Real Estate Information Archive

The "mistake" made when CAGIS set up the Hyde Park East area as Oakley is now being called "Border Wars" by the media.  A story ran this week on WLW-T and is now making the rounds of the residents who live in the area.  You can watch it and see the story they put on their website here: http://www.wlwt.com/news/24353865/detail.html

If you want to educate yourself about the issue and see the presentation that will be used at the Oakley Community Council meeting, it has been upladed to You Tube in two parts because it is over the 10 minute length limit.  The maps and information are very interesting.

Plan to attend the meeting at Oakley Community Center (in Hyde Park Plaza) on August 3rd at 6PM.  Sounds like at least Channel 19 will be there in case there are fireworks.

The Hyde Park East Committee is on the agenda for the Oakley Neighborhood Council meeting on Tuesday, August 3 at 6PM at the Oakley Community Center in Hyde Park Plaza...do we all realize how intertwined these neighborhoods are anyway...meeting at the Oakley Community Center in Hyde Park Plaza, oh, my!

So what's the beef?  In the Fall of 2009, the Multiple Listing Service of Cincinnati began classifying most streets in Hyde Park East as being located in Oakley.  Hyde Park Neighborhood Council had always considered the area as part of Hyde Park and for 40 years, the MLS had classified the area as Hyde Park.  Residents have 400 signatures on a petition to bring their area back under Hyde Park in MLS and with the Neighborhood Council.

How did this happen?  MLS started to enforce the areas using CAGIS(Cincinnati Area Geographic Information Service) maps.  CAGIS says that they did not change the boundaries, but followed the Cincinnati Community Council Boundary Map.  In the research done by the Hyde Park East Committee, the area is always shown as Hyde Park.  If you want to see the video they put together for the Oakley meeting, go to www.hydeparkeast.com. 

The committee under the leadership of Jeff Orschell, Ward Smith, Terry Eschmeyer and Mike Mathias, have carefully researched the history of the area.  They have been given time to make a presentation at the Oakley Community Council meeting.  Show your support by going to the meeting...a strong turn out will let them know how important this issue is to the residents of the area.

The Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors has released numbers for home sales for June, 2010.  There were 2,129 units closed in June, a 7.63% gain over June of 2009.  Reported sales are largely due to contracts written before April 30th that qualified for the federal tax credits of $8000 or $6500.

Cincinnati's June sales were up slightly compared to May sales (.57%)Nationwide, the number of sales for June were up 9,8% from a year ago but down in number by 5.1% in a seasonally adjusted basis.

Year-to date, closings show positive numbers:

• Sales units  +11.94%
• Gross dollar volume sales  +21.35%
• Average Sale price  +8.41%

Sale prices are up for 2010 to date because fewer foreclosure sales are in early 2010 compared to 2009.

Low interest rates have also influenced sales.  A 30-year fixed rate mortgage home loan is now approximately 4.66%, a 39-year low.  Last year the rate was 5.61% at the same time.  If you are comparing payments on a $100,000 home, that would be a payment that was $52 less.  This has spawned a huge increase in refinancings.

The pace of sales has slowed since April 30.  Nationally, the number of people filling out loan applications is 40% lower than at the beginning of 2009.  It will probably take until November to see the affect of the tax credit shake out and things to return to a more normal market.

Economist, Lawrence Yun, with the National Association of Realtors, says that "Only when jobs are created at a sufficient pace will home sales return in sustainable healthy levels."

I refinanced my house nearly 6 months ago...very excited at how much I was able to reduce my payments.  Now, I'm kicking myself because I did not get the lowest possible rate...the rate available today!

If you missed the refinance boom of November, 2009, you can now take advantage of the lowest rates in the past 40 years.  How do you decide if you should make this move?

Typically experts say that you need to look at what the percentage interest rate will adjust to, preferably at least one percent below your current interest rate.  Secondly, you need to consider how long you expect to stay in your current home.  Usually, if you stay at least 2 years, you will come out ahead in the process (because you need to look at the amount saved compared to the closing costs.

What should you expect in refinancing today?  Yes, loans are harder to get today.  Banks are investigating your finances to the finest detail. Rates will be dependent upon your credit score.  The type of rate you would have gotten in 2007 with a 640 credit score, now requires a 740 credit score.  As a result, plan on the process taking 5-8 weeks.

Appraisals are sometimes a surprise.  You need to look carefully at how much equity you have in your home.  If you did a 100% loan in 2007, you probably do not have enough equity built up to get a loan today.  For most of us, even though we know that the news is that prices have gone down, we tend to not think that our personal house's price has gone down.

Consider you debt.  No matter what, it is important to look at our total debt in making credit decisions.  Most lenders do not want you to have a home loan that is higher than 25% of your income.

Compare lender's closing costs as well as interest rate offered.  There are wide variations in closing costs from one lender to another.  Check it out before you actually decide on your lender.

Good luck...I hope you can save 100's of dollars!

June numbers are in for Montgomery, Blue Ash, Symmes Township and Sycamore Township, all part of the Sycamore School district. For the month, 65 homes or condos were sold.  There are currently 406 homes actively on the market and 76 pending sales.

Credit Suisse provides a monthly analysis of real estate traffic (showings) across the country.  The traffic index level dropped to levels not seen since the credit crisis began in late '08.  The sharp fall off in traffic was expected in May, but June only added to the slowdown.  The most worrisome aspect of their index is that the numbers continued to fall throughout the month.

Along with that, the number of pending home sales across the country dropped 30% from May, 15% below May, 2009.  The number of closings will continue to decline in July and August based upon this.

So, what does that mean?  Overall, it demonstrates that the consumer pushed their buying plans ahead in order to qualify for the $8000 or $6500 federal tax credit.  Now, homeowners can expect to be on the market longer and may be forced to further lower home prices, through reductions or concessions in negotiating a sale.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors notes that, "The tax credit has broadly stabilized home prices.  Now the key test on whether the housing market can stand on its own without the stimulus medicine will depend on private job creation in the second half of the year and conditions on the Gulf Coast.  If jobs come back as expected, the pace of home sales should pick up later this year and reach a sustainable level of activity given very favorable affordability conditions."

Montgomery, Blue Ash, Symmes Township and Sycamore Township have had 561 sales from June 30, 2009 to July 1, 2010.  That turns out to be approximately 47 per month.  At that rate, there are approximately 8.6 months of inventory.  five to six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.

June numbers are in for Hyde Park, Mt. Lookout, Oakley and Columbia Tusculum. For the month, 66 homes or condos were sold.  There are currently 309 homes actively on the market and 47 pending sales.

Credit Suisse provides a monthly analysis of real estate traffic (showings) across the country.  The traffic index level dropped to levels not seen since the credit crisis began in late '08.  The sharp fall off in traffic was expected in May, but June only added to the slowdown.  The most worrisome aspect of their index is that the numbers continued to fall throughout the month.

Along with that, the number of pending home sales across the country dropped 30% from May, 15% below May, 2009.  The number of closings will continue to decline in July and August based upon this.

So, what does that mean?  Overall, it demonstrates that the consumer pushed their buying plans ahead in order to qualify for the $8000 or $6500 federal tax credit.  Now, homeowners can expect to be on the market longer and may be forced to further lower home prices, through reductions or concessions in negotiating a sale.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors notes that, "The tax credit has broadly stabilized home prices.  Now the key test on whether the housing market can stand on its own without the stimulus medicine will depend on private job creation in the second half of the year and conditions on the Gulf Coast.  If jobs come back as expected, the pace of home sales should pick up later this year and reach a sustainable level of activity given very favorable affordability conditions."

Hyde Park, Mt. Lookout, Oakley and Columbia Tusculum have had 661 sales from June 30, 2009 to July 1, 2010.  That turns out to be approximately 55 per month.  At that rate, there are approximately 5.6 months of inventory.  Five to six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.

June numbers are in for Mt. Adams. For the month, 2 homes or condos were sold.  There are currently 41 homes actively on the market and 4 pending sales.

Credit Suisse provides a monthly analysis of real estate traffic (showings) across the country.  The traffic index level dropped to levels not seen since the credit crisis began in late '08.  The sharp fall off in traffic was expected in May, but June only added to the slowdown.  The most worrisome aspect of their index is that the numbers continued to fall throughout the month.

Along with that, the number of pending home sales across the country dropped 30% from May, 15% below May, 2009.  The number of closings will continue to decline in July and August based upon this.

So, what does that mean?  Overall, it demonstrates that the consumer pushed their buying plans ahead in order to qualify for the $8000 or $6500 federal tax credit.  Now, homeowners can expect to be on the market longer and may be forced to further lower home prices, through reductions or concessions in negotiating a sale.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors notes that, "The tax credit has broadly stabilized home prices.  Now the key test on whether the housing market can stand on its own without the stimulus medicine will depend on private job creation in the second half of the year and conditions on the Gulf Coast.  If jobs come back as expected, the pace of home sales should pick up later this year and reach a sustainable level of activity given very favorable affordability conditions."

Mt. Adams has had 23 sales from June 30, 2009 to July 1, 2010.  That turns out to be approximately 1.9 per month.  At that rate, there are approximately 21.5 months of inventory.  Five to six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.

  Pondarama Water Garden Tour - July 17-18                                

Meyer Aquascapes is sponsoring a two day tour of 31 water gardens around the city. You're promised "marvelous gardens and great photo opportunities." All of the water gardens have been created by the company. They divided the tour up into West side, North side, East Side and Kentucky.

If you are interested in gardening or considering a water garden for yourself, this would be an opportunity to see what is involved. You can download their tours here.

June numbers are in forAnderson Township and Newtown, all part of the Forest Hills School district. For the month, 64 homes or condos were sold.  There are currently 410 homes actively on the market and 68 pending sales. 

Credit Suisse provides a monthly analysis of real estate traffic (showings) across the country.  The traffic index level dropped to levels not seen since the credit crisis began in late '08.  The sharp fall off in traffic was expected in May, but June only added to the slowdown.  The most worrisome aspect of their index is that the numbers continued to fall throughout the month.

Along with that, the number of pending home sales across the country dropped 30% from May, 15% below May, 2009.  The number of closings will continue to decline in July and August based upon this.

So, what does that mean?  Overall, it demonstrates that the consumer pushed their buying plans ahead in order to qualify for the $8000 or $6500 federal tax credit.  Now, homeowners can expect to be on the market longer and may be forced to further lower home prices, through reductions or concessions in negotiating a sale.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors notes that, "The tax credit has broadly stabilized home prices.  Now the key test on whether the housing market can stand on its own without the stimulus medicine will depend on private job creation in the second half of the year and conditions on the Gulf Coast.  If jobs come back as expected, the pace of home sales should pick up later this year and reach a sustainable level of activity given very favorable affordability conditions."

Anderson Township and Newtown have had 564 sales from June 30, 2009 to July 1, 2010.  That turns out to be approximately 47 per month.  At that rate, there are approximately 8.72 months of inventory.  Five to six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.

A grassroots community initiative has taken the City by storm! The movement is designed to spread a network of projects and activities throughout the City that promote awareness and raise funds for our new 45-acre Cincinnati Riverfront Park.

This new park will add to the crown jewels of the Cincinnati Park system. TWIG is sponsored by the Women's Committee. Groups all over town with similar passions and interests are encouraged to participate. Every little contribution will add up and enhance the interest and involvement in building this park.  Ideas for groups that might come together are Scout organizations, garden clubs, walking groups, book clubs, and friends.  Dater Montessori and Town and Country Garden Club have already initiated projects that will benefit the Park attractions and activities.

Pictured here is Marjorie McCullough Motch recipient of the Phyllis W. Smale Award from the Women's Committee with Willie Carden, Jr., Director of the Cincinnati Park Board.  Among Marjorie's many volunteer endeavors is serving as the first president of the Cincinnati Parks Foundation Board of Trustees.

To see how the park is progressing and learn more about what is planned, visit www.MyCincinnatiRiverfrontPark.com.