Cleveland Real Estate Trends: More Stats on the West Side

Two more 'computer listing oriented areas' meaning they combine communities like Clifton Park and Bellaire Puritas. These stats are for tge number of homes sold between April and August for 2000 through 2007. The dollar amount is the average sale price during these months.

Bellaire Puritas, Westtown, Clifton Park

2000
209 Total homes sold during those months
$77,439 Average Sale Price

2001
177
$85,169

2002
185
$87,767

2003
218
$82,661

2004
232
$88,042

2005
215
$85,649

2006
180
$93,409

2007
$197
$70,425

Bellaire Puritas,West Park

2000
180
$105,461

2001
187
$106,713

2002
206
$107,819

2003
200
$114,527

2004
241
$112,630

2005
221
$112,921

2006
186
$112,234

2007
177
$101,995

Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland Housing Sale Trends 2000 to 2007

The last seven years have seen spikes in sale prices and declines on Cleveland's West Side. Some of the stats are interesting. In the area that includes Ohio City and Tremont, there were more sales in 2007 than any of the other years; the amount of money on average that sellers got for these homes was less than any other time. In general, bank owned/foreclosed properties play a part in these statistics because in each of these areas, there are homes selling for prices way below normal market prices. Anyway, here are the stats, and again, they include all homes sold with area brokerages. These are numbers of homes sold and the average sale prices for April through August of each of these years.

Old Brooklyn/Archwood Denison/Memphis

2000
163 Homes Sold
$85,460 Average Sale Price

2001
167
$92,295

2002
220
$94,920

2003
181
$98,929

2004
201
$102,547

2005
175
$102,921

2006
172
$92,338

2007
159
$80,109

Ohio City/Tremont/Clark Metro/Detroit Shoreway

2000
147
$66,596

2001
150
$76,509

2002
156
$74,547

2003
180
$85,592

2004
178
$79,255

2005
174
$92,579

2006
196
$79,362

2007
222
$65,719

Peace Out - 3C

Housing Trends: A Serious 2006 Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland Study on Home Sales Trends

My last 12 months in real estate have been like a roller coaster: frustrating, sad, satisfying and busy year, all wrapped up in month-to-month cycles. I was aggravated at the media talk about housing bubbles and now declining prices. I got sad about the number of people contacting me, trying to get help with a home sale when their mortgage was not being met, and frustrated at how long they waited to get help...meaning, it was not possible for me to list their home and have them make enough money to save themselves. I was delighted to see so many young people and other first time home buyers saving money and coming in with an ethic of fiscal responsibility. It is what makes my chosen profession the best for me; never dull and different almost every day.

Some of my real estate colleagues, in the business for decades, told me that real estate is always cyclical. My own personal experience from home purchases in the '80s and then trying to sell a condo in the '90s, showed me first hand this was true. And my experiences now as a real estate professional back up these opinions.

Foreclosures and extremely high numbers of listings do have an effect on sale prices in our area. But here is a study pointed out to me on the University of Wisconsin-Madison site. They talk about two studies, but one is more recent. It was completed in 2006 by The Federal Reserve in Cleveland and talks about cycles. Here is an excerpt:

"....To understand changes in house prices, it is necessary to study the price of residential land. Data indicate that the real price of land has been marching steadily upward since 1950. If the 1998–2006 boom to house prices reflects demand for housing-related amenities, then the data on land prices argue that this boom is a continuation of earlier trends.
Relaxed credit constraints could explain the outpacing of house price appreciation to incomes. House prices can and should be expected to surge if credit constraints are unexpectedly relaxed for first-time home buyers who are credit or down-payment constrained. This surge can occur even when incomes remain constant; when credit constraints change over time, incomes and house prices should not be expected to increase at the same rate. ..."

This is a long dissertation, so you might want to grab a cup of java before you read. It's a very good read, however, for anyone who owns a home, is interested in how real estate works.

I'm never going to discount our foreclosure issues, or the change in (for the better) home sale prices sellers experienced for a few years running. The old saying is that 'real estate is local' and it surely is that. But this is a 'non-chicken little' approach...statistics! Let me know what you think. Peace Out - 3C