Real Estate Information

Rikki Tiki Tavi                                                                   

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's Community Outreach program gives you a fun activity to enjoy with your children.  This is the first year where one of the shows presented to school groups is also taken to the community.

Some good places to see the show are:

• Friday, April 2^{nd -} 9:45 AM -UC Clermont in Calico Children’s Theater/Kruegar Auditorium
• Saturday, April 3^{rd -} 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM - Playhouse in the Park - Next Generation Theatre Series
• Saturday, April 10^{th -} 3:00 PM -Madisonville Arts Center
• Saturday, April 10^{th -} 7:30 PM -Green Acres in Indian Hill
• Sunday, April 11^{th -} 3:00 PM - Wyoming Fine Arts Center
• Friday, April 16^{th -} 7:30 PM - Baker Hunt Art and Culture Center
• Saturday, April 17^{th -} 3:00 PM -Silverton Padeia Academy
• Saturday, April 17^{th -} 7:00 PM - District A @ Pleasant Ridge Montessori
• Sunday, April 18^{th -} 3:00 PM -Evendale Cultural Arts Center
• Friday, April 23^{rd -} 7:30 PM - Emanuel Community Center
• Saturday, April 24^{th -} 3:00 PM - Clifton Cultural Arts Center
• Saturday, April 24^{th -} 7:30 PM -Sharonville Fine Arts Council
• Sunday, April 25^{th -} 1:00 PM -Mayerson JCC
• Tuesday, April 27^th- 10:30 AM - Green Acres Arts Center

Park Activities for April                                                

Hamilton County Park District - Every Friday from April 9-May 28, join Fantastic Farm Fridays at Parky's Farm in Winton Woods (10073 Daly Road).  Children will experience hands-on educational activities and live demonstrations.  Nursery School through second graders will be able to plant veggies, card wool and measure the height of a pony.  Other activities will be sheep shearing, goat milking, and fishing.  Free! Registration is recommended.

Cincinnati Park District's Krohn Conservatory- If you have never been to the Butterfly Show, don't miss it this year. It's the fifteenth year where you have an opportunity to have butterflies land on your hands and head.  Held from April 17 through June 20, 10am-5pm, the show will mimic the changes of seasons and feature the Butterflies of Japan. Unlimited entry pins can be purchased for $10 online. See www.butterflyshow.com for more information.

Cherry Trees are blooming in Ault Park

Eden Park's beautiful daffodils!

Inclement wintry conditions, throughout most of February, affected local sales in Cincinnati according to the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors.  Sales (closings) fell 17.45% for the month.

Additionally, buyers backed off for a few months around the holidays based upon the extension of the home buyer tax credit program.  While closings backed off, pending sales (contracts written) increased 7.8% over February a year ago. 

Year-to-date local sales for 2010 were off 12.96%, but gross dollar volume was up 1.54%.  Over the January-February period, the average sale price is up 16.67% compared to the same period in 2009. Much of this can be attributed to the large number of lender-involved sales in 2009, nearly 44% of all sales.

Reasons for the strength of this year's market include:

• Ample inventory giving buyers a good selection
• Optimum mortgage rates, just over 5%
• Federal Tax credits of $8000 for first-time buyers and $6500 for repeat buyers. (contracts must be completed by April 30 and closed by June 30)

When looking at the entire state of Ohio, there was a 3.5% decline in the number of sales.  The average sale price increased 12.4%.  And the total dollar volume increased 8.5%.  February was the fifth consecutive monthly gain in average price for Ohio.  This indicates that prices are stabilizing, benefiting current homeowners.

HouseLogic.com is a free source of information and tools—from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®—that can help you make smart and timely decisions about your home.  With content covering home improvement, maintenance, taxes, finance, insurance, and even ways you can get involved in and enrich your community, HouseLogic can help you increase and protect the value of your home by helping you make confident decisions.

I thought the article about Spring home maintenance projects was great.  Also, if you are thinking of replacing your roof soon, you might start by getting the basics for your research on this site.

The Zoo is offering FREE concerts on Thursdays in April.  The groups playing will feature a wide variety of music and represent some of the most respected local music veterans.  It's a great opportunity to walk through the beautiful blooms of the Zoo's gardens and hear some fantastic tunes!  Admission is free starting at 5PM, though there is a $7 parking fee.  Bands play from 6-8:30 PM.  

Or as the Zoo's marketing says: "Why tip-toe through the tulips when you can rock the garden?"  

31 days until the Tax Credit Deadline

The Extended Home Buyers Tax Credit offers current homeowners and first-time home buyers alike an incredible tax-saving opportunity when they buy a home through April 30, 2010. First time buyers, who haven't owned a primary residence in the past three years, are eligible for a tax credit of 10 percent of a home's purchase price, up to a maximum of $8,000.

Current homeowners are also eligible for a tax credit of their own. Homeowners who have lived in their primary residence for 5 consecutive years of the past 8 are eligible for a tax credit of 10% of a home's purchase price, up to maximum of $6,500.

The following conditions apply:

• The tax credit is only awarded on homes purchased for $800,000, or less
• Full tax credit is available to buyers earning up to $125,000 a year, or $225,000 for married couples filing jointly
• Partial tax credit is available to buyers earning between $125,000 to $145,000, or for married couples earning between $225,000 to $245,000.
• Under the rules, as long as a written binding purchase contract is in effect on April 30, 2010, the buyer has until July 1, 2010 to close.

The tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the buyers tax liability, and does not have to be paid back as long as the buyer remains in their home for three years or more. This is a once-in-a-lifetime offer to have Uncle Sam help you buy a house. Don't let this opportunity pass you by!

First Friday Gallery Hop in Covington - April 2, 6-10 PM

Final Fridays and Second Look Saturdays in Over the Rhine - March 27th, 6-10 PM and March 28th, 11 AM-3 PM

Starting with the Pendleton Art Gallery and its 510 studios, now an additional 20 galleries in Over-the-Rhine open their doors the last Friday of every month. Get a close-up look at the artists and artisans at work here, from the collection of studios in Pendleton Art Center to individual galleries along Main Street. Many bars, restaurants and clubs in the area are also open to complete your evening.

Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand at Contemporary Arts Center 

U.S. News named Cincinnati as one of the 10 Cities for Real Estate Steals.  They rated cities where home buyers are most likely to find houses that are undervalued when compared with their longer-term averages. Moody's Economy.com, an economics firm, provided average and quarterly price-to-income data for the nation's 384 metropolitan statistical districts.  They then compared the recent figures with longer-term averages.  From that they compiled the list of real estate steals.

In their analysis, they indicated that Cincinnati's home prices have remained relatively affordable throughout the nation's recent boom-to -bust cycle.