Cleveland Real Estate News

Yesterday we reviewed recent data for Lakewood Ohio home sales. Today, asa requested, focusing on Parma housing inventory, recent sales and homes buyers recently liked enough to begin the ‘offer’ process.  These stats, as always, reflect info for homes sold through area brokerages.  And they are all single family home stats.

Inventory in Parma is a bit higher than Lakewood.  As of today, there are 397 single family homes for sale in Parma Ohio.  That still puts Parma into the category of about 18+ months of homes for sale.  (If anyone wishes, I can delve into homes in various price ranges to see if there is an existing need for homes in those categories.  It’s an interesting way to analyze and I can do that for communities as well.)

There are however, 94 homes under contract, meaning offers were accepted more recently and sellers and buyers are waiting for mortgages to be approved, inspections satisfactorily completed, and titles to transfer.  What did buyers like? 

First, all but a handful of these 93 homes are 3 or 4 bedroom homes.

Second, ranches are, luckily, a bit more abundant in Parma than in some other communities.  Ranches can be hot commodities because in that category, there is often a need for more listings. The range of ranches under contract start around $50k and go up to $189,900. 

Ten homes were listed at $120k or more.  And yes, there are quite a few listed under $75k and many of them are involved in the foreclosure process. For homes buyers recently liked, the average price per square foot is $60/square foot.

Since July, 331 homes have sold in Parma. The average sale price was $87,880 and $60/square foot. (Interesting to me that both Lakewood and Parma showed same ‘per sq. ft. price for pending sales and past six month sales…). 

The highest sale price in the past six months went to a home on Peachtree for $215k.  There were about 50 homes sold between $120k and $200k. 

The other similarity to Lakewood comps, is that most (with a few exceptions) had the ‘move in/turn key’ quality going for them.  Even if they needed some updating, they were ready for buyers to move in and do the work, if they chose that route.  I notice air conditioning (central air) more prominent among

I had a request for two home sales analyses.  One request was for Lakewood home sales data.  Let’s take a look at what has been happening over the last six months and whether buyers are buying in Lakewood now.

There are 103 single family homes for sale by area brokerages in Lakewood Ohio as of today.  This is good news, it means inventory has stabled out over the past year.  We are not seeing 300+ single family homes for sale.  Could this change? Could more foreclosures hit the market? Well yes.  But the trend is holding in the ‘good’ range for a while now.

The average listing price of these 103 homes is $158,400 and $84 a square foot.

What have recent buyers decided to buy in Lakewood? There are 45 single family homes under contract in Lakewood.  These homes were on the market an average of 197 days before going under contract between the buyers and sellers.  The average square foot price for these 45 homes is $66 a square foot.  We don’t yet know the sale prices; have to wait for them to transfer title to have that information public.  But what can we tell about the homes buyers have liked recently?

There are about ten homes that were listed under $50k.  These were all bank owned. The majority of the homes under contract are between $70k and $160k.  Let’s look at some details about a few:

1.  A 3 BR colonial on Wyandotte is waiting to close. It has a finished basement and while it could use a bit of updating (there is wallpaper too), it looks clean and tidy.  It is listed for $79,900.

2. A 3BR bungalow with 1 1/2 bath has a cute kitchen eating nook plus a full dining room.  It is listed at $89,600 and is located on Olive Avenue.

3. A pretty large 3 BR colonial on Parkwood (about 1700 sq. ft of living space) with a great, cleanly updated white L-shaped kitchen with good workspace. It also has a formal dining room.  Listed at $98,400.

4.  At the upper end of the listing price spectrum? A 3300 sq. foot home on Parkside (Near Lakewood Park with Lake Erie views) that is listed for $795,000. 4BRs, 5BA and updated in a striking way…the way you would expect for a home at this listing price.  Thre are homes in all price ranges under contract. 

How about homes that have sold in the last six months?  There were 159 single family homes sold since August (again, all these stats are for homes listed with area brokers so I can track actual sales stats). The average number of days on the market for these homes was 106. The average price per square foot was $66.  (So for homes under contract, the  price per square foot appears to be $66!)

There were nine homes sold over $300,000 and the highest sale price was $625,000.  There were also many between $105k and $169k.  I found it interesting also, that only one of the homes listed as ‘sold’ was actually rented instead of sold.  (So I did not include that one in the totals).

Looking for info on a different community or have questions about Lakewood?  Let me know!

3C

Cuisine Du Cambodge  is not totally hidden.  If you stand in front of it you might say the old Peggy Lee line: Is that all there is?  But don’t be fooled.  Many of us are excited the original creator of Phnom Phenh is back and the food is better than ever.  Do you crave authentic food and sometimes find it lacking in the trendier neighborhoods? Cuisine Du Cambodge is for you. They specialize in Cambodian and South Asian cuisine.  If you want more verification than my word (and I don’t blame you!), check out their great reviews on Urban Spoon.  The other mark of a good restaurant?  On my last visit, I struck up a conversation with an Asian man who runs his own restaurant in Downtown Cleveland, but lives in my hood.  He eats at Cambodge frequently and says the food is better than most ‘hip’ places that charge a lot more.  I agree.  Check out the Cambodge Du Cuisine  menu on their website here.   BTW, the Urban Spoon rating by consumers is 92%.   I love their Phnom Penh kuy tiev chha.  Cooked so there is still texture to the vegetables, the spices are both well blended and yet individually tasted.  I love it.  Their rice paper rolls are better than any I’ve had in NE Ohio.  And they cost $1.50.  Stir fried roasted eggplant and pork for less than $8.  The ginger mussels are pure heaven, and a bit pricier.  The menu has so many items to choose from, and the owner will be glad to help you choose something different to try if you like!

Let me say this about my Bellaire Puritas neighborhood.  Did you know the original West family owned tons of acres of property all the way down to W. 117th street? There is a pretty, L shaped red brick colonial on W. 138th St. (South of Lorain) which was the West family home.  Back in the day, when everything else was probably farmland.  That is where the West Park name originated.  We are not as far West as Kamm’s Corner with easy access to I 71 and I 90 (five min to each).  I say this because I really feel everyone in NE Ohio should check out Cambodge Du Cambodia. 

My office is a few doors away from the 2nd incarnation of Phnom Penh.  (In Ohio City).  It’s pricier and most of the people I talk to feel the food just isn’t as good as it should be.  I know I haven’t been tempted to eat there in quite some time.  When I found out the original creator/owner had departed, I understood.  And now I can enjoy the best by eating in my own hood?  Who would have thought! 

13124 Lorain Avenue (just West of W. 130th)

phone number:  216-252-6900. 

3C

The NE Ohio business executives surveyed by KPMG seem more interested in concentrating on their own business growth than the gloom and doom shadows of the overall economy.  That’s a good sign, yes?  Only 7% of those surveyed said they felt less confident about our local prospects.

You can read about it in this Crains Cleveland article written by Michelle Park .

A little bit more detail about it from the PR Newswire article about the KPMG survey. (It’s actually the KPMG press release).  100 executives from NE Ohio were surveyed.  I like these stats: 

Forty-one percent intend to add jobs in the next 12 months, with only 7 percent indicating a decrease.  Furthermore, 43 percent will boost capital improvements and tech investments, with 7 percent expecting to lower investments.

One more quote that seems to indicate satisfaction with their businesses being located in NE Ohio:

“…an overwhelming majority, 79 percent, have no plans to move and, of those considering a move, a great majority, 88 percent, intend to look at other locations in Northeast Ohio….”

It makes sense that focusing on the here and now, and what each company can do to improve their business, add jobs, expand, will block out the  gray cloud of negativity. Which doesn’t help in the long run!  Let’s see what transpires in the next 12 months, and maybe we will see evidence of this job growth and success.

3C

Working with two clients who will need to do a ‘lease to own’ option instead of buying right away.  Interesting to me that both have student loan issues.  Those pesky loans can be a burden (and a credit issue) for those who are just starting their job lives after graduation.  One couple have a fantastic salary (and are relocating here from Southern Ohio for job purposes).  That will help, but they will still need to rent and build up a better credit history.

My other couple are also Ohio ‘relocators’.  This time from the Akron area.  They want to live close to Downtown Cleveland so we are checking out the town house inventory for them. 

Our office phone lines (and my cell!) are still busy.  The activity indicated to me that even though it’s cold, we have an uptick in interest in buying homes.  (I have some new listings coming on board too, but those are fairly steady all year long).  So it was interesting to me to see this article from Crain’s Cleveland  on how NE Ohio home sales have steadily outpaced the rest of the State in the last 12 months.  Here is a quote: “… Unlike the rest of the state, NEOHREX total dollar volume rose by 11.2%, to $322.2 million last month from $289.9 million in December 2010.” 

  These figures include more than Cuyahoga County (Lake, Geauga, Medina, etc).  And they come from our computer multiple listing service (MLS)  called NEOREX.  This means homes sold through brokerages but it also means the stats are relatively accurate (compared to how others had been calculating stats that were not quite as accurate.)  I’m glad Crain’s is relying on the NEOREX figures because if  NEOREX says it sold, that means there are  sales records to back that up!

3C

Conventional wisdom holds true: you don’t need a .com company to help you find your credit scores, you don’t need to pay to get loan modification or foreclosure threat assistance (there are non profits for that).  And now the PD highlights a new way people are trying to get your money.  The County Board of Revisions will help you revise your propery taxes for free.  Thanks to Laura Johnston for the article.

These private companies may be successful and trustworthy, I have no information to suggest otherwise.  Still, why pay when you don’t have to do it?     3C

Just as there were many stories in the Naked City, there are many different types of foreclosure and loan modification and refinance stories covering the last few years …and many of them could make your blood curl.  Here are three examples from CNN Money on foreclosure threats that happened through no actual fault of the home owner.  In all these cases there was some sort of perfect storm going on (for one family, the title company went out of business AFTER they had the family money for the house but BEFORE  they turned it over to the lender.)

How would you feel if you paid your property taxes and found out a bank had paid them instead and you got your money back.  Yeah, at first you’d smile and say cool! Then you’d scratch your head and say, huh?  This is how a family found out that even thought they THOUGHT they bought they house, the money had never gone to the bank.  Oy.

My only suggestion would be this: if you re-finance, if you get a loan modification, if you purchase a home, it seems to be necessary now to check in for the first year or so? Call your lender instead of just getting the payment slips, and find out if your loan account is all kosher and cool.  If you re-financed with a different lender, wait a few months and then call your old lender to make sure your account is satisfied.  Even if you have paperwork telling you the proecess was completed, the title transferred, the old loan got paid off, apparently we now need to follow up. 

And if for some reason you feel the need to get a loan from a huge banks (yes, one of the Too Big To Fail joints), I say call early and often to make sure you’re not getting the fickle finger of fate from them. Finding out there is something wrong a few months later is better than finding out years later  by getting an unjustified foreclosure notice. 

The last point is this.  Title companies can be reputable or not. If you are buying a home and your agent recommends you use one title company or another, don’t be afraid to ask questions: do you own a monetary interest in this title company (sometimes they do).  I always feel comfortable when buyers want to use Howard Hanna’s title company, Barristers of  Ohio.  I also know other title companies that are reputable and have been around a while.  I get nervous when someone comes to me and says they want to use _____  and I’ve not heard of them and it’s a small, or newer title company.  I have ways of checking with my office to see if a company is on a watch or ‘do not use’ list for fear of instability.  But buyers have recourse as well.  Contact the  American Land Title Assn. (ALTA) or visit ALTA’s website.  While you can’t foresee every problem, it’s always good to know that even if something bad DOES happen, you covered as many bases as possible. 

   3C

Posting this today was inspired by the PD’s article on Box Creations, a North Olmsted based toy company that uses cardboard for their products.  They are getting much National recognition, even though only being officially in business since October of 2010.  The brains/CEO’s of the company are former American Greetings employees…very creative people!  Check out Box Creations website here.   The toy products are affordable and dynamic looking and fun…and successful!

The next company struck me because it’s a CPA firm, voted one of the top mid-sized companies in 2010 (in NE Ohio).  Cohen & Company   has a cool niche.  From their website: 

 Cohen & Company specializes in a wide variety of accounting, tax, and planning issues. Working closely with the entrepreneur, we provide advice on operating and managing the business. Learn how building a relationship with us can help you meet your (or your client’s) goals.     

Cohen & Company has five locations in NE Ohio and now also three affiliated locations in Florida.  They have been around since 1977.   They have jobs available, according to their website, but what I really liked was their Internship program. Are you in college, thinkng being a CPA might be a good choice?  Their internship program includes short term assignments, attending company meetings, and other activities you would experience as a licensed CPA.  They also require community service work….  check out Cohen & Co’s web page on internships.

The last company featured today also advertises itself  (I paraphrase only a little) as  a toy company, but a digital toy company.  Find A Way World  has been around for about six years only, but their patented audio player called Playaway® is out (it’s pre-loaded, which I gather is very exciting to consumers) and the company is very well recieved and recognized all over the U.S.  FindAWay World  was voted one of the fastest growing companies in the Country by Inc, magazine.

I love that it was started by five native Clevelanders. Picturing them sitting around tossing a nerf basketball and coming up with ideas.  Anyone use Playaway® ?   Would be cool to support a local company when buying a video/audio player.   Their website says Playaway® can hold up to 60 hours of audio.  That sounds darn competitive, no?  Seriously, it sounds  like this 2 oz audio books specialty player would be great to own. And they have Playaways available all over the World already!

Congrats to these companies for being what our area has been historically…innovative and insanely creative!   Peace Out  3C