down Africa Rd to Lewis Center Rd which goes past the bottom of the Alum Creek Dam then northward along the west side of the reservoir. On this side of the lake, there are campgrounds, a beach, and a couple boat launches. One of them is for the sailing club. There’s something inherently peaceful about a sail boat, even though they were moored.

Also, on this side of the Reservoir is the Dog Park. Of course, I HAD to stop here. It was the busiest place … but it WAS a great day for the dogs to enjoy a swim. I wasn’t dressed appropriate to go inside the beach fence and potentially be subjected to “shake-baths”, so I stood outside the area. All I saw was large dogs, but then I heard a familiar sounding bark & snappy growl and knew there had to be a doxie somewhere. Sure enough, there was a short-hair … letting the big guys know who was REALLY the tough guy on the beach. I later learned his name was Scooter.

Continuing on with my errands near Powell, I went to the boat launch at O’Shaunessy on the Scioto River, which is just south of Home Rd off of Riverside Dr. Again, only a couple boaters in the water. As I was walking back to the WEENR-mobile, I noticed a bunch of carpenter bees were taking advantage of some flowering weeds to gather nectar. Better they spend their time here, than boring holes in nearby homes.

Since I seldom get any time off from real estate, I really enjoy the opportunity for these side jaunts to reconnect with nature and for a brief period of time forget about all the details of the real estate business. I need that once in a while to recharge the batteries.

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: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Dog Tails · Galena Ohio · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Water fun
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Is that housing statistic really correct?

July 31, 2008 · 2 Comments

I received a call from a student doing a research project on “homes for sale around golf courses” in Ohio. She was using Real Living HER’s site to search by subdivision and she had some questions, which I tried to answer.

She had some questions regarding Wedgewood (Powell) and Tartan Fields (Dublin). As I was telling her how to search by subdivision on Real Living’s site, I also explained that she would have to sort through the data because there were other subdivisions starting with the Wedgewood name that weren’t located around the Wedgewood golf course, such as Wedgewood Park and Wedgewood Place. There is Tartan Fields which IS  around the golf course but Tartan West isn’t. Then in New Albany, the main country club has homes in the MLS system coded as New Albany CC or simply NACC. She probably doesn’t know this and thus, will miss all those homes in her statistics, because the computer will only search for whatever name she puts in the search box.

I’m not sure where she lives, or if she even lives in Ohio, but without knowing all the nuances of the area, her data could be pretty flawed. No doubt she’ll face those same issues with other golf course homes when she does this research for the whole state.

Later after our conversation ended, I couldn’t help but think about what she’ll do with this report. I’m sure she’ll think it’s a pretty accurate report and will probably present it as such. I hope she gets an “A”.

However, what she will be doing with her “findings” is similar to what news reporters or real estate ”experts” do with their research. To quote an NAR ad, “they don’t know what they don’t know“. They gather the data, extrapolate from it, make their analysis, then present the material as FACT.

Something similar is occurring with some dot.com search engines that are trying to compete for $$$$ by capitalizing on the real estate market. The main one is, of course, Realtor.com - the granddaddy formed by the NAR, where buyers can search for homes. Two new upstarts are attempting to take over the prime spot. They are Trulia and Zillow. All three are offering ”estimates” of a home’s value. Zillow was the first to come out with their “Zestimate” which was/is so flawed they were sued. Trulia and Realtor.com have followed suit with their own estimates.

They use computers, algorithms, and other geeky stuff, to determine “value”. Unfortunately, just as with the student’s attempt to gather data, computers don’t know the nuances of the local area. For instance, for my own home, Zillow used a recent sale of a home 6 miles away in another town, in another school district, that has 4BR’s up (mine is a 3BR, 1st floor MBR). No real estate agent would EVER use such a home as a comp when advising sellers on how to price their home.

Real estate agents have a saying that ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL. That’s why we keep advising people to really question what the “experts” are quoting as fact, because we’re in the best position to know how WRONG the data really can be.

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: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Golf course communities · Homes · Homes for sale · Internet · Media · Powell Ohio · Realtors® · Wedgewood
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How will property tax rates affect your choice in homes?

July 16, 2008 · No Comments

Several years ago I began tracking the multiple real estate tax rates by school districts for Columbus suburbs. I did this so buyer clients could get a feel for differences that the tax bill portion of their mortgage payment would make to the affordability of the homes we would be viewing.

When buyers have a lender pre-qualify them, the lender will tell them the maximum home price the buyer can select. They’ll also give them a maximum monthly payment. Because the tax rates among school districts can vary quite a bit, a buyer who has been approved to buy an average priced home of $200,000 may be able to be approved for that home in one district but not another. The reason is that the monthly tax portion of the mortgage payment may put them beyond the ratio set by the lender.

The other issue that may come into play, is that a school district with “lower” tax rates, may have higher priced homes. The Olentangy school district is an example of this. This district’s rates are lower than some other established suburbs, but the average home price in the district is much higher. If a buyer is approved for only $200,000, they will be hard-pressed to find a home at that price in the Olentangy district, yet, may find many such homes in that price range in Worthington, even though Worthington’s property tax rates are much higher.

Here is the chart that I’ve prepared to visually show the differences to school district property tax rates by several suburban school districts. The bars within a district represent the various taxing entities within the school district. (click on the graph to enlarge)

Of course, it goes without saying that buyers should budget for their tax rates to increase over the years they live in the home. This is especially true for the newly developing areas, like the Olentangy school district, where the growth in housing has and is creating a need to build new schools.

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 · Delaware County · Home buying process · Home prices · Homes · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio
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Southern Delaware County home sales differ from the rest of the county

June 17, 2008 · No Comments

After I wrote yesterday’s article on the housing prices and sales in Delaware County, I thought that I really needed to segment out the data for just Southern Delaware County - the Powell, Lewis Center, Galena portion that is in the Olentangy school district. That’s the area of the county with the phenomenal growth, and pricing for that area is much higher than in the city of Delaware or the northern half of the county.

The average pricing is substantially higher than the county as a whole. The increase from 1997 vs 2008 is 28%. The decline from 2007 to 2008 is a little higher than the county as a whole, at 12.5%.

The chart showing the number of homes sold is more telling of the extreme growth of this area - and why the Olentangy school district has had to build so many schools. Keep in mind that this data only includes homes that were listed in the Columbus Board of Realtors® MLS system. It would include new-build specs that were entered into MLS, but it does NOT include all the new-build homes that buyers contracted directly with the builder. Due to all the new subdivisions that were created during this period, that could add hundreds of homes to this chart. Nevertheless, the data does give a peak at the extreme demand for homes in this area.

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: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Galena Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio
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Buy a home that Dad DOESN’T have to fix!

June 9, 2008 · 2 Comments

This Sunday is Father’s Day. If your Hubby is one of those that has a bottomless Job Jar - often called the HONEY-DO list - fix him up in one of these homes that he can enjoy from the start. Depending on his likes, needs, or hobbies, one is sure to fit. Then go easy for a while before you start filling up his Honey-Do list again! Click on the titles to see the home that matches Dad’s style.

DAD needs a bigger home office

If his “office” is in your dining room or if you wish you had solid doors to his den rather than glass so guests can’t see the overstuffed desk area or worst of all, maybe he’s relegated to a corner of the basement, then wait till he sees the massive home office wing in THIS home. Note I said WING … it’s huge! He’ll have his own deck to regroup after that stressful phone call and a separate spiral staircase to the outside. He’ll have a nearby alcove with a sink and cabinet for a mini-fridge for a refreshing drink. There’s also a handy half bath close by as well as a guest bedroom. Heck, when you buy this home, you may never actually SEE dear old Dad again! And best of all, your guests will never see this wing when they walk into the foyer! If he’s not the neatest person, this can be a good thing.

Dad’s an avid golfer and just wants to kick-back

Dad can watch others play golf or he can join the Kinsale Golf Club and join in the play when you select this luxury condo in Golf Village. If he’d rather spend time golfing than working on the job jar, then condo life is for him. He only has to worry about caring for the inside since the condo association takes care of the outside. That’s a wonderful thing! This home is even better than others in the complex because it’s on the end with a full view of the tee and fairway, plus, it was designed to maintain that view from the inside … not just from the oversized patio. Come winter, he can move to the large finished lower level to watch the pros on TV to try to figure out what changes he needs to make to his swing or putting style to lower his handicap next spring.

Dad’s knees are creaky and he doesn’t like stairs

OK, so you don’t have to be a Dad to have this problem. This wonderful home has an owner’s bedroom on the first floor including a whirlpool tub - for those creaky knees. It’s in excellent condition so his job jar can stay nearly empty. Another feature he may enjoy is the workbench area off the finished basement. It also has a 3-car garage just in case he has that mid-life “toy” that needs storing. That way YOUR car doesn’t have to sit in the outside elements while THE TOY is completely sheltered.

Dad’s a whiz at grilling and likes to “do” stuff around the house

This home has a huge deck for entertaining with a roll-out awning to keep the sun or rain off Dad’s grill. No more holding the umbrella over him and the grill. If he has talked about wanting a pool-table sized basement that he could finish, this home has that too. Plus, it has a half bath rough-in - something that “might” come in handy once he finishes the basement and his friends come over to watch the “BIG GAME”. After the game, he and his buds can pretend they’re kids again, and play their own version of football in the fenced backyard. NOTE: I’m holding this home open on Father’s Day from 1-4. Tell him to bring his own football or grilling apron to give the backyard a “test drive”.

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 · Condos, patio homes · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Galena Ohio · Golf Village, Kinsale · Homes · Homes for sale · Powell Ohio
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A Holiday Weekend? Not for Realtors®!

May 26, 2008 · 4 Comments

I had plans for this holiday weekend. Nothing too exciting … just 3 things I hoped to accomplish.

  1. Buy some annual flowers and actually get them planted. Last year I bought them but was not able to find time to plant them so they died.
  2. Go shopping … something I HATE to do … for something to wear to my granddaughter’s wedding in three weeks. I know what I WANT to buy - now it’s just a matter of finding it.
  3. Relax! I haven’t taken a full day off from real estate since New Year’s so I was hoping ….

So far, I haven’t checked off any of the things on my list, but I have had a pretty beneficial weekend.

  • I started it with a lunch with my older daughter - the “mother of the bride” daughter. It was her birthday but the conversation naturally focused on the upcoming wedding. I think we’ve both reached the age where she is becoming the parent and I’m reluctantly becoming the child. (just kidding!) I know what I’m supposed to “generally” wear … where I’m supposed to sit at the wedding and the reception … and which usher will seat me, among other things. I may need to enter these things into my Voyager phone so I remember to do everything just right.
  • I spent some time in the Muirfield area. Since it was a few days before Jack’s Memorial Tournament, the landscape companies were hard at work making everything pretty so all looks well for the incoming guests and TV cameras.
  • I was in the Powell office more than I was my Worthington office. One of the agents there said, “are you back again!” There were several agents in there busy as well with clients and working on contracts. It’s wonderful working for a big broker like Real Living where we can use the computers, copiers, faxes and conference rooms of our “sister offices”. Helps save gas, too!
  • Showed a brand new listing to a buyer. We’ve been viewing homes for a few weeks now. This new listing was far nicer than anything we had looked at PLUS it was much lower priced. So off to the Powell office to write and submit an offer. Got that home in contract the next day.
  • Received an offer on one of my listings. We’re still working on this one.
  • Made a listing presentation to a seller whose home was listed with another broker/agent for the past year.
  • Got some pruning and weed pulling done in between emailing various pdf files to various agents and various clients. Thank goodness for scanners, email and bluetooth! I can talk on the phone without missing a beat with the pruning shears … that’s unless I need to talk with my hands … which is hard for me to do. Don’t you get tickled watching someone talk via a headset? It’s humorous watching someone seeming to be talking to the air and gesturing with their hands. Murphy gives me THAT LOOK that dogs give us when they think we’ve gone crazy.
  • I made sure my listings were all well-stocked with outside flyers just in case a drive-by buyer is interested. Took some new outside photos of a couple of them then later uploaded the new photos to several internet sites.
  • Tried to avoid buying gas at $3.99 this holiday weekend. Think I’m going to have to breakdown today and buy some, however.
 Hope YOU’RE having a terrific weekend and have enjoyed the great weather we’ve had so far. Aren’t you glad you’re NOT a Realtor®!!!!

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 · Commentary · Delaware County · Golf course communities · Homes · Homes for sale · Muirfield · Powell Ohio · Real Living HER · Realtors® · Sellers · Technology

Want to buy a condo? Powell has many that are for sale.

April 23, 2008 · No Comments

OK, by now you’ve probably mowed your lawn at least once. And just maybe you’ve noticed the house needs a fresh coat of paint. Oh, and those shingles that blew off during one of the winter storms, need to be fixed.

If you’d rather be spending weekends kicking-back or on the golf course, then perhaps it’s time to consider a lifestyle change to condo living.

But wait you say … we have all this furniture and we still want the kids to come home for holiday events.

Relax! Condos are no longer small converted rental townhouses with paper thin walls. Builders knew the empty-nesters didn’t want to give up their big rooms or decorating luxuries just to avoid exterior maintenance. Now you can buy large condos built specifically to address this consumer market.

Beginning this weekend, April 26, through May 4, the Building Industry Association (BIA) will hold their CondoQuest to showcase participating builder’s new-build condo complexes. Most likely, other currently-owned condos that are for sale will have open houses as well.

The Powell area has many such luxury condos available for sale - both new and resale. They are priced in the $300’s to high $400’s. For the above ground living space, they range from 1900 sqft to 3000 sq ft. Their price may or may not include a finished lower level. This is particularly true for the new-builds.
 
Here’s a chart that shows the condos that are currently for sale in the Powell area (near Sawmill Pkwy) and what size of home you might expect for the various price ranges:

Powell Area Condos For Sale
Price Range # For Sale Avg Size Avg Price $/sq ft
$100’s 26 1559 $178,094 $116
$200’s 29 1997 $248,833 $127
$300’s 16 2539 $342,563 $139
$400’s 7 2648 $453,720 $175

If you specifically want a large luxury condo with a finished basement for additional entertaining, then you currently have 9 homes to select from in the Powell area. They average around 2800 sq ft at an average price of $432,293. However, I must caution you in that the sq ft provided in the Board’s MLS system sometimes includes the finished basement and sometimes doesn’t.

I have a luxury condo for sale that offers 2750 sq ft above ground and an additional 1000 sq ft in the lower level. It’s priced at $409,900. Sometimes during open houses I’ve had guests mention that they can buy another similar sized condo for much less money. However, as we chat, I learn that it is a new-build where the finished basement ISN’T included in the base price they were quoted. Or we may determine that the sq ft includes the finished basement, meaning that the above ground living space can be quite small - less than 2000 sq ft.

So, it’s important to make sure you compare apples-to-apples, and relying on the MLS data or info on the Internet, is not very accurate. The upgrades included or as options differ quite a bit as well.   


This weekend’s CondoQuest will give you a good opportunity to make all those comparisons for yourself. Be sure to include my listing at 7979 Hillingdon in the Village at Kinsale on your tour. It’s located off Sawmill Pkwy, just north of Rutherford Rd. It will be open both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

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 · Condos, patio homes · Delaware County · Golf Village, Kinsale · Golf course communities · Homes · Homes for sale · New home builders · Powell Ohio
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1st Qtr 2008 >Condo Sales in Columbus metro area

April 7, 2008 · 2 Comments

Most of my housing stats are for single-family homes. It’s time I do the same review for condos. So here are the averages for condos that have sold between January and March this year.

Powell area: 16 condos sold, averaging 2151 sq ft, at an average price of $277,842. The highest priced unit sold for $445,073 - a new build in the Lakes at Golf Village with 2461 sq ft.

New Albany area: 5 condos sold, averaging 1583 sq ft, at an average price of $180,589. The highest priced unit sold for $224,900.

Lewis Center area: 15 condos sold, averaging 1510 sq ft, at an average price of $174,502. The highest priced unit sold for $279,900.

Westerville area: 24 condos sold, averaging 1580 sq ft, at an average price of $153,808. The highest priced unit sold for $510,000 - a new build in Windsor Village with 3596 sq ft.

Dublin area: 45 condos sold, averaging 1314 sq ft, at an average price of $144,661. The highest priced unit sold for $590,000 - a new build in Tartan West.

Hilliard area: 54 condos sold, averaging 1358 sq ft, at an average price of $135,177. The highest priced unit sold for $530,000 - a unit in Ballantrae.

Delaware area: 10 condos sold, averaging 1410 sq ft, at an average price of $117,930. The highest priced unit sold for $185,000..

Worthington area: 24 condos sold, averaging 1242 sq ft, at an average price of $111,543. The highest priced unit sold for $170,000.

So if you’re in the market to buy a condo, you should be able to find one that suits your lifestyle or budget. Call me if you need help.

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: Ballantrae · Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Condos, patio homes · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Golf Village, Kinsale · Golf course communities · Hilliard Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Worthington Ohio
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Calling all dogs … free ice cream at Graeter’s in Powell!

March 30, 2008 · 5 Comments

I’m getting ready for an open house today, so The Murph will be my guest writer.

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Hi, folks! I just want to let all my fellow K-9 pals out there to know that Graeter’s Ice Cream in Powell is having a “Dog’s Nite Out” this Wednesday, April 2 from 6:00-9:00 pm.

When your human buys THEIR ice cream, WE get a free Frosty Paws Treat.

I’m assuming that we have to eat it on the patio rather than inside the store. Wonder if they’ll put a cherry on top.copyrighted-bestfriends.jpg

One of the other sponsors is Best Friends Vet Hospital, which is where I go to have Dr. Riggs check me out and give me MY SHOTS! It’s about time they do something nice to make up for that and I promise to not bark at him the next time I’m there.

So, tell your human to mark their calendars and take you to Graeter’s for your special night out.

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: Delaware County · Dog Tails · Powell Ohio
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