Beckett Ridge Realtor Archives

With the first-time homebuyer tax credit deadline having come and gone, you may be asking yourself, “What now?” Fortunately, the door is now open to a new wave of savings: distressed properties.

For many buyers, the term foreclosure brings up images of run-down homes with no heat and rotting wood. While this is still the case for some homes, it’s no longer the standard. In fact, first time buyers are snatching up distressed deals in decent condition for great prices.

According to a November 2009 Keller Williams Research Buying Distressed Properties Survey, 40 percent of all buyers for bank-owned foreclosures (REOs) were first-time buyers in 2009. 50 percent of all short sale buyers were first-time buyers.

By definition, a distressed property is one that was purchased with a loan and the homeowner is no longer able to make their mortgage payment resulting in foreclosure – or if they’re lucky a short sale – meaning they owe more on the home than it’s currently worth. With a 20 percent increase in foreclosures from 2009, distressed properties still remain a large portion of home sales and are going to continue well into 2010 as homeowners continue to feel the effects of an economy on the mend.

If you’re in the market looking for a home in West Chester or Liberty Township, Ohio and are prepared for a unique transaction, a short sale or foreclosure property for sale can be a great option. Here’s why:

Prices are low – Buying a foreclosed (bank owned) property is an excellent way to get a home for less. Research shows you can save 10-40 percent over the price of similar properties in a traditional sale.

Mortgage costs are low – With rates hovering near historic lows, financing costs to are favorable. Keep in mind, rates are always changing. It’s important to begin the pre-approval process so that you know how much you can realistically afford.

You have options – The number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process still remains high. RealtyTrac, a site dedicated to tracking foreclosures across the country, estimates that there are approximately 2.1 million homes in some stage of foreclosure in the United States.

Sellers and lenders are motivated – According to data from RealtyTrac, in April, one in every 387 households in the country has received a foreclosure filing. The bottom line is that many sellers are still feeling the pain of a down economy and are anxious to out get from under a home that is putting stress on their current financial frustrations. While it is still an emotional transaction, these sellers are willing to come down on price or even consider concessions such as helping out on closing costs. Banks holding on to large portfolios of Real Estate Owned (REO) properties want to unload quickly – and price these home to sell.

Your best ally when purchasing a short sale or foreclosure property is an expert. Always have a professional REALTOR® by your side to help you make informative decisions.

For more information about short sales and foreclosures in the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge and Mason Ohio areas call me or email me. We are happy to help!

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS database of homes for sale here!

Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market? Request a market analysis here!

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

West Chester & Liberty Twp OH Real Estate Market Report 1st Qtr. 2010

April 8, 2010 by Eric Lowry

I am pleased to present my 1st Quarter 2010 Real Estate Market Report for West Chester, Beckett Ridge and Liberty Township, Ohio. In this report you will find detailed real estate information and statistics. The source of this information is the Greater Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service. By seeking out and understanding the trends in our market place we are better able to forecast the upcoming market conditions. Any thoughts and insight into what may occur in the future are solely my opinions and forecasts.

I am very focused on providing the best information possible and to being the real estate expert in our West Chester, Beckett Ridge & Liberty Township, Ohio area. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding any of this information. So let’s get started:

SALES:

There were 189 homes sold in the 1st Quarter of 2010 compared to 195 homes sold in the 1st Quarter of 2009. This represents a decrease of 3.08%. If you simply leave it at that, it doesn’t look too bad. However, if you dissect the market a little, you will see that things can look a little different depending on the price range. Also, we must keep in mind that in the 1st Quarter of 2010, sales with out question have been supported / propped up by the goverment’s tax credit incentives for both 1st time homebuyers and repeat buyers. We did not have these incentives in place in the 1st Quarter of 2009, thus one could surmise, pretty easily I think, that the percentage decrease would have been quite a bit larger if not for the tax credit incentives.

Below, you will see the sales broken down by price range, which paints a picture of several different markets within the West Chester and Liberty Township, Ohio real estate market:

Price Range	2010 Units	2009 Units	+ or – %
Less than $200,000	93	97	-4.12%
$200,000 – $249,999	36	44	-18.18%
$250,000 – $299,999	27	30	-10.00%
$300,000 – $399,999	21	20	-5.00%
$400,000 – $499,999	4	2	100%
$500, 000 +	8	2	300%

AVERAGE SALE PRICE:

The average sale price in the 1st Quarter of 2010 for the West Chester and Liberty Township Ohiomarkets was $223,139 compared to $207,772 in the 1st Quarter of 2009, which constitutes an increase of 7.40%. So, let’s talk about what this means and what it doesn’t mean. First, it does mean that the average price of all of the homes that sold was quite a bit higher, 7.02% higher in fact. However, what this doesn’t mean is that the value of our homes rose by 7.40% in this period. This average sale price is affected quite a bit in this case by the fact that we saw a pretty good increase of sales of higher priced homes compared to the market as a whole. This occurred while we had a decrease in the percentage of sales closed in all of the ranges under the $400,000 range, thus causing the average to be higher.

So, is this good news or bad news? Really to be honest, it is no news. To know the value of your home and just how much the value has fallen you need a detailed, analytical analysis of the current market value. You cannot draw a conclusion from market averages, and certainly not from what you read in the newspaper, Cincinnati Enquirer, USA Today or otherwise.

SUPPLY OF HOMES FOR SALE:

The oversupply of homes for sale is where the pricing pressure comes from. Too many homes for sale in relation to how many are selling is a critical indicator to monitor as we watch for signs of market stabilization. At the end of the 1st Quarter of 2010 we had 720 homes for sale in the West Chester, Beckett Ridge and Liberty Township, Ohio marketplace compared to 743 homes for sale in 2009. Meaning we have not seen a huge reduction in the amount of homes for sale. With a current inventory of 720 homes for sale, based on our current rate of sale we have just under 7.39 months worth of inventory for sale. Meaning if we continue to sell homes at the current pace and no new listings come on the market, it would take us just under 7.39 months to sell them all compared to a 7.75 month supply one year ago. So, relative to the pace that homes are selling, we have seen a small reduction in the inventory of homes for sale. However, just like unit sales, these numbers can vary greatly by price range as you can see below.

PRICE RANGE	HOMES FOR SALE	MONTHS SUPPLY
Less than $200,000	299	6.42
$200,000 – $249,999	140	6.46
$250,000 – $299,999	80	6.49
$300,000 – $399,999	98	9.19
$400,000 – $499,999	49	14.00
$500,000 +	54	20.22

INTEREST RATES:

At the end of the 1st Quarter of 2010 interest rates on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage were hovering around a range of 4.95% – 5.05% which is largely the same as they were just one year ago. We have seen interest rates start to increase in the last few weeks though. Just two weeks ago that thirty year mortgage was right around 4.75%. So in the last two weeks rates have increased approx. .30%. This is still a very clear example of the extreme value of today’s interest rates.

TOP 10 SALES:

The top 10 sales of the 1st Quarter of 2010*:

1. 6694 Southampton Lane	West Chester	$833,900
2. 7347 Wetherington Drive	West Chester	$778,965
3. 7311 Tamarron Place	West Chester	$725,000
4. 6883 Harbour Town Drive	West Chester	$563,545
5. 7277 Southampton Lane	West Chester	$535,000
6. 7237 Clawson Court	West Chester	$529,900
7. 7286 Southampton Lane	West Chester	$529,900
8. 4200 Tylers Estate Drive	West Chester	$515,000
9. 5816 Ferdinand Drive	West Chester	$478,000
10. 6745 Cherry Laurel Drive	Liberty Twp.	$430,000

*These sales are not necessarily those of Eric Lowry and the Lowry Team.

Summary:

The West Chester, Beckett Ridge and Liberty Township real estate market remains challenging, yet full of opportunity. Clearly the value of homes in the area has fallen over the past couple of years and frankly, in certain price ranges, the values are likely to fall farther. I would expect in the market overall, for the rate of decline to slow, however, only when the supply of homes for sale drops and the number of buyers increases, will prices stabilize. It will take a number of years to return to the values that we once experienced. Exactly how long will be determined by the overall economy including the unemployment rate and of course how long interest rates are able to remain low. This is a great market to buy a home and is particularly good for 1st time home buyers. It is also very favorable for homeowners looking to move up to a larger home. Any loss experienced on the selling side should be more than made up for on the purchase side. Your comments and questions are always welcome! Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market? Request a market analysis here!

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

West Chester OH Real Estate: Beckett Ridge Home For Sale

April 3, 2010 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

New Listing On LowryTeam.com…

8105 Tollbridge Court, West Chester, Ohio 45069

West Chester, Ohio 45069

Lakota Schools

$244,900 – Three Bedrooms – Three Full Baths, One Half Bath

This Is A Terrific Two Story Beckett Ridge Home For Sale:

Cathedral Great Room w/ Wood Burning Fireplace!
Gourmet Kitchen w/ New Cabinets & Granite Counter Tops
Spacious Master w/ Adjoining Luxury Bath & Walk-In Closet
Finished Lower Level w/ Rec Room, 4th Bedroom & Full Bath
Too many updates to list
Cul-de-Sac Street
Fenced Rear Yard
Close To Schools, Shopping & Expressways

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS here! Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market? Request a market analysis here!

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

West Chester & Liberty Township OH Real Estate: Tuesday Open House

March 23, 2010 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

It’s time for the Tuesday Open House. What is Tuesday Open House?? Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”. Open Houses don’t sell homes, but it seemed like a good title for this weekly blog post. It is my way of throwing the doors open on the RealEstate-Ink.com blog and offering up a few quick articles and facts on real estate for the West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Mason and Fairfield Township, Ohio areas. It is not intended to be all about homes for sale, but it will be about that some of the time…

Real Estate Market Update: How is the real estate market? That is the big question today. The answer is very different depending on many factors. What you heard on the Today Show or read in the USA Today is not going to be the answer though. Getting your real estate market information from some national expert is a little like getting a national weather forecast: “In the US today it’s going to be a high of 67 with a chance of showers.” Really…where? It’s not much different with real estate. Some media report will say that home sales or prices will have dropped by some percent across the country. Again, I say really…where?

Real estate is local and in the market we have today it is hyper-local. Meaning the market is very different in one area of Cincinnati vs. another. The real estate market is also very different depending on the price range of the home. The first time homebuyer price range is very active right now and supply and demand are largely in balance. Higher price ranges continue to have quite an imbalance of homes for sale, thus continuing to cause pricing pressure. The moral of the story is… for accurate, local real estate information, contact an experienced local real estate expert. For more local real estate information, check back here later in the week for my RealEstate-Ink Market Update Report.

Need Mulch? Are you preparing your home to get it on the market for sale soon? Don’t forget the curb appeal. As the old saying goes… you only get one chance to make a good first impression. So clean up the landscaping and get yourself some fresh mulch. I’m not sure that there is a better way to go than to get it from the boy scouts. They even deliver! You can see the article in the Cincinnati Enquirer here or you can just go directly to the boy scouts site right here. I am placing my order this week.

Liberty Township Newsletter for March: The Liberty Township March newsletter is online and has a lot of good information whether you are a Liberty Township resident, potential resident or just live nearby and are interested in the area. There are articles on everything from the new fire station to information on parks, road improvements, population statistics and much more. You can find the Liberty Township newsletter here.

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: Cincinnati Reds. How could this week’s Fan Page Of The Week be anything else? It is less than two weeks until opening day! As of this writing their page has 96,043 fans. The Reds fan page as you might imagine has a lot of very interesting information and news concerning all of your favorite Reds players and of course Reds ticket information. Check it out.

While you are on facebook checking the Cincinnati Reds fan page out, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page.

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS here! Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market? Request a market analysis here!

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio

West Chester OH Real Estate: The Tax Credit is Also For Those Who Wish to Downsize

January 24, 2010 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

West Chester Ohio Homes For Sale — The tax credit is not just for those buying a bigger home, it also works for those wanting to downsize

When the First Time Home Buyer Tax credit was extended and expanded most people thought the expansion was only for home owners who wanted to move up, those who wished to buy a bigger, more expensive home. In fact, the expansion simply includes those who have owned a primary residence and lived in it for at least five consecutive years out of the last eight years. If current home owners want to downsize they can use the tax credit toward their new home, regardless of whether it costs less or is smaller than the home that they are selling.

It is an anomaly that everyone assumes the tax credit is only for purchasing bigger and better. Many people, especially those whose children have grown and left the nest, want to downsize. After-all, who doesn’t want to make life simpler these days?

If you have been considering selling your home and moving into a smaller space, consider doing so before the tax credit expires. Place your new home under contract by April 30th and close by June 30th and you could have a few extra dollars in your pocket.

Learn more about both of the homebuyer tax credits here!

Thinking of buying a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Fairfield Township, Monroe or Mason Ohio?

Search the entire MLS here! Wondering what your home is worth in today’s real estate market? Request a market analysis here!

Visit My YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/LowryTeam

Check Out My Feature Homes For Sale In West Chester, Fairfield and Liberty Township, Ohio