Cuyahoga County Home Sales: Richmond Heights

Richmond Heights is 90 years old this year (it was Incorporated in 1917) . Just over 10,000 people live there, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Current stats show the High School has a 95% graduation rate and one of the major industries in town is the General Electric Lamp Glass Company. According to the latest edition of the City newsletter, Miss Ohio 2007 is a Richmond Heights gal (Anna Melomud). The newsletter also mentions some recommended home safety maintenance tips you might want to check out on page six.

Most homes in this community are 30 years old or younger; 30 years ago is when most of the City's development began to occur.

So what's happened in the housing market here since January 2007? Let's take a look:

34 Homes have sold since the beginning of the year. Here are the averages on these homes:

1,880 square feet of living space; 3 BRs, 2 BA, and a two car garage. The average Ask Price was $181,602. The average Sale Price was $173, 429. That came out to an average of $87 a square foot in these purchases. And the homes averaged just over three months, or 114 Days on the Market before selling.

There are 142 homes on the market right now in Richmond Heights. The photo above shows the living room in one I have listed on Lindsey Lane. Peace Out - 3C

New Plans for Detroit Shoreway's The Detroit Superior Lofts

Those of us in real estate have been hearing about the proposed Detroit-Superior Lofts for a while now. There are two articles about the plans and it's always a bit amusing to see the differences in the stories. Isn't news always like that? It seems the project is still a 'go' and it is still being developed by TEG Properties of Cleveland. Both articles agree on that. They also agree that the non-profit group A Place For Us is no longer in the picture for that site. (The site btw, is at the corner of W. 28th and Detroit)

Crain's Cleveland is where I first read about it today. Stan Bullard wrote an article about the 50 unit project. It was once also going to cater to more senior residents (in additon to the gay population) and it was to be a four story building. According to Bullard, it is now a seven story affair. He also says the prices for the units will start upward of $140k.

The Plain Dealer article written by Henry Gomez goes into a bit more detail about why A Place For Us pulled out of that location, feeling more confident in a different developer and deciding on a Lakewood Gold Coast site for their involvement. A rep from TEG is quoted here as saying it should be completed (the project) sometime next summer.

Both articles say the cost of the project is around $15 million. The PD article says the units will start at $150k. Well, I guess that is 'upward of $140k.' One good thing, it's a much lower price point than the usual $300k new construction we have been seeing. Peace Out - 3C

Worthwhile Real Estate Blogs To Read

Sacramento Real Estate Voice posts often about foreclosure and financing issues. Here is one post on What is a Short Sale.

Luxury Home Digest covers that market, especially on the West Coast. But I like the other topics as well. Here is a cool post on what your Realtor® should or should not do when you want to write an offer.

Want to move to Nevada? One of the fastest growing States in the Country. Check out John Sells Henderson. He also writes on Active Rain and he does good market reports. This is a newer blog but he will keep adding reports, he is a good steady blogger.

Manhattan Beach on the West Coast...good market reports and I love this blog about styles of homes there. Real estate is local and we all have our own housing styles; fun to see different ones!

Many NE Ohioans take vacations in the Carolinas. Here is the Charlotte Blog. With all of it's history and natural beauty and great historical homes, you might want to invest in a property there. She has a great post on visiting Charlotte.

This next one is one of my favorite bloggers. She works the DC area, here is her Virginia Blog.

The Columbus Best Blog covers all things Columbus, a good enough reason to read it; besides she writes good stuff.

Sacramento California, a pretty spot indeed! Sacramento Real Estate Voice is a worthwhile read and while there, check out the post on what sellers need to know (buyers may ask for closing costs, for one thing).

Arizona is another fast growing State and maybe you want to retire there or move there to see the Cactus League. Whatever the reason, this Phoenix Blog is a good read.

I already have the Opinionated Mortgage Broker on my blog roll but, here is another good mortgage blog hosted on the Rain City Guide. When you purchase a home and get a mortgage your lender is required to give you a good faith estimate. Here is a thoughtful post on why they are sometimes less that great.

Peace Out - 3C

Cuyahoga County Bank Owned Property Sales: Some are Now Upgraded by the Banks

The National news is abuzz with the 2006 figures for foreclosures which are out now. This is not news to us in NE Ohio since our figures have been public and discussed for some time. I wrote about it several times, for example, here.

The end result is that I wind up showing many more bank owned homes to buyers than ever before. With so many homes in almost every market in Northeast Ohio for sale, there is a lot to pick from. Yes, it's a buyer's market. As it turns out, banks are realizing they have to be competitive in the same way private owners who put their homes for sale are being competitive. This means it's now possible to find bank owned homes that have been upgraded.

An example: I have a client with a contract on a home in Cleveland. We had looked at about six homes, and one of them was owned by Fannie Mae (which means the foreclosure occurred on a government loan. After Fannie Mae took it over, they made significant improvements to the home: upgraded the kitchen with new everything including appliances. Stuccoed the garage; replaced the roof on both the home and the garage. They also upgraded the bathroom. This is not your stereotypical bank owned behavior. I guess some banks are realizing there are so many foreclosed properties for sale and in order to get theirs sold they are going to have to put money into it. This is a savvy move on their part. And it also means, if you are looking to buy a home you might not want to pass over the bank owned properties because they may be in better shape than you expect. So ask your Realtor® to add them to your search for a home. The benefit to you is easily seen. The benefit to the community is they sell. Win-win? Peace Out - 3C

June 21st is National 'Dump the Pump' Day

We have another grassroots effort to protest the use and cost of fossil fuel coming up. It is sponsored by the American Public Transportation Society (APTA). Their figures show people in this Country took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation in 2006.

How about NE Ohio? RTA stats show that for the fourth straight year, ridership was up. This past year, .03%. Might not sound like much but that meant an additional 150k plus trips for a grand total in 2006 of 57.2 million rides. They also said that the blue and green lines servicing Shaker/Cleveland increased ridership by 5.1%.

A good time to try it out yourself? Next Thursday for Dump the Pump Day. Good time to start planning the trip now. It's really a good way to show your support for the reduction in reliance on foreign oil. It's really a good way to show the value in energy conservation no matter where the oil comes from, when you get right down to it. Some other facts from the press release on Dump The Pump Day:

• 
  Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 140,769 service station tanker truck trips clogging our streets


• Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days


• Each year public transportation households save over $1,399 worth of gas


• Transit availability can reduce the need for an additional car, a yearly expense of $6,251 in a household budget

It's a good idea! I realize everyone doesn't live near transit access (which is a shame, it's a great reason to move). If you have the opportunity and the accessibility, why not participate in this. Who knows, you might find out it's a great way to get to work and wind up doing it more often. Peace Out - 3C

More NE Ohio Job Info: Hot Jobs for 2007

Browsing through my daily dose of Crain's Cleveland I discovered an article on three 'fields' of expertise that are supposed to be 'hot' in NE Ohio. This according to the staffing firm Robert Half. The three jobs are:

• Accounting
• Finance
• Help Desk/IT Support (DUH!)

You can read the Crain's article here. You can read the Robert Half press release here.

Then I decided to do some more research. According to Careerbuilder.com (a thriving and expanding local company I might add), these are top ten jobs:

1. Radiation Therapist

2. Nurse Paralegals (like tax attorneys only different lol)

3. Genetic Counselor (assisting families with family members who have birth defects)

4. Legal Nurse Consultant

5. Art Therapist

6. Computer Forensic Expert

7. Medical Illustrator

8. Veterinary Physical Therapist

9. Animal Defense Lawyer

10. Animal Assistant Therapist

To find out more you can read the article. Peace Out - 3C

June is National Home Ownership Month

Bonnie Erickson is a fabulous blogger, so reading her blog is always a treat. I wanted to feature her latest post because she talks about June being National Home Ownership Month. The National goal is to increase minority home ownership. It's a good read! While you are there you just might want to check out her other informative and well-written posts.

June is also a good time to do some of those pesky chores like cleaning gutters, washing windows, repairing screens. I'm still working on weeding all my flower beds but that is another story! Peace Out - 3C