Columbus And Central Ohio Real Estate Tid Bits

Attention Columbus House Flippers- Fame and Fortune Await!

July 11th, 2007 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus Seller Info, Columbus and Central Ohio Real Estate Tid Bits, The Good 3 Comments

FTH OK, all you people who love buying lonely houses and turning them into saleable beauties… The Arts and Entertainment Channel wants to make you famous!!

Flip This House, A&E’s #1 rated lifestyle show, has been to Charleston, Atlanta, San Antonio, and New Haven. Will Columbus be next??
813 Casting and Departure Films are conducting a nationwide search for the new cast of characters who will be featured on the upcoming season of Flip This House! Will it be your team?
“We’re looking for confident, charismatic, motivated and opinionated people who “flip” residential properties for a living. We want real-estate adrenaline junkies who love the high risk, high reward nature of their jobs and who are devoted to doing a great job!”
If you would like your team to be featured on the upcoming season of Flip This House, send an email to fth@813casting.com. Include your contact info, bios on you and your team, and some reasons why your team should be the next to be featured on Flip This House. Teams should consist of four or more people.

If you know of someone who’s in the house-flipping business, send them this information…. fame and fortune await!

Interpreting Sales Appreciation Statistics for Your Home’s Value

June 20th, 2007 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus Seller Info, Columbus and Central Ohio Home Sales Stats, Columbus and Central Ohio Real Estate Tid Bits, Investment Property No Comments

Cover_June07 The Columbus Monthly magazine wrote a wonderful, 9 page informative feature article in their June 2007 issue called “Location, Location, Location”– the front cover of the magazine shows roof tops and the title “The Real Estate Market RIGHT NOW– Home Values for 44 communities”.

The writers Alice Hohl and Nancy Richison did their research– interviewing a number of realtors, gathering statistical data, and also utilizing a company called CompuName to obtain the necessary data. In a five year period, communities were up as much as 43% and down as much as 12% in average median price.

Does that mean that the final percentage found in this article is what you can apply to YOUR home?

Not exactly. While that’s the first reaction, there are often underlying reasons for those numbers. It’s critically important to remember that YOUR home value is ‘personal,’ meaning your area (location), condition (updates), and need (do you need to move tomorrow?) is unique.

For a specific example, let’s look at Powell and a home on the market there. In the Columbus Monthly article, the increase in Median Price from 2001–2006 is up 31.99%.

Home This home was purchased in 2001 for $475,000.00. Using the logic of increasing the price 31.99%, the list price would be $626,900.00. While the seller would LOVE that price, a careful market analysis led the seller to list the home in March for $544,000.00– a conservative appreciation of 14.5%, or around 3% a year.

As of mid-June, there have been no offers and the price is reduced to $529,900.00– now down to 11.5%. This price does not account for the several upgrades and improvements to the property– the owners understood this is part of living in a home.

“How can this be?” you say. “Either the stats are wrong, or something is terribly wrong with this home…”

Wrong in both cases. The home is in great condition, has nearly 3 acres, a fantastic location, an indoor pool, and other great amenities. And the statistics presented in the Columbus Monthly article are correct.

It’s the reason underneath the statistics that needs investigating. In the last 5 years, there has been incredible building of new, expensive properties in the Powell area. All these sales of homes in the $600,000.00 and up range definitely makes an impact on what the average median sales price is. So, areas with lots of growth and sales of expensive new homes are going to show a hefty increase in their average median sales price.

I’ve often used the comparison of the tortoise and hare when talking to buyers and seller about the Columbus area real estate market. Slow and steady wins the race. We have an unusually stable economy, and along with that comes stable home values. Sellers who study the market (or use a good Realtor who has the expertise to do the studying for them) and price their home correctly will sell. It’s important to ask the “why?” behind the numbers to understand YOUR home’s value.

How Are Home Sales Around Columbus, Ohio??

May 9th, 2007 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus Seller Info, Columbus and Central Ohio Home Sales Stats, Columbus and Central Ohio Real Estate Tid Bits, The Good No Comments

Curious how the REAL numbers and home activity are doing compared to all the national hype?

Here’s a PDF chart of all the communities around the Columbus area, showing the ‘Sold’ stats for the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same time frame in 2006. I’ve gone to a PDF link because the formatting of charts really do not co-exist well with the blog format… we had chaos with the earlier charts that were posted. This will give you an easy to read comparison that can be printed out…. It’s quite interesting, really.. with several surprises. Look up your area of interest and learn…

File Attachment: 1st Qtr sales.pdf (92 KB)

How MUCH House in Powell Ohio for $544,000?

April 1st, 2007 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus and Central Ohio Real Estate Tid Bits No Comments

Four bedrooms, three and a half baths, custom renovation throughout in 1995–2001, nearly 3 wooded acres with waterfront view, 2 car garage with HUGE workshop PLUS large storage barn, indoor pool, patio, deck, and extensive landscaping with perennial beds….. and the 5–10 deer browsing in the back yard come at no extra charge!

Lots of privacy, a great school system, and in the thick of city life in 5–10 minutes… Heaven at its best.

Columbus New Build Market Feeling The Cold….

February 27th, 2007 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus and Central Ohio Real Estate Tid Bits, The Bad No Comments

Newbuildsold Any interested home buyer searching the real estate ads in the last several months has noticed a distinct turn-down in the new build activity in Columbus and central Ohio. Builders are offering huge incentives to buyers and realtors alike to drive in new business.

Local builders Dominion and M/I Homes reported large sale decreases in the last quarter of 2006 compared to the same time frame in 2005, and Dominion reported a year-end loss of $34 million for all of 2006.

On a national level, new build sales experienced a 17.8 decrease in 2006 compared to 2005. This brought new housing starts to its lowest point in 10 years, despite monthly gains in November and December.

It’s a strong buyer’s market to make a great deal on a new build home…

How MUCH House in Columbus Ohio For 3.1 Million?

February 18th, 2007 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus and Central Ohio Home Sales Stats, Columbus and Central Ohio Real Estate Tid Bits, The Good No Comments

3million Here’s a GOOD look at what you can get for the money for a cool 3.1 million dollars in Columbus, Ohio– so heads up, you celebs, sports figures, and money moguls!

Five acres with river frontage and private boat dock, custom built in 1997, 9192 square feet PLUS another 7144 square foot complex that includes a guest house, pool, spa, basketball court, and more. Gracious and comfortable living at its best.

C’mon you coastal jet setters… we’re a short plane hop away, and we can offer you all the privacy you crave. And compare how much more your dollars will buy you in the hearty Midwest (and aw, shucks, we even have a few trendy and fun places to visit…. ask Eric Clapton– he lives in the Columbus/ Delaware area and can give you a few suggestions…..

Millionoutdoor