Cleveland Housing News: Renting Or Purchasing, My 2007 Clients Have Their Heads on Straight

I don't just find people homes to buy, I also help them find rental housing. I talked about my client relocating from the Great Plains and wanting the vibrancy of the City and the character of her architecture. It finally hit me today. Young or my age (ahem lol), all my relocation clients are leaning in the same direction.

Here is what they have wanted, collectively: to be close to Downtown, in a neighborhood that provides amenities that fight off boredom: shops, galleries, restaurants, public transportation, and a view of Cleveland's natural beauty.

Some have wanted specific things: loft-like living with lots of windows. Some of the newer developments, like Stonebridge for example, can be a challenge in this respect. Many of the bedrooms in their floor plans are interior with no windows. The Federal Knitting Mills Apartment Complex is like that too. The Knitting Mills has a few floor plans with bedroom windows, you just have to be lucky and have one available when you are ready to rent.

What I love about the Cleveland housing market is affordability. You can spend $1500/month and upwards, but you can also spend less than $900/month and get a loft-like 2Br apartment with great character, garage parking, in suite laundry availability and sometimes a fitness center.

My buyers have been focused on City living as well. In fact, I am in the process of sending out letters to homeowners in Ohio City because I have a client who only wants to live there, and we can't find the right home for her as of yet. It's that pesky $300k and up price point that gets in the way.

Here is what I am finding:

1. fiscally responsible buyers and would be tenants (let's call them clients it's easier lol)

2. clients who want to be near to their jobs; public transportation or walking are first choices; if that fails, then ten minutes or less to work. Is this smart thinking or what?

3. I have had six clients this year who are in their first jobs (some just starting) who eagerly embrace the City and parking their cars unless absolutely necessary.

4. Four of of the six are from out of town. I have one new client so technically that makes five out of seven, although we have not yet 'hit the streets' together, so far we are doing our work via email.

What excites me about this is the hope that it is a lasting trend. It definitely feels like a shift in thinking. Just like the Ohio Hub is starting to make so much sense in terms of our not so distant future, RTA and close-in living are defining needs now. It almost makes me giddy to think about it! Peace Out - 3C

Why Your Realtor® Holds a 'Brokers Open' After Listing Your House

One of the advantages to having a blog as a Realtor® is to hopefully share some insights into the marketing tools we tend to use. One of those is the broker's open. Real estate is local, and here in NE Ohio Tuesday is tour day. Most brokerages participate in one form or another. Holding your listing open for other real estate professionals to see is, in my humble opinion, a necessary event. It allows agents to see your home and to get to know it's features first hand. They may already have a client in mind (I've had agents call from my open houses to set up an appointment for their buyers to see the home) (And I have done the same!). Or, they may just want to be prepared in case they get a call from someone looking for a home with those features.

It's important to know the inventory of homes on the market. I make appointments to see a home to preview for clients so I know whether I should take them to see it as well. I also use the brokers opens to learn about the inventory of homes. One thing I am seeing is a smaller number of agents touring homes on Tuesdays. I think this is a big mistake. Homes are usually held open between 11:30 and 2 PM and in that short period of time, with practice, I can see ten homes. This is much easier than calling to schedule a preview of these ten homes. And even less of an inconvenience on a seller's time.

There seem to be four styles of touring:

1. Agents who see homes listed by their office colleagues
2. Agents who tour homes listed by their company
3. Agents who tour homes with certain clients in mind
4. Agents who tour certain neighborhoods

I may have missed some styles but you get the point. My theory? Combine all four styles.
It has bugged me lately to hear rumors that certain brokerages want their agents touring only their own company listings. I keep hoping this is just a rumor. Isn't this like saying to your seller client : I'm only going to allow agents from my company to see your home? It may be a bit different but to me it's the same philosophy. If I have a buyer, I need to know what is listed by my office mates, my company, and every other broker out there. Otherwise, how do I know my client is able to see all the homes that fit his/her needs? For whatever reason, fewer agents/Realtors® are touring homes. Again, I think this is a mistake. Hint: if you are a buyer working with a Realtor®, ask them every week 'what homes did you see on tour and should I see any of them?'

Depending on the week, I may run around and see a lot of homes on tour, or I may do what I did this week; I focused on a Realtor® who has been in the business for years and years and knows his business. He had two listings on tour, near each other. I was able to sit down and talk with him about our profession, the neighborhood markets, etc. I never had the opportunity to do that before and I always wanted to meet him. I see him as a colleague more than I see him as a competitor. Seriously! I want to get to know everyone in my profession who has a good reputation, knows their business and their markets. That makes me better at my job, I think. Every now and then, who knows, maybe something I say can be of value to another agent as well.

Let me ask you this question: does it do you, as a seller or buyer, any good if your agent is only operating within the parameters of their own company listings or their own listings? I think I know what your answer would be, and it's the same as mine; NO!

If your agent hasn't held a brokers open in your owner occupied or vacant home, you just might want to suggest they do so! Peace Out - 3C

Happy Fourth of July

NE Ohio Home Sales 2000-2007 For May

If you bought a home in 2000 and sold it this year would you make money? Of course there is no easy answer to that question, but it got me thinking. May is usually considered one of the best months in real estate so it seemed fitting to do a post about home sales for each May from 2000-2007.

These stats, as always, cover homes sold and listed on the computerized multiple listing service I have access to as a Realtor®. These are total sales, covering single family homes, condos, everything. DOM = Average number of days on the market for all of these homes that sold. OK let's get to it:

2007
New Listings: 8,765
Sold: 2,578
Av Sale Price: $162,072
DOM: 92

2006
New Listings: 7,987
Sold: 2,819
Av Sale Price: $166,676
DOM: 84

2005
New Listings: 7,156
Sold: 2,896
Av Sale Price: $171,081
DOM: 75

2004
New Listings: 5,760
Sold: 2,662
Av Sale Price: $161,025
DOM: 78

2003
New Listings: 5,470
Sold: 2,582
Av Sale Price: $154,251
DOM: 81

2002
New Listings: 4,811
Sold: 2,526
Av Sale Price $148,734
DOM: 87

2001
New Listings: 5,066
Sold: 2,447
Av Sale Price: $150,488
DOM: 72

2000
New Listings: 4,757
Sold: 2,553
Av Sale Price: $143,166
DOM: 79

The difference between the 2000 and 2007 average sale prices is $18,906. The highest average sale price year occurred in 2005. NE Ohio, though not as volatile as some of the other housing markets, followed the same patterns as they did on a smaller scale. Peace Out - 3C

Investing In Cleveland or as This Guy Puts it: In Your Own BackYard

I'm not an investment broker and I don't even play one on television. I'm in real estate! But this site, The Motley Fool, caught my eye. This post focuses on investing in NE Ohio and it is a good read! It talks about neighborhoods (Kamms, for example), and recommends Eaton Corp for it's leanness and long term stable growth potential. They cover a good cross section of info. My hats off to them for readability. Here is a quote from it (relating to investing in one of our signature areas, heavy metal)

"Metalworking mills may not be sexy, but they do get a lot of investor respect -- and with the massive and booming infrastructure markets in China and India, there's no shortage of buyers for their products. Cleveland is riding a wave of global growth right now, and it seems to be making the most of it. So I just have to break into song for a moment:
All the little chicks with the crimson lips go "Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!"'

Who says reading about investing can't be fun? Check it out. And he/they are looking for input so comment away! Peace Out - 3C

Cuyahoga County Real Estate Sale For June 2007 - Includes Ohio City and Tremont

I have no idea how we have managed to already find ourselves at the end of June, but so be it. Sales in zip code 44113 are still intriguing; condos and town homes are continuing to be the top picks in this zip code. Here is what happened in June:

16 Properties had 'activity.' 3 of them are contingent, meaning they went under contract and have not closed yet. Of these three, all are attached dwellings (condos or town homes). The asking price for these three homes was $161,104, $184,900 & $204,750. (We won't know the sale prices until they close).

13 Properties Sold. 3 of them were single family homes. 10 of them were Condos/Town Homes. The Average Ask Price was $184,115 and the Average Sale Price was $179,408. The average price per square foot was $99. Again, since only three of these properties were single family homes, the average sale was for a 2 BR, 2BA unit with 2,272 square feet. And a two car garage.

There are a total of 174 homes on the market in zip code 44113. The breakdown is 92 single family homes and 82 condos. Some of the other stats interest me as well.

Of the 13 homes sold, none were sold for more $225k so I used that as a benchmark to do some sleuthing. There are currently 97 homes on for sale here with an asking price higher than $225k. I talk to myself (well I'm the only one here) and ask if maybe the price points are a tad high for the pocketbooks? Look at the average stats on these 97 homes listed for more than 225k:

Days on The Market: The 13 homes sold still averaged a bit more than three months. That's it. These homes have an average of 264 days on the market. And they are not sold yet. Most of these are gorgeous new construction homes so that explains a bit about this next stat, but still: there are some that have been on the market for more than 500 days.

The average cost per square foot on the sold homes was $99 yes? Well these homes average $182 a square foot. And the average square footage is 1,932, when the homes that sold for less money averaged over 2,000 square feet of space per home. My new mantra is lower price points please. Peace Out - 3C

Real Estate: Making an Offer to Buy a House Contingent on the Sale of Your Current One

I have a lucky client: fiscally able to carry two mortgages at once. She has her current home listed for sale with me. And she found one she loves that feels like home in a neighborhood she loves even more. So we are considering writing an offer contingent upon the sale of her home. In this particular case, the sellers, who would normally (and understandably) be skittish about doing that - taking their home off the market while they wait for a closing to occur - would get a good report from my client's mortgage lender assuring them of her ability to own two homes, even if it's a substantial period of time. Her home, my listing, is fabulous, so I am confident that someone will want to buy it. What no one can predict is how soon that will occur.

Most of us are not in the position to carry two mortgages. Most people (buyers) who make an offer contingent on the sale of their home are basically hoping their home will sell so they can buy the one they found and like. In these cases, the State of Ohio and our purchase offer process allows buyers to have essentially a 'right of first refusal' with a '48 Hour Clause.' This means, the sellers keep their homes on the market and actively show it to potential buyers. If someone else makes an offer, then the original buyers (the ones who have a contract with the sellers) have 48 hours to 'make things good' - or bow out. Some people get their ducks in a row so they can get a bridge loan if that scenario happens. Not everyone is lucky enough to qualify for a bridge loan either. Some have to bow out and then the new buyer is able to purchase the home.

Either way, sellers are skittish about this idea because one, it's not common that it works out; two, they feel like they lose time on the market. Even if it's a 48 hour clause, if the contract they are in is with buyers who definitely cannot afford the house without a bridge loan or a sudden windfall, then they tend to shy away from accepting this type of offer. Not always, but usually. It IS true, that there are many houses for buyers to pick from, and this idea may be appealing to more sellers than normal.

I would be really careful about this, do your homework with a reputable mortgage lender who can clearly advise you about a bridge loan, and who will honestly evaluate your financial situation regarding your ability to do this. Have your Realtor® advise you about the process. And try to evaluate your level of potential stress if the 'what if I own two homes' scenario comes to pass. Even a buyer like my current one, who can afford two mortgages, has to decide for themselves if this extra out of pocket money will leave them with too little cash flow if an emergency arises. I just googled this and there is an article in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune that talks about this type of purchase offer. It's worth a read but I just realized you will have to sign up to read it and that could be annoying. So here is another article from the Seattle Times.

Peace Out - 3C

Strip Clubs and Higher Sales Taxes All In the News

Condo owners in Stonebridge, according to WKYC news tonight, came out against a proposed series of strip clubs on the east bank of the Flats. Mayor Jackson said he knew it was controversial but it was a good spot for it. The City would create a new District for it. I can't find a web link for this story but I'm sure by morning I will and will add it. (okay I found it here on Cleveland.com)

Councilman Zak Reed and the Republican party are saying they will start a petition drive to allow us to vote on the issue of a raised sales tax instead of it being handled the way Commissioner Hagan and Mr. Dimora wanted it done....well you know, like the proverbial railroad train running through our lives. Tom Beres and WKYC reported the story tonight. Hats off to Councilman Reed and the Cuyahoga County Republican Party for stepping in before it was too late. I'll give more details when they announce the specifics about the petition drive. For sure, whether you would support a sales tax increase for a Convention Center and Medical Mart or not, you should have the right to vote on it! It's your money! So take that Hagan and Dimora.

Peace Out - 3C