Transit Oriented Development at Cleveland's W. 25th and W. 65th Street RTA locations

Nothing seems more urgent to me than getting cars off the road. One reason why I am lobbying for The Cleveland Hub project. That can only happen of course if there is aggressive work to improve public transportation here. So I am mildly optimistic about some of the City plans. The Cleveland Planning Commission is designating two RTA stops in District Two as Transit Oriented Development centers. One is W. 65th Street's RTA stop (which excites me because it's a great location for it). W. 25th Street is the other west side location. There is a triangle of land available across the street from the RTA stop. W. 25th and Lorain is one of the City intersections with the most commuter cars passing through each day. Wouldn't it be great if some of that car fuel could get off the road because people moved to housing near the RTA stop.

This information is revealed at the Planning Commission's Connect Cleveland public meetings. There are still two more: St. Phillip and James Church on Bosworth tomorrow (Thursday) evening at 7PM and the last one at Gunning Recreation Center on Puritas Saturday March 3rd at 10:00 AM. If you have things you would like to say to your Planning Commission leaders, this is the place to do it! Peace Out - 3C

Dogs Welcome At Work

We are just not a stuffy real estate office. I am not sure I could work somewhere stuffy. One of the nicest things people do is bring their dogs for a visit. This is Manager Mark with his dog Pepper, who is a sweetheart. And very well behaved I might add. And dog visits are not just limited to colleagues. We have a few business owner neighbors and past clients who know we want them to stop in, when they are on the street with their pups. They say pets add years to your life. Since I don't have a pet at the moment, I consider dog friends like Pepper my 'rent a dogs.' So if you are in the neighborhood of the West Side Market with your pup, stop in, we will enjoy the visit -- and your pup might enjoy the dog treats. Peace Out - 3C

Volume of Homes Sold Nationally Rose 3% In January 2007

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported some statistics regarding January home sales. It's the good news and not so good news scenario. First the good news: the volume of homes sold rose 3 % in January 2007 - the largest monthly percentage increase in two years. These figures are for already existing or previously owned homes sold. Okay and now the other news: the median price of those homes sold in January dropped to $210,600 which is apparently a 3.1 percent drop in median sale prices from January 2006. So more homes sold, that means people are still buying, but it also means it's still a buyers market and prices for buyers are better than they were a year ago.

I think it also means if you have owned your home a while, you can probably still expect a nice return on your investment if you decide you want to move. However, if you bought recently and are not forced to sell (new job, relocating, etc) then please wait, it's probably not the best idea to list your home at the moment. I think my rule of thumb still holds: if you want to move, or have to move, list your home and price it well and it will sell.

Keep in mind, these are National statistics and as always, real estate is local. Peace Out - 3C

Connecting Cleveland Planning Commission Meetings: Ten Down Two to Go:

The Planning Commission has already been to ten Connecting Cleveland neighborhood meetings. That included one I attended tonight at the Urban Community School on Lorain Avenue. They did a presentation, and had plenty of time for Q & A from those of us in the audience. I'm going to do a broader post about the whole thing after going to at least one more neighborhood meeting. Maybe I will see you there? The next one is:

Thursday Night, March 1st at St. Philip and James Church on Bosworth 7:00 PM

and the last one is:

Saturday Morning, March 3rd at Gunning Recreation Center on Puritas Ave. 10:00 AM.

Seeing the presentation boards lined up around the room is reason enough to go; they outline transportation plans (an emerald bracelet bike path for example) mixed use development, too much to post here - just passing on mtg. information. Peace Out - 3C

Eminent Domain and Cleveland's Innerbelt Plan

Eminent Domain can be an issue for residents and business owners alike. Familiar with the term? Eminent Domain is when property is 'taken' by a government, usually at a fair market price to the owner of that property. Oh, and just because they are going to get a fair market price doesn't mean said property owner is pleased about the idea! Lakewood Ohio residents had to become familiar with this issue quickly when the City Mayor and Council liked a mixed use development plan proposed by a developer; they declared a swath of homes and businesses in Western Lakewood blighted so they could tear existing property down in order to make way for this development. I wrote about how this mobilized the Lakewood community. The plan did not move forward. But people in Lakewood have stayed mobilized! Lakewood City government peeps said it was for the public good, but it was an attempt to use eminent domain in a way that was non-traditional. It has been successful for example, when used to build schools or roads. Which brings me to the most recent use of it.

The Innerbelt Plan or redesign has been in the works, and now the beginning of the project seems to be starting. Business owners in the affected areas have been sent letters by The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) stating their property is being 'taken' and they will be offered fair market value for them. Crain's Cleveland tells the story and interviews a few commercial property owners here. No matter what the public good, it's always a dicey issue, especially for the property owners involved.

Well, not always. I recall living in Rockville Maryland when a block of residents in that city's east side tried to get all the homeowners to assemble their properties so that block, already near transit and commercial development, could be rezoned commercial; allowing them to get a pretty price for their property. That did not work in this case, but it has worked in other areas. I am always intrigued at the number of times this issue reappears. In any event, ODOT (to get back to the latest story) did say that if a building/business owner could show why waiting until the timetable ODOT had established to purchase their property was going to provide undue hardship, it might be possible to buy the property sooner. The Innerbelt Plan itself can be followed here. Peace Out - 3C

2/28/07 - Oddly enough, there is a short blub about eminent domain on the NAR 'on line' magazine website today - good facts, recent court decisions, etc.

Northeast Ohio Housing Market Trends in 2007

The computer listing service on the web those of us in the business utilize (NORMLS) gave us statistics on homes and condos sold in all of Northeast Ohio since 2007 began. This means Bratenahl, Medina, Avon Lake, Cleveland, Parma, the whole ball of wax. Here is some data:

• Homes and Condos sold, on average, after three months on the market.
• 5,474 new homes were listed for sale - up 67% from the number listed a month earlier
• 692 condos were listed
• 1,253 homes sold - 42% of the housing on the market sold
• 165 condos sold - 27.4% of the condos on the market sold
• 2007: Average Sale Price for single family homes in NE Ohio was $154,125 (same time frame in 2006: Average Sale Price was $160,699)
• 2007: Average Sale Price for condos was $138,914. (same time frame in 2006: Average Sale Price was $155,190)

So yes, the average home and condo sale price is down from the beginning of 2006. Peace Out - 3C

Cuyahoga County Condo Sales: Shaker Heights Condos Sold

Today was inspection day on a home sale in Shaker Heights. My clients are moving here from another State to accept jobs at Case Western Reserve and that alone makes me happy - it's great when people relocate to the Cleveland area. Anyway, the inspection took a few hours, as usual. The inspector does two things that are really important when you buy a home. 1. Look for any major issues and 2. help with his/her expertise on how to maintain your furnace and other mechanicals. My clients are first time home buyers so it's always good to learn how to keep things running well to keep from having repair costs in the future. ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) inspectors have a lot of knowledge under their belts - this inspector was no exception.

Anyway, tooling around Shaker is always fun, it's a gorgeous City. So I decided it's time to continue the condominium market trends discussion with results in Shaker Heights condominium sales for 2006 - comparing them to 2005 sales. Here is what I came up with: condo sales held steady both years. Here are the results:

2005: 65 condo sales and they were on the market an average of 97 days, or just over three months. Sales ranged from $117,144 for an efficiency condo to $699,167 for a 3 BR, 2 1/2 Bath condo on South Park Blvd. The average Ask Price was $121,926 and the Average Sale Price was $117,144.

2006 to Present: 66 condo sales from $19,900 to $596,900. Most of these condos were also on the market for just over three months (an average of 93 days) The Average Ask Price was $ $152,890 and the Average Sale Price was $145,328.

For both years, the average sale was for 2BR/2Bath condos with 1 car garages. I've talked with Realtors® from other states and they said their condominium sales were doing well - I'm inclined to agree with them as far as these Shaker Heights results are concerned. For information on current condominiums on the market, check out my website. (There are 82 condos available right now in Shaker). (Photo courtesy of Shaker City website. Peace Out - 3C