I had a few others in the interim.  One took about six months.  One took three, which is not bad at all.  And today, with GMAC as the short sale lender for the seller, we closed and the title transferred to my buyer.  We wrote around Thanksgiving, so not bad at all; almost a normal closing time.

One of the keys is, does the lien holder lender utilize on line processing, and the fact that Howard Hanna also has on line follow up through our short sale department.  Harder for things to fall through the cracks and it sure made things a lot smoother.  Congratulations to my clients who moved here from Tennessee.  And thank you to Mother Nature for easing them into our NE Ohio Winters with what has so far been an almost non Winter

3C

On both sides of the River, the total comes to 477 for that two month period.  There were 340  sold West of the River and 137 sold East of the River.  These figures only reflect homes that transferred title – there are more ‘pending’ title transfer. 

Peace Out – 3C

I have a buyer who is looking for 44144 homes…but not in Brooklyn City because they want their kids to stay in the Cleveland school system.  You could have a buyer who wanted 44144 but only wanted the City of Brooklyn.  Some people want to buy in 44109 instead because it’s farther East, they might like the character of older homes (and 44109 has more of the turn of the century homes, including some that qualify as cool old mansions).  Or, they may want 44109 but only South Hills, which is it’s own entity around Broadview, Spring Road and the Jennings Freeway.  In fact, the sale prices in South Hills is higher than the other areas we will look at here.  So instead of just doing one big area, I’m dividing it into three.  Let’s see how homes sold in 2010, with a 2009 comparison. And again, these stats are available because these single family homes were listed with area brokerages.

The City of Brooklyn:  There are 51 single family homes currently for sale.  In 2010, 102 homes sold with an average sale price of $93,114 and $74 a square foot.

78 single family homes sold in 2009 with an average sale price of $92,473 and $77 a square foot.

Sharing the zip code of 44144 with the City of Brooklyn is a Western portion of Old Brooklyn.  There are 56 single family homes for sale as of today. 76 homes sold in 2010 with an average sale price of $59,189 and $49 a square foot. 

111 homes sold in 2009 with an average sale price of $63,072 and still at the $49 a square foot level.

The Eastern portion of Old Brooklyn utilizes zip code 44109.  There are 120 single family homes for sale as of today. 164 homes sold in 2010 with an average sale price of $62,023 and $46 a square foot.  The interesting fact here is that sales in 2010 ran from $11,000 all the way up to $210,000 for a home in the South Hills section of Old Brooklyn.

216 homes sold in zip code 44109 in 2009. The average sale price was $54,021 and $42 a square foot. These sales again ran the gamut, ranging from $10,000 to $166,900 for a home in South Hills.  Actually, the highest sale price on a house for both ’09 and ’10 were on the street named South Hills in South Hills.  Interesting note: back in the 1800s, South Hills was a farming area with creative farmers who used greenhouses, not all that common in that era.    

Maybe the best part of this neighborhood (to me anyway!) is The Metro Park Zoo.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see the new elephant quarters in the Spring!  (see, I didn’t write about food this time lol)

Peace Out – 3C

This series is going to be about single family homes.  When I’m done (I’ve done ten east side communities so far), I will go back and do a few of the areas that have an abundance of condos or multi-families.  For now, single family home sales with area brokerages in 2009 and 2010 are up for analysis.

Today I will be doing Euclid, the Lake shore areas of Cleveland and Bratenahl.

There are 467 single family homes for sale in Euclid as of today.  That means Euclid is still overly-abundant (to put it kindly!) with available homes.

In 2010 there were 423 homes sold with an average sale price of $55,843. They averaged $38 a square foot.

In 2009, there were 611 homes sold!  The average sale price for ’09 was $50,035 and $35 a square foot.  As you can see, there was a slight improvement in Euclid in ’10 over ’09.

The Lake shore communities are North of Downtown Cleveland (for example, think Collinwood and the communities with beach privileges within the City of Cleveland jurisdiction).

There are 50 single family homes for sale as of today.  In 2010, 43 homes sold. The average sale price was $26,491 (but the highest priced sale was a home on Muskoka for $95,000).  The average price per square foot was $22. 

In 2009, there were 65 homes sold with an average sale price of $30,977 and $25 a square foot. (Highest priced sale was on Cresland for $121,000) In this area, home sales were a tad better on average, in 2009.

Lastly (for today), let’s look at Bratenahl.  Note: We are not considering sales of condos, which make up a pretty good separate group in itself), just single family homes.  I think it makes sense to compare apples to apples, so I will do the oranges for Bratenahl at a later date.

There are 19 single family homes currently for sale.  In 2010, there were ten single family homes sold. The average sale price was $308,223. The average price per square foot was $88.

In 2009, there were 9 single family homes sold.  The average sale price was $540,228 and $128 a square foot.  Bratenahl fared a bit better (for home sellers) in 2009.

It’s important to note something else as well. The general stats for all of NE Ohio indicate a drop in sale prices over the past few months.  The point about any comparison of months or years contains a bit of ‘chance.’  What do I mean by that? It’s possible in communities with low inventories and sales especially, that one year saw a few higher sale prices because those homes happened to come on the market at that time.  The stats stay the same, but since there is no wildly fluctuating number spikes or drops, there may not be that much of  a difference here.  Or in any other community for that matter.  For example, two communities reviewed here flip flopped in what year had higher sale prices.  So take the stats for what they are worth, and I hope they are helpful!  Peace Out -3C

I’m comparing sales in these eight communities ranging from April through July in each of the two years. So when I say ’08, I mean April – July.

Lakewood:  2008  140 home sales. Average sale price was $137,097 or $76 a square foot.

Lakewood  2009:  131 home sales. Average sale price $117,591 or $74 a square foot.  (pretty close both years, still slight drop in ’09)

Rocky River  2008:  58 home sales. Average sale price $265,759 or $125 square foot.

Rocky River  2009:  75 home sales. Average sale price $242,348 or $113 a square foot.

Fairview  2008:  45 home sales. Average sale price $142,686/$90 a sq. ft.

Fairview  2009:  59 home sales. Average sale price $141,615/$86 sq. foot. (very close both years)

Cleveland Zip Code  44113 (includes some of Warehouse District, Ohio City and Tremont).  2008:  23 home sales and an average sale price of $127,926 or $62 a square foot.

Zip Code  44113  2009:  24 home sales and an average sale price of $171,907 and $101 a square foot. (definite improvement in ’09)

Zip Code  44102 (includes Detroit Shoreway and Edgewater Cudell and West Blvd area) 2008:  89 home sales. Average sale price is $31,444 and $20/square foot.

Zip Code  44102  2009:  51 home sales.  Average sale price was $41,431 and $23/square foot.  (fewer sales, still not as many sales or homes on the market….but the prices improved this year).

Zip Code  44111 (including but not limited to Bellaire Puritas, West Park) 2008:  128 home sales.  Average sale price was $65,455 and $52 a square foot.

Zip Code  44111  2009:  112 home sales. Average sale price $68,531 and $53 a square foot. (sale prices definitely rose this year)

Zip Code  44135  (same areas again as 44111…only different lol) 2008:  110 home sales and average sale price of $61,363 or $52 a square foot.

Zip Code 44135  2009:   94 home sales. The average sale price was $58,901 or $51 a square foot.

Zip Code  44109  (Old Brooklyn, South Hills, etc) 2008:  104 home sales.  The average sale price was $50,600 or $36/square foot.

Zip Code  44109  2009:  86 home sales.  The average sale price was $46,625 or $34/square foot.

These are single family homes and I did the analysis by doing research on our NORMLS computer listing service.   Even though these stats  are real, keep in mind that lender owned homes, which typically are selling for lower market values,  are included in the averages.  We all look forward to the day when lender owned homes play a small part in these stats.  Having said all this, there is improvement in sale prices in many of these communities.   Peace Out – 3C

During the same period (January through July) of 2008, there were 317 homes sold.  In 2009 there were 221. Quite a few more last year yes? But when I go through the seven pages of listings sold, you have to get through the first half to find homes that sold for more than $20k.  Most sold for way less than $20k.  Means these areas are experiencing less foreclosures put up for resale or going into foreclosure at all? Not sure.

However, also wanted to add this.  Just because a home is in foreclosure does not mean it is not a good deal.  And foreclosure prices are all over the map. Case in point: in 2008, between January and July, one of the highest priced sales for a home was $145,000.  This was a gorgeous old victorian style home on Ardoon Avenue in Shaker Square area. It had 5 bedrooms and three and a half baths.  But it was also bank owned.  I can imagine a gorgeous home to live in with all the nooks and crannies to enjoy, and the owners did not have to purchase at the high end of market value to get this home. 

The PD reported this week on The Coral Company and their Cedar Center development.  The Coral Company is approaching the change in how commercial financing is ocurring by dividing the project into four sections.  You can read about it here.   Peace Out – 3C

Zip Code 444144:    There are 99 homes for sale as of today.  The average listing price of these homes is $105,260 or $83 a square foot.

33 homes caught the eyes of recent buyers and they wrote offers.  Now these pending homes are waiting for their closings and new owners. The average listing price of these homes is $72,494 or $57 a square foot.  (Just like the two areas we examined yesterday, you can see that what is still on the market tends to be the homes at the higher end of the price range.)

In the last six months 91 homes have sold. The average sale price of these homes was $72,668 or $59 a square foot.

Zip Code 44109:    There are 167 homes listed for sale in this area, which encompasses Old Brooklyn and South Hills.  The average listing price of these homes is $82,861 or $61 a square foot.

52 buyers have written offers and had them accepted, in last few months. These 52 homes are pending sale. The average listing price of these homes is $50,032 or $37 a square foot.

141 homes have sold in the last six months. They ranged in price from $9200 to $166,900. The average sale price was $36,848 or $28 a square foot.

Peace Out – 3C

Zip Code 44111:    There are 214 homes for sale in this zip code as of today. The average listing price for those homes is $110,388 and $72 a square foot.

There has been recent sale activity — a good thing, yes? 48 homes are pending sale and waiting for title to transfer. So what price range of home appealed to recent buyers? The average listing price for these 48 homes is $46,702  or $37 a square foot. (Do you notice the big difference between the listing price of homes still for sale and the ones now under contract? I bet you do).

Within the past six months there have been 151 homes sold. All but about ten of these 151 homes sold for less than $50,000. The average sale price for these sold homes was $38,206 or $30 a square foot. 

Zip Code 44135:   There are 198 homes for sale in this zip code as of today. The average listing price of these 198 homes is $89,715 or $79 a square foot.

The number of homes more recently put under contract and awaiting title transfer to new owners, is 52 homes pending sale. We don’t know the final sale price on pending sales, but the average listing price for these 52 homes was $46,702 or $37 a square foot.

131 homes have sold in the last six months in this zip code. Most sold for less than $60,000 but about 20 of the homes sold for a bit more. The average sale price is a bit higher than zip code 44111. It was $49,763 or $44 a square foot.

Peace Out – 3C

The bottom line is that appraisals should always be accurate within  one percent. That’s my opinion.  I’ve never understood why people are allowed to buy a home astronomically over priced by buying down the mortgage amount with cash.  It ruins the market valuation abilities for a neighborhood just as much as foreclosures selling for 15k ruin them.

But, appraisers, like the rest of us in real estate, need to know what they are doing. They need to know how to evaluate a neighborhood. An appraiser from Portage County may not really do the best job in Tuscarawas, no? Just like I don’t know the neighborhoods near Columbus, if someone wanted to buy a home there, I would refer them.  Why can’t appraisal company  have a network of experienced appraisers in each county so they can refer as well.

The changes in practice of what appraisers are used is not a change in law, but a ‘rotation’ system that should have always been in effect. But you know how things go…lenders, in some cases, were using their usual appraisers and appraisers then felt ‘beholdin’ and apparently would adjust appraisals.

But using a valid rotation system makes sense. All of us, especially home owners and buyers, expect professionals to know what they are doing.  It’s not too much to ask!

What do you think!  Peace Out   3C

Update: not a rah rah NAR person (by any means) but here  is a blog post from their site, written by an Ohio real estate agent, to add to the Wichita perspective. Good links on this post as well.