Real Estate Information

Greater Anderson Days - July 23-25                                                

The culmination of a year's worth of work is coming July 23-25 to Beech Acres Park. Now in its 12th year, Greater Anderson Days is a project jointly sponsored by the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, Anderson Township Fireman's Association, Anderson Township Parks and Anderson Township Government.

Proceeds from the event, that exhibites the teamwork of the area, help fund new and existing playgrounds within the park district and improve and increase EMS units in the community.

The entire community looks forward to the festival, one of the largest in the Miami valley. Experience great food,games, rides, a Business Expo, music...all in a festival atmosphere.

Major sponsors this year are Beechmont Automotive Group for the fireworks and Krogers, Cincinnati Federal, Curry Electric and Mercy Hospital Anderson overall.

Musical entertainment will start at 5:30pm on Friday with Model Behavior Band and 3 Day Rule, 5:30pm on Saturday with Dr. Dan and the Stray Dogs and DV8 and 5pm on Sunday with The Lab Monkeys and Chuck Brisbin and the Tuna Project.

Rozzi Fireworks will be at 10pm on Sunday.

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.

University of Cincinnati Named to "World's Most Beautiful Campuses" List 

Architects and designers were recently asked to judge the World's Most Beautiful Campuses by Forbes Magazine.  Powerful natural landscapes played a part in establishing the character of some schools.  The University to Oxford was described as an architectural wonderland.  For large Universities, a clear diagram of organization helped them achieve recognition.

The University of Cincinnati's distinction is due to a strategic plan implemented over the past 10 years that used "signature architects" to design new buildings.  Architects of note included are Michael Graves, Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Thom Mayne, Bernard Tschumi, Eric Sueberkrop, and others.

Other schools on the list were Kenyon College, Oxford University, Princeton University, Scripps College, Stanford University, Trinity College, Tsinghua University, University of Bologna, Yale University, Wellesley College, University of Virginia and University of California, Santa Cruz.

The Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati announced that Homearama 2011 is ON!  Put June 11-26th on your calendar!  Six builders have signed up for the show and there are 5 other lots available.  Homearama is the largest high-end home show in the region. 

It is expected that the homes will be in the $550-850,000 price range.  Homes will be built in the Foxboro subdivision in West Chester.  Cobblestone Development and Drees Co. are the developers.

According to Dan Dressman, Executive Director, "The community sits on one of the highest points in the township providing sweeping vistas of the countryside and the alluring, evening lights of downtown West Chester.”

Artisan Estate Homes has pre-sold its show home.  Other builders signed up at this point are Daniels Homes, Greystone Homes, Hensley Custom Building Group, Jack H. Wieland Builders and Zaring Premier Homes.

For more information, check out their website at www.cincybuilders.com.

Hyde Park or Oakley?  Hyde Park or Oakley?  Residents of Hyde Park East are miffed with the decision made by the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors to use CAGIS as the decision making body on street locations. 

Streets off of Erie Avenue, including Ashworth, Hampton, Broadview and Forest Hills are affected.  After being called part of Hyde Park in MLS for the past 40+ years, they are now being put in MLS as Oakley.  All because of CAGIS.

So, what is CAGIS?  They describe themselves in part as:

"The mission of the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System (CAGIS) is to create a revolutionary computerized information sharing system that enables the fundamental transformation of government and utility service management and delivery. CAGIS is to offer government, utility companies, groups, or citizens a new, intelligent, and cost effective tool to make informed decisions based on shared data within a standard framework.

In 1995 CAGIS established the foundation for automating the functions of government and utilities whose activities create the inventories of sewers, land records, water, drainage, electrical systems, streets, right of way, etc. supporting the community.  CAGIS is a consortium of the land and infrastructure agencies in the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Cincinnati Bell Telephone and Cincinnati Gas & Electric, plus specific departments served within the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County."

Multiple Listing Service Point of View

The MLS decided to use the CAGIS system (http://cagis.hamilton-co.org) as a source for the neighborhoods of the City of Cincinnati.  From now on, MLS will review all listings and verify that the area location placed in the Multiple Listing Service information corresponds with the CAGIS System.

You can expect that properties affected most by this change in policy will be those close to the border of various neighborhoods. So, is it Westwood or Covedale, Silverton or Columbia Township, Kennedy Heights or Pleasant Ridge, etc.? Prior to CAGIS, there was no source of accurate neighborhood lines.  Authorization follows census tract data and community councils and city planning guidelines.

Why should you care?

This will affect average and median prices in both Hyde Park and Oakley.  So, is MLS going back and changing all these listings back in history as well?  No one knows for sure.  Also, the Hamilton County Auditor taxes these areas based upon a Hyde Park location...would taxes then go down?

Do you live on a street affected by these changes?  Maybe you know the exact line between Hyde Park and Oakley, or between Hyde Park and Mt. Lookout, or between Mt. Lookout or Columbia Tusculum.  Do you even know if your street could be considered part of another neighborhood? I have lived in the area since 1970 and specific streets have been disputed for all that time.

The Hyde Park East Group has been formed to try to get the affected streets back in Hyde Park by CAGIS and then changed by MLS.  If you are interested, you can watch a video they have prepared that shows the history of the area at:

http://home.fuse.net/ward7/HPE.html

They have already requested that the Oakley Neighborhood Council declare that these are streets they do not serve.  The organization will be having a neighborhood meeting at the Oakley Community Center (near Biggs in Hyde Park Square)...is this confusing or what!...on August 3 at 5:30 PM.

If you cannot attend the meeting, but want to comment, you can contact:

Jeff.orschell@hydeparkeast.com

ward.Smith@hydeparkest.com

terry@hydeparkeast.com