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

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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…

 

New Listing: 325 Bridle Pass Way, Monroe, Ohio.  Located in Bridle Creek subdivision this terrific ranch home really is a must see.  It features three bedrooms and two full baths on the first floor, along with a cathedral great room, eat-in kitchen, cathedral master w/ adjoining bath and first floor laundry.  The lower level is really special, featuring a large rec room w/ wet bar, recessed ceiling and recessed lighting, a fourth bedroom and third full bath, plus a professional class media room.  

 

Need Mulch? As I mentioned last week, if you are 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.

Good Reasons To Buy Now: Here is a really good article on why now is the time to buy real estate if you have been thinking of it and are just undecided or unsure.  5 Good Reasons To Buy That Home NOW!

This article makes the point that waiting to buy a home until later may in fact cost you money.  The below example spells this out pretty clearly I think:

Let’s say that you buy a home for $200,000 and make a  10% down payment using a 30 year fixed rate mortgage.  If your interest rate today is 5.00%, the monthly payment will be $967. 

But let’s say you want to wait to see if home values fall farther in the West Chester/Liberty Township area.  If home values do fall a little more and that same home can now be purchased for $195,000 with the same 10% down payment, but while you waited interest rates went up slightly to 5.25%, your payment would now be $969.  Even though you paid $5000 less, you payment is now $2 higher. 

If rates have moved up to 5.50% during this time, your payment would now be $996.  And these payments are based on the lower purchase price, if the value of the home you were buying didn’t drop and the rates went up the monthly payments would be even higher. 

So waiting to buy may very well cost you money.  Rates have started to rise, not dramatically yet, but don’t wait too long! 

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: Reach Out Lakota. This community organization does a lot of good in our community.  They need more than just for us to become fans of them on facebook, they need our support and donations!  As of this writing their page has 53 fans, so I ask that you check out their fan page, become a fan and invite your facebook friends to do the same.  More importantly though, consider donating nonperishable food items and clothing to Reach Out Lakota today.  Check it out.

While you are on facebook checking out the Reach Out Lakota fan page, 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?

 
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

by Leave a Comment

What is Tuesday Open House??  Well, it’s clearly not an “open house”.  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…

Wondering what homes are selling for in your neighborhood? Get your own personalized market update report for homes both currently for sale and homes that have sold in your neighborhood with our Market Snapshot System.  It’s quick, easy and best of all free!  The information comes straight from the Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  You can get yours by clicking here: 

West Chester, Liberty Township, Beckett Ridge, Fairfield Township & Mason Home Values

 

 Check out This Month In Real Estate (video) For March:

 

 

Tax Credit Reminder: The clock continues to tick down on the tax credits.  Our First Time Homebuyer eBooksare still available and there is still time to take advantage of the tax credits and these historically low interest rates. Just don’t wait too much longer.  You can read our previous article on the tax credits and First Time Homebuyers here.

 

Our Facebook Fan Page of the week is: Cincinnati Magazine.  As of this writing they have 1383 fans.  Their site has a lot of very interesting information and recommendations on Cincinnati dining, entertainment and also good neighborhood and area information.  Check it out.

While you are on facebook checking Cincinnati Magazine out, please visit and become a fan of our facebook page located at www.facebook.com/LowryTeamRealEstate

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

 
 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: A Home Inspection Before You Sell?

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Selling Your West Chester, Liberty Township & Beckett Ridge Ohio Home
Consider doing a home inspection before selling your home

If you are considering selling your home in the current real estate market it would be prudent to have a home inspection completed before putting your home on the market.  It is rare that a buyer will not have a home inspection done before closing and being aware of any problems and taking care of them prior to selling can alleviate the pain that surprise issues can bring.  Doing the inspection prior to listing also gives you time to seek out competitive estimates for completing the work as opposed to being under the gun right before closing.

It is a competitive real estate market out there.  A seller’s best chance of snagging a buyer always comes from having the home in top notch condition.  More than looking good, a home needs to function well and it is important to examine the mechanical systems such as plumbing, wiring, heating and cooling issues, as well as, the roof and other structural components.

If problems with a property are faced and dealt with before selling, it will make the entire process go more smoothly and there should be no surprises when going through the contractual steps before closing.

Thinking of selling a home in West Chester, Beckett Ridge or Liberty Township, Ohio?

Learn the current market value of your home here!

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

Search the entire MLS here!

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

West Chester, OH Real Estate Update: January 2009

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The last three months have been very turbulent for most everyone whether you are talking about the stock  market, the auto industry or real estate (or for that matter any number of areas).  Let’s take a look at how things have gone the last three months in West Chester, Ohio in real estate.

With regard to sales, in 2007 160 units were sold vs. 142 units in 2008.  This represents a decrease of 11.25%.  Looking forward to the first three months of 2009 a reasonable projection may be that we will continue to see declines in units sold when compared to last year, possibly resulting in levels of 55-75 units in each of the first three months of the year.

2007 Units2008 Units+ or –
160142-11.25%

The average sale price for the last three months of 2008 was down 3.40% compared to the same period in 2007.  As you can see in the table below, the average sale price in the last three months of 2008 was $204,783 compared to $211,999 in 2007.  For there to be a stabilization of home prices and then at some point a return of appreciation, we will need to see a smaller supply of homes available for sale.  In many of the price ranges there remains a significant oversupply.  We will take a look at the supply of homes for sale next.  Be sure to check back!

2007 Avg Sale Price2008 Avg Sale Price+ or –
 $211,999$204,783-3.40%

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

1st Half 2008 Home Sales For West Chester & Liberty Township, Ohio

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1st Half 2008 Home Sales For West Chester & Liberty Township, Ohio

 
 

Jan-June 2007

Jan-June 2008

+ / –

Closed Units

692

607

-12.28%

Average Sale Price

$244,219

$229,711

-5.94%

Average Days On Market

82

84

+2.44%

Average List to Sale Price %

96.54%

95.79%

-.75%

 Sales were down for the 1st half of 2008 when compared to the 1st half of last year.  This should come as no surprise to anyone.  Everywhere you look and/or read the message is the same for the most part. (Some of the reports make things out to be worse than others). Unit sales (closings)  were down 12.28% in West Chester and Liberty Township. 

Does this mean that you won’t be able to sell your home if you need to?  It most certainly does not.  I am successfully selling homes each and every month of this year and some of them pretty quickly.  What all of this does mean is: (1.) you must prepare your home for the market (2.) you must price it properly and (3.) you need a strong marketing effort.

Average sale prices were down 5.94% for the 1st half of 2008 when compared to the same period in 2007. There is no way to paint this statistic in a good light.  This is a large decrease in the average sale price for West Chester and Liberty Township homes. Again, this emphasizes the need to price your home correctly in today’s market.  Thinking of selling?  Click here to learn the current market value of your West Chester and Liberty Township. Ohio home.

Interest rates continue to be very volatile.  In the last week I have seen rates move lower to 6.20% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage from a recent high of 6.55%.  The rates are changing daily.  If you need a referral to a good lender with competitive rates and closing costs please let me know.  Mortgage rate locks can become crucial right now. Read this article in my August online newsletter.

Your questions and comments are always welcome!

January 2008 Home Sales For West Chester & Liberty Township, Ohio

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January 2008 Home Sales For West Chester & Liberty Township, Ohio

 
 

January 2007

January 2008

+ / –

Closed Units

82

58

-29.27%

Average Sale Price

$228,572

$219,688

-3.89%

Average Days On Market

78

70

-10.26%

Average List to Sale Price %

95.86%

95.10%

-.76%

In review…

The number of closed units fell by 29.27% which continues to show a weak market for home sales.  We are seeing sporadic increases of showing activity by buyers, however these showings are not resulting in increased sales as of yet.  This just re-inforces the need to price a home very competitively to get it sold.  There are homes selling,  as evidence by these homes which sold in 35 DAYS, 38 DAYS, 18 DAYS and 28 DAYS!

The average sale price was $219,688 in January.  As I have stated before this is probably the most over examined statistic in real estate today.  This month it does reflect a lower average sale price than what was seen in January of 2007.  It is 3.89% lower than 2007.  This is certainly not surprising.

The average days on market came down to an average of 70 days on market which is a huge improvement over the average of 102 days that we saw on the homes that closed in December and it is also lower than the average for January 2007.  This can be looked at as a positive sign, however it is based on the smallest sampling of sales that we have seen in some time and we do still have an increasing inventory of homes for sale.

The list price to sale price ratio was considerably lower again in January 2008 as compared to January 2007.  It fell .76 basis points from the prior year and .62 points when compared to December 2007.

For a bit of really good news…  we continue to look to mortgage rates which are hovering around 5.65% for a thirty year fixed rate mortgage.  These are unbelievable times to be buying a home!

As always I will continue to monitor these market numbers  for West Chester and Liberty Township Ohio and will share them as they become available.  Should you have particular questions about these numbers please let me know!

If you would like to learn the current market value of your home I would be happy to provide you with it.

I would love to hear your thoughts as well!