A 2005 CNN Money Publication that quoted Harley Rouda Jr* said so.  It said this is the start of Home Buying Season.

That article was looking back on 2004 home sales and before.  That’s ancient history .

Christmas is over. New Years is over.  The Super Bowl will be over tonight and then Home Buying Season starts.  Here’s advice from Harley Rouda Jr. about how to proceed:

“First and foremost you want to get pre-approved by a lender,” said Harley Rouda Jr., CEO of Real Living, one of the largest real estate firms in the Midwest, explaining that in markets where sellers get multiple bids, it’s critical to line up your financing before you make an offer. Bids that aren’t backed by a lender are the first to go, unless of course the buyer is paying cash.”

Need a loan officer?  I can recommend a good one.

With the mild winter this year some home buyers probably got a jump on things in January.  You may start seeing the market reports for January soon.

Harley Rouda Jr. is the CEO of Real Living, a national real estate company.  His father founded HER Realtors.  HER Realtors and two other Ohio real estate brokerage started Real Living  in 2002.  From there it get’s complicated. Some break ups and hook ups since 2002, good stuff for Real Livng, but it’s complicated. Does Facebook eve say “It’s  complicated” for human relationships anymore?

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It’s more than just the news on December 2011 home sales, the word from the Columbus Board of Realtors (which is “The Voice for Real Estate in Central Ohio” their website says so, in all caps) is about 2011 home sales in our mls (multiple listing service.)

“Central Ohio home sales for 2011 missed outpacing 2010 by just 1.3 percent due to flat December residential activity.”

2011 home sales (that would be residential sales which are single family homes and condominiums) were down 1.3% from 2010.

:- (

The newsletter for members says:

“Central Ohio saw 19,956 single family and condominium home sales during the year 2011. This market had 19,700 residential home sales the previous year which put 2011 just 1.3 percent behind 2010 according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.”

I’m confused. I must be reading that paragraph wrong.

No looking at one of the .pdf documents they mixed up the years sales.

2010 is 19,956 home sales
2011 is 19,700 home sales

Here see for yourself

2011 Central Ohio Home Sales – Columbus Board of REALTORS

The Columbus Board of Realtors covers a bunch of central Ohio and they mix single family and residential together… when I post “market reports” on my sites for Columbus Ohio real estate, Worthington real estate and southern Delaware County real estate I worry mostly about single family home sales. I do not mix the condos with the single family properties. The November reports were curtailed because of technical difficulties. The December reports… Dublin, Hilliard, Olentangy and Worthington school districts are up as well as reports for Franklin County and Delaware County.

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The story from the Columbus Board of REALTORS is that sales were up for the fifth month in a row for the Columbus Board of REALTORS mls (multiple listing service.)  

The news release (email to members, I am one) is titled “Home sales remain elevated in central Ohio”  same thing as ”Columbus Home Sales are up!”  ?  CBR states :

“(Dec. 21, 2011) November marks the fifth consecutive month of increased home sales in central Ohio this year after the first half of the year struggled to keep up with increased sales from 2010 due to the home buyer tax credits. According to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®, 1,406 homes sold in November which is seven percent more than the  previous year.”

Graphs for the entire Columbus Board of REALTORS MLS.

They let members know before / at the same time as the media.  A move I appreciate.

Usually scrolling through the sidebar here on ColumbusBestBlog.com there are market reports for central Ohio school districts including Worthington, Columbus, Dublin, Olentangy and Westerville.  I added Hilliard schools in a couple of months ago too.  I sometimes do market reports for the Big Walnut and the Buckeye Valley school districts too.   And thenI usually do market reports for some zip codes, you know like the Clintonville area… 43202 and 43214 and the Polaris area 43240 and of course the West Worthington area (Columbus, Ohio 43235.)  I could still dump a full months reports.  I’ve done some just not polished or published.   

Anyway back to the word from the Columbus Board of REALTORS (CBR is the “Voice of  real estate” or something like that… ) sales are up. Or were up in November. 

Oh and central Ohio prices are down…  Quoting the Columbus Board of REALTORS: 

“Homes in central Ohio this year have sold for an average of $157,032, down 2.5 percent from the average sale price in 2010, but up over five percent from the average sale price in the first quarter of 2011.”

 

Inventory is down too.  Seriously in some areas.  That should make prices start creeping back up.  The reports I should be publishing on Discover Columubus Ohio, Worthington Old and News and Southern Delaware County Homes in December are about November 2011 home prices.   Now I really need to start publishing November market reports there. 

Where is the central Ohio CBR is referring to?

What area does this news refer to?  “all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties” and bits and pieces* “of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross Counties.” 

The  “bits and pieces*” is me,  the Columbus Board of REALTORS says “parts of.”  It is a big area…  much more than I cover personally.  I cover northern Franklin County and southern Delaware County. 

Here’s some info about areas within the mls area from the CBR, another .pdf  with links to individual .pdf for areas (not mls areas… real areas.)  I think the Columbus Board of REALTORS has this available on their public site, so I think it is OK for me to post here…  

Central Ohio November 2011 Home Sales by area

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Clear Capital’s US quarterly Market Report was published last week.  The big news nationally, prices are flat.   The surprise (to me anyway) is Columbus is saturated with foreclosures?

The “Market Report” titled: “Clear Capital® Reports U.S. Home Prices Flat – Is No News Good News?” but the report says Columbus is saturated with foreclosures.

Columbus made Clear Capital’s  15 Highest Performing Metro Markets. Columbus is number 6 of 15 among  US major markets.

According to Clear Capital  quarter over quarter home sale prices are up 3% in Columbus (through the end of  November 2011) .  If I am reading the table on the Clear Capital market report correctly it is saying year over year Columbus prices are down 4.2%.

The thing that is really surprising on the table for the 15 Highest Performing Metro Markets  is the foreclosure saturation rate for Columbus.  According to Clear Capital, Columbus has a forecloure saturation rate of  34.8%?  Over a third of Columbus homes were foreclosures?  Really?  One out of every three homes is a foreclosure?

The methodology for the report done by Clear Capital for their clients (big banks, investors.)

“Includes both fair market and institutional (real estate owned) transactions, giving equal weight to all market transactions and identifying price tiers at a market specific level. By giving equal weight to all transactions the HDI is truly representative of each unique market.”

Search Columbus foreclosures

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Will your home inspector get on the roof? Or is it a ” House Top”

There is a historical home in Westerville, Ohio, Hanby House  linked to the Christmas song “Up On The House Top” by Benjamin Hanby.

“Ho, Ho, Ho! Who wouldn’t go?

Up on the housetop, click, click, click,

Down through the chimney with good Saint Nick”

Hanby House Westerville Ohio

How do you choose a home inspector?

In a recent discussion about who we recommend to do home inspections in Columbus we got to talking about which home inspectors go up on the roof and which do not.  A home inspector who is no longer alive was mentioned as “does not go up on roofs.” I knew he had passed away so mentioned that.   He’s not going to do any more inspections for any of us, may he rest in peace.

I know during a winter inspection the home inspector did, he came back to inspect the roof for the buyer.  Did he go  “Up On The House Top” for the buyers to check the roof?  Perhaps he used another method to check the roof but he could NOT see the roof the morning of the inspection.  The night before the home inspection it had snowed. 

Will your home inspector get on the roof?

I wondered whether it was the home inspector’s companies’ policy to go up on roofs during a home inspection at one time?  That policy changed? Or did he make decisions to go “Up On The House Top” based on the pitch of the roof?  Based on the height of the house?  Based on whether he could view the roof from a ladder at the edge of the roof or with binoculars from the ground?  Or whether a decision to go up on the house top would be based on weather?

Westerville Ohio - Hanby House

I know home inspector’s who do not go “Up On The House Top” in Central Ohio. They use binoculars from the ground?

Will your home inspector get on the house top?

As a buyer employing a home inspector, you may want to ask whether the inspector goes “Up On The House Top” or ask how they will inspect that roof for you.

In an old, old post on my Columbus Ohio real estate blog, Discover Columbus OH titled “I like home inspectors with small shoulders” I wrote:

“There’s lots of criteria for picking home inspectors.  Real Living has advice for picking home inspectors, including use someone who is a member of ASHI.  On my MaureenMcCabe.com* website I have some Columbus home inspection companies featured  and Real Living’s home inspection advice on how to choose a home inspector. I also have ASHI and NAHI (professional inspection organizations) links on my website.

There’s nothing on my website about size of body parts. There is no mention of shoulders large or small, six pack abs….

I like my buyers to choose a home inspector based on who will do the best job for them and the house they are buying.  I may suggest a particular company and even a particular inspector because of past experiences. “

Sadly with changes Real Living HER made that information (mine and Real Livings home inspection information) is gone! I was told recently by another real estate agent that the home inspector with small shoulders does not go  “Up On The House Top ”

I see evidence to the contrary…  It’s clearly on the home inspectors website.  It’s there for buyers, real estate agents!

If it is not there ASK.  Ask how if the roof is snow covered….how will the home inspector check the roof.  Ask if it is, raining or  drizzling what the home inspector will do.

Now let’s all sing along…

‘Up On The Housetop’

“Up on the housetop, reindeer pause
Out jumps good ol’ Santa Claus
Down through the chimney with lots of toys
All for the little ones, Christmas joys
Ho, Ho, Ho! Who wouldn’t go?
Ho, Ho, Ho! Who wouldn’t go?
Up on the housetop, click, click, click
Down through the chimney with good Saint Nick

Lyrics from the Ohio Historical Society.  No home inspectors do NOT go down the chimney!   Saint Nick does.

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