Cleveland Real Estate News: Getting A Mortgage Safely

You've all heard the news (since it's all over the media) about Countrywide, one of the Country's largest providers of mortgages. They are scrambling to avoid bankruptcy. I have to tell you, it is still possible to get a safe mortgage loan and that is the only good news in this mess. Brian Brady is one of the top thinkers, in my opinion, in the mortgage industry. I'll let him tell you about this. Here are solid points of advice from America's Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker. I am dead serious, this is great advice. He's writing it for Realtors® but it can tell you what to look for as you search for your loan. Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Real Estate News: Brecksville and Independence Half Year Sale Statistics

Independence and Brecksville are adjacent communities so it seemed appropriate to do a comparison of home sales since January of this year; six months of stats for homes sold by area brokerages:

Brecksville:
81 single family homes sold
23 condos sold

The homes sold ranged in sale prices from $78,000 for a bank owned home to $1,375,000.00 for a new construction luxury home. The averages look like this:

• 2,906 square feet
• 4 BRs, 2 Baths and 2 car garage
• Average sale price was $310,649
• The average amount of days on the market for these homes was 71
• Average cost per square feet was $110

***There are 77 single family homes on the market as of today, in Brecksville, and 34 condominiums.

Independence:

20 single family homes sold

They ranged in price from an estate sale at $142,507 to $650,000. The averages:

• 2,399 square feet of living space
• 3 BRs, 2 Baths and a two car garage
• The average sale price was $285,047
• The average number of days these homes were on the market was 94
• The average cost per square foot was $119

There are 48 single family homes listed for sale currently, with area brokerages. (There are no condo stats for Independence)

Independence had a smaller inventory of homes for sale than Brecksville, and traditionally Independence is a popular designation neighborhood for home sales (lower taxes). These first six months did see Brecksville with a higher average sale price; the price per square foot was higher in Independence, but close. Peace Out- 3C

Don't Buy Anything If You Don't Have Money -- What a Concept!

Big hats off to fellow Active Rainer Cheryl Johnson for digging up this SNL video.....I remember it, I laughed, poignantly. You really need to watch this for the perfect financial philosophy! Thanks, Cheryl. Peace Out-3C

Cleveland Real Estate:Two Good Reads From Other Bloggers

I read two posts this weekend that I definitely want to pass on to everyone....the posters are not in NE Ohio but what they have to say applies to every state and all of us. Both of these bloggers are real estate professionals whom I respect tremendously and whose work I follow.

First, George Souto is a mortgage lender from Connecticut He wrote a post on zero down mortgages and what is fact and what is fiction about them in our current market. I definitely suggest you read this.

Next, Linda Davis (coincidentally, also from Connecticut!) has a story about a listing she had that just went under contract. She understands about pricing listings; she understands a lot because she is a broker who has been in business for about 30 years. So check out her post to get some great insight into what is important when you want to sell your home. Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland Real Estate News: Ohio City & Tremont Housing Sales

This covers zip code 44113, which includes Ohio City and Tremont. These 'first six months of 2007' stats represent homes listed with area brokerages.

• There are 93 single family homes for sale in zip code 44113
• There are 74 condos listed for sale in this zip code
• One condo and 4 single family homes are 'contingent' and waiting to go pending to close
• 21 single family homes are under contract and waiting to close
• 51 condos are pending as well, and waiting to transfer title and close

Sold since January:

• 22 condos
• 46 single family homes
• The average time on the market for these homes was 108 days
• Average Ask Price was $194,425
• Average Sale Price was $192,967
• Average cost per square foot was $92

**There are 93 homes and 74 condos listed for sale right now, as I stated; that is quite a bit less than the West Town and West Park area stats showed in my previous post. Zip code 44113 has not seen the huge wave of listings (and maybe less foreclosures?) than some other areas.

Peace Out - 3C Copyright 2007

Cleveland Real Estate: Housing Sales West Park/West Town

These are statistics for home sale activity for the first six months of this year. This post covers Westpark/Westtown, and as always, includes all home activity for homes listed with area brokerages.

• There are 423 homes on the market as of today
• 133 of them are 3 BR, one car garage single family homes
• Two homes are 'contingent' but under contract
• 80 homes have sold since January

The Averages:

• 1,276 square feet of living space
• The 80 homes were on the market an average of 72 days
• Average Ask Price was $101,334
• Average Sale Price was $97,103

**The least expensive home that sold ($18,500) and the most expensive one ($156,000) were both bank owned/foreclosure homes.

Let me repeat: there are 423 homes listed for sale with area brokerages in this neighborhood. I would say if you do not have to sell your home right now, now would not be a good time to test the waters!

Peace Out - copyright 3C 2007

Cleveland Real Estate: The Skinny on Lakewood and Rocky River Home Sales

Six months of statistics are available for home sales in and around Cleveland so I'm going to be posting these off and on over the next week. Today it's Lakewood and Rocky River. These stats, as usual, cover homes sold by brokerages in NE Ohio. All stats cover January to the present.

Lakewood:

105 total homes sold. 66 were BR single family homes; the rest were condos. The lowest sale price was $55,000 and the highest was $223,000.

All 105 averaged 94 days on the market before selling. The average 'sold' dwelling had 3BRs, 1BA and a one car garage. Average asking price was $120,096. The average sale price was $115,574.

There are 168 Single Family Homes for sale currently in Lakewood.
There are 138 condominiums for sale.

12 homes are currently under contract and waiting for inspections and mortgages to be finalized; 36 homes are 'pending' or waiting to close.

Rocky River:

182 total homes sold since January.
137 were single family homes
45 were condominiums

They ranged in price from $127,000 to @262,000. The average ask price was @178,060 and the average sale price was $171,747. These homes were on the market an average of 88 days.

There are 4 'contingent' offers, meaning waiting for inspections and mortgage approvals.
There are 37 homes pending, or waiting to close.

Rocky River currently has 171 condos listed for sale ; 182 single family homes are listed for sale.

Still more available homes than there are buyers. Peace Out - 3C