Cleveland Economic News: A Ferry to Ontario

You've probably been following this idea. The Plain Dealer's Maggi Martin reports today that an ombudsman group of NE Ohioans were in Canada this week and that Ontario has agreed to fund a rather expensive study regarding the validity of a ferry (cargo and passenger) from our Lake Erie shores to Ontario. Places like Ashtabula, Cleveland and Mentor are vying for the honor. The article says Ashtabula is ahead of the game because they already have the proper docking system. Cleveland's Port Authority is lobbying heavily. You can read about it here.

Maybe it's just me, but I say let the Ferry go to whomever can do it most cost effectively. It will help our Cleveland economy no matter where it is, imho. We can host the 3C Corridor rail plan!
Peace Out -3C

Cuyahoga County Real Estate 'Season' Sales Trends 2000-2007

We all wonder about housing sales trends since the turn of the century. As a Realtor® I can get those stats. Real estate 'season' is typically thought to begin in April and go through August. So those are the months I've picked to study during the past seven years. Here are three neighboring communities; I'm listing total number of single family homes sold and the average selling price. (Stats from homes listed with area brokerages)

Lakewood
2000 206 $168,103
2001 214 $153,146
2002 184 $148,887
2003 226 $161,878
2004 203 $164,912
2005 209 $176,748
2006 211 $178,010
2007 173 $171,071

Rocky River

2000 101 $203,169
2001 110 $227,596
2002 95 $283,983
2003 128 $260,710
2004 108 $301,587
2005 103 $303,567
2006 102 $304,165
2007 100 $266,933

Westlake

2000 135 $288,175
2001 148 $279,843
2002 139 $283,267
2003 173 $325,431
2004 147 $320,681
2005 157 $363,994
2006 136 $336,279
2007 115 $347,144

Angie Lau did a report a few months back for News Channel Five about hot and not so hot housing markets. She said Westlake homes were a great investment and did not follow the trend of lower prices for homeowners. These stats seem to back her up. While the 2005 average sales price was higher for Westlake ($363,994), it's clear that prices basically rose over the past seven years.

The total number of homes didn't vary much in Rocky River over the seven year period. And Lakewood sales seemed to be the flatest during that time frame. The lows are not drastic in any of these communities. I'll do Cleveland's West Side tomorrow (Friday). Peace Out - 3C