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

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

The Bratenahl Housing Market in 2007

Yes, this is a serene way to wait for a bus; the gorgeous tiling and textured surfaces are part of a gate surrounding one of the many gated homes in Bratenahl. I showed a few condominiums in Bratenahl Place yesterday and was impressed. First, it's not easy to purchase a home for under $150k in Bratenahl, yet these condos are just short of 1600 square feet of living space and are priced well under $150,000. The maintenance fees might give us all pause.......the three I showed were approximately $950/month. That does cover all your utilities. To find out what else is covered, you can check the Bratenahl Place website here. One cool feature at this complex is a 17 acre hiking trail. Not to mention the view of Lake Erie.

So how have homes been selling in Bratenahl? Here are stats from January 2007 until today. Once again, these stats relate to homes listed with area brokers on the Multiple Listing (computer) Service:

Five single family homes have sold between the prices of $157,500 and 1.5 million dollars. The two homes sold for less than $160k were on the market for less than a month; not surprising! The average amenities were: 3,612 square feet of living space, and $139/sq foot to purchase. They also averaged four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The condos? Eight sold since January between $120k (one condo) and $500k. This time, the home that sold for $500,000 was on market only five days.

You can read about the Village of Bratenahl here. The Village's recreation center offers things like kick boxing and Pilates; and they apparently opened up an outdoor coffee shop on the premises. Very cool. If you have never driven through Bratenahl, take a gander. It's lush and green (at least until Winter!) and the architecture on the homes may just blow you away. Peace Out - 3C

The Consumers are Speaking! Check out 'Bring Back Doubles' Web Site

I was tracking a link to my blog post, and something miraculous occurred. 'Loyal Giant Eagle shoppers' (their words) bought a domain name and established a grassroots website called 'Bring Back Doubles.'

They detail several points about why they are upset with G-Eagle. Here is one excerpt:

".... We are not convinced that manufacturers are "moving toward the trends of lower coupon usage."Coupons are the manufacturers bread and butter. They are incentives to get consumers to try new products and fall in love with old ones. Even if coupons from Sunday papers are not redeemed, they serve as a means of product advertisement for the Sunday paper. Also, over the past few years, internet sites such as www.coupons.com, www.coolsavings.com and others have popped up. The Internet has also brought about coupon coordinating sites such as www.TheGroceryGame.com and NorthEast Ohio Couponers which help consumers make the best use of their coupons. These types of sites are gaining momentum. The Grocery Game, a paid subscription coordinating service, had sales of over 6 million dollars in 2006 and recently branched out to offer coupon services to people living in the United Kingdom. Giant Eagle claims that consumers have lost interest in redeeming coupons. This is interesting because while the grocery chain has ended double coupons in the Akron/Canton/Cleveland areas, Giant Eagle actively allows coupon doubling in regions such as their Columbus area stores...."

This is not just a slapped up website I am truly impressed. Please give it a read.

And I would be remiss if I didn't send you to their 'what you can do to help' section.

A big hat tip to the group! Peace Out - 3C

Giant Eagle Reverses Their Decision To Eliminate Double Coupons...But Don't Get Too Excited

I wrote here about their plan to eliminate the double coupons. Sometimes it pays to stay up late -- WKYC reporter Dick Russ writes that Giant Eagle came to their senses and as of tomorrow (well, today), you can double your coupons again!

This is not a permanent reversal however.

Store executives claim to be responding to customer complaints that there wasn't enough notice. So now you can double through September 30th. Would love to know the statistics...you know, numbers of coupons actually redeemed for double discounts on a weekly basis.

In any case, you still only have a few weeks to do it, then I guess Giant Eagle will revert back to their original, non-consumer friendly plan. Peace Out - 3C