Lakewood, Rocky River, Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights Homes Sold in Cuyahoga County Since 2007 Began

Four communities to update here detailing sold homes in Cuyahoga County in 2007. This is a list of all the homes sold through area brokerages (since January 1st of this year) for these four suburbs.

Lakewood: 17 Single Family Homes sold this year. Sale prices ranged from $62,000 to $1,100,000.00. The average number of days on the market was 79. The average ask price was $227,561 and the average sale price was $215,583. The average room count included 3BRs,2Baths and a 2-car garage.

Rocky River: 9 Single Family Homes sold this year. (Actually ten are listed but one home listed over $500k is showing as 'sold' for $2500.00, seemed unusual so I am not including that sale here). Sale prices ranged from $153,000 to $560,000. The average number of days on the market before going under contract was 76. The average ask price was $279,600 and the average sale price was $264,722. The average room count included 3 BRs, 2 Baths and a 2-car garage.

Cleveland Heights: 23 Single Family Homes sold this year. Sale prices ranged from $30,000 to $367,900. The average number of days the houses were listed was 89. Average ask price was $122,123 and the average sale price was $115,653. The average room count included 4BRs, one bath and a 2-car garage.

Shaker Heights: 10 Single Family Homes sold so far this year. Average days on the market was 71. Sale prices ranged from $45,000 to $425,000. Average ask price was $271,070. The average sale price was $250,300. The average room count included 4BRs, 2 baths, and a 2-car garage.

The one constant in home buyer tastes seems to be at least 3 bedrooms with a 2-car garage. I'll feature more communities later this week.

Remember Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell, where she sang 'they paved paradise and put up a parking lot?' Here is the Counting Crows version.

Peace Out - 3C

Tax Abatement: Does it Help More Than it Hurts the City of Cleveland?

The City of Cleveland authorized a Tax Abatement Program for new construction and rehab projects in 1991. 100% tax abatement on a 'for sale' property has been alluring to buyers, something I have seen first hand. In 2006 I had several clients move here from other States and they specifically chose homes that included the 100% abatement over others that were similar but lacked the tax relief. The question comes up for debate again because City authority for this Abatement Program ends this July; they have to decide if they are going to continue it, change it or end it.

City Council is holding a series of hearings on the issue. Last week's hearing brought out some of the prominent builders in the area. Developers like Sutton Builders, Rysar Properties, Zaremba and The Ferchill Group all asked the City to continue the Abatement Program. I thought the most telling comment came from Chris Ferchill of The Ferchill Group. The Ferchill Group developed The Villa Carabelli Town Homes which occupy space in both Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. He pointed out that "....the six units within City of Cleveland limits sold quickly [and they had 100% tax abatement for 15 years]. ...the fourteen units in Cleveland Heights took two years to sell...." and the tax abatement for those units was 65% for 7 years. (quote is from the Crain's article linked above)

Councilwoman Fannie Lewis discussed the fact that tax abatement had helped turn her neighborhood around (although Fannie Lewis deserves a lot of credit herself, she is a dynamo for her neighborhood, IMHO). And Councilman Cummins from the Old Brooklyn neighborhood pointed out that his area doesn't have much land to assemble for new construction projects, but that rehabbed and new homes on vacant lots should get 12 % abatement. This discussion, regarding whether or not the abatement amount should change, was a key part of the hearing. Overall it sounds like the majority of the builders requested that The City give them a year at the status quo while they rethink a strategy.

Personally and professionally, I see the advantages of tax abatement, and stories like Fannie Lewis' tell me we need to keep some form of it. But the City of Cleveland is losing money on the type of abatement structure set up currently. It was necessary, but now I'm thinking a change in focus might be good. Why not apply the total 100%/15 year tax abatement to Smart Growth rehabs or new builds; or homes that are built near public transportation (TOD's)? Or reach a certain level of energy efficiency? Other layers of abatement could still be applied but at smaller percentages for different types of rehab projects. The storefront abatement program seems like a winner to me too. I would tell you to keep an eye on the City Council website for information on more public hearings, but I will have to call on Monday to find out -- the City Council website seems to be in 'reconstruction' mode this week. I will edit this or add a short blurb in a new post when I find out details. Peace Out - 3C

2/27/07 - I have an update - Cleveland State University did a study involving 400 homebuyers who purchased homes in Cleveland over the last few years. The majority of them (60%) said tax abatement was a big reason they chose Cleveland over someplace else. I think that's great, it just proves abatement works. What it does not do however is prove it should stay in the same form it is in right now. Regardless, here is the Crain's Cleveland Business article in it's entirety.

894 Homes Sold in Cuyahoga County in December 2006

They made some changes to the listing service (MLS) tax information section and it automatically provided some results I found a bit interesting. It covers home and condominium sales for October and November 2006 and compared them to sales in 2005 for the same months. This is for all of Cuyahoga County:

Sales Statistics
for CUYAHOGA County OH

Single Family Residence

Time Period
Number of Sales
Median Sale Price

Nov 2006
1,153
$128,900

Nov 2005
1,336
$128,000

Oct 2006
1,295
$130,000

Oct 2005
1,395
$127,450

2006 YTD
15,692
$131,000

2005
17,056
$130,000

Condominium

Time Period
Number of Sales
Median Sale Price

Nov 2006 151
$130,000

Nov 2005
147
$120,000

Oct 2006
163
$115,000

Oct 2005
136
$118,350

2006 YTD
1,950
$117,000

2005
1,960
$115,000

I just did my own report, for all of Cuyahoga County sales in December 2006:



There were 894 homes and condos sold.

The average sale price County wide was $154,137.03

The only other thing I want to say about this chart is the comparison of 2005 to 2006.

Condos: fewer sold in November 2006 but the median sale price was higher by $10,000


Homes: 183 fewer single family homes sold in November 2006 than 2005, but the median sale price was $900 higher...so about the same but certainly not a decline!


I found it interesting to note that the 'bubble bursting' that we hear about on the National News or on National Websites has fortunately not been an issue in Cuyahoga County. We did have a few years when homeowners experienced a bit higher percentage of profit on the sale of their home than normal. Some communities like Lakewood and Westpark saw double digit growth. So this past year saw a slower pace of increases. Closer to 1%. I'll post monthly updates for the County, which means soon I can do January 2007. Granted, the above stats do not take into account how many people may have pulled their homes off the market because they changed their minds or the homes did not sell. It also does not reflect information on homes that sold privately without the benefit of a Realtor®.



Peace Out - 3C