Cleveland Home Prices Rise!

courtesy of Cleveland.com

Home prices in the Cleveland area increased in April for the first time in almost a year, with improvement across all price levels, according to data released Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index looks at existing single-family homes sold in 20 major markets, including the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor area. Nationally, the index dropped 1.4 percent from March to April. But the Cleveland-area index rose 2.9 percent, marking the first month-to-month home price increase here since May of last year -- and the biggest one-month gain in the 20 metro areas.

The index for lower-priced homes in Greater Cleveland rose the most -- 5.9 percent for homes under $114,448.

Homes from $114,448 to $182,222 rose 1.4 percent and homes over $182,222, 3.8 percent.
The Cleveland area was one of eight markets that saw higher home prices in April compared with March, though all saw declines compared with the same month a year ago. "Cleveland is one of the markets that has not suffered from the dramatic highs and the dramatic lows," said Maureen Maitland, a vice president at Standard & Poor's. "Their growth rates have not been as strong, and their decline has not been as strong, either, so it's a much smoother cycle.

"The downside is their overall growth has not matched some of the stronger markets. Cleveland has not appreciated too much above where it was 10 years ago." The Case-Shiller report shows that Cleveland home prices have risen 9.55 percent since January 2000, lowest of the 20 metro areas except for Detroit, where prices actually have declined since 2000. Increased home prices from March to April may not mean much, Maitland said. It's typical to see demand and prices rise as the Cleveland snow melts and people start home shopping.

According to statistics last month from the Northern Ohio Regional Multiple Listing Service, the number of single-family homes sold in six Northeast Ohio counties increased by 10.1 percent between March and April. Carl DeMusz, president and chief executive of the multiple listing service, said this year's spring jump was particularly high and could have contributed to higher prices. But the prices also could reflect fewer sales of foreclosed properties, which banks typically sell at heavy discounts, he said. "There's a lot of dead wood out there that's starting to disappear," he said.

David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, cautioned against being too optimistic.
"I would not declare the whole show over and a great turning point or anything like that," he said - especially since the Cleveland-area home price index is still down 6.8 percent from where it was a year ago. Nationally, the 20-market index fell a record 15.3 percent in April compared with the year before. It was the biggest decline since the index began in 2000, topping the 14.4 percent record of March. The composite was pulled down by markets like Las Vegas and Miami, each of which saw drops of more than 26 percent compared with last April. Those markets had some of the fastest growth in 2004 and 2005, so they had the farthest to fall.

Only six markets had better results than the Cleveland area compared with last year, including Charlotte, N.C., which declined only 0.1 percent. Barbara Reynolds, president of Real Living Realty One in Cleveland, said she thinks low interest rates and prices have lured buyers back into the Northeast Ohio marketplace. She said she has seen "more people at open houses, more people writing offers and more people looking at properties."

Enzo Perfetto, a spokesman for the Home Builders Association of Greater Cleveland, hopes that increased values and sales of existing homes will lead more people to buy new ones. "We take reports with a grain of salt," he said. "I think everybody kind of has a cautious eye to the next report, but it's definitely a breath of fresh air to see a report in a positive direction for Cleveland."

Breaking Ground in July - UNIVERSITY LOFTS

University Lofts is set to break ground in July of 2008 adjacent to the Cleveland State University Campus. Part of the larger "College Town" vision, University Lofts will include luxury condominiums with 15-year tax abatements, discounted mortgages, and indoor parking. See the site plan below for details. If interested in living at University Lofts, please contact Scott Phillips, Realtor with Real Living, Inc., at 216.986.7716.

Zaremba to Attend Cleveland AIA Event June 26th

The Cleveland AIA Urban Design Committee Presents…
“The Developer Series”

The Avenue District
-Defining The Walkable Neighborhood-


Forum #2: Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm with social time beginning at 6:00pm

Venue: Cleveland AIA office, 1001 Huron Road, #101
Cleveland, OH 44115

** Reservations required as seating is limited **
Phone: 216.575.1242
E-mail: aiadocs@aiacleveland.com

** This program is worth 1 AIA Continuing Education credit **

Since 1920, Zaremba has been a trusted name in home construction. Zaremba, Inc. has partnered with the City of Cleveland to create several award-winning housing developments, including: The MillCreek community, Beacon Place at Church Square and WoodHaven.

Zaremba’s most ambitious project to date, The Avenue District, is a $300 million residential development in downtown Cleveland. With principles deeply rooted in product quality, customer service and architectural integrity, Zaremba continues its commitment to building neighborhoods that enhance communities and enrich the lives of its residents.

The Avenue District, is a $300 million walkable neighborhood in downtown Cleveland, broke ground in September 2006. The first phase, which is scheduled for completion in spring 2009, includes the construction of 54 lofts, eight penthouses and up to 9,000 square feet of retail space at the corner of East 12th Street and St. Clair Avenue, as well as 20 townhomes at East 15th Street and Rockwell Avenue.

For more information on The Avenue District please visit www.theavenuedistrict.com.

Downtown Real Estate Bypasses Housing Crisis: Gas Prices Are Making City Centers More Attractive

This was written by Robert Krueger, communications associate at the Urban Land Institute.

An article in the Wall Street Journal, it was reported that despite the mortgage crisis and falling house prices, downtown properties have seemed to be unaffected by the housing downturn.

The article explains that in the bigger cities, the closer that residential properties are to the center of the city, the better they are maintaining their value. Of the three metro areas the article examines, all show resilience to tumbling prices and may serve as a great option for those buyers who are looking for an investment that is already gaining value and sure to surge even more once the economy begins to recover.

What are the reasons for this phenomenon? Many speculate that gas prices have something to do with it. Yesterday, CNN reported that according to AAA, the national average of gas is up 9 percent from a month ago and 19 percent from a year ago. Yesterday, the nationwide average for regular unleaded hit $4 a gallon.

As the price of crude oil continues to affect the price Americans are paying at the pump, it is also having a direct affect on the charm of living in the suburbs. In the Washington, D.C. area, like many other metropolitan areas, the average house price has plummeted. While the average of the area is an 11 percent decrease, the price decrease in parts of the housing bubble magnet, Ashburn, Va. of Loudoun County, has seen a much steeper plunge. Ashburn’s 40-mile distance from the center of D.C. is a good reason that foreclosed houses in northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs of D.C. are not getting many bidders for auctioned homes.

In addition, NPR reported that the median home price for inside the city of Washington is actually up 3.5 percent from a year ago. Economists are seeing this trend in others cities as well, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Miami, and Boston.

According to CEOs for Cities, a Chicago-based pro-urban nonprofit, the price of gas tends to get overlooked as a factor when evaluating the reasons behind the mortgage crisis. In their recent report, Driven to the Brink, the decline of home prices have been more severe in the metropolitan and suburbs that require lengthy commutes, and where there is a lack of public transportation alternatives. The same conclusion was drawn from ULI's report on U.S. infrastructure investment, Infrastructure 2008: A Competitive Advantage.

What this means to buyers and investors is that gas prices are changing the urban housing market. Now, people are not only looking at where a house is located, but they are also taking the price of gas, commute time, and the amount of lost time of driving into consideration before purchasing. No longer will buyers be taking their commutes for granted as living further out from the city has become an additional expense rather than a luxury.

One way for city planners to deal with this problem is merge land use planning with transportation investing in order to create master-planned communities that offer a mix of retail, office, and housing that is close to transit stations. This will allow residents to cut down on both commute times gas money instead of spending both driving on highways. The 2005 ULI publication, Developing Around Transit, offers advice and examples for community planners to help cut down on growth and sprawl and retain the attractiveness of their residential neighborhoods.

Among the other factors that are driving people to downtown areas are the array of amenities, retail, restaurants, arts and culture, and fast-paced lifestyle that downtowns offer. This is not only attractive to younger generations, but also empty nesters and baby boomers who are beginning to retire that make a person feel young, despite your age.

Whatever your reason for wanting to live downtown. Contact the City Living Team at Real Living, Inc. and let the pros help you make the big move to downtown Cleveland... After all, we are your future neighbors.

Scott Phillips is a licensed Realtor with Real Living, Inc. Equal Opportunity Housing.

Now Hiring - Real Living Downtown Office

Unlimited Income Potential

Make Your Own Hours

Grow Your Network

Fun Environment

Sound Good??

...Now Hiring Future Agents.

Customer service. Family. Innovation. Results. These were the guiding principles Vincent T. Aveni had on his mind when he founded his real estate company, Hilltop Realty, in Lyndhurst, Ohio, in 1953. He believed that buying or selling a home was among life’s most monumental decisions, and with his brother, Joe, built a company focused on delivering the most innovative personal service available and exceeding customers’ expectations.

Our downtown Cleveland office is looking for new agents to build upon our foundation of excellence and help lead our company into the next generation of real estate. For more information or to apply, please contact Scott Phillips Jr. at Scott.Phillips@RealLiving.com or via telephone at 216.328.2500.

The Avenue District - Downtown Cleveland's Newest Home!

Advertorial

The best address in Cleveland

Blending quality living with upscale flair, The Avenue District will be a walkable neighborhood weaving through The Theatre, Gateway, Civic, and Lakefront Districts. It will satisfy the need of urban dwellers looking for a quiet downtown neighborhood that offers culture, entertainment, convenience, and accessibility.

The lifestyle and location of The Avenue District appeal to both empty nesters and young professionals. With rising gas prices, young professionals find convenience in living close to work and nighttime hotspots. Empty nesters, who are looking to downsize, are choosing to move downtown because they desire a re-energized and re-invigorated approach to life. They want to live in a unique environment where entertainment and sporting venues are easily accessible, where there are a variety of fine dining establishments to please any palate, and where the culture of the city adds richness to their new urban lifestyle.

The Avenue District provides not only the luxury of a high quality home but many other benefits, from lifestyle to financial. Buyers at The Avenue District will receive a fifteen-year tax abatement. They are also eligible for below-market interest rates of 1.5% and a one-year interest rate lock. Compared to many condominiums, The Avenue District also offers low homeowner association fees at an estimated $2.40 per square foot.

The Avenue District’s new sales office is located at 1238 St. Clair Avenue in Downtown Cleveland, and is open daily 12:00 p.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment. Call Sales Manager, Frank Lalli, at 216-589-8524. Find out more at TheAvenueDistrict.com.

Real Estate Brokers Taking on a Younger Look

An aging industry scrambles to draw Generation X agents who speak the tech-savvy language of today's home buyers

By Kate M. Jackson, Globe Correspondent April 27, 2008

When Lisa Johnson began working as a broker in 2006, she made a rookie mistake.
Instead of following her Generation Xer instincts, Johnson hewed to the practiced routine of seasoned brokers by chauffeuring buyers to and from properties and acting as a liaison for sellers.

It didn't generate a single sale among today's younger, more tech-savvy home buyers. "People, especially my peers, aren't looking for a ride to the property or a go-between; they want to IM me to find out how big the basement is," said Johnson, 33, who works for Coldwell Banker in Haverhill. "They often have more information on the properties than most realtors. They don't want a new friend; they want answers fast and will make decisions quickly when you provide them. I know this because I'm the same way."

Young brokers such as Johnson are in great need. The real estate industry is getting older - the median age of brokers is 52 - while customers are young - the median age of first-time buyers in Massachusetts is 32. Traditional approaches don't work on this younger set, who prefer to do most of the legwork themselves and appreciate a more laissez-faire relationship with their brokers.

Last fall Deloitte Research released a study urging the real estate industry to attract brokers from Generation Y - those born between 1982 and 1993 - or face huge shortages of professionals in the coming years. The study reports that 58 percent of the real estate workforce, mostly baby boomers, will be of retirement age by 2010.

So the industry is now scrambling to recruit young agents such as Johnson, those in their 20s and 30s who have established online identities, are fluent in IM and text messaging, and regulars on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

"It's certainly on our radar to try to bring younger people into the industry," said Susan Renfrew, the president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. "Ours has always been an industry that tends to attract people as a second career choice, which explains the demographic. We're trying to put the word out that real estate is a great first career choice as well."

And one way to recruit is through the very medium that defines the younger generation: Renfrew said many agencies are using podcasts, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other forms of social media to help to connect with young candidates. And older brokers are learning to use the same tools to deliver services and information in the formats preferred by the younger buyers.

"We're always trying to attract younger brokers to the industry, but we also train our existing ones in Internet presence and strategy as well as video technology and Web-to-market development," said Mark Lippolt, executive vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New England. "We also are educating them on green housing and smart growth as that is becoming more important to today's buyers."

If these older brokers need any convincing, perhaps Johnson's experience will persuade them to embrace technology. After three months without a sale, Johnson switched gears. She created her own website, with a blog and instant messaging avatar. She posted video of available homes on YouTube and even advertised some of her homes for sale on Craigslist.

"Instead of face-to-face or phone calls, I now stay connected to my customers the way they prefer, which tends to be through chat and text messages," she said. "I even started working with some buyers and sellers through online news groups." Then business poured in through the Internet pipe. Johnson sold so many homes that she was recently named by Coldwell Banker as its "Rookie of the Year."

Young brokers such as Johnson also bring an intuitive knowledge of demographics of the industry's audience, Lippolt said. For instance, younger agents don't assume a younger single buyer should have a cosigner, or that a gay couple in the South End isn't interested in the school system. "This is why it's great to have agents moving in the same social circles as young buyers," he said. Older brokers can look up statistics to find out that, for example, one in five home buyers is a single woman or that 18 percent of all gay households include a child. "But the younger brokers just know this intuitively, they are their peers and friends," Lippolt said.

Younger agents may already be working in collaboration with their friends, said Kostas Kofitsas, a part-time buyers' agent with Norfolk Realty in Dedham, who works exclusively with friends and family. At 30 years old, Kofitsas said he understands that his buyers - people like him - aren't willing to change their schedules around to go look at property.

For example, Scott Brown of South Boston didn't want to miss any of his weeknight softball games to look for a house. So when he learned that his teammate, Kofitsas, is a real estate agent (who didn't want to miss games, either), they started working together.

The 37-year-old Brown considers himself a "rabid texter" and knew that Kofitsas would appreciate the kind of business relationship he would prefer. "I don't like agents pushing properties on me. I'd prefer to do the house hunting on my own online and go to Sunday open houses on my own, and then text my realtor when I'm ready," he said. "I knew Kostas and I would work well like that."

While today's younger buyers prefer the hands-off approach, younger brokers like Paul Campano, 30, also understand that when buyers are ready to reach them, they want to connect
immediately.

"I have a Facebook account that lets people see the properties I currently have for sale as well as numerous ways to reach me. I also have Meebo on my personal website where clients can chat with me live when I'm logged in or leave me a message if I'm not," said Campano, who works with Keller Williams Realty in Cambridge.

In addition to being available 24/7, brokers today are also looking for innovative ways to answer the inevitable question from buyers: "If I'm doing all the legwork, why am I paying you all this commission," according to Walter Hall, the chairman and founder of HouseSavvy.com in Norwell.
Hall, who has been in the real estate industry since the 1960s, said he knew brokers had to change their business models - and fast - when the business got younger and became dominated by technology.

"I tell my sellers, 'Let's talk reality. Buyers today know everything. By the time they show up at your open house, they'll have researched comparable and recent sales, what the neighbors paid for their house. They'll have looked up the house on Google Earth, they'll tell you straight out: 'Hey, this house isn't worth $515,000, it's worth $480,000' - and they'll be right," he said.

Meanwhile, Johnson's approach continues to pay off. She recently placed a home under agreement that is on a street where other homes for sale remain idle. "The buyers saw a posting on my blog and came to our open house that weekend and then wrote their offer," she said. "No blog post, no buyer. Technology sold this one."

article courtesty of Boston.com